Freelance Facades

Over the years, I have scratchbuilt a variety of structures. Some have been modelled from scale drawings, some interpolated from photographs of the prototype and some created largely from experience and imagination. It is very satisfying to replicate an actual building using the first two approaches, but this also requires a good deal of accurate measurement, accurate detailing and often many hours of research. On the other hand, freelance modelling can allow one to abandon (more or less) the rigour of prototype authenticity and just create models using general references, available modelling materials and a little free thinking.

The freelanced suburban HO scale shopfronts described here are the result of such an approach. I like to think of this type of modelling as ‘creative fiddling’. None of the models replicates a particular prototype — they are all loosely based on the types of buildings that can be found throughout built-up areas of many older suburbs and country towns.

Because of the large number of possibilities and alternatives stemming from this kind of project, the aim of the article is to suggest ‘what may be done’ rather than ‘what to do’; consequently I have not covered a lot of the more basic details.

The Prototypes — A Stroll Along High Street

Along the main streets of many cities and towns a wide variety of architectural treatments can be seen in the facades of older commercial properties, particularly those erected between the mid-nineteenth century and the 1930s. These would typically have been shops or other businesses, such as banks, often with living or ancillary accommodation provided above.

An advantage in modelling these types of buildings is that they can be incorporated into a layout that is set anywhere between the