How to Build a Light House Model

Lighthouses have deep roots in our culture. They are metaphors to represent a divine guiding presence and also act as guardians to our ships and sailors. Creating a model of a lighthouse can be done by hand without the need to go to the local hobby store and spend money on a fully constructed model. Your lighthouse model can be used as part of a train set with an ocean or coastline theme or even submerged and used in an aquarium to give to your fish tank some extra terrain.

Things You'll Need

• 1 24-by-24-inch sheet of stone textured sheet styrene
• 1 12-by-12-inch sheet of balsa wood
• 1 12-by-12-inch sheet of smooth sheet styrene
• Scroll saw
• X-acto knife
• Modeling glue
• Wood glue
• Super glue
• Pencil

Instructions

1. 

   Cut six long, thin trapezoid shapes from a sheet of stone textured sheet styrene. Cut these so that they are 12 inches long, 4 inches wide at the bottom and 3 inches wide at the top. These will act as the walls of the lighthouse. Cut out six more small rectangles that are 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. These will act as the walls for the top of the lighthouse. Use a scroll saw to cut these shapes out quickly.

2. Cut out three 2-inch long and 2-inch wide squares for the walls of the shed that will be attached to the side of the lighthouse. Cut out six triangles from the smooth sheet styrene. These should be 1 inch wide and 1 inch long. These will act as the roof of the lighthouse. Cut out two 2-by-2-inch wide sections for the roof of the shed.

3. 

   Cut out a circle of balsa wood that is 6 inches in diameter. Cut out another circle that is 6 inches in diameter but just an eighth of an inch wide. This will act as the top of the banister for the balcony. Cut out 12 rectangles that are an eighth of an inch wide and a half-inch long for the supports on the banister.

4. Glue the walls of the lighthouse together with modeling glue, and let the walls dry for an hour. Glue the circular floor of the balcony to the top of the lighthouse using super glue. Glue the twelve supports around the outside edge of the floor using wood glue. Let this all dry overnight. Glue the top of the banister to the supports using wood glue.

5. 

   Glue the walls of the top of the lighthouse together using modeling glue. Let this dry for an hour, and then glue the top of the lighthouse to the floor of the balcony using super glue. Glue the triangular pieces of the roof together using modeling glue. Let this dry for and hour, and then glue it to the top of the lighthouse. Let this dry for an hour, and then glue the walls of the shed together using modeling glue. Glue the roof to the top of the shed, and then let the shed sit for an hour. Glue the back of the shed to side of the lighthouse to complete the model.

6. Add diagonal supports to each wall from the balcony by gluing in place a half-inch long, eighth of an inch wide rectangle. Use super glue. After the glue has dried, you may paint the model with acrylic modeling paint.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are going to paint the model, prime the entire model with gray or white acrylic so that the paint will stick.

• Always wear protective goggles when cutting the wood or plastic.

References

• Historic Ships
• Grand T Line

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Photos and descriptions of lighthouses across America.