Wood beam advice for trailer?

[Dpate]

I've been planning to get this trailer, but i was also curious on how to go about doing wood beams for the top.  The pic of balsa wood look like mini wood beams, and i was thinking i could just airbrush them with a wood grain paint or use a oil based paint to get a wood look.  Any ideas? or something better than the balsa wood?

[stitchdup]

I use a place local to me that has dolls house stuff. This looks like it may be a similar store in the usa

https://www.northeasternscalelumber.com/

[Bainford]

I would try hardwood, such as maple or birch. Not oak, as the grain is too course. An old piece of hardwood flooring cast-off and a few minutes with a table saw should make up a nice trailer load. Weather if desired, or leave fresh cut. Could be stained if you wanted a darker colour.

[Dpate]

I found this which looks good.  Actual hard maple 1x1x12.  It's called hobby wood https://www.bellforestproducts.com/hobby-wood/

[Ace-Garageguy]

You want basswood for a realistic scale appearance.

Balsa grain is usually too open, can be fuzzy, and often looks toylike.

Model railroaders and ship builders have used basswood for 80+ years because it just looks right.

It can be stained to represent any variety of wood very easily.

It's available in precut "stripwood" sizes that work for different scales if you can do a little simple arithmetic.

Basswood is hard enough to hold edges and corners well, soft enough to work easily, takes stain like it's real wood...because it is...and the grain is right for many scale applications if you choose your material carefully.

https://midwestproducts.com/collections/basswood

https://www.northeasternscalelumber.com/

Edited August 16, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy
TYPO

[yh70]

2 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

You want basswood for a realistic scale appearance.

Balsa grain is usually too open, can be fuzzy, and often looks dorky.

Model railroaders and ship builders have used basswood for 80+ years because it just looks right.

It can be stained to represent any variety of wood very easily.

It's available in precut "stripwood" sizes that work for different scales if you can do a little simple arithmetic.

Basswood is hard enough to hold edges and corners well, soft enough to work easily, takes stain like it's real wood...because it is...and the grain is right for many scale applications if you choose your material carefully.

https://midwestproducts.com/collections/basswood

https://www.northeasternscalelumber.com/

i agree with Bill,  basswood is the way to go..i use Pastels to stain my wood..

[Bugatti Fan]

Basswood like Bill and Dave suggested is a nice wood to work. It is a fairly close grained wood so suitable for scale appearance. Jelutong is another nice wood to work and an many ways similar to Basswood. Maple and Birch as Trevor mentioned have nice close grain, but are harder woods.

Basswood (sometimes called Limewood I believe) is probably the most easiest to source for hobby work, and available in flat form, rectangular and square sections.

[Dpate]

18 hours ago, yh70 said:

i agree with Bill,  basswood is the way to go..i use Pastels to stain my wood..

 

16 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Basswood like Bill and Dave suggested is a nice wood to work. It is a fairly close grained wood so suitable for scale appearance. Jelutong is another nice wood to work and an many ways similar to Basswood. Maple and Birch as Trevor mentioned have nice close grain, but are harder woods.

Basswood (sometimes called Limewood I believe) is probably the most easiest to source for hobby work, and available in flat form, rectangular and square sections.

Thanks everyone for the help. Basewood it'll be along with stain.  Here is a 1x1x12 basewood

[JohnU]

Bass wood for sure and you could stain it with shoe polish like my late dad used to do on his wood carvings 

[Oldcarfan27]

Hobby Lobby has a whole rack of Bass wood in just about any size you need. Give them a look see!

[Dpate]

15 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

Hobby Lobby has a whole rack of Bass wood in just about any size you need. Give them a look see!

Hmm might be a good excuse to go back lol.  Thanks for the heads up.