I decided to build this department store. The usual difficult process of trying to glue the walls together without getting glue everywhere.
The clamps came in useful and I used wires threaded throgh the windows to hold the main wall together while the glue takes.
The idea is to make the most of the four/five floors which are highly visible through the front windows of the department store as scene stealer..........
A bit of history for Magnuson were sold to Walthers, DPM were sold to Woodland Scenics and they were all started by Don Lunde; who has now a new company Lunde Studios. A great bit of re-cycling...............
Mike
Here's a trick to consider for that kind of difficult assembly: Use something like Walthers Goo or a similar tacky glue to hold the walls in place, then lock them down with thin CA. I've used this on resin car kits and it works well.
I'm glad to see someone doing a Lunde kit, I have a couple of them that I haven't started.
dave
Thanks Dave, that is my method at the moment and it seems to work. Now where is the acetone to clean my hands from CA?
Mike
Wow. I was born and raised in York, PA and it is the home of The Bon Ton Department store. They just filed for bankruptcy and will be a bit of nostalgic history before too long. As I was growing up it was the home to the real Santa Claus. I have a photo of Santa arriving at the Bon Ton from the late 1950's. I also have a Jordan hook and ladder that I hope to recreate Santa's arrival from that photo. In the 50's and 60's they would animate the store windows and it was a big draw to the downtown shoppers. I will try to post a photo. May I suggest a Google of "the bon ton York PA" for some archival resources.
You bet that I'll be following this build.
Quote from: madharry on May 17, 2018, 01:48:41 PM
Thanks Dave, that is my method at the moment and it seems to work. Now where is the acetone to clean my hands from CA?
Mike
Nail Polish Remover is diluted acetone with some extra additives to make it easier on your skin.
dave
Mike,
I'm following along also. Though I don't have any Lunde kits, I've always liked what they offered. Great start.
Tom ;D
Following along , I have 2 Lunde N-scale kits.
Quote from: gleiphart on May 17, 2018, 03:07:47 PM
Wow. I was born and raised in York, PA and it is the home of The Bon Ton Department store. They just filed for bankruptcy and will be a bit of nostalgic history before too long. As I was growing up it was the home to the real Santa Claus. I have a photo of Santa arriving at the Bon Ton from the late 1950's. I also have a Jordan hook and ladder that I hope to recreate Santa's arrival from that photo. In the 50's and 60's they would animate the store windows and it was a big draw to the downtown shoppers. I will try to post a photo. May I suggest a Google of "the bon ton York PA" for some archival resources.
You bet that I'll be following this build.
Thanks very much I will look into this..................
Mike :)
Thanks Tom I hope you are back to speed and also Jan...............are our countries contesting junior soccer? ......................
It is crazy here with Meghan and Harry fever..................
Mike
Quote from: madharry on May 17, 2018, 05:30:07 PM
..are our countries contesting junior soccer? ......................
Mike
Not anymore , we won ;)
Quote from: Janbouli on May 17, 2018, 06:52:17 PM
Quote from: madharry on May 17, 2018, 05:30:07 PM
..are our countries contesting junior soccer? ......................
Mike
Not anymore , we won ;)
Yes on penalities............hmmm
Mike
Continuing............
The two picture walls on the Bon Ton had a small gap which I filled with putty.
The method of successfully glueing the walls together is as suggested by Dave. Use a tacky glue first and then follow up with CA. The model kit shown is another Lunde kit I'm working on.................
One of the doors on the kit was warped and as Tom suggested the best way to handle this is use hot water. I used an empty metal pie dish and added boiling water and hey presto the part straightens itself.......
Mike
Continuing...............
I never throw anything away according to my wife. These canopies came courtesy of Bar Mills Sweaty Betty's kit . However they were too small for the main display windows. So I just enlarged them 40% or so on my photocopier.
The roof is fairly simple. It just needs painting and the air conditioning units and chimney added..........
Mike
Continuing...........
I added aetate glazing to all the windows. I would suggest in hindsight that you do this while the walls are flat..........hmmm
I have added a foamboard floor to the ground floor of the building together with the main doors.
I have used two extra layers of foamboard to the areas behind the big display windows.
Mike
Great job so far Mike.
Thanks Curt.
I have added a green carpet to the ground floor leading from the doors. The display windows have had backing added and I have started adding a display.
I am using Scalescenes downloadable "Interior Detail". First off a window with two electic ovens, one gas oven and a washing machine. I am glueing the printed detail sheet to card to make up the items.
Mike
For another of the display windows I decided to make three sofas. Using the Scalescenes kit each sofa is formed of four pieces covered over by printed sides. In the pictures you can see the sofa arms ready for their cover pieces. The backs and sides are already constructed. Finally the sofas were glued together and then placed inside the window display.
Mike
Very cool Mike. I'm going to check that company out.
your build is coming along nicely! I've got this one on the shelf but have yet to tackle it.
The furniture looks great Mike, cool window displays
Mike
love the look of those city buildings. Some times we get so caught up in the caricature we forget that all cities and towns had brick buildings on main street
I have built some Scalescenes kits and they are really nice I have the same interiors set
Dick
I forgot to mention they have some great textures. I used the plywood for my lumber shed.
Mike
Very nice work.
Hi Mike:
I do have to say you have great patience. I'm always intrigued by your builds.
Karl
Thanks Curt, Bob, Dick, Jan, John and Karl for your very kind comments.
Mike :)
For the big corner window I decided on a ladies fashions theme. I painted up some female Preiser figures and some hand bags / satchels and glued them to a plinth. Trying to glue five figures straight with tweezers from inside the top of the building was not going to work. I then glued some abstract paintings behind the figures.
Now only another 3 or 4 floors to go................hmmm
Mike
I pondered how much work would be involved in populating at least four floors within the department store with sofas, beds, TV's etc. I concluded that it would be a waste of valuable time if you could not see the details.
So a first for me. I soldered two wires to a strip of LED's and located them on the inside far corner wall of the store.
Mike
There are four floors at the Bon Ton. This is the bedding department which is having a sale. The lift shaft is in the middle, the salesman is trying to get a sale from an older couple and a young couple are waiting to grab a bargain! Scalescenes furniture, Preiser figures and some advertising downloaded from the net reduced to 49% on the copier.
Mike
wow Mike- some serious work going on here! This beauty better be up front! ha ha! Your build is giving me inspiration for a build of my own that has some detailed interiors!
Thanks very much Bob.
The scalescenes kits take a lot of time but I am only going to build this once........... The structure will feature right upfront on a tram layout. A Magnoral cyclist will peddle around it................so the time spent will be worth it in the end. I am testing the look in a darkened room to make sure the LED's light the building correctly and there is not light leaking from the walls.
Mike :)
Here are a couple of pictures showing the lighting so far............difficult too see the effect because of the flash.........
Time to seal up the first three floors. The lift shaft determines the separation between the floors...........
I have been busy making more goods to sell - sofas, armchairs, fridges, ovens, wardrobes and bookcases..........
Mike
Your Bon Ton is coming out well. I met Mr. Lunde at the Amerst (W. Springfield, MA) show a couple of years ago and bought one of his kits (not yet built). He also had a table this year.
Looking very nice Mike.
Mike
The interior detail looks great!
Great detail Mike
Thanks very much James, Curt, John and Jan.........
Pressing on here is the next floor. The floor is made of 3mm foamboard. It could be called something completely different. It is a thin foam sandwich with outer layers in thin card. It is very light and easily cut with a blade. I measure a floor then cover it with Scalescenes flooring detail and then add the furniture and figures. The lift/elevator shaft in the middle is foamboard cut to a scale height of 8 feet and covered in kitchen foil with doors added. It supports the next floor and I add PVA to the top of the lift shaft to glue the floors together. I add view blocks of foamboard to the lift shaft to prevent the viewer from seeing the LED's in the far corner. The view blocks are covered in pictures of window displays downloaded from the net to create the illusion that there is more to be seen.............
Mike
I'm finished.
The last floor had 22 pieces of merchandise and a few figures fitted. I added the canopies to the front together with the signs and finally the roof.
Unfortunately I have nowhere to pose it at the moment. The pictures do not really do it justice as the flash cancels out the LED's. There are ten LED's fitted along with sixteen figures and over a hundred pieces of Scalescenes items - sofas, armchairs, mattresses, beds, divans, bookcases, wardrobes, chests, ovens, washing machines etc....
suffice to say I got to use a lot of cardboard and quite a few blades......................
Mike
Awesome job, needs a place right up front to show off all the details
Dick
Thanks Dick the kit was a lot of fun. I hope to plant it right upfront so it can be appreciated.
Mike :)
It's a work of art Mike. Very well done.
Thanks Curt, all my mates at the model railway club loved it. Thanks once again for the compliments.
Mike :)
Mike
It turned out fantastic - as I said before the interior detail adds another dimension to the build.
Great work Mike.....wonderful interiors. 8)
Quote from: S&S RR on June 05, 2018, 07:40:58 AM
Mike
It turned out fantastic - as I said before the interior detail adds another dimension to the build.
Thanks John, it was a lot of work but I think worth it in the end.
Mike :)
Quote from: GPdemayo on June 05, 2018, 08:27:50 AM
Great work Mike.....wonderful interiors. 8)
Thanks Greg. Forgetting the man hours the price of the interiors was peanuts and adds another dimension.
Mike :)
Mike,
Well done, very well done indeed.
Tom ;D
Tom,Thanks very much. I'm now going back to try my hand at ship building............
Mike ;)
Nice job on the interior and the exterior, Mike.
Jeff
Much appreciated Jeff. Thanks very much.Mike :)
hey Mike have you tried one of the scalescenes boat kits?
Dick
Quote from: dick green on June 06, 2018, 08:21:25 AM
hey Mike have you tried one of the scalescenes boat kits?
Dick
Hi Dick,
No sorry I have not.
Mike