I started the kit Downtown Deco 1002 Addams Ave Part 2 just before the kids/grandkids came to town last week. Now I'm back at it. Here's the requisite starting pic. Hydrocal walls, some styrene for signs/roof. Signs. Wire. Clear styrene for the few doors and windows. Instructions.
Jeff
Start by squaring the sides/edges of the hydrocal pieces on a piece of flat sandpaper. Make sure you only do the sides without brick/stone detail.
Test fit the windows/doors. clean out any flash (very minor amount) from the openings. Sometimes there's little 'balls' of plaster at the corners/edges to trim out. One window needs shortening as well.
Glue together with five minute epoxy. Sides first then the back. Try to keep everything square (note later you'll see this didn't quite occur here :-[ ). Be VERY gentle with the clamps, as the walls can break with too much pressure (didn't occur here ;D )
Cover the corner gaps with masking tape, leaving just the gap showing, and fill with spackle. This doesn't look perfect when dry/painted, but better than the gap.
Seal the structure with a light coat of white spray can primer. After dry, slop on paint. :D Thinned craft acrylics are applied in a vertical wash, some with more paint than others. Even though the buildings may have all been built at the same time, I like to vary the colors a bit between them. I also do this with the "concrete" color trim later.
I paint a few of the bricks in darker/lighter colors just to give some variation to them. Then use a raw umber wash over the bricks. I just did this on the left two as the only Raw Umber I had was a Windsor Newton Water Mixable Oil paint (I know it sounds weird) and I didn't know if it would work (or how long it would take to dry). Worked OK and dried in a few hours.
Paint the front trims. The cornices, window and door openings. The actual openings are just painted black behind where the actual parts go. Next up will be the raw umber wash on the rest of the surfaces. I've painted the doors/windows and they are drying now. Next will put in the glass.
You'll note the Subject lists "one and a half builds". When looking thru the stash for something to build, I noted I had two Adams Avenue part 3s. Later while clearing files from the computer, I noticed I had actually started one of them. I stopped when I couldn't figure out how to get the double arched windows to work. I couldn't cut the acetate to fit them. I pulled the kit out and tried the Diamond Glaze I've been using for windows and it works! Canopy glue and Gallery Glass didn't seem to be able to spread enough to cover the large windows, especially the arches. So I've pulled this one out to finish it now as well. The problem is I finished the left front of the building ( I think with Robert's Mortar) and the right side with ?. I'm not sure if it's chalk, weathering powder, or what. So we'll figure that out and finish the walls. Notice it's not glued together. I think I wanted to work with the walls flat to get the painted sign on more easily. There will be gaps, but I'll cover them with a downspout or something.
I love seeing "old model recovery stories."
dave
Jeff
Looking good so far. I have these kits on the shelf - I will be following along. I think you will find most of them on the F&SM.
Jeff,
Interesting thread build. I'll be watching. This should be good! Thanx Thom...
Jeff,
I'm along for the ride also. I like the color blends on the walls. Great job!
Tom ;D
Yippee! A Downtown Deco build. I enjoy building these but haven't done nearly enough of them. It'll be a blast following along and might inspire me to break one out. ;)
Neat build Jeff.....I'll be looking in. :)
Quote from: ReadingBob on May 02, 2017, 01:41:30 PM
Yippee! A Downtown Deco build. I enjoy building these but haven't done nearly enough of them. It'll be a blast following along and might inspire me to break one out. ;)
My thoughts echo Bob's. somewhere I have some Downtown Deco Kits.
Jim
Welcome aboard, gentlemen. I've done the raw umber wash. Now to let it dry for a day (the water mixable oil takes longer to dry than plain acrylics, but not nearly as long as normal oil paints). Need to work on the other one for awhile.
Jeff
Oh goodie goodie , long time ago we had a DD build.
Hi Jeff:
looking great so far. I'll be following your build with interest.
Karl
I think I've figured out how I did the mortar on the structure. One side was Robert's with A&I applied afterward, then another thin layer of Robert's mortar. The other was grey chalk or weathering powder. The sides now match. :) The glazed windows are drying, and I'm assembling the walls with 5 minute epoxy. Oddly, I wrote 4/09 inside the wall, must be when I started it. :o Seven years for a structure sounds about my speed.
Jeff ;D
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on May 03, 2017, 02:30:17 PM
... :o Seven years for a structure sounds about my speed.
Jeff ;D
Speedy modeler! I have stuff I started back in the '70s.
dave
Thanks, Dave, that makes me feel better. ;D Used a coat of Robert's Mortar. Windows and doors are in. Still need to tone down the Jade door and shutters a little bit.
Jeff
The double arch windows didn't fit worth a darn. I'm sure I test fitted them seven years ago. ::) You can see a couple of places I slipped with the file while trying to fit them in. A tiny bit of A&I in the boo boos and they'll look like normal brick damage.
Jeff
As I just ordered another Deco kit yesterday, I thought the two kits that have been sitting on the bench for apparently 4 months should be completed. Since starting the new job, I haven't felt like doing much here with the Empire. So I've been dinking around with these two kits for about 3 weeks. Anyhoo, I've gotten the "half build" finished. The next step was the roofs. I always make the same mistake with these kits. I just cut some cardboard for refinforcing, forgetting that a roof has to fit later. So I end up cutting down the cardboard (and prying off glue). I need to pre measure the cardboard and put the plastic pieces the roof rests on BEFORE gluing the walls together. Maybe next time. ::) Also I don't always get a perfectly square building. The little bit of defect in the left lower corner is easily covered up with roofing.
Jeff
Next the top of the castings needed touch up on the taller buildings. For the roof I use thick black enamel paint, and then sift some sand onto it for a gravel roof. I usually do this before putting the roof on. but this time I thought I'd put the roof on and then paint it. This way I could get some "tar" on the walls as well. In the last picture you'll see I got a blob of paint on the wall. It's no biggie, as this wall will face away from the aisle. I don't think I'll do it this way again, however. :o To cover the seam where the walls meet I used a scupper (SS Ltd) and a piece of spaghetti for the downspout. I added some roof details and the two signs on the front and this one is FINALLY finished.
Jeff
That looks really nice Dr. Jeff! :D I love these kits.
I'm tempted to pull out a Downtown Deco kit and build one but there's already a backlog in the queue. ;D ;D ;D
Jeff,
Your large Downtown Deco project is starting to take shape...Looking good sir ! 8)
Tommy
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on August 22, 2017, 02:33:51 PM
Jeff,
Your large Downtown Deco project is starting to take shape...Looking good sir ! 8)
Tommy
Jeff,
I agree, the building are looking very good.
Tom ;D
Nice looking building Jeff.
Hi Jeff:
Looks great so far. Keep the pics coming.
Karl
Thanks, guys. Well, this one is finally finished. The kit has black paper to use as the roof. I hadn't used this before and wanted the four roofs to not all look the same. Two of the roofs are paper, one is tarpaper I had left over from some other kit, and I did one with the black paint and some "gravel".
Jeff
Some roof details were added, then it was on to the signs. Two of the store fronts were to have awnings. But I didn't put one over the Bail bonds. I was lazy, and I think miscreants who need bail should get wet if it rains. ;D The yellow awning was fluorescent yellow, and I wasn't going to use it, but a coat of A&I toned it down. The awning is supposed to have the store sign attached to the front, but as you can see the sign was way too big, the black rectangle is the plastic underlay for the awning.
Jeff
Anyway, like I said, this one is finally done. This will go on the layout in the East Dubuque area. I have FOS' "Bar Crawl" ordered to do next, then I might feel like tackling FOS' "Red Light District".
Jeff
Jeff, Nice modeling on a nice kit. Downtown Deco makes some very nice kits. Hoping to get the O scale Two Stall Engine House soon.
ed
Dr. Jeff,
Most excellent work dude!
Beautiful, very realistic to me.
Thanx Thom...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izrzkS5xxuc
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on May 03, 2017, 02:30:17 PM
I think I've figured out how I did the mortar on the structure. One side was Robert's with A&I applied afterward, then another thin layer of Robert's mortar. The other was grey chalk or weathering powder. The sides now match. :) The glazed windows are drying, and I'm assembling the walls with 5 minute epoxy. Oddly, I wrote 4/09 inside the wall, must be when I started it. :o Seven years for a structure sounds about my speed.
Jeff ;D
Jeff,
Your structure turned out great !...maybe you wrote 409 on the inside wall because you were listening to greatest hits instead, not the date the project was started... ::) ::)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKKP_cZuk54
Tommy
Great Job Jeff, very realistic looking, so realistic , you'd think you had been there more then once ;)
Hi Jeff:
What can I say but Wunderbar!!!!!!
Karl
Nice job!!
Thanks, guys. I feel bad that this build took so long, so I'm posting another Downtown Deco build that I did in a week.
Jeff
Jeff,
Great job on Addams Avenue build. This is one kit I need to get just so I can add it to all the other unbuilt DD kits.
Tom ;D
Looks good, nice job!
Gorgeous work, I've been thinking about getting a few of these and your build really convinced me.
Great job Dr. Jeff. I like the coloring a lot. I need to build one of these for a change of pace.
Looking good!