Shingling a conical roof

Surprised you haven't had any help/reply so far, Dave...

For me....yes, once, in HO.

The only decent way to make it look right is......one shingle at a time.  The geometrics are too complicated to deal with laying out strips, or similar, in the flat.  Besides, it's the way the 1:1 pros would approach a job like that.

One thing that would help, however, is to prepare the basic conical subroof with shingle row lines.  THAT can sometimes be done more easily in the 'flat' stage.  If your cone is prefabbed but not yet fixed in place on the structure, you can do what the model shipbuilders do in marking the waterline on a hull....place the item firmly and squarely on the center of a flat surface, then use a surface block with adjustable arm that can hold a pencil, pen, scratch awl....whatever...to mark concentric rings around the cone.   Sounds involved, but it's not, really.

After the shingle rows are marked, however, it's one.....shingle....at....a...time.   =lots of patience, an occasional glass of Merlot, soothing background music, a well-depleted honey-do list, a clean report from your last physical, kids all graduated from college with all debts paid and jobs paying six figures, ................just kidding.  It didn't take long in HO.  The roof wasn't too big, but the shingles were small (Optivisor and tweezers mandatory.)  I suppose O scale would be somewhat easier, in fact, depending on the size of the structure.

Good luck!  Share some pics when done!

KD

Yes. It also depends on the severity of the angle of the cone.  But, individual shingles cut at angles is really the best way to approach this getting somewhat narrower as you go up the cone.

Done a few and it's tedious or Zen-like, and best complemented by good relaxing music and a beverage of your choice secured in a non-spill safe location.

Thanks, Why did I know 2 of the best modelers would "wait until the smoke clears" and respond with their expertise. I kinda thought the prototype method was the right one, so that's what I used. One at a time. No time for the "shakes" though, as it's tedious.  Below is a photo.

Now that the best have responded. I concure with their advice and would add the following. Remember the geometry. for the height of the single you are dealing with the hypotenuse of the triangle you are covering. This value will be the same for all the singles. However the circumference of the roof between the bottom of the shingle and the top of the shingle will vary for each row. If you get a circle template from an art store and after marking the row bottoms from from bottom to top, you may be able to lay the template over the roof and mark the diameter at multiple row lines. This will enable you to calculate the number of shingles you will need.

Pick a side of the roof that will least be seen and apply yuor shingles so that the row ends up meeting on that side. The last shingle will probasbly need to be trimed at that point.  After a few rows you will be an expert. Just remember to mark and check the bottom of the row distance from the base so your rows are even.

Les Lewis

and from my roofer friend, the GAF Technical bulletin. One uses a string line from the top to lay out the guide lines and "zones" for sizes. May help, just scale it down.

Still, it's one shingle at a time.

I sorta did some of the above suggestions. I hand laid cedar cigar flitches, glued to cardstock. I did use too heavy cardstock and when I do it again, will back the thin cedar to paper to prevent spliting. Overall, I'm happy with it for the 1st time attempt. Thanks for your input.

Dave G.

What is the round room made from? Soda Can? Oatmeal box?

Our 1889 "Queen Ann" house has a large "turret", and I think the roofer cut the slots up higher on the shingle sections. 18 years later, no leaks.

The round portion is a mailing tube and the conical roof is part of a vanilla folder. then individual cedar shakes glued on. The spire is the top cap of a testor glue bottle.  Save stuff!

Dave .