The scrap yard fence

Well, I finally done hit me a good stoppin’ point on that stretch of scenery between Ruston and Winnfield—mostly on account of this thick, unseasonable humidity we been sweatin’ through this September—when somebody up and told me I needed to get to work on some structures. Now, that the Union Scrap yard sits right smack in the middle of where I just finished workin’. Instead of leavin’ it go like some bare island, I reckon’d I’d go ahead and tackle that project next.

For the main building, I figured that Walthers State Line Farm Supply kit would fit in right nice.

I gots to thinkin’ the yard’s gonna be needin’ a machinist shop for fixin’ things up, too, and that Walthers Pole Barn kit oughta do the trick. Seems like a darn good start for this whole scene.

My next thought was buildin’ a fence to enclose the yard—somethin’ to keep it from lookin’ like a total eyesore to the folks around town and keep the riff-raff out. I went snooping around the web for a little inspiration and ran across a few pictures where folks built fences outta scrap corrugated metal sheets. Looked simple enough! I’ve made corrugated sheets for roofing before, so a fence couldn't be too terribly hard, right?

First off, I realized I was gonna need some kind of frame to hold them sheets up. I could've used styrene or soldered together some thin brass rod, but this fence might turn out to be a pretty long run, and that’s a whole heap of cuttin’ and solderin’.

Then I thought: Why not just print somethin’? I got that new Bambu P2S sittin' here now. Surely somebody's done uploaded a file I could use? But after hours of searchin', I came up emptier than a dry well. So, I moseyed over to TinkerCad to see what I could whip up myself.

Based on how big corrugated sheets usually run, I came up with a test size for the fence frame: 40' wide by 10' tall, which translates to 3" wide by 1" tall in N scale. The three taller posts stick out an extra 1/4" on the bottom so I can sink 'em right into the ground to hold the fence upright. For the top drawin', I made the frame using 1/2 mm material, and for the bottom, I went with 3/4 mm.

I fired up the printer and gave it a go. I figured it was way too tiny to print right, but low and behold, that 1/2 mm one actually worked! I went ahead and printed one of each. Here’s a look at the 1/2 mm version.

With the framing out of the way, I turned my attention back to them corrugated sheets. A while back, a buddy of mine printed off some kind of contraption he found online. It had two cylinders that rolled together like an old wringer washer—you’d feed heavy-duty aluminum foil right through it, and it’d come out lookin' just like corrugated metal. I actually used that thing to make a barn roof once, and it turned out slicker than a whistle. But do you think I could find that blame thing now that I actually need it again? Not a chance.

So, it was back to Google to search for somethin' similar. To my surprise, I found a fella who designed a roller just like the one my buddy had, but this guy took it a step further. He didn't just make one for N scale—he had one designed for just about every scale under the sun!

Best part? It was posted right on Bambu Makers World! I signed in, downloaded the N scale version, fired up the printer, and went to town. It turned out alright, but my printer setting knowledge is still in the "learnin' phase." The print came out sharp, but I could see layer lines runnin’ all the way up the two cylinders, which ended up showin' through when I tried it out. Still, bein' N scale, I figured if I weathered the panels real good, it might not look too bad.

After takin' a closer look at the pressed foil, though, those layer lines were stickin' out like a sore thumb. Worse than that, the ribs were pretty small—well defined, sure, but real tiny. So I went back, downloaded the 1/148th scale version, and gave it another shot. This worked much better! After fiddlin' around with the printer settings, I managed to smooth out those layer lines enough to satisfy me.

Here’s what that tool looks like. Just to be clear, this here is a stock photo, not the actual 1/148th version.

Once I had all the parts together, it was time to get down to brass tacks and start testin'. I pressed and cut a handful of panels, grabbed my two fence frames, and pulled out the Gel Super Glue. I started by dabbin' a few spots on the frame, carefully laid down the first sheet, and gently pressed it in place. After gettin' all the sheets spot-glued down, I flipped it over and ran a little thin super glue along the frame to let it flow and lock everything in.

For reference, that top section has the 1/2 mm frame and the panels I made with the 1/160th roller. The bottom section has the 3/4 mm frame and the panels made with the 1/148th roller. If you look real close at the top panels, you can see them horizontal lines left behind by the print layers. On the bottom section, they ain't nearly as noticeable, and the corrugated lines are defined a whole lot better.

Now, if you was to lay a micrometer on those corrugation lines, they’d probably test out too big. But at this point, I always fall back on a rule of thumb I learned a long time ago: in N scale, texture needs to be a hair bigger than true scale. That way, your brain can catch it, realize what it’s lookin' at, and make the adjustment so it looks right to the eye.

To make more sense of it: some modelers swear Woodland Scenics N scale ballast is way too big. Truth is, they’re right! Folks have used sanded grout for ballast instead, which is probably a lot closer to actual scale size. But when you step back and look at it from a normal viewing distance, that sanded grout looks more like glued-down powder than rock ballast. Bein' just a pinch bigger, that Woodland Scenics ballast shows actual texture from a distance, so your brain recognizes it for what it is. In a passin' glance, it looks just right—even if you lean in real close and stare at it, you realize it looks like more like 12-inch boulders! So in my book, a little bigger is always better.

Aways, enough of my jabberin' and philosophizin'—back to the fence. Once everything was good and dry, I brushed on some Dullcote to give the metal some tooth for paintin', then sprayed on a coat of Tamiya light gray for a base. I messed around with a weathering trick I found online (though I can already tell I’m gonna need to practice that some more down the road). It ain't the grandest thing ever, but I reckon it's gonna make for a decent-lookin' fence.

I just picked a random spot on the layout to take a couple pictures, but I think it’s gonna work out just fine.

If you're not careful, you might find yourself in need of one them thar tetanus jabs if you get too close to that fence, I reckon?