Windows are a constant topic – how to make them, where to find them, substitutes for windows, what is the correct size, and so on.

I’m on the lookout for “scale” windows, too. But I’ve decided that a window in the real world is as big as it needs to be, which opens a new world of possibilities,

The Canadian Gilbert Lacroix makes what he calls 1:22 windows, which in 1:32 are about 6 feet by 5.5 feet, which is good size. I bought four of them to try out, although I have no project in mind.

They come as 'kits" of about half a dozen pieces. The frame is one, the two windows and the "glass, are four more, and he’s included a gasket to hold the frame in walls less than about 3/8 inch.

The kit comes with instructions, which I read and then, like many model railroaders, quickly ignored because I planned to glue the glazing and windows together. (He provided two sided sticky tape.)

As these are resin castings (from a 3D printed original, I think) there was about ten minutes of clean-up, primarily of the windows. After I washed the pieces, I primed the frame with light grey primer. After about an hour, I sprayed the frame dark green. The paint bubbled, so maybe I should have waited longer! I left the window casings the white color of the resin. So far, I haven’t glued the windows in, but will eventually, when I decide where I’m going to use them.

A very nice kit, not cheap, but well thought out. They are $8.00 each in American money plus shipping. Easy to assemble, and nice looking. For 1:32, I may sand down the window trim, as it’s nearly 1 foot wide. Or not. From across the yard who will notice??

Here’s a picture of the completed window:

Here’s the address of my source:

GILBERT LACROIX
President, GLX SCALE MODELS INC.
http://www.glxscalemodels.com/

Don’t take the url from the “Popup.” Take it directly from your freightshed.

Thanks guys! Putting up pix here is a mystery to me! I just put the picture in my message.

That window looks great Dick!

I’m glad you figured out how to post a photo, keep them coming

Thanks, Joe. It was my first attempt at a garden rr project since getting sprung from the hospital after a month-long stay!

I’m sorry I missed you at Noel Wilson’s place. Quite a layout he’s got there.

I’ve got three more of those windows, but no project to use them. Will have to put my thinking cap on !

I get a lot of free and easy windows by cutting up plastic laundry hampers, vegetable baskets, miscellaneous grill-like objects, boot racks, and so forth. As long as the object is made in a decent color, ie, not pink or purple, and its openings have square corners I figure they’re good enough for most of my structures…

There are a couple of fellow clubmembers who like making molds and castings, (It’s not my thing at all) and they mold very good windows… Every club should have someone who likes to do this molding stuff…

Ugh the one thing I hate making is windows. I like to use the colorado model windows. They dont cost much.

I hear people talk about scale windows, is their really such thing? I see windows off all sizes especially on the older structures. I never really worry about what scale my windows are.

I will design a structure around whatever windows or window-type material I have on hand, that is, the window supply gets settled first, then the walls of the structure will be designed to work with the windows on hand. This is prolly the reverse of most onventional thinking. Usually you have your design, then you go crazy deciding how to add the windows that are called for by that design. Solution: think backwardser!

Wayback when I built a lot of indoor small-scale models I didn’t mind making windows and doors from wood, from scratch. But outdoors I think we really want a simple one-piece item in our structure openings. I’ll cut a piece of my window material into a several-pane window-like object, then generally I’ll simply staple it behind an opening I have cut to fit it. But the entire wall will have been created around an acceptable constellation of these windows. You can lay these window-thingies on a piece of paper and move them around, then draw and build your wall based on what you have created. As you can tell, I don’t fuss too much about it, letting blind chance, a little luck and inspiration and a dash of serendipity take over; it’s actually fun…

Once the trains are running nobody pays much attention to the details of these kinds of things anyway, believe me!

You can actually get away with an awful lot if all you want are some structures for around the pike. I recommend that at least once you try it my way; let us know how you felt and how it worked out for you