Time for another plaster, or more properly Hydrocal, build. I have already done one Downtown Deco kit- the Trackside Bar, and I really enjoyed building it. I thought that I would try a larger building this time and I like the look of the Syzdek Mfg structure, so here we go...
I placed my order with Downtown Deco and saw that if I added another smaller kit I could get free shipping, so I also ordered the First Timers Bar. When the order arrived I discovered a third box labeled "bonus"
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The bonus box contained a bag of hydrocal castings- a very pleasant surprise.
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Here are the contents of the First Timers bar kit. Typical for a Downtown Deco kit- four walls, some Tichy windows and doors and some signs.
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Here are the contents of the Syzdek kit- a lot of big walls
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The first step with all of these kits in sanding the flash from the edges and then making sure that the windows and doors fit their respective spaces. I had to do a lot of scraping, filing and sanding to get the windows to fit into the recesases in the molded walls.
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Making sure that the walls are square helps when fitting them together and also reduces the size of the gaps that will need to be filled after the walls are glued.
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When I built the Trackside bar I first primed and painted the walls before assembling them. After watching some videos, I decided to first assemble the walls and then do the painting. I learned that the bare hydrocal walls will glue together better if unpainted. Something about the bare plaster absorbing the glue, or the 5 minute epoxy which I used, easier than a painted surface. I thought that with the larger sized walls of this kit that I would try to build it this way. Here are the first two walls after gluing.
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As the instructions say when gluing the second side wall, make sure that the rear wall fits into the space properly. Plaster doesn't bend. Here the second wall is curing and the rear wall is just being held in the space. I had to do a little sanding to fit the rear wall properly.
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And here is the rear wall after gluing.
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On my previous plaster kit I used drywall joint compound to fill the gaps in the assembled walls. After watching a Doug Foscale video I decided to try to fill the gaps with the hydrocal dust I accumulated when prepping the walls to fill the gaps. I mixed the dust with a little water and filled the gaps with that mixture. I'm not sure if this method is better than the joint compound. I'm sure that I will do a better job the next time I try this method
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That's it for now, more later.
I'm going to grab a seat in the front row before Terry and Greg get here. I love Downtown Deco kits. Looking forward to seeing what you can do with this one Jeff!
Two homemade tools work well on plaster kits. The first is sandpaper glued to paint paddles, making a "sanding file." The second is sandpaper glued to a stone (so it's honed flat) tile.
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The 'sanding files' work well to dress the edges. I try to file a couple degrees more acute than 90, and then use wood bracing to square up the corners and add strength. The 'sanding tile' works well to even out the backs, and when the structure is assembled, to even out the base so the structure sits flat.
dave
I'm following along on this one. Have never done a Hydrocal/resin kit so I 'm anxious to follow slong.
I had to take a seat in the second row cuz Reading took cuts in the admission line...he better watch out at intermission tho.
Terry
Looking good, Terry.
Like Dave, I file my corners a little past 90 degrees. You should get slightly better seams this way. I also add bracing to the corners when gluing. If you add painters tape to each side of the seam before filling you should be able to get a lot less plaster where you don't want it. I also use this method on resin and plastic kits, using putty to fill. Looking forward to watching your progress.
Cheers, Mark.
Looks like I'll be in the back of the room watching this one as I'm joining late. :) Looking forward to your builds.
Jeff
Quote from: ReadingBob on June 22, 2024, 10:44:00 AMI'm going to grab a seat in the front row before Terry and Greg get here. I love Downtown Deco kits. Looking forward to seeing what you can do with this one Jeff!
Hello Bob, Downtown Deco kits are great. The assembly process has become well covered on the forum, I'm trying several different techniques on this build- using Hydrocal dust to fill gaps being one and assembling the walls before painting being another. We'll see how it all works out.
Hello Dave, thanks for including info and pictures about sanding for this type of kit. I hadn't heard about sanding past 90 degrees before, I can see how this would work as an advantage. Good advice from you, as always
Quote from: Vietnam Seabee on June 22, 2024, 01:20:39 PMI'm following along on this one. Have never done a Hydrocal/resin kit so I 'm anxious to follow slong.
I had to take a seat in the second row cuz Reading took cuts in the admission line...he better watch out at intermission tho.
Terry
Hello Terry, don't wait any longer, these hydrocal kits are a lot of fun and they let you exercise your modeling muscles a little in a different area.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on June 22, 2024, 04:22:37 PMLooking good, Terry.
Like Dave, I file my corners a little past 90 degrees. You should get slightly better seams this way. I also add bracing to the corners when gluing. If you add painters tape to each side of the seam before filling you should be able to get a lot less plaster where you don't want it. I also use this method on resin and plastic kits, using putty to fill. Looking forward to watching your progress.
Cheers, Mark.
hello Mark, I used the painters tape when I applied joint compound in the seams of a previous kit. I watched a Doug Foscale video and saw him use the hydrocal dust, so I thought I would try it on this build.
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on June 22, 2024, 07:27:14 PMLooks like I'll be in the back of the room watching this one as I'm joining late. :) Looking forward to your builds.
Jeff
Hello Jeff, I followed along on your Downtown Deco build threads and learned a great deal from them. Thanks for looking in.
Continuing on...
Here the rear wall has been glued in place. The footprint is not perfectly square, but close enough for government work.
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I sprayed the assembled walls with a rattle can flat grey primer, it took two coats for good coverage. I sprayed both coats lightly. The seams don't look too bad. After the hydrocal dust set up I dragged a wire bristle brush across the seam in the direction of the brick seams and also tried to clean up any clumps of plaster.
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After letting the spray paint dry overnight, I then used a 50/ 50 mix of burnt sienna and water for the base color coat. I like that you can see some of the grey color through the base coat.
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Next I dry brushed some raw sienna, dark cocoa and a litttle brick red to give the wall some color variation.
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I then applied a couple of signs from my stash. I sanded the back of the paper signs slightly and then used white glue to apply them to the wall. I then used my thumb to press the sign into the brick surface and also used the rounded end of my tweezers to burnish the sign into the wall surface. I also sponged on a little dark brown color to the signs to help them look old.
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Next I sprayed the windows and doors with a rattle can camo green color.
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Next up was the annex building. This part of the kit has three walls that are meant to be glued to the side of the main structure. In the pictures provided with the kit the annex looks like it is supposed to fit squarely on the main building, but as you can see in the picture the two annex side walls are different lengths. One wall was 3/8 inch longer thabn the other.
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After sanding and squaring the walls I started gluing them together with the epoxy.
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As you can see below I didn't try to make the side walls the same length. The 3/8 inch difference was too much to sand and I didn't want to cut the wall, so I decided to let the rear wall overlap the rear wall of the main structure. As you can also see, I made a fourth wall from 1/16th inch plywood and glued it in place for added stability. You can also see the 1/8 inch square stripwood that I used for corner bracing and for roof supports.
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Next I sprayed the assembled walls with a rattle can tan color. I wanted the two buildings to look a little different and thought the different color would help.
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That's it for now, more later.
Bit late to the build Jeff.....neat kit, looking forward to seeing it built. :)
Jeff,
I'm late right behind Greg. I'm looking in on this one as I have many of Randy's kits.
Great start to this one.
Tom
Russ Greene (NE Brownstone) told me once, "If you're cleaning up hydrocal, lightly mist/wet the casting where you're working and you're less likely to get unwanted chipping." That works well when cleaning little blobs off the casting and cleaning out the window openings.
dave
Hi Jeff.
First - sorry for my confusion and calling you Terry, earlier.
Your project is coming on very well and is interesting to follow along. Most of my work with Randy's kits is with some of his 'boneyard castings'. These, at least, required a lot of work to achieve good results.
QuoteI used the painters tape when I applied joint compound in the seams of a previous kit. I watched a Doug Foscale video and saw him use the hydrocal dust, so I thought I would try it on this build.
I understand that you tried a different filler. I'm just a little confused why you couldn't still tape the seams and keep the majority of the mess off the walls.
I think using hydrocal dust may mean that the filled section will be exactly the same as the rest of the wall once properly dried. In that way it would sand, file and take paint exactly the same. Of course you can always take a leaf out of George Sellios book and hide the seams with downpipes, electrical wiring, signage, ivy, exterior pipework etc. I was studying one of George's use of a Trains of Texas wall recently and it is incredible how well he has disguised, or diverted attention away from all the splice lines. Its worth considering this method. Those seams can be quite time consuming to disguise well, but if careful filling and fitting can keep the seam to a minimum, then one well placed downpipe or electrical wire after the structure is painted can completely hide the seam and save a lot of extra work.
Enjoying your thread. Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: GPdemayo on June 23, 2024, 01:10:20 PMBit late to the build Jeff.....neat kit, looking forward to seeing it built. :)
Hello Greg, thanks for looking in. This is a neat looking kit, I wanted to do a larger Downtown Deco build and this one looked to me that it would be right at home on my layout.
Quote from: ACL1504 on June 23, 2024, 03:17:25 PMJeff,
I'm late right behind Greg. I'm looking in on this one as I have many of Randy's kits.
Great start to this one.
Tom
Hello Tom, I'm not surprised that you have many of Randy's kits. I look forward to a build thread by you on one of them.
Quote from: deemery on June 23, 2024, 04:22:22 PMRuss Greene (NE Brownstone) told me once, "If you're cleaning up hydrocal, lightly mist/wet the casting where you're working and you're less likely to get unwanted chipping." That works well when cleaning little blobs off the casting and cleaning out the window openings.
dave
Hello Dave, thanks for another good tip on building a hydrocal kit.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on June 23, 2024, 07:24:53 PMHi Jeff.
First - sorry for my confusion and calling you Terry, earlier.
Your project is coming on very well and is interesting to follow along. Most of my work with Randy's kits is with some of his 'boneyard castings'. These, at least, required a lot of work to achieve good results.
QuoteI used the painters tape when I applied joint compound in the seams of a previous kit. I watched a Doug Foscale video and saw him use the hydrocal dust, so I thought I would try it on this build.
I understand that you tried a different filler. I'm just a little confused why you couldn't still tape the seams and keep the majority of the mess off the walls.
I think using hydrocal dust may mean that the filled section will be exactly the same as the rest of the wall once properly dried. In that way it would sand, file and take paint exactly the same. Of course you can always take a leaf out of George Sellios book and hide the seams with downpipes, electrical wiring, signage, ivy, exterior pipework etc. I was studying one of George's use of a Trains of Texas wall recently and it is incredible how well he has disguised, or diverted attention away from all the splice lines. Its worth considering this method. Those seams can be quite time consuming to disguise well, but if careful filling and fitting can keep the seam to a minimum, then one well placed downpipe or electrical wire after the structure is painted can completely hide the seam and save a lot of extra work.
Enjoying your thread. Cheers, Mark.
Hello Mark, I'm not sure why I didn't use tape when filling the seams, I guess I got caught up in the moment trying to use the hydrocal mix before it set up. I am planning on using some of the seam hiding tricks that you spoke of- stay tuned and thanks for looking in and for the informative input.
Continuing on...
I next painted the annex building with a watered down brick red color for the base coat after priming. I wanted this part of the build to look a little different than the main building.
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I then dry brushed an orange and brown color onto the walls for some color variation.
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Here is how the two buildings will look when joined. You can see the slight color difference and also see how the rear wall of the annex overlaps the back of the main building. I'm still not sure if this is how it's supposed to look or not. The pictures I've seen of the kit never seem to show this view. It's a pet peeve of mine that manufacturers do not show all sides of a kit in pictures promoting the kit.
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Here's a view of the third annex wall after painting.
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Here are a few more looks at the annex walls. I used a light grey wash on the bottom foundation part of the walls and a brown color with antique gold highlights on the boarded up windows.
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Here's a look at the front of the two buildings. I want to do something with the space in front of the annex. I saw a terrific build thread of this kit by Tom W. on this forum dated October, 2021 and he did a great job depicting the remnants of a old building in this space. Since I want my version to look a little more like it's an active business, I'm going to do something a little bit different.
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That's it for now, more later. I'm going back to Ohio for the wedding of one of my grandsons, see you in about 10 days.
Jeff, will follow along. Have a safe trip and look forward to more progress when you return.
Tommy
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on June 24, 2024, 06:41:30 PMJeff, will follow along. Have a safe trip and look forward to more progress when you return.
Tommy
Hello Tommy, thanks for looking in. I'm back from my trip for the grandson's wedding, the wedding and the rest of the time in Ohio was a lot of fun, but I can only think of one thing to say about the trip there and back- air travel sucks.
As shown in the last picture posted, there is a large empty space in front of the annex building after it is joined to the main structure. As I said, since I want my build of this kit to reflect an active business, I decided to scratchbuild a covered loading dock for the area.
As with all of my scratchbuilds, I first made a drawing of the area to the dimensions available and then cut various pieces of stripwood for the deck of the loading dock. I used a variety of sizes for the deck- 2x12, 2x10, 2x8 and a few 2x6. It's not shown in the picture, but I placed a piece of blue painters tape down the middle of the deck pieces to hold them in place while I glued on the long end pieces of bracing.
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Next I laid out bracing for the underside of the dock. I think that I used 3/32 stripwood for this.
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I cut 1/2 inch long 1/8 stripwood for the support posts and then glued them in place.
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Next I started gluing in place all of the tiny brace pieces between the posts. I used 2x4 stripwood for this.
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With the deck complete, I next started on the back wall of the covered loading dock. I again drew a scale drawing and then laid out the studs and cross beam pieces. The wall is as wide as the deck and it is 2 and 1/2 inches tall. I wanted the roof line to be 3 inches above the ground and the deck with the posts is 1/2 inch tall. This wall will be placed right against the plaster front wall of the annex building. The large open space in the lower middle is for two barn style doors that I will model in the open position.
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Next I laid out the front wall of the covered loading dock on the same drawing, with the top of the front wall 1/2 inch lower than the top of the rear wall. I used 3/32 square stripwood for these pieces.
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Here's a view of the rear wall after the doors were glued in place and the wall was stained with my A&I solution. I used 1/16 thick plywood for the doors and 2x4 stripwood for the trim pieces.
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I then made another scale drawing for the two side walls of the covered loading dock assembly. You can also see that I placed a piece of black construction paper behind the open doors. I didn't want to attempt to cut a door opening in the plaster wall of the annex and since the rear wall of the dock is mostly hidden, I'm hoping that the black paper will give the impression of an opening in the wall and a darkened interior.
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Here's the partially completed covered loading dock in place next to the plaster buildings. I've drawn lines on the roof card for the rolled roofing that I will install there.
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That's it for now, more later.
When I ordered this kit from Downtown Deco I saw that I could get free shipping if I ordered another less expensive kit along with it. So I got the First Timers Bar for not much more than the cost of shipping the Syzdek kit. The bar is a small structure when built as a stand alone building, but I thought that I could work the bar into my Syzdek build somehow.
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I realized that with a little kitbashing I could adapt the bar into a side office entry for the main building. I decided to use one of the side walls along with the front wall for my kitbash. The rear wall of the kit was too short for what I wanted to do, so I ended up cutting a portion of the other side wall to get a new rear wall. I was a little hesitant cutting the plaster wall, but using my razor saw the cut went pretty well. After a little sanding I had a rear wall that fit.
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I assembled the three walls and then built a plywood wall for the open space against the main building.
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I then sprayed the small structure with rattle can flat grey primer as I did with all of the other plaster walls. The small square thing see in the picture is a plaster tin shed that came with the Syzdek kit.
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After the primer dryed overnight I brushed on the same base color coat as I used on the main building. The wall details that come out in these plaster kits is unlike anything that comes in other wall mediums.
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I then drybrushed some other wall colors on, as well as a light grey wash for the stone foundation and the stucco areas of the wall.
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That's it for now, more later.
:) Looking good, Jeff! I think I may have to bump up a Downtown Deco kit in my queue. You're giving me the urge to tackle one.
Jeff,
Someone got up and left so I grabbed their seat. I'm now on the front row.
Like Bob said looking good. I have many of the DD kits but just haven't pulled the trigger to start one.
Until next time. ;D
Tom
Hello Bob, thanks for looking in. These Downtown Deco kits are a lot of fun to build, you should move one up in your lineup of kits to be built.
Hello Tom, glad to see you there in the front row, as I just replied to Bob, these kits are a lot of fun and one would sure fit in on your layout.
Looking good Jeff;
I have built a couple of their kits and have a couple more to go. You are 100% right in the look is unique and wall details really come out.
Jim
I have an extra one of the "First Timer's Bar" kits when he had a buy one get one free offer. I like the idea of shortening it and adding it onto a building. Thanks for the idea.
Jeff
Great progress Jeff, looking good..... 8)
Quote from: Jim Donovan on July 09, 2024, 07:49:15 PMLooking good Jeff;
I have built a couple of their kits and have a couple more to go. You are 100% right in the look is unique and wall details really come out.
Jim
Hello Jim, thanks for looking in. Building this hydrocal kit has been a lot of fun. Kits like this always look good on the layout because the details jump out so much.
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on July 10, 2024, 09:26:13 AMI have an extra one of the "First Timer's Bar" kits when he had a buy one get one free offer. I like the idea of shortening it and adding it onto a building. Thanks for the idea.
Jeff
Hello Jeff, the idea of kitbashing a plaster kit was not something that I planned on before it kind of just happened. Cutting the plaster wall wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Quote from: GPdemayo on July 10, 2024, 09:31:42 AMGreat progress Jeff, looking good..... 8)
Hello Greg, thanks for looking in on my build thread.
Jeff, my apologies for interjecting this into your thread but here's my rendition of the DD Trackside Tavern. It's been referenced in many of the Judges stories (I sure wish I had his story telling abilities). Randy, at Downtown Deco, produces some wonderful kits!
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-040615175550-83631074.jpeg)
Hello Bob, no problem with you joining in. In fact, my first DD kit was the Trackside Bar and I used your build thread as a reference when doing mine.
I'm enjoying this thread.
One little tip on corners.
Mike Lynch offsets the corners a little so the side walls are not flush with the end walls.
The side walls are thus inset a little.
Sorry, I don't have a photo.
Hello Darryl, I appreciate you taking the time to look at my build thread. You're not the first to offfer the suggestion of offsetting the wall edges. I can see that it would be a good thing to do. I'll have to try it on my next hydrocal kit. Again, thanks for looking in. I have enjoyed following your work for some time now.
Continuing on...
Here's a picture of the almost completed covered loading dock. I've stained all the wood with my A&I solution and added a few detail castings.
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As I said before, I am trying to model this kit as more of an active business than an older dilapidated one. My only criticism of this kit is the boarded up windows in the annex as shown below.
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I didn't want to try to cut out the boarded up windows. The chances of breaking the wall castings was too likely if I did. So, I decided to cover them up by scratchbuilding a wood bump-out. Here's a picture of the inside of the bump-out.
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And here's a picture of the bottom of the bump-out showing the floor joists and also the rafter tails on the roof. I only made the bump-out 1/2 inch deep.
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Here is the bump-out after gluing it to the wall. I used black construction paper for the roof and I found some arch top windows in my Tichy stash to match up with the windows in the main building. The covered loading dock will be placed below the bump-out when all of the sub-assemblies are put together.
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Great save, Jeff
terry
Hello Terry, thanks for looking in and for the kind words.
Consider adding some diagonal braces underneath your excellent bump-out. What I'd do is a wood beam that runs along the edge underneath the windows and below the joists, and then diagonal braces to support that against the walls. Thinking as if I were a structural engineer, seems that supporting the overhang without this brace would create quite a load on the brick wall opening where the brick wall windows were.
The one complaint I have about Randy's kits is they are too "pre-aged". Since I model 1890s, I'm looking for buildings that are relatively new. Randy says "Well, my interest is in decrepit structures."
dave
This side of the annex building has even more boarded up openings. I decided to do something a little different on here. Since the larger opening seems to be at railcar height and the location on my layout for this build is on a spur, I thought that a larger bump-out over the spur would be a good idea. I've seen several kits that use this concept and I've always liked the way they look. Here's a picture of the bare wall.
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This is a look inside the larger bump-out. Again, I stained all of the wood with my A&I solution before painting. The large horizontal pieces of wood at the top and bottom fit up against the wall between the protuding window sills and lintels. It's hard to see in the picture but I had to cut the wall cladding to fit over these same areas.
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A look at the bottom with the floor joists.
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And a look after gluing the bump-out to the wall. I used super glue for this, it is my glue of choice when gluing different materials together.
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This larger bump-out is 2 inches deep, so it needed some support at the far end. I used 5/32 stripwood for the verticals and of course stained all with the A&I. I cut a thin piece of sheet styrene for the bottom of the posts to hold it all together at the bottom. The top will be glued between the floor joists of the bump-out.
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That's it for now, more later.
Quote from: deemery on July 17, 2024, 09:40:56 AMConsider adding some diagonal braces underneath your excellent bump-out. What I'd do is a wood beam that runs along the edge underneath the windows and below the joists, and then diagonal braces to support that against the walls. Thinking as if I were a structural engineer, seems that supporting the overhang without this brace would create quite a load on the brick wall opening where the brick wall windows were.
The one complaint I have about Randy's kits is they are too "pre-aged". Since I model 1890s, I'm looking for buildings that are relatively new. Randy says "Well, my interest is in decrepit structures."
dave
Hello Dave, thanks for looking in and for the as always excellent feedback. You are right about adding some support below the bump-out, but as you will see as I proceed there wasn't room below the bump-out for any supports. I am going to claim modelers license on this one and assume that the builder extended some steel beams from inside the building through the brick wall to support the bump-out. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
You will be happy to see that I did add sufficient support under the larger extension on the side wall. Thanks for keeping me honest.
Ah, I missed the last post! Those supports make me feel much better! ;D
Another thing to consider: Add a pair of steel (Evergreen/Plastruct) I-Beams parallel to the wood joists, one near each end That way, at least you're not depending on relatively weak wood joists to hold up the entire bump-out.
dave
Really coming together Jeff..... 8)
Looking good, Jeff.
I like the wooden support with the diagonal bracing. Very cool.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: GPdemayo on July 18, 2024, 10:54:43 AMReally coming together Jeff..... 8)
Hello Greg, thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on July 18, 2024, 05:34:55 PMLooking good, Jeff.
I like the wooden support with the diagonal bracing. Very cool.
Cheers, Mark.
Hello Mark, I don't know how prototypical that diagonal bracing is, but I just thought that it looked good.
Continuing on with the annex building.
Here is a picture of the rear wall of the annex. As you can seee, it's sort of a blank slate. I thought about adding a bunch of various signs, but I've always admired wall sized signs that I've seen on the forum.
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Years ago I saved some signs that were posted here on the forum and I found this one. It doesn't really fit on the wall, but I liked the mermaid picture so I thought I would try it. I'm very pleased with how it looks.
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The fourth wall of the annex is one that I built from 1/16th plywood and some 1/8 stripwood bracing. This wall goes up against the main building so it won't be seen. I just wanted to give the other three walls some added stability.
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Here's a look at the roof of the annex with the larger side bump-out. The roof material is just some colored packing paper glued onto cardboard roof cards.. I cut the paper a short 1/8 inch long on all sides so that it folded up against the walls around the roof perimeter. I used some weathering chalks for color and added detail castings from my stash. The ductwork casting is from Showcase Miniatures and is all fiberboard parts glued together. I plan on adding some black sealant around the bases of the roof penetrations.
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Your build is turning out great. Love the bump out, sign and the roof details.
Jeff
Now it's time to add some details to the main building. The large Syzdek sign and the Crates and Pallets sign came with the kit. I scratchbuilt the roof top sign frame. I thought the company name looked better on the roof. The small signs down low came from my sign stash.
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The left side of the main building was next. I like the war bonds sign- it gives a good time frame reference, which for me is the late 1940's.. The fire escape platform is from Tichy and the angle vent is from Walthers. I'm really pleased with the brick color on this kit. This is the best wall look that I have done on a kit to this point.
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Next is the rear wall. The large vent fan/ ductwork assembly is from Walthers and I used some styrene pieces from my stash for the scuppers and downspouts. They help hide the seams in the walls.
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The right side wall will remain blank. It is mostly covered by the annex and the covered loading dock that I built. It's a shame to cover up such fine wall detailing, but you will still be able to see much of the beautiful plaster details when the build is completed.
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Finally for today, a look at the roof of the main building. I can't remember where the ductwork casting came from and the other details just came from my rootop casting stash.
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That's it for now, more later.
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on July 19, 2024, 09:40:09 AMYour build is turning out great. Love the bump out, sign and the roof details.
Jeff
Hello Jeff, thanks for looking in and for the feedback. I looked at your fine work on Downtown Deco kits when preparing for this build.
Jeff...looking better snd better with each of your postings
terry
So NICE , great job Jeff
Quote from: Vietnam Seabee on July 19, 2024, 09:57:45 AMJeff...looking better snd better with each of your postings
terry
Hello Terry, appreciate you checking out my build. I'm having a lot of fun with this one.
Quote from: Janbouli on July 21, 2024, 05:33:16 AMSo NICE , great job Jeff
Hello Jan, thanks for looking in and for the nice comments.
Jeff,
Very well done, looks great.
Tom
Hello Tom, thanks for taking the time to look into my build and for the kind words.
Continuing on with my kit build/ kitbash/ scratchbuild...
Next we take a closer look at what was the First Timers Bar kit. I decided to make it an office entry area for the main building. Here's a look at the left side. I used the same color scheme as the main building for this area. I added a few signs from my sign stash.
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Here's the front wall. The light over the door is from Tichy. I used the same colored construction paper for the roof.
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The right side will go up against the main building, so I built a false wall from 1/16 plywood.
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The rear wall is a portion of the original right side wall that I cut to size to fit here.
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Here's how it looks in place next to the main building. The small tin shed came with the Syzdek kit.
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The 'side entrance building' idea is another winner.
dave
Hello Dave, thanks for looking in. I'm glad you like my little kitbash with the First Timers Bar. I'm very pleased with how it looks as a side entry to Syzdek.
It was finally time to put all six sub-assemblies together. The two main kit buildings, the kitbashed side entry area, the scratchbuilt covered loading dock, the scratchbuilt second story bumpout on the front of the annex building and the scratchbuilt large bumpout that extends over the siding. I'm a big fan of the plaster wall details, but I'm also very pleased that a lot of them have been covered up with all of the add-ons. You appreciate the wall details more when they aren't all that you see.
First a front view with the new side entry. I glued all of the pieces to a base of styrene sheeting as I always do before placing my builds on the layout. I like how the bit of concrete in front of the entry areas came out.
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Another front view showing the covered loading dock and the second floor bumpout. As I've said during the build, I love this kit except for the boarded up windows and doors in the annex building. I wanted to show an active business, not one that was in decline or closed. I think I got what I wanted.
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The right side view with the large over-the-track bumpout. The wood framed support for the end of the bumpout is not shown here. To prevent my breaking it, I waited to install the support until I was ready to place the build on my layout.
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A rear view. Even though this side can't be seen after I place it on the layout, I was very pleased with how it looks. This was my first attempt at a large wall sign and I also likle how the large vent fan and duct look.
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I'll close out this post with three more views of the build. I'm pleased with the look of the many roof surfaces. I had a lot of fun with this build and spent a lot of time and effort to transform the look of an older closed up building to a very much in use building. I understand the emphasis on Downtown Deco's design of older type kits, but I'm glad that I was able to make mine a little different.
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That's it for now, I'm waiting for a few outside the build details to arrive in the mail. After they are complete I'll post some pictures of the completed build as it looks on my layout. Until then, thanks to all who took the time to look in and provide some feedback. Doing these buld threads is a lot of fun in itself, but it's always satisfying to see that others are interested in what I'm doing.
This came out really nicely, Jeff.
Nice to have something unique on the layout, and this has been changed up a lot. I'm pleased you have added the supports to the side jut out. Looking forward to see them and the whole complex installed on your layout. Also pleased to see the scuppers and downpipes added at the back.
Cheers, Mark.
This looks great, Jeff! I love the variety of materials, dimensions and shapes. Lots of little corners and shadows to get the eye to linger.
Matt
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on July 23, 2024, 04:15:58 PMThis came out really nicely, Jeff.
Nice to have something unique on the layout, and this has been changed up a lot. I'm pleased you have added the supports to the side jut out. Looking forward to see them and the whole complex installed on your layout. Also pleased to see the scuppers and downpipes added at the back.
Cheers, Mark.
Hello Mark, thanks for taking the time to look at my build and for the nice comments.
Quote from: restocarp on July 24, 2024, 06:44:07 AMThis looks great, Jeff! I love the variety of materials, dimensions and shapes. Lots of little corners and shadows to get the eye to linger.
Matt
Hello Matt, I had a lot of fun with this build. Once I got going with the add-ons, it just seemed to keep on growing.
The build has been placed on my layout. Here are a few pictures.
Here's a drone view.
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A closer to ground level view. I had some fun with the sign over the entrance road.
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A look at the yard area in front of the structures.
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A closer look at the siding area. I made the swinging gate from some brass wire that I had in my stash.
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Most of the details came from Bar Mills- the forklift, the pallets and the fencing.
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A few more pictures.
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I'm pleased with the wood support under the large right side bumpout.
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I had a lot of fun with this Downtown Deco kit and the scratch built additions. I wanted to make my version of this kit a little different and I think that I accomplished my goal. Well, that's it for this one. Now it's on to the next one.
That looks great, and the additions look 'natural'
dave
Nice. I like how the fencing sets it apart from the other structures in the area. Great work!
Jeff
Quote from: deemery on August 07, 2024, 09:39:31 AMThat looks great, and the additions look 'natural'
dave
Hello Dave, thanks for the kind words. I was attempting to make a kit made to look closed and abandoned look like an active business. The additions covered up the boarded up window and door openings. I'm glad that you like them.
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on August 07, 2024, 09:43:30 AMNice. I like how the fencing sets it apart from the other structures in the area. Great work!
Jeff
Hello Jeff, I'm glad that you like the fencing. I wanted a defined yard area for this business and the Bar Mills chain link and wood fencing made it easy and look good. Thanks for looking in.
Beautiful scene Jeff.....well done. 8)
Jeff,
Well done and looks perfect in the location.
Tom
Hello Greg and Tom, thanks for looking in and for the kind words.