Help me shingle mah roofs!

[Heisler]

One last commercial link:
http://wildwestmodels.com/products/shake-shingles.html

[Elbows]

On a relatively unrelated note...can I get away with this for a late 1800's "factory" alongside some railroad tracks...?

[Cory]

The curved doors give it a European look, but that isn't unreasonable for the time

[hentzau]

I picked up a couple of packs of shingles from Litko:

http://www.litko.net/products/Roof-Shingle-Strips%2C-set-of-10.html#.VItPl8arc20

Haven't had a chance to get them attached to my buildings yet, though.  And that's over here in the US, so may not work well for you.

[Heisler]

On a relatively unrelated note...can I get away with this for a late 1800's "factory" alongside some railroad tracks...?

Definitely could be used along the tracks in late 1800's American.

[Heisler]

I picked up a couple of packs of shingles from Litko:

http://www.litko.net/products/Roof-Shingle-Strips%2C-set-of-10.html#.VItPl8arc20

Haven't had a chance to get them attached to my buildings yet, though.  And that's over here in the US, so may not work well for you.

Elbows is in the US, so no problem with that.

[Elbows]

The only problem with Litko is their Litko-price...which is usually rather absurd.  I love their tokens and own several sets but gosh damn they charge a hefty amount...

PS: Heisler, good - I ordered the set from Crescent Root - I've wanted it since I saw it released, and figured it's a good multi-purpose looking warehouse/factory.  I think I'll definitely slot it next to a railroad and use it for the occasional Old West game.

[Elbows]

Well, received some of the Rorkes Drift kit...sitting at home while I'm away.  A little discouraged because half of the stuff in the kit didn't show up.  I've emailed 4Ground --- hoping to hear back from them.  As a huge fan I have faith they'll make it right.  Will keep you guys updated when I get around to starting the stuff (I'm still on the road for another 3-4 weeks).

[FramFramson]

One last commercial link:
http://wildwestmodels.com/products/shake-shingles.html

I have these bookmarked from a while ago and am quite tempted, but they're fairly pricey. Has anyone used these? Do you have any close-up shots?

I'll pay for quality, but at these prices they better really look like wood shakes and not printed card. If you can tell it's not wood pretty easily, better for me to just keep buying thin basswood strips and gluing them down by hand (it's monotonous and time consuming, but produces excellent results).

[Heisler]

I have these bookmarked from a while ago and am quite tempted, but they're fairly pricey. Has anyone used these? Do you have any close-up shots?

I'll pay for quality, but at these prices they better really look like wood shakes and not printed card. If you can tell it's not wood pretty easily, better for me to just keep buying thin basswood strips and gluing them down by hand (it's monotonous and time consuming, but produces excellent results).

I finished the Marshal's office with those shingles.http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2013/02/building-calamity-marshals-office.html

And the Newspaper Office: http://wargamesandrailroads.blogspot.com/2014/01/calamity-newspaper-office-finishedfor.html

[ffrum]

I make shingle strips to cover the roofs of model buildings I construct.  I use cardboard, veneer, tree wrap material (my favorite for modeling textured shingles), plastic and thin strips of wood (cut on a band saw) for shingles.  I paint, charcoal, dust, stain or streak (weather) and color the material first depending on the application being modeled.  I cut the material into .5 to 1 inch wide strips 4-8 inches long, depending on the roof size and scale of the building.  Then I placed a stack of 10-15 of these strips into a jig made of Masonite. 

The stack of strips slides into the jig.  The jig consists of two pieces of Masonite with slits cut into them for the shingle widths desired, attached to a wooden spacer.  The material strips are clamped, placed between the Masonite strips with 3 screws and wing nuts located along the back of the Masonite strips that pass through the wooden spacer. 

Then the jig holding the material strips (cardboard, veneer, plastic) is placed on the scroll saw.  The scroll saw is used to cut into the slits along the length of the jig (being carefully to not widen or lengthen the slits).  Once the scroll saw blade cuts into all the slits, the wing nuts are loosened and the material strips are removed from the jig.

These strips are then glued to a building roof, offsetting the slits, much like actual shingles are installed on residential houses.  Using this system, I can cut a large number of shingle strips in a relatively short time. 
 
I have used this method for many different buildings for quite some time, so I have knocked together several of the little jigs to produce various width and length strips of shingles.  Once cut, the shingle strips are fairly uniform but can be varied by mixing cutting groups of strips or manually snipping individual shingles on each of the strips.  Once the strips are installed as shingles they can be further weathered and colored, and then coated with a protective layer of flat or semi gloss as needed.

Happy roofing and watch your step on the ladder!

This does take some time to build the jig and cut the material to be used into strips, but the process is very inexpensive and can be customized to produce strips of most any roofing material from slate to wooden shingles, depending on the scale of the finished building, the material thickness and the painted color of the material used.  Producing strips of rounded shingles is more difficult and would require cutting strips of shingle material with a repeating rounded edge.

Once built, the jig can be reused many time before the Masonite strips need to be replaced as the guide slits are inevitably enlarged as  repeated cuttings are completed.  Of course there is also the expense for a scroll saw and the need to have a place to use it.  I suppose the slits could be cut by hand using one of the thin "Japanese" woodworking saws with very careful cutting.

[Heisler]

Could you snap a picture or two of your jigs?

[maxxon]

I just use cardboard and scissors...

[Heisler]

It just comes down to how you want to spend your time. I don't watch TV a lot and my time is pretty precious so I prefer to use a commercial product because why should I spend my time cutting shingles when I can be doing the fun stuff like building or painting.

[Mindenbrush]

One last commercial link:
http://wildwestmodels.com/products/shake-shingles.html

I have used these and they are excellent.