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| Archie's garage built from styrene scraps & leftover mouldings |
Scrap-building: Scale modelling with common household materials that would normally be put in the garbage.
Usage: Gluing together Archie's garage was a pleasant evening of scrap-building.
Source: A term attributed to Kaustav Chatterjee in the March / April 2015 issue of N-Scale Magazine article, Scrap-Building: Container Handler / Gantry Crane, by Mouli and Kaustav Chatterjee:
Except for a few, all structures on this layout are scratch-built, or 'scrap-built' as Kaustav likes to call them, because all of these structures are built primarily with various types of cardboard and other household materials that generally would find their way to the waste paper bin.
Scrap-building is not synonymous with scratch-building because scrap specifically refers to the main type of materials used, and scratch suggests any 'raw' material could be used. Although, scrap-building and scratch-building both imply the model in question is not being built from kits.
Scrap-building is a modern term that harkens back to the venerable history of making miniature buildings and structures from cast-off materials. The L. T. Gieringer quote from 1938 presented in Yard [archaic] lists some of the common materials he used to build structures in the days before specialized hobby materials were available. The times change, and what constitutes common household materials does too, but their use to build models continues on.
from The Dictionary of Non-Existent Model Railroad Terms, 3rd ed., 2019.
Thanks for this article. There really is so much that we discard that could be brought into the construction process. That is, both on the hobby bench and in real life.
ReplyDeleteWe are inundated with all sorts of packaging and should I mention, junk mail that is delivered to my post box almost on daily basis. Is there any wonder that the largest collection of resources I have are my discarded materials.
I know what you mean. If say I'm working on a project in cardboard, I usually visit our household paper recycling bin as well as my stash of leftover paper and cardboard.
DeleteHelpful distinction between scrap and scratch. Has got me thinking about quality, time vs. money, skill and artistry.
ReplyDeleteI was kind of surprised that the term scrap-building wasn't used in the past, but that article made it seemed like it was coining its use. And I haven't seen it used before, but maybe it's because its not in the best interest of a magazine's advertisers to recommend using scrap material for projects :-) Although, I wouldn't be surprised to see the term elsewhere.
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