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Working with Styrene by Alan Olson
April 12, 2007
Easily build railroad structures like locomotive bodies,
frames, buildings and bridges from styrene. Styrene is
available in flat sheets with various thicknesses,
channels, I-beams, square and round tubing, angles plus
many other shapes. There are a variety of flat panels that
have cast-in detail to represent clapboard, board and
batten, corrugated steel, tarpaper siding and much more. A
wide range of window, door, trim, rivet and bolt
castings are also available.
Styrene is easy to work with, durable and takes paint
well. It is easy to cut and form and is waterproof.
There are several glues available to cement styrene parts
together. The strongest joints will come from solvent type
cements that actually dissolve some of the styrene so that
the components will fuse together with a very short drying
time.
Straight cuts in sheet material can be quickly made with
the score and snap method. It will be easiest to start with
designs that have straight lines. When you have become
familiar with the snapping techniques you can move on to
curves and circles.
To start, try making a cab side that has a basic square
shape plus an opening for a window.
Draw the outlines of the cab and window directly onto the
sheet with a sharp pencil or fine tip marker. Use a trim
knife with a sharp blade to make the score lines against a
metal straight edge along the desired lines. Start with the
outside perimeter of the cab and make several light cuts
along the straight edge - go a little deeper with each
successive pass. Avoid trying to use one deep cut because
it will be easy to stray from the desired line. After
several passes, snap the styrene in two along the scribed
lines.
To make the window openings, cut along the lines taking
care not to go past where they intersect at the corners.
Next score lines diagonally from corner to corner. Drill a
3/8” diameter hole where these lines cross. This will allow
inserting the jaws of a pair of needle nose pliers to help
snap the plastic along the diagonal lines. Once the
diagonal seams are separated you can snap each quarter
section along the perimeter score line to open up the
window area. There may be some material in the corners of
the opening - this can be removed with a trim knife.
Styrene sheet material can be bent or curved for cab roofs
or water tank corners on locomotive tenders by using a
properly sized mandrel such as a wooden dowel or brass tube
for tight bends less than 3/8 of an inch. Large curves can
be bent with the fingers. Styrene will bend easier if
warmed by hot water or by using a heat gun on a low power
setting - slowly and gently bend the material around the
mandrel and hold it until it has cooled.
For the ease and speed of construction, styrene is a
building material for many model railroad projects. For
additional examples, review DVI’s “Scratchbuilding
Locomotive Detail Parts” with Alan Olson.
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