Hey, all.
I have been absent for a bit, due to some life events(all good), but the modeling has continued.
Here is a small Baltimore City block featuring a corner store and the Null House, a historic house that still stands. I hope that this will be part of a future, larger, dare I say, layout inspired by the Western Maryland Hillen Station complex. Enjoy. More to come. (https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225185643.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225185817-56499789.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225185819-565011905.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225185822-56502729.jpeg)
Matt
Here is an old photo of the Null House back in the day.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225191348-56504114.jpeg)
And a more recent photo, restored some time ago, but falling in disrepair again.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225191348-565032109.jpeg)
Matt
Very nice...good to have you back, Matt
terry
Thank you, Terry! It's good to be back!
The next building that I built for this area was a warehouse that had several industries through it's time. I chose to model it as a poulterers.
Here is an historic photo taken late in its history. It no longer stands.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225192259-56505823.jpeg)
Here is my version, with a lit storefront and a customer picking out the perfect roaster.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225192613-565061287.jpeg)
I recently revisited this one and added some roof details, a billboard and a rooftop structure.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225192616-56507525.jpeg)
I particularly like the multicolored glass.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225193253.jpeg)
Matt
And the third building group is a pair of Federal style rowhouses.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225194044-565081781.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225194046-565101388.jpeg)
The brick alley is hand cut foam.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225194047-565111100.jpeg)
And the three arranged as they will on that someday layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-141225194050-565121449.jpeg)
Matt
Great modeling! 8)
Great modelling, Matt.
Always a pleasure to see your work. The chipped stucco is very close to scale thickness. In a lot of plaster kits it is often significantly oversized. Fantastic attention to detail.
Cheers, Mark.
WOW! That's some outstanding modeling.
Thanks for sharing.
Yes indeed, I agree with everyone else. Your modeling is great to look at.
Rich
Please don't tell me this is HO scale!
Hi, Dave. These are all HO scale.
Cheers!
Matt
I quit!
Fantastic details. No trace of glue like all my stuff.
Thank you all.
Mark, the stucco is spackling compound. You can work it with a wet brush and remove lots of excess to thin it down. Just smear the spackle on with a putty knife and then wet down a chip brush and pull the excess spackle off of towards the edge. I mask the missing portions, before I start, with torn pieces of painter's tape. The render coat is stippled paint.
Don't quit! ;) There are plenty of mistakes. Some I hid with weathering or well-placed details. Some I can plainly see when I look at the photos.
Matt
Matt that is some really beautiful work!! Thanks for sharing.
Jerry
Howdy Matt,
Incredible modeling. Simply perfect.
Have fun,
mike
Awesome modeling. The fire escapes are beautiful. Wondered how you did the cobblestone road. Appears to be foam insulation that you carved? One-of-a-kind models are so cool. Mark
That is some AMAZING work! Every detail holds up to tight photography. There's too many things to point to - just great!
I love the leaves on the roof...I think that's an underutilized detail that really works, in my opinion. Tom Johnson's Cass River is another masterpiece of fine detailing that really makes use of the windswept leaf piles that look so real. So many of us want to throw tires on the roof ;D but leave out the leaves.
Great work as always Matt.
--Rich
Outstanding modeling, agree with all the comments made previously. And yes, the fire escapes are spectacular (would be worth a step by step how you made them - hint).
For me, above all, you have captured the "mood" so perfectly. That frontal shot of the poultry factory with the lady in the lit interior store reminds me of an Edward Hopper painting.
Darn fine bit of model'n! Top Drawer!
Matt that is some very fine modeling. Considering you're scratch building in HO scale makes it even more amazing.
Beautiful work, Matt.
Mike
Thank you, all!
Mark, the brick alley is indeed carved insulation foam, as are all of the sidewalks. I covered unsightly gaps with tar patches and weeds.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-181225191648.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/kk303-181225191731.jpeg)
Urs, the fire escapes come as kits from Walthers. They are easy to assemble and the counterweighted stairs remain movable, which is cool. I painted them with Vallejo German Camo Black Brown. I then weathered it with Brandon powders.
Matt
That's a superb job carving the brickwork.
dave
Matt,
Looking back at all of the fine details, and yes, it's all fine!
What did you use for the concrete space next to the carved brick street? Was it Durham's
water putty?
Rich
Rich,
I am not sure which concrete space you are referring to, but I can confidently say that it is foam. The carved brick street, the concrete around the manhole and the sidewalk are all insulation foam. I rip 1" foam into 1/8" strips with a bandsaw. For the sidewalks I add curbs, joints and cracks with a hobby knife. I use a ruler to press some of the sidewalk sections down to create unevenness for variety. The texture that you see is from the bandsaw. I paint it with Cocoon chalk paint(no longer available) and then give it a dark gray or black wash. All that is followed by a pass of Bragdon powders.
For the bricks I cut the rows and brick joints and then push in individual bricks with a piece of strip wood. They are painted with a brick red and individual bricks are picked out in other shades. The tar is black acrylic. The manhole cover is an FSM casting from Railroad Kits, painted with that same Vallejo Camo Black Brown. Again everything is weathered with Bragdon powders. The lighter colored powders add some hints of mortar. The darker add dirt and grime, especially near the edges. Black goes down the center of the travel lanes for oil and such.
The stone pavers in the backyard and all the stone foundations are also insulation foam. They are the same 1/8" strips, textured with a ball of aluminum foil and cut into individual stones.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/303-181225191731.jpeg)
Matt
Thanks for the info Matt. At some point, I'll be giving foam insulation a try for cobblestone streets. I've seen this done before using old paint brushes, with the bristles removed, and squaring the metal tips to make individual bricks, but I was looking for a faster method. Anything worth doing takes time and patience. Mark
As always, your building look terrific. Very nice. Love them
Eric QUébec city
Matt,
The section I was asking about was the lowest concrete in picture at post #25.
You answered my question with more info than what I was asking, but thanks very much.
I might also try this method of construction at some point down the road myself as everything
you have shown is superb modeling. Thanks for sharing.
Rich