HOW TO BUILD A WORKSHOP SCENE

Jamie Warne shares methods for creating this freelance corrugated metal shed and workshop diorama, as commonly seen harbouring smaller industries.

2021-05-20 - Words & photography: Jamie Warne

Despite enjoying scratch-building structures, I don’t think I’ve ever modelled an interior before, and upon finding some Scale Model Scenery kits for workbenches and stillages in the spares box, I realised that perhaps this was the chance to see how it could be done.

Inspiration for this diorama came from all across the country, and I really tried to give a flavour of a typical workshop scene that, with few modifications, could easily be turned into something else. For example, I could see the workshop being a vehicle garage instead, with the wood rack and gates removed, and the grass area at the front with the grounded van exchanged in favour of petrol pumps. Similarly, some of the inspirational locations I found online were boat workshops; so this scene could just as easily be turned into a waterside location, with a boat ramp and winch.

Regardless, the key here was for this diorama to be an example of a self-contained scene, the majority of which – the workshop building – could be worked on away from your model railway.

Think of it as a nice project to do in the evenings while you’re listening to the radio or watching TV. It’s also a project that ended up being very satisfying to detail; kits like the Scale Model Scenery workbenches go together really well, or if you’re looking for a challenge, you can scratch-build your own interior details.

Unfortunately, they were not released in time for this build, but Scale Model Scenery now has a set of Engineers' Tools (LX366OO) that would’ve been ideal.

The best thing about this diorama was that it was built entirely of bits I had lying around – as you’ll see, I even used kit offcuts to build furniture!

Sub-base & groundwork 1

Planning is always important. I first draw directly onto the board in pencil, then trace this onto layout paper. The latter will be used later as a mask. Note how features on the plan are slewed for visual intrigue.

The workshop base is cut from thick Plastikard, around which household plaster (mixed with paint) is applied for the hardstanding. This mix should sit level with the top of the Plastikard. Carefully prise the Plastikard away before the plaster sets.

Sand the plaster, and scribe the concrete slabs using a dentist's tool. This, and all tarmac areas, are then sprayed first with grey primer, then a thin waft of Plastikote Dove Grey for a speckled light grey finish.

Using Vallejo Buff, White Grey, and Black Grey in a roughly 75:20:5 mixture, the slabs receive a basic concrete colour. Multiple washes of White Grey then help to both lighten the colour, and give an aged-concrete effect.

The static grass is my trusty method of 2mm spring, 2mm summer, patchy 4mm autumn, and sparing 6mm winter fibres from War World Scenics. Each layer is applied using its layering spray beforehand. Woodland Scenics green blended turf forms the verges.

These Martin Welberg bushes need to be handled gently while the backing paper is torn off by hand for a softer edge. Note how I’ve used fine-nosed pliers to tear off the static grass before gluing the bushes down.

The Workshop 7

The main shell of the building was formed from 0.060in Plastikard. 0.020in Plastikard is then cut into strips to represent internal studwork. The outer studs are 0.5mm from the edge for wall alignment and strength reasons.

Before assembly, it’s also worth modelling additional interior trims, doors, door frames and wall coverings. Don’t forget to paint it all, too. Whether you clad the exterior sections now, as I've done, or later, is up to you.

Using plastic cement, the walls are glued together. Go slowly, and use 90-degree blocks for a neater, squarer finish. Dwarf walls are made from strips of Wills brick sheets glued back-to-back; with the corners mitred at 45 degrees.

Now it’s a simple case of test-fitting the shell onto the base, filing anything that prevents a flush fit, then gluing it in place. Note the portion of wall without cladding; we need to glue the roof on the lean-to first!

The roof of the lean-to is simple, but you’ll notice that I’ve added additional 0.060in supporting beams front and back to provide support. Each corrugated panel is 10mm wide and overlaps the proceeding one by a single corrugation.

For corner trim on the corrugated cladding, I use the waste material from the SE Finecast sheets to cover the gaps. The weatherboard lean-to, however, uses 0.020in Plastikard for the door frames, and 1mm square section for the corners.

As the workshop roof was to be removable, both halves were assembled while flat, with 0.060in supports underneath. This will sit on, and overhang the walls; and includes bargeboards and fascias. Paint everything before assembly.

I need to make a ridge cover and flashing for the joints. A single corrugated length is used for the former, with the flashing formed by gluing thin metal foil with PVA, and pressing it over the corrugations.

The roof receives a heavy weathering. First, neat Brown Sand is applied using reference photographs. Then comes a mixture of that and Dark Grey for really rusty areas, and finally, a wash of each to tie it all together.

The workshop obviously needs doors and windows. Doors are formed from 0.060in Plastikard, with planks scribed on with a craft knife. Windows use an old method of self-adhesive labels over clear packaging material, and are glued on with PVA.

Final touches include gutters (more single corrugations) and downpipes (more corrugated sheet waste with additional 0.020in brackets). Sawdust was created by scraping a hardened bit of filler with a file over watered-down PVA, brushed onto the floor!

Detailing 18

The two Scale Model Scenery kits are well designed, but you’ll need to remove burrs. To do this, I use a flat needle file. The parts are incredibly delicate, so grip the thin parts using fine-nosed pliers to avoid damage.

The stillages in particular have subtle differences between parts, so annotate the sheet to avoid confusion between the narrow and wider frames. Simply assemble as directed, but be very sparing with the glue – I applied it using a fine brush.

Painting the inside of the stillages and workbenches is easier before assembly, but don’t worry either way. I wanted the stillages in various stages of corrosion, so these were given the same rust treatment as the workshop roof.

I reused waste materials from both kits to produce cupboards and other basic furniture. A cupboard is being assembled here, with thin material from the stillage kit scribed for the door planks, and used as additional raised door frame detail.

Once you’ve built and painted all the kits and furniture (don’t forget to give them a quick wash of Dark Grey), loosely place them inside. When you’re happy with the layout, glue them down with a dab of PVA.

SE Finecast sheets are also used for the corrugated fence, with 0.020in longitudinal beams and 0.060in (or 1.5mm square section) posts. Note that the extra-long posts fit holes pre-drilled into the baseboard for added strength.

Elsewhere, a brick wall and double gates form the entranceway. The gates are 0.060in pieces scribed to represent planking on both sides, with an additional layer of – you guessed it – 0.020in for the rear framework.

The three pillars need to have their 24 sides mitred with a file. With the equivalent of their thickness poking out, clamp them under a 45 degree angled block. The slightly thinner white plastic on either side ensures a tight grip.

We can now assemble the brick wall. This is made from two bits of Wills Plain Bond glued back-toback. To keep the wall central, I’ve placed it on top of some spare Plastikard. The coping stones are more 0.060in Plastikard.

All the walls had random bricks painted in subtle variations of Hull Red, Dark Grey and Buff. For the mortar colour, I initially applied a wash of Buff beforehand, but I soon realised that this is best done afterwards.

The hinges are fashioned from shortened staples, which were pushed (using fine-nosed pliers) into holes made via a pushpin. The fittings on the gate were 0.020in strips, wrapped around the pliers, and glued back on themselves in a half-dumbbell shape.

Another detail on the diorama is the storage rack. Plastruct I-beams with 0.040in brackets form the main stands, L-beams and 0.040in (the latter cut into Xs) form the cross-struts, with more SE Finecast corrugated iron for the roof.

Assembly is simple, but take your time and use straightedged blocks to ensure that everything is aligned properly. Make each cross-strut assembly and mark its intended location between the flanges of the I-beams before gluing them on.

Prime, and then paint the corrugated iron roof using techniques previously explained. Wood bundles are created from strips of Plastikard, although the base of larger piles is one scribed/trimmed piece of Plastikard, with additional strips on top.

The final component of the diorama is the grounded van. I’ve had this 12T van since my childhood years, and usefully it was easy to repurpose. The two tabs underneath allow the body to be prised away from the chassis.

The van is primed, the tabs cut off, and a new bottom sliding door rail fashioned from Plastikard. I later indented a V in the middle to match the top rail. The rain strips can also be carefully trimmed off.

The new roof uses more SE Finecast corrugated panels. I found that pre-bending the panels between fingers makes gluing easier. For curved roofs, I don’t overlap each panel as it’s hard to get a neat finish.

Matching the van's colour perfectly using reference photographs is obviously difficult, so I aimed for an approximation using Hull Red, a bit of Black Grey, and Buff. The covered information panels and all metalwork are painted using a darker shade.

Finally, the ends were given a prototypical helping of Brown Sand rust, with the whole grounded van receiving multiple washes and dry-brushes of that and Black Grey. This ties it all together, creates highlights, and gets grime into the corners.

Conclusion

I’ve really enjoyed this diorama build, and it certainly helped that most of the build came together quickly and easily. Things like the grounded van were so simple to build, yet added a lot of atmosphere to the scene. The same can be said for a lot of the other details like the wood rack, corrugated iron fence, and entrance gates. All in all, this diorama was a great exercise in low-cost modelling. It’s amazing what you can do with some leftover supplies, a fair amount of patience, and useful reference photographs!

While I had always intended to model the interior, I think it’s fair to say that I went a little overboard! Sadly I didn’t have room in the article to explain the construction of the band saw, however, the accompanying video to this article (in the digital edition) will explain this and other aspects of the build you haven’t seen. It’s always tricky trying to condense everything into a comparatively small number of easy-to-follow steps, so, as always, post your questions about the diorama build on this month's BRM topic on RMweb and I’ll do my best to answer them – with relevant photographs, if possible.