Micro-Mark sells a 3 size set that works well.

http://www.micromark.com/3-pie...-wheel-set,6668.html

Al,

Thanks, but I don't need three. I need 1 that will simulate nail holes in O-scale: Two holes per o-scale clap board building siding.

Micromark...Not a fan

Bruce,

It really depends on the width of the exposed boards in your siding.

With 1/4" siding and two nail holes per board, that would come out to a 1/8" spacing between impressions.

I'd have to check what is available in clapboard width on the commercial siding. Actually, 1/4" would be on the wide side. It would represent 12" boards.

If you could find 1/8" siding, then a 1/16" spacing would work.

It might get tricky keeping the spacing on the narrower boards. Then again, you could just use a pointed object and make them freehand. It wouldn't take as long as you might think, and would allow for any irregularities.

Jim

Jim,

Thanks, your reply is helpful.

It's a BAR MILLS tavern kit. I think I will take your advice and do it by hand, because I only want it to show in a few places. Look at most buildings and you don't see too many nail indentations.

You might need more than one however.  As Jim noted, it depends.  The clapboard that I have in my shop from Kappler (and others) is 1/8" and 3/32" exposure.  Depending on what you buy and where you get it, you may end up with different sizes.  I use both sizes and at times have even mixed sizes to represent additions to buildings.

OTOH, you could go all the way to board by board and make your own clapboard.  Done it a few times and while tedious, it makes a very distinctive appearance and you can totally control the exposure, too.

Just Google pounce wheel - lots of sources......

If I do it by hand, how far apart would I want to space the rows of nails in O-scale? I think in 1:1 that they'd be 16" center to center?

Bruce,

Theoretically, they would be 16" on center, but, except for the most rundown of buildings, all of them would not be visible.

You might want to consider doing them only where rusting or loss of paint is most likely.

Another approach is to represent them only in certain areas. This is similar to the representation of windows in the following backdrop painting (Click to expand it so you can see the windows better).

The painting was intended to give the impression of windows without painting every single window opening in the entire building. The idea was not to do a precise sketch where every window placement was exact, but to just give an impression of windows. In fact, the buildings themselves were just to be rough impressions of distant buildings - the details are reserved for foreground buildings.

If you can get past the Superman and King Kong in the photo (sorry!!!), the choice of doing only the upper left corner might indicate that sunlight was reflecting off the glass in such a way that these areas were most prominent.

Similarly, the nail head indentations might only be visible at certain angles. If you do every single nail head, any irregularities in placement might stick out like a sore thumb. But, by doing only a few selected areas you might be able to give the impression that all are there.

Maybe they would be most visible on walls that angle away from the viewer, but not on those perpendicular to the viewers line of sight. Or maybe, you might decide just the opposite gives a better effect.

This approach might take some experimentation and not be for everyone, but sometimes the "artistic" approach is better than a precise "engineering" approach.

Just something to think about.

16" on center?  Well, that's a bit of a maybe.  I've torn down old houses where the studs wall was on anything from 14"-20". 

Visible?  Well, that another maybe.  Try this for fun - go calculate how big an 8p or 10p nail is in O scale.  I know all this ever so great HO modelers that love to tout the beauty of nails in their clapboard, but if you figure out how small they are, you might reconsider making them so ridiculously prominent.

Visible?  Last time I did clapboard it was indeed 2 nails at the studs just like that pounce wheel will get you and all those ever so greats love.  Except, 1 of the nails, the upper nail, was always covered over by the next course of clapboard, and the "exposed" one was set and puttied over. 

But don't reality rain on making nail holes,

Apply that same reasoning to creating a textured surface to simulate concrete.

Great replies, guys. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Bruce