Bar Mills Cundy Village Hotel

Started by Jim Donovan, July 20, 2020, 11:44:39 PM

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Jim Donovan

To add a little richness to the slat boards under the second and third floors as well as the entrance facade I took gold leaf and using a sponge wiped it across a board then quickly wiped the gold leaf off. The result was the gold leaf stayed in the recessed etched part of the board but was almost completely removed from the rest of the board. The look is more like a ball peen hammered copper for the etched parts. It is subtle but easy to see. I also used the gold leaf on the roof fence to give it a green copper look.

The work needed for this part of the kit is straight forward but time consuming. There are over 100 parts involved for just the tower. Be Extremely careful in handling, sorting and keeping the various parts safe, they have minds of their own and can get lost in an instant and there are no spares. I spent more than a few minutes under the table with a flashlight until I wised up, used a putty stick to pick up the parts in place of tweezers and put all parts in small trays and out of the way unless being used.

The time spent was fun and well worth it since the tower will be the focal point of the front of the hotel. The directions suggest not painting until the kit is essentially made in order to speed up the building process. I disagree, a kit with this much detail needs to be shown off. Painting, before assembling allows many complimentary colors to be used and create a detailed result that can not be matched if the kit is painted after being built.

So here are the pictures with all windows, trim and front facade in place. I have set the tower on the foundation for the photos. Further the the two upper floors are not glued to the bottom two as they need to be kept separate until the hotel roof is put in place.  I broke one window fiddling with it and a couple of window frames look like they need to be re-set (using glue instead of the tape) but anyhow you will get an idea were the kit is at.









We will be traveling for a little while so I'll get back on this when we get home.
Holland & Odessa Railroad

postalkarl

Hey Jim:

The tower look just beautiful with it's interior and lighting.

Karl

PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

jrmueller

Jim as I may have said before, I am embarrassed when I compare my hotel to yours. Wait till you get to the dormers on the main roof!
Jim Mueller
Superintendent(Retired)
Westchester and Boston Railroad

Opa George

Jim, that is gorgeous and really shows the work you put into it.  I'm really enjoying following along, and I totally agree with pre-painting the detail parts before assembly rather than after, in order to get that exquisite extra oomph in the detail.  Beautiful work!
--Opa George

Jim Donovan

Karl;

I have to ask, when do you sleep? 3 am and you are looking at the Modelers Forum? Wow.

Thanks for the compliment and encouragement. I think the tower will add to the overall hotel. It was almost like a dry run for the main event, the hotel portion. I have not jumped around on the building but followed the steps suggested by Art at Bar Mills which I think helped a lot. While I did not take all his suggestions I did read though the instructions many times and watched the build video that is on YouTube that Daryl provided. Learned a lot from both.

So next up the main hotel. I already know I will be deviateing and adding a lot of detail. We will see how it goes.

Jim D
Holland & Odessa Railroad

Jim Donovan

Thank you Curt appreciate the positive feedback. Once Deb and I finish the move to Florida I will be able to get back on this project. I have carefully packed the partially assembled kit along with all the tools paints, glass and so on needed to finish it. Of course I have duplicates of most already at the Florida house so we will be well stocked. Still, I will miss the little work bench and sitting on the deck modeling. :'(

Jim D
Holland & Odessa Railroad

Jim Donovan

Hi Jim;

Thank you for the encouragement and compliments. That said, I have seen your work and I consider it a top honor for you to think what I have built so far compares well with your work. I will try to keep it the quality up.

Thanks

Jim D
Holland & Odessa Railroad

ACL1504

Jim,

Getting caught up on the build. Fantastic job sir. Very well done. Look forward to seeing you both in September.

Tom ;D
"If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."
Thomas Jefferson

Tom Langford
telsr1@aol.com

Jim Donovan

Opa George thanks for following along and your input. This laser kit is unusual for Bar Mills, almost like it was designed by someone else. The fine detailed parts are like building a box car made of etched brass parts. By cleaning, sanding where needed, painting, staining and adding fine touch up to the parts beforehand really has allowed me to highlight the detailing and craftsmanship that went into the design and manufacturing of this structure. They outdid themselves on this one, I hope to make sure the final result shows it.

Jim D
Holland & Odessa Railroad

Jim Donovan

Hi Tom!

You caught me just responding to everyone. The forum's daily chat group has become my go to people to carefully read your builds and how you folks achieve the incredible results displayed. So if you like what you see you, thank you, I have learned from the best, with you at the head of the table.

Deb and I are looking forward to visiting. I will call to set up a time when we get settled back into the Florida house. From what I have seen, the mighty A & S has become an even more amazing transportation railroad empire. Looking forward to seeing you again.

Jim D :D

Holland & Odessa Railroad

Jerry

Jim just reading this thread a beautiful job on that tower and the lighting.


Jerry
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." A. Lincoln

NKP768


Jim Donovan

Thanks Jerry and Doug;

We have been doing a lot of stuff around house so progress has been slow but I have enough to report at this point.
Holland & Odessa Railroad

Jim Donovan

With the tower finished as much as can be, time to work on the main structure. First up is making windows, lots of them, each with six laser cut parts that need to be glued together with each other. They come with tape on their back so they are 'just' need to be accurately placed correctly in the order shown in the directions. To accomplished this I needed to wear magnifying glasses. Keeping with the color scheme I first air brushed the frames and mullions the trim green color I have been using (Folkart Crocodile green). The Upper and lower trim pieces were airbrushed using Ceramcoat Charcoal Black. Then the parts were carefully removed using a single straight edge. The thinner blade on it compared to the #7 Exo Knife works much better. Use a fresh blade and change it when it starts tearing. I went through two blades as the material is tough, especially once painted. There are 16 windows so 96 parts total for this section. Make sure to keep track of the parts, some are very small and try to get lost. There are no extras provided.



Holland & Odessa Railroad

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