Clutter Made Cheap

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Clutter Made Cheap And Easy
A Few Simple and Effective Ways to Obtain and Use
Clutter by Bill White
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Clutter Is...

• The detritus of our lives.
• It is ubiquitous and everywhere there are people.
• It is the unavoidable byproduct of living.
• The planet Mars proves its even possible to have
  clutter without people.

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For Modeling Purposes

• A layout or scene looks unfinished and sterile
  without clutter.
• Clutter brings the layout to life and makes it
  looked lived in.
• However, clutter doesnt just happen. Wherever it
  is, it was probably put there for a reason, so be
  careful about placement.

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Some Real Life Examples
This is my house, and even in a modern urban
setting there is clutter
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Some Real Life Examples
This is Berts Model A Ford Center. Lots of
clutter but neatly organized.
Bumpers Manifolds Doors
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Some Real Life Examples
This is in Silverton. You can model cardboard
boxes out of cut-and- folded brown paper bags.
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Some Real Life Examples
Again this is Silverton. There must be a rule
that all piles of clutter contain 55-gallon
drums and corrugated sheet metal.
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Some Real Life Examples
More from Silverton. Note the clutter stacked
along the fence. A tank from a toy truck would
make a great place to start for this scene.
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Some Real Life Examples
Again in Silverton. If you have a toy or model
that doesnt quite fit the scene but you still
wish to use it, throw a tarp over it.
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Some Real Life Examples
This is the Colorado Railroad Museum. Lots of
clutter but neatly piled around the edges of the
car.
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Some Real Life Examples
This is the museums roundhouse. Even when it
gets messy there is some semblance of order.
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Some Real Life Examples
This is the museums roundhouse. Most of the
time the clutter is stacked neatly along the
walls.
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Where To Get Your Clutter
There are a lot of places to get your clutter
and most of them are free.
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My Clutter Philosophy
It really doesnt have to be something to look
like its something.
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My Clutter Philosophy
Model clutter, just like real clutter is
everywhere. You just have to train your eye to
see it.
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Three Main Sources

• You can buy it.
• - Nicely detailed, good-looking stuff but
  expensive.
• - Purchased clutter should make up some of the
  scene but not all of it.
• You can find it.
• - Train your eye to look for it.
• You can make it.
• - Actually a much better solution than you might
  think.
• - Much of this clinic will cover this concept.

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Buying It
This is the Traditional Way to Get Your
Clutter but with a Twist.
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Buying It
Hobby Shops - really great clutter but it is
often very expensive.
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Buying It
Swap Meets Use your imagination.
Note Booms
Dont be afraid to stray from your own scale to
find neat and usable items.
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Buying It
It isnt just hobby shops that
sell the kinds of stuff that we can use for
clutter.
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Buying It
Note Gas Tank
Dont limit yourself to just
model railroad items either.
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Finding It
Train your eye to look for clutter. Its all
around you if you will just look.
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Finding It - a Couple of Examples
Always keep your eyes open
for stuff that can be used for clutter.
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Making It
This is the way I get most of the clutter that I
use.
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Making It
This looks like an old stereo but actually it is
a very elaborate box of clutter.
Good Will type stores are often a great source of
very inexpensive toys
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Making It
There were two main sections
I also kept the speakers for future use.
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Making It
Actually the number of usable parts
recovered was disappointing.
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Making It
Dont ever throw this sort of thing away
lots of usable parts, plus a motor were recovered.
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Making It
Many common object can yield
usable detail parts.
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Making It
Cassette tapes are the source of
many usable detail parts.
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Making It
These cassette tapes are from
an old telephone answering machine.
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Making It
Be very careful when working with
these things, theyre flammableDuh!
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Making It
Some things are hard to get apart.
A hammer can really help.
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Making It
Train your wife, kids and friends to
be on the look out for good stuff.
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How to Prepare Your Clutter
Here are some new ideas that you might not have
seen before.
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Chipped Paint Using Salt
These started out as half watt resisters
trim the leads and drill a hole.
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Chipped Paint Using Salt
Glue the wire and insulation in hole
paint, dab on the salt and paint again.
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Chipped Paint Using Salt
After the paint is dry soak in water to loosen
the salt
then wipe it off, showing rust below.
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Tubs From Pill Containers
Using a razor blade carefully slice
off the pill indentations.
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Tubs From Pill Containers
Because the plastic is clear you must
paint and weather inside and out.
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Sheet Metal From a Sub Sandwich
Begin with any type of plastic container
cut it up into individual pieces.
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Sheet Metal From a Sub Sandwich
Paint with the base color
dab on the salt and paint the top color.
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Sheet Metal From a Sub Sandwich
After the paint dries, soak in water to loosen
the salt
then scrub clean and weather.
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How to Use Your Clutter
Model railroading may not be art but it shares
many of the same design ideas and rules.
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Human Nature

• Clutter doesnt happen randomly.
• Its human nature to make arrangements.
• Humans put things in piles or groups.
• Clutter looks more natural if there is some
  order or reasoning to its placement.
• Place your trees at random not your clutter.

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Clutter Placement
Like this...
Not like this...
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Rules of Artistic Design

• Center of interest
• Rule of thirds
• Odd numbers
• Interruption
• Balance and flow
• Tension

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Design Examples - Center of Interest
More interesting
Less interesting
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Design Examples - Rule of Thirds
More interesting
Less interesting
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Design Examples - Odd Numbers
More interesting
Less interesting
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Design Examples - Interruption
More interesting
Less interesting
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Design Examples - Balance
More harmonious and placid
More tense and jarring
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Design Examples - Flow
More harmonious and placid
More tense and jarring
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Design Examples - Tension
More harmonious and placid
More tense and jarring
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The Finished Model
Here are some examples of how clutter can be
prepared and used in a real modeling situation.
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Some Overall Views
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Some Overall Views - Left to Right
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Some Overall Views - Left to Right
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Some Overall Views - Left to Right
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Some Overall Views - Left to Right
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Pill Container
Catalog
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Electric Tooth Brush
Tape Cassette
Electric Tooth Brush
Pill Container
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Tape Cassette
Electric Tooth Brush
Resister
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Tape Cassette
Dental Drill
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Coffee Pot
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Toy Truck
Ear Exam
Electronic Device
Dental Drill
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Model Truck
Ear Exam
Desiccant
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Filling Material
Electronic Device
Tape Cassette
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Model Truck
Dental Drill
Plastic Tube
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Dont Know
Dental Drill
Tape Cassette
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Model Truck
Toy Truck
Plastic Container
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Model Truck
Cigarette Lighter
Resister
Tape Cassette
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Catalog
Cigarette Lighter
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Some Close-up Views - Left to Right
Bubble Toy
Printed on Computer
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Conclusions
If you take nothing else away from this clinic
remember...
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Remember
It really isnt necessary to start with scale
clutter to to end up with scale clutter.
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Also Remember
Model clutter, just like real clutter, is
everywhere. Learn to see it and watch for it,
and have your friends and family watch for it
also.
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Also Remember
Clutter doesnt just happen, so be careful where
you put it. Be artistic!!!
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The End
Happy Modeling