Evan Designs Model Builder Software

Introduction

Hello everyone I was asked by Kevin (TallDude) to do a review of the Model Builder program by Evan Designs. This is a card stock model building program for designing buildings for your layout. So lets get started on it.


Installation

First i would like to say If you have a older computer this program might not run to well on your computer. I am running a older windows XP with 1 gig of ram and i was getting low memory warnings when i first opened it. but it did very well after that. As with most programs nowadays, the more memory (RAM), the better.

The minimum requirements according to the website are:

• Windows 2000, ME, XP or Vista.
• 280MB Hard disk space
• A minimum of 512MB Ram

Using the Software

Now lets talk about building with the program. First thing you need to do before you start trying to work with it is read the manual. Don't put it aside, this will save you a lot of time. Without doing this, you may have a hardtime working your way around in the program. It doesn't take long to read it so take your time and it will help ya in the long run.

This program will work in just about any scale, you just have to choose the scale you want to work with before you start building.

There are a lot of different styles of metal, Brick, and Wood to chooe from to use on your model. as well as lots of different windows, doors, and trim to use for detailing.

I found the program easy to use. And the more you use it, the more you will learn about it. Each time I printed out a building, I discovered something new that i could add to it. The program includes junk piles, electrical boxes, power meters, air compressors, gas meters,and just about anything else you would normally find on the side of a building! The more you play with the software, the more ways you will find to do things.


Screen Shots

Here are some photos i took as i was building one of the models. This is in N scale as i model N scale just gives ya a idea of what the program looks like and what all you can do with it.

This is the start of the program. It is also where you choose the scale you would like to work in.



This is what the builder page looks like. this is also where you will be doing all the building of the model at. as you will see in the next pic's as i start to build one so you can see how it works.



As you see in this photo I have choosen to use one of their buildings but you can make your own but for the review i am going to use one they have already in the program.



As you can see in the photo there are lines showing where you need to bend or fold for the corners. It also shows where to cut for the round top I am using.



Next is the last photo i am using in this review. It shows a lot of the windows doors and the other stuff i will have on my building. you can add anything anywhere on the building you would like and if you don't like it, you can just move it or remove it from your building.

Doors, windows, or other details can be easily moved or resized.

Here is the photo of what i would call an almost ready to print building. I might make one or two changes to it before i would use it but I am just trying to give you something to look at so you know what type of program this is.



Finished Buildings

The following photos are some of the buildings i have built using the Model builder program.











Remember this is 110 Pound card stock paper we are using to make the building out of so you will have some of the roof lines that are not just so so but if you spend a little time you can make them look good.

Summary

I hope you have enjoyed reading my review of this great program. And the guys at Evans will be glad to answer any questions you might have so give them a call or just send them a e-mail. You can find a link to there website on the upper right side of this review. Thanks again and a big Thanks to Evans Designs for supplying us with their program