Design considerations as influenced by - benchwork
Due to the fact that the proposed home layout will be located in the second bedroom of my appartment and the fact that there are no build in storage closets as well as the fact that in the past years things got seriously messy as far as storing things go, the room has to do double duty as storage room.
That means that benchwork has to be build in such a way that it is possible to do so. Various ways are possible here. However, the need for storage coupled to a lack of woodworking skills and no real interest in acquiring them, lead me to choose the Ikea Ivar storage system as the preferred choice for sub benchwork. The 'real' benchwork will be on top of the planks and because of that can be lighter as it has to support less weight.
That means that benchwork has to be build in such a way that it is possible to do so. Various ways are possible here. However, the need for storage coupled to a lack of woodworking skills and no real interest in acquiring them, lead me to choose the Ikea Ivar storage system as the preferred choice for sub benchwork. The 'real' benchwork will be on top of the planks and because of that can be lighter as it has to support less weight.
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| Long ago German modeller Rolf Knipper came up with the idea of using an Ikea Ivar system and he described it in MIBA Spezial 73 from july 2007. |
Building everything in segments and have some of those segments conform to the module standards of my Fremo group americaN makes it relatively easy to transport them. I plan to build at least Albia in such a way that it can be set up, with extra segments having a standard endplate, as an americaN module.
The Fremo americaN norm can be found here:
- general introduction introduction page in English (note most pages are in German)
- standard and recommendations as well as documents pertaining to the mode of operation of our modular model railroad
Lately a group of America-N modellers have caught the lets model modern industrial parks bug and they came up a with a module standard they call Shelf-and-Tabletop or American ST. More info, in German, can be found here:
I particularly like the lower height for the modules. Less height means less weight when I want to bring a module to a meeting. Since I don't have a driver's license I have to drag the modules around on public transport. That's not a big problem as long as you keep things lightweight and relatively small. The lighter I can make the modules, the easier that becomes. The trick is doing it without sacrificing strength while also protecting the vulnerable scenery on top. I think ST managed to come up with a good working system that can also be employed at home. I particularly think about all the stretches of track outside points of interest when I want to apply this system to my home layout.
Marc and Claus show on their blogs what is possible with the system. Peter and Elmar are also doing fantastic work but don't have a blog. Michael has traditionally documented our meets and you can see some of Elmar's work here under Florida branch. And more American ST modules here.
Additional advantage of modelling in segments that can also be used as modules is that you can do all the dirty work with water, gypsum, glue etcetera in a place that is better equipped for such things. I my case that would generally be the balcony as it is rather big at 4,5 by 5 meters.
To recapitulate: segments build ST style (but with separate backdrops most likely) that can be, where necessary, extended with extra segments to conform to the Fremo America-N standard and they rest on top / in an Ikea Ivar storage system that will do double duty with general storage below the model railroad.
