How To Make...
Southeast Asian
Buildings Part Two
A Major Project for any modeller
Little did Paul Davies know that when
he embarked on his journey to build
Vietnam’s infamous Son Tay Prison,
that it would turn into a major project,
requiring not the typical single page of
“plans”, but fully six pages of plans just
for the buildings!
As space is always at a premium in
the printed pages of our magazine, we
Cautionary Notes on Glue -
When gluing different materials
together ALWAYS test it using scrap
material, just in case. For example
superglue ‘eats’ foam and so does Evo-
stik. The best solution I’ve found when
gluing together different materials,
i.e. foamboard and embossed plastic
sheet, is ‘No More Nails’ (or a cheaper
Building the Son Tay Prison By Paul Davies
couldn’t give it all to you in February’s
#268 issue. Rather than leave you
waiting for more space to open up in
the magazine, or abandoning the extra
material altogether, we felt it was only
proper to provide you with a great
“companion” article to the first.
So, print this out (or leave it on your
screen) and enjoy it alongside WI#268!
alternative), which is a “super strength
gap filling adhesive”, which “does
what it says on the box”. Not all PVA
glue sticks balsa; either use balsa
cement or test your pva glue first.
Also, superglue gives off a nasty
vapour, so wear a mask when using it
or work in a well-ventilated area.
tools & materials
These should all be available
from your local art, hobby, and
sewing stores, failing that they
can typically be found through
various online vendors.
• Cutting mat and steel ruler
• Sharp hobby knife
• 2.5mm thick Balsa wood
• 5mm thick Foamcard
• PVA glue and super glue
• Sewing pins
• Bamboo skewers, cocktail
sticks, match sticks, and a
couble of bamboo beachmats
• Polyfiller (AKA spackle)
• Paints and brushes
 Watch
Tower
Opium Den Beer House Cat House
 Constructing the Watchtower
I recommend you build two of the side
frames at a time.
• From 3mm square section balsa, cut the
Main supports. Lay two of them onto the
scaled plan. Cut the Horizontal beams,
and glue in position with Superglue Gel
- it doesn’t run so there’s less chance of
gluing the frame to the plans!
• Once the glue has set remove the
assembly from the plans. Cut the Outer
diagonal beams and glue in position.
NB: The Inner diagonal beams, if
required, will be added later so they don’t
get in the way of fitting the floors.
• Create a jig from Lego blocks to match
the angle of the sides and simplify
alignment. The angle between the two
frames is the same as the angles of
the sides. Position the two side frame
assemblies. Measure the distance
between the frames and, using
Superglue Gel, glue the middle
frame joining pieces in place.
• Once the glue has dried, remove the
assembly from the jig. Then glue the
lower joining pieces in place.
• Cut the middle floor from sheet balsa.
Cut the access hole. Using a pen, scribe
the plank effect. I added two upper
joining pieces at this stage to strengthen
the model. Glue the floor into position.
• Again, taking measurements from your
model, repeat the above procedure to
create the upper floor.
Constructing the Village Hut
• From 3mm square section balsa cut 4
top uprights. Cut a strip of balsa to the
height of the side panels, ensuring the
grain is vertical. Scribe the planking.
• Cut the sides and glue the first one in
position, followed by the remaining sides.
Glue an upright into each corner.
• Cut out a piece of ‘Colorflute’
(corrugated cardboard), slightly oversized
for the roof. Add a balsa retaining frame
to the underside. And to finish off; a simple hut. The walls WILL, literally fall apart. Don’t ask how threads, which hold them in place don’t
• If you decide you want them, add the are made from a beach mat; the texture I discovered THAT little problem! separate. Once the superglue has dried,
Inner diagonal beams. of which looked perfect for my hut cut out the components and assemble
walls. Made from a raffia type material, Transfer the dimensions including the
them. I used my proven method of Lego
I finished off my watchtower by painting they’re held together by interweaved position of doors and windows, onto
it using a thinned down wood stain. The thin cotton threads. You MUST glue the the mounted beach mat. Run a line of block jig to keep the sides together while
roof I painted black, then drybrushed it mats to a backing material of some sort, superglue along every cutting line, to the glue dried. I added triangular braces
with a dark silver colour. otherwise when you start cutting they ensure that the raffia strips, and the cotton inside for extra stability.