Structures For The NES: My First Scratchbuilding Experience

I’ve spent the last few weeks slowly building some structures for the NES. I am new to scratch building, so I’ve spent a good deal of time learning some of the different techniques. The NES doesn’t have any industry buildings, less one, so the majority of mt time has been spent designing houses for the town. I had considered purchasing some small-town structures for the layout, but after pouring over various catalogues and websites, I decided that most of the structures were either too ‘cute’ or too new to suit my needs. I was looking for simple, straightforward buildings.

Thus, I ordered a series of windows and doors from Tichy Trains, and picked up a few packages of styrene from the LHS and set to work building. The first two structures I assembled were based on the initial plan I had come up with earlier this year. Satisfied with the results, I started creating structures based on some of the houses in my neighbourhood.

The structures are still incomplete as I have yet to add shingles, finish the painting and add some weathering. Overall I’m quite pleased with how each building turned out, particularly my freelanced signal tower and Cape Cod cottage. The photographs seem to have revealed many flaws that weren’t apparent during construction, which would typically bother me, but I’m becoming more convinced that the optimal viewing distance for N scale could be a great as a few feet – at which point these defects disappear – I may not correct them in favour of starting new projects.