I started scratch building structures for two main reasons........I could
achieve exactly what I would envision for a particular site. The second reason being simply....I could! Meaning I have a fine arts degree plus years of graduate study in architecture and design. I'm not an architect (my son is), but I owned an industrial design firm for years and I cut my teeth on building literally hundreds of architectural models over a 15 year period.

Being a life long model railroader, I have found not only building structures from my own designs, but the hobby in general is the most challenging and rewarding form of art that I have ever practiced.

There are many wonderful kits on the market and many talented modelers have assembled these kits. Only when I visit model railroads,  many times I see the same kits on these layouts.....all built well, but they still appear to look almost the same. Uniqueness is then somewhat lost in the structures department of a layout. By scratch building you are creating a unique look.........whether you build it or have it built. I love to scratch build on my own layout from my own designs as I feel that this is my art...not someone else's. In structure building, I will work with your ideas and help create this unique look for your pike. Even if you purchase one of my own designs. I will never build two structures exactly alike, further guaranteeing this uniqueness that I speak of.

I now work almost exclusively from sheet styrene (not plastic) as it will outlast most anything. Sometimes if needed I will work with basswood, but I have developed ways to make styrene appear as wood.  All structures are super braced, lighted, and lightly weathered to appear realistic. If requested, I can install most any kind of interior and added details.

I love Appalachian architecture from the 1880's to 1920's, but I'm comfortable working with designs from most periods and locales.......and within most themes.

I prefer to mount structures on small dioramas, but can produce just the building for ease of mounting. Shipping is almost damage free as structure is glued to a Gatorboard base and fits exactly into a carton  glued to the bottom.  Styrene will almost always survive aggressive shipping as will this method. A simple chisel blade will remove structure from shipping base as I use contact cement.

Thank you for your interest.