Building Architectural Models

I bought this thinking it could help me with my model railroad, it’s best for someone who just learning about building a diorama or how to assemble a life like building using easy to obtain materials. Again this is a beginners book, if you have any experience this is not the book for you. I gave it fire stars because it deserves it as it’s made for the beginners and it’s good.

The book is well illustrated and is a good, generalized treatment of the subject matter -- building architectural models. Good enough for the beginner and perhaps for those completing more advanced models, it had enough specifics to allow construction of reasonably accurate and attractive models for general use. Covered as materials were foam board, wood lathe and uses of acrylic for windows. Cautionary material was included too in the uses of various finishes for the product -- what works, and what doesn't. All in all, the book is a good introductory allowing the average person to develop skills to produce small models for proposed building projects that they may desire to build/have built on their property.

just what I wanted .

This book is (or was) pretty typical of the guides for constructing architectural models back in the day. You get information on two methods of model building - modifying kits meant for model railroad sets or building from scratch using foam board and craft materials. The kit building tends to be more realistic, whereas scratch building is more conceptual in nature (as most architectural models were historically). Architectural models of this sort were usually something that were quickly built, mainly as a visual reference for a client to see a 3D representation of an architectural design. These days, most architects just create a 3D digital model and let the client navigate that or render a animation of it out to video for them to watch.Reading most of the other reviews for this book, I think many people had different expectations as to what this book was for. I can understand their disappointment.This is a fairly thin publication with only 63 pages - most of which are photographs. Personally, I think the book is OK for what it covers.

I didn't care for this book at all... the examples are rather unrealistic (one building had a real shingle used as a roof, which looks ludicrous). The author advocates buying kit parts. That's fine, but most people already know how to buy kit parts. What I DON'T know is easy ways to fabricate realistic-looking elements of a building. Overall, I was quite disappointed, and it's a subject that needs to be documented properly, since architectural models are becoming something of a lost art.

I agree one star is way to gracious. I wished I had read the reviews rather than be exciting about finding a new "building structures" book and just ordering.The books starts out saying its for high school and college architectural modelers. It should say it's for no more than 5th graders. They use foam core for many of the models. I was ready to see the authors use milk cartons! Its that bad. They try to pass off a stone facade with aquarium gravel!?! Are you kidding me! Plus some of the structures shown in the book are falling apart! Pul-eaze!There is better info on scratch building structures for free online at some model railroad websites and forums such as [...]So don't waste your money. Or if your insistent, send me the $15 and I'll send you my copy. I only looked thru it once.

The book lived up to expectations but brought little additional knowledge unfortunately. Well laid out and easy to read.This would be ok for early starters into scale architectural modelmaking but it is aimed at early college students.

If your looking for scratch built modeling techniques this is not the book for you. There are good ideas for detailing plastic models.