Realistic Corrugated Plate Roof

(Another method for making HO-scale corrugated metal for building roofing and siding is in this linked video.)

MATERIALS

The base material for creating this HO-scale corrugated metal roof is a 3M product called Micropore, which is used to make Band-Aids, so you can buy it at a pharmacy. The tape consists of a large amount of non-woven fibers. With Micropore, you can create both corrugated glass-fiber and plate roof.

We also need a template to copy the shape of a corrugated roof from. Here, Martin uses Evergreen 4526. He places a piece of tape over the Evergreen styrene sheet, then with a toothpick pushes the tape into the recesses in the sheet. Next he paints two layers of Elmer’s Construction Glue over the tape, which absorbs the glue.

PAINTING

To achieve a metal appearance, Martin uses Liquid Silver acrylic paint from Vallejo. After one layer of paint, Martin creates two washes, one iron red and the other black-brown. The washes will float into the recesses of the roof. After a few minutes, remove the excess with a Q-tip.

FRAME CONSTRUCTION

The frame for the HO-scale corrugated metal roof is made from 3D-printed styrene profiles that can be downloaded for free from Model Railroad 3D on CGTrader. (Search for Model Railroad 3D.) After you have painted the Micropore, cut the piece of roof and affix it to the frame with adhesive.

If you need or want to build a complete shed, not just a frame, we have a video about that too. Check out Martin’s tutorial about scratch-building a shed with corrugated metal.