The buildings on Flockburgh are based on prototypes from around the country.
The station building and good shed are from the Cawood, Wistow & Selby light railway. While not exactly Scottish, they were a standard design for the line so we decided that the plans were dug out again when the builders of this branch needed some structures.
All the buildings have a cardboard shell made from Daler Board, a high quality 2mm thick cardboard that can be bought from art suppliers including WH Smith. Alternatively if you have a picture framer nearby, they use the same stuff and will usually let you have off cuts for no money. To be honest though, buying the stuff in A0 sheets isn't expensive. One will probably do a layout of this size.
The Harbormasters office is copied from a grainy photo in a book. A simple mock-up from cheap card helped decide the size and then I moved on to the Daler Board. Windows are microstrip, the chimney is covered in Slater's plasticard. Everything else is paper.
Most of the buildings are clad in Slater's embossed plasticard. We've used the 4mm version since 3mm scale finishes were difficult to obtain at the time of construction. The difference in size isn't apparent.
The plastic is attached to the card using Dunlop Thixofix contact adhesive if available. Supplies can be difficult to obtain so any solvent free glue will do the job. This method has lasted over 20 years on one of our other layouts, Melbridge Dock, so it ought to stand the test of time.
In the same way, Wills plastic sheet is used for the roof. Mind you, tiles come in various sizes so they are probably scale for something !
Painting brickwork is never fun. On Flockburgh the method is to paint the mortar with Humbrol enamel. After at least 24 hour it is dry-brushed with the same companies brick colours.
The advert was produced on the computer using a print your own transfer system. These have to be placed on a white background for best effect and matt varnished. While a bit laborious, it's a lot easier than hand painting the same thing !
The huts are cast in polyester resin purchased from Tirantis in London. I made a single master from plasticard and took a mould from this. The master didn't have a roof or door - these were made from thin plastic to individualise each hut.
The weathered look is partly down to washes of thinned paint but mostly due to me using too much solvent when making the master and warping the thin plastic. The effect looks OK and stops the models have an unnatural plastic look.
As the mould was holding up after I had made enough buildings, spares were sold to other modellers. These are hopefully providing sheds for 3mm scale gardeners around the country.
More resin casting provided me with the panels for the water tank. This is based on a 4mm scale version I built many years ago. The water crane is a Society whitemetal casting - I kept forgetting I had purchased this item and now have 2 spares !
The small white store is based on a photo of a real Scottish building. Card with paper clinker boarding, the roof is aluminum foil. The corrugations are formed by rubbing the foil on the roof of a Wills scrap merchants store and then sticking carefully in place.
The realistic creased area comes from dropping the board on the floor at a show, a move that required the replacement of a very dented end wall.