I'm Producing Laser Cut Structures (and kits!)
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- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- I'm Producing Laser Cut Structures (and kits!)
I purchased a laser cutter and now I'm going to be producing structure kits for model railroads! What started as a passing interest turned into an experiment and now is quickly heading towards a passion! Please see the FAQ I pre-compiled below before posting any questions.
Model Kit FAQ
Q) What scales are you going to produce kits for?
A) Only HO Scale at this point in time. I'm not sure if/when I'll branch out to other scales.
Q) What era are your kits appropriate for?
A) Modern era from the 1970's up until today.
Q) What types of kits are you going to make?
A) To start I'm going to produce commercial structures that are suitable for small businesses. I'm also a small business owner, and I believe in highlighting that aspect in what I'm going to produce.
Q) Are these going to be Craftsman kits?
A) No, these are going to be Joey kits! :)
Q) What materials are your kits going to be made from?
A) Wood-based materials like MDF, basswood, micro plywoods and laserboard for the structural elements and main details, and laser-safe plastics for window glazing and additional details where applicable.
Q) What skill level are these kits geared towards?
A) Beginner to intermediate skill levels to start with. Eventually I'll work my way into more advanced kits, but I'd like to focus on kits that are quick and easy to put together to get them onto a layout in a timely manner.
Q) Are you going to accept custom orders?
A) No, for several reasons. My time is extremely limited as it is, so I'm going to be focused on creating kits that I personally would like to either a) use on my own layouts, or b) would like to see brought to market.
Q) But... will you ever accept custom orders?
A) If I do, it won't be anytime soon.
Q) Can I send you suggestions?
A) You could, but again, my time is extremely limited, so I'll be focusing only on the kits I'd like to see created for now.
Q) How much will your kits cost?
A) TBD - I'm still working this out at this point in time. I still need to figure out the best sources for materials, packaging, and other considerations that go into figure out pricing. I don't aim for them to break the bank, but I still need to earn a living and put food in my kids' mouths, so I need to find that balance.
Q) Do you have a website for these kits yet?
A) Not yet. I still need to create my initial line-up of kits, and also need to determine the best platform to start with for my situation. For those that already know I work in software development for a fulltime career: I've already decided not to create the website from scratch myself. I know what goes into creating/maintaining sites, and it takes up a lot of time, and that's time I'd like to dedicate to creating my kits instead.
Q) Where will these kits be sold?
A) Online only at first, but eventually I'd like to make some rounds at various train shows. I have no idea at this point if my kits will be available through other model railroad retailers. I'm just starting out, so we'll see where this journey takes me!
Q) Who are you going to be competing with?
A) I'm not going to be competing with anyone. I'm simply offering another option to model railroaders (and anyone else!) who are looking for the things I'm going to produce. I personally will continue to support other kit manufacturers out there that are creating things that I would find useful for my layouts.
Nice work. I'll be back when you venture into N scale. 💯👍
Congrats on getting your laser cutter! I wish you the very best on starting your side business. Maybe one day you can also offer some transition era buildings as well. - Jason
Thanks! Once I get all the stuff I want to make at first out of my system, I might branch out to other eras/etc. Still a ways to go to get this off the ground, but I'm excited to give it a go!
We are in need of 70's and 80'builds. Like you they are just not to be found. Where I live and the area I model? You can't through a rock without hitting one. @@JoeyBPhotography
I like it. Definitely interested in the brick one on the left
Your work is fantastic!
Great adventure for you , shipping costs to Canada will be a big factor for sure, what you show in this video look great
Thanks! It's a fun journey so far
I like the relative simplicity. We have plenty of the mega complex kits. These offer something one can bang out, and then chose to detail further as desired or needed. I mean if you using the building facing a perpendicular or angled street ; or using the back; all the superfluous stuff doesn't matter. Save and spend the cash where it does.
That's very much in the spirit of what I aim to create. A simple way to build out a scene that won't break the bank, and can be super detailed later on if desired
This is fantastic. I am modeling the mid 1990’s in HO, so you have my attention. Looking forward to see what you produce. Thanks for offering what you make to the rest of us.
Great looking kits. Those should do very well. Thanks for sharing.
Very nice structures! Good to see something more modernish like in my hometown. Definitely interested! Thanks!
This is a really cool project, and I’ve never really seen how a laser cutter works. Thanks for showing that!
I like the plain brick structure you showed and I’d argue that it could make an appearance on an earlier layout period without anyone really noticing ;)
Will you offer wall sections or sheets with brick/block pattern one might use for scratch building?
I’m sure the community will support your new venture well, I know I will when you are ready! Be well- John
Thanks! It's a lot of fun so far! I haven't decided if I'm going to offer sections or sheets yet. If I do sections, I'd want to figure out a modular system that works for what I have planned, so it'll take time. For now I'm still focused on getting a couple of more "complete" buildings figured out. Thanks for stopping by!
I've never built a wood structure, but it is interesting! 👍
Great video of your new laser machine for doing 3D building's! I'm an h.o.scale model railroad fan like yourself. Im building qn Industrial Switching Layout that's 2'x8' on 3 walls to be U shaped in my railroad room I'm creating. That brick building caught my attention immediately and would be interested in a couple of those once you're set up to sell! Watching you assemble the tattoo building seemed easy for the most part. Thanks again Joey for sharing this video with us along with your PRICELESS time and effort my friend! Cheers from Laurel, Delaware USA.
Can't wait. Just post when and where we can find your kits!
Cool work
Fantastic! The only wooden structures I’ve built were all scratch built. What I am really interested in is the “era” you are structuring. We really don’t have anyone supplying into this time frame. Bravo! Can’t wait for the final product.
Thanks! Yeah, I feel like the majority of stuff out there is transition era, and there just wasn't a lot of stuff that I needed for my layouts. I have no choice but to make my own, and I figured I might as well make them available to anyone else looking for something similar in the process!
Thanks Joey! Always wondered how wood laser cutting works, I think there is very limited choices on the market for BACKGROUND or facade type buildings in HO. Would be cool to see your ideas on that. wood kits have been a fun addition to the hobby. (I model the 80-90’s)
Thanks for watching! I have some background-friendly shallow relief structures planned already, should be fun!
That looks great! Let me know when you are making older structures. 40's & 50's
Hey, Joey! Those look very cool. Good to see you back making videos again.
I really like your models and the time period of your buildings is what I model. I model O scale, however, so ... For larger scales, maybe offer smaller buildings? Just an idea. Many thanks!
@@jeffmurphree2937 Thanks! I'll keep that in mind, not a bad idea
@@JoeyBPhotography One building I always wanted to build is a strip mall, composed a number of small stores and offices. You could sell the individual stores and the modeler could buy individually and connect as many as needed to fill their available space. This concept would work in any scale.
Cant wait to see your buildings hit the market, they look great, and hopefully more affordable then other kits.
Nice job Joey,I like the red industrial building that you're working on..👍
Congrats on new laser, wish you the best on your venture. Patiently awaiting to see what you come up with.
I REALLY like where you're going with this! Since I model the early 70's, these would be great. Unfortunately, my scale of choice is N. Hopefully, in the future, you may choose to expand to other scales. Best of luck on your new venture!
Nice!! I would like to purchase one of the reddish brick buildings with the roll-up doors. Really scale looking. It just looks right!! Very interested! Can't wait for more!!
Great video covering your process, and the result look fantastic.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with! Maybe looking in to building you own website just sell direct consumers. Maybe just start out with a test run with a limited amount and have us viewers test the kits out and give you feed back for other kits.
I definitely won't be building my own site, I know how much time and work goes into them (I'm a software developer), and I want to focus my spare time on making kits instead of writing/debugging code. Once I get closer to releasing these I'll probably have done enough research to figure out what works best for me in the beginning. Thanks for stopping by!
Hey Joey
These look great , best of luck with this new adventure .
Absolutely perfect someone who’s going to provide modern day wood kits. Don’t get me wrong I do like building some of the past era kits and have a few on my old layout; and enjoyed the build but I’m embarking on a new layout and would be very interested in seeing what you’ll have to offer.
I'm excited to be designing these! I need them for my layout as well! Still some work to do, and business-centric things to figure out, but I'm looking forward to the adventure. Thanks for stopping by!
I wish you well and the products look great. But I’m in N scale.
Congrats, ill definitely be looking to purchase!
Definitely interested, looks better than the plastic stuff, looking forward to getting some if you get them going
Very nice Joey. Good luck. You’ll get a lot customers for sure. 👊🏼😎
Fabulous, I live in the UK but model US HO railroads so this is really interesting (tho shipping may be an issue!) I’ll watch your progress with interest!
Great looking kits. good luck
I live the Offset White Concrete Brick on the front on the building on the right
very real
On the left the Step Up to the door and the AC Unit are Outstanding
Your detail is real good attention to what you are doing
Too bad your not doing orders
I have a simple thing I would lone made
James
Thanks! Yeah, I'm so limited on the time I get to spend on this, between my day job, family, and my other photo business. You can leave a suggestion anyways, and who knows, it might be similar to something I already have planned
really cool. the red brick building looks great. the tattoo building door looks perfect! It is awfully big for a model railroad which typically suffers from chronic excess space shortage. Perhaps you could offer a 1/2 or 2/3 length option that the purchaser can choose while building. (either make it simple to shorten with interior scribe lines, or just include extra shorter sidewalls as an option)
Thanks! I'm already making it shorter. I kept it long at first because I wanted to make it close to the prototype as possible, but realized afterward that most layouts probably won't support that length of building in a town scene.
Awesome video. I've always wondered why all these 'craftsman' producers only made transition and earlier buildings. I thought anyone who ventured into more modern stuff would do well. ITLA has some stuff that is still seen today, but not really 'modern'. I will be interested for sure in what you offer. Like you, I model present day, and many buildings from the 80s/90s/00s are still around today. Can't wait!
Exactly, I needed to create my own structures in order to meet my model railroad's needs, and hopefully once I get these going it starts to fill that gap I'm finding out there as well. Thanks for watching!
@@JoeyBPhotography I really dig that other brick building you show in the video, that's the kind of stuff I have to scratchbuild today for the 'mundane' buildings
look forward to seeing
Awesome job!!!!
Can't wait! Please keep us informed.
See my latest video, they're already starting to become available : )
Awesome! When is the garage available? I'd like to get that with one of your office buildings... @@JoeyBPhotography
@@sunnydayhobbies soonish... testing things and working on instructions, etc
@@JoeyBPhotography I'll be ordering one of those and one of your other buildings... thanks!
Awesome work!
Definitely interested
Great stuff!
I'm not a modeller but that was a really interesting video, really impressive end result as well
The buildings are looking very nice.
Interested in buying this type of structures. The time frame is what I am looking for too.
Cool! I have some up for sale on my website currently if you want to check them out: www.latenighthobbies.com
Finally 1970 plus kits
totally interested!
good job !!!👏👏👍 greetings from Solingen/Germany
Thanks for stopping by!!
excellent work we do some of the same for 1/12th scale action figure photographers
This is really cool! Good Luck.
The kit you used for the demo, at first glance, looked like an old 7-11. Not sure if that is something you noticed, or are considering for a future small business, but those are everywhere. Some are still 7-11s and some have been re-purposed structures for other small businesses.
Thanks! The actual building I used as reference is currently a tattoo parlor, but I do see these types of buildings all over. I won't be advertising them with any specific business name, just "commercial" structures
That makes sense, especially with the licensing fee for an actual 7-11. Thanks for the quick reply and good luck!@@JoeyBPhotography
Mylar/Polyesther, the old overhead transparency film is supposed to be laser cuttable , but I have not found it anymore. I do use microscope slides and the thinner slip cover, real glass.
It would be really cool if you provide a jig that easily aligns so you can use an X-ACTO to scribe brick/mortar lines on those corner tabs. Alternately, you could shorten the tab lengths, so you could provide a tiny thin brick scribed insert that glues overtop of the tab ands and sits flush with finished wall.
I'm already laser-cutting scribe lines on the tab edges. It's just not apparent in this video because I didn't show the step where I painted the edges (which makes the lines apparent).
@@JoeyBPhotographycool! good luck. your building design is fantastic and fits into so many eras and anywhere in the country. looking forward to seeing more.
Excellent, good luck on your endeavors. Would be interested in purchasing these items as I am a fan of the ITLA models but would like some smaller structures. Lou Varela
Thanks! I have some smaller footprint model kits already for sale, actually. Check out my latest video for more details
Joey, those look great, be exciting to see what else you do to them. I like the tattoo shop as well as the other building. The Tattoo shop is a rather generic structure that would lend itself to a lot of other business. Looking forward to seeing whats next. Cheers Rob
Thanks! It's modeled after a real tattoo place down the street from me, but you could put any sign on it and change it up for sure.
You could use a Cricut or Silhouette cutting machine for the windows. I use GBC HiClear Crystal Clear PVC Report Cover with this, works perfectly.
Lol I've already been eying up a Silhouette Cameo for that very purpose! Waiting for a good holiday sale then I'll pick one up
Dude! That is just so cool. I'm not even a railroad person, but that is some great work.
Thanks for stopping by!
@@JoeyBPhotography If I may ask, where did you get your brick texture (or whatever you call that)?
@@theboredcreative I created it myself in Lightburn
@@JoeyBPhotography Very good. I would also consider selling those patterns or textures or whatever, as another product. I think other people, like me, (non train people), might be interested in applying those to our own work.
@theboredcreative The brick created for each building isn't a copy/paste type of pattern, but is created specifically for each one, so I'd be selling my IP, which I'm not interested in doing because it would undermine my future product lineup. At the end of the day, it all comes down to simple line work, so with a little patience anyone can create something similar anyway
Laser beam to the face… not recommended, lol. I think you will build some nice kits and I look forward to what you do. Congratulations on the new business and cutter. Filling a niche for yourself and helping other modelers as well.
Interested….
Very nice work! Do you think that you will be selling brick pattern, roofing tiles and concrete block sheets for scratch building? Maybe even some 45x90 degree corner pieces for perfect 90 degree corners. 🐪
Thanks! I'm not sure yet, I might. I'm focused on some buildings first, then I'll branch out later.
So you can put what ever name you want on the buildings.
Yup! It's up to the modeler
You said you're not going to take suggestions, which is cool.
But if you did ... I'd love a late '70s, or early '80s Dairy Queen. You wouldn't be able to keep the kits in stock. No one in the business has produced this kit. Walthers did create an earlier version of a DQ, which is fine if you model the early 60s.
I won't be able to create a DQ without a license to use the name. However... I DO have plans for creating something very similar in nature...
Look like nice kits.
How about 2" deep background kits. Not a lot of detail but a lot of varity. Four story. I have a section that needs almost 9' of this kind of building. I haveother background kits in front if some of this so no need for detail , doirs, windows, for them.
Thanks. I have plans for shallow relief kits as well!
Nice work with the new cutter. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for future kits. Thanks for sharing.
Need N scale sir!
Interested
Awesome buildings. Just what I'm looking for.I could use the two you make. I have a 70 / 80's layout. However I'm in N scale. Would it be to much to scale them down to n scale? Keep me posted.
Thanks! It'll be HO scale for a while, but if I ever offer N scale I'll definitely be posting a video about it. Thanks for stopping by!
i like what your doing . will you be selling the cut files ?
Thanks! I will not be selling the files, they take a lot of time to research and create and I feel selling them would undermine the value of the product.
Will you be doing any kits in O scale as well.
Something that is needed bad in O scale.
Not at first, but I may explore later. I model mainly in HO, so I'm focusing on that at the moment. I do have interest in creating an O scale switching layout sometime in the future, so we'll see!
can you use glass microscope slides for windows?
I suppose one could use them. I ended up going with clear Mylar sheets.
How do you add the brick texture in the laser cut software?
It's just lines
Look at something like MR LaserCut to create walls with brick textures.
What program do you use to design the cut outs
Lightburn
For some real american small business maybe you could do like a place that buys diabetic test strips or a personal injury law office that used to be a pizza hut
I'll leave it up to the modeler's imagination to decide what the buildings will be used for, I'm just going to try to have a variety of commercial style buildings that small business owners would gravitate towards. I'm unsure what kinds of signs/etc. I'll include at this point.
Too modern for me, but good luck with the endeavor.