Hi guys, and happy new year!
I've been waiting for this challenge to start. I have been thinking about what I might do this year - with the hope of actually finishing! I have been gathering materials, locating kits and forming a plan. I have also been getting ready for a 2fatpossums (our modelling group) two day modelling session coming up this Thursday and Friday. I'm hoping to make some good progress on this project then.
My project this year is another large seafood processing plant for Tellynott. The signage is named after that which I found on the small company at Jacksons Bay, South Westland, New Zealand, just before Christmas. I have switched the name Tellynott with Jackson's Bay. I like having Fiordland in the name, as it helps set the locale when viewing the layout. As the plan shows, the site for this winter challenge is an unusual shape. This is because I have to fit it around existing scenery and structures. Indeed, I have to join the large bash to both my previously built Walthers Sugar Refinery bash and the end wall to the Creamoata diorama which I built from a DPM M. T. Arms Hotel kit.
Photo 1 - So here is my quick sketch of a plan - the measurements are accurate. I'll start off with the three kitbashes, and hopefully have time to do the scratchbuild as well. Living in New Zealand, I did the measurements using centimetres. It is an odd shape, as I have to fit it around my layout, but it all fits within the parameters with a total of 1775.56 square centimetres (275.21"). I have allowed extra space around the scratchbuilt structure for scenery and also an area in front of the Atlas Middlesex kitbash. All my dimensions and workings are on the plan.
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Photo 2 - Here is the site on my layout viewed from the right. You can see it fits against the Creamoata diorama at right and will be joined to the Walther's Sugar refinery kitbash at left centre. The walls of the Atlas Middlesex Manufacturing and Walther's Front Street Warehouse are sitting in position to help me visualise the finished bash and help me form a kitbashing plan.
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Photo 3 - Here is the site from the front. This shows the main part of the scratchbuild shown as a cardboard mockup. There is a further tower to left.
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Photo 4 - Shows the Walther's kit box.
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Photo 5 - Shows the Atlas kit box.
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Photo 6 - Shows the Design Preservation Models M. T. Arms Hotel kit. I will be using the back wall from two of these kits. I also have two of the Atlas kits, but will likely only use one.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
This will be fun to watch!
dave
Mark, Cheers,
I'm in the front row with my Diet Pepsi.
Tom
This should be really interesting.
Jerry
Thanks, Dave, Tom and Jerry.
I agree, it should be a lot of fun!
Photo 1 - Shows the view from the left end. A couple of things to note here. The building to the left will be raised up to allow for loading docks. The paper photocopy of the building at back left has a road in front of it. This road will disappear into the kitbash and I will need to make a cutout and add a beam to allow for this. As a result, a large part of this side wall will not be visible - which is a good thing because I only have one of this kit and I'm figuring with the added height and 6-story section at back, I will need it all!
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Photo 2 - The plan of attack. My quick sketch plans are often drawn on whatever is handy. In this case it was the kit instruction sheet. You can see my cutting plan at top, the front wall splices to the right and the left and right wall splices at middle and bottom left. I will use 1.5mm styrene for the unseen section of the left wall.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
I've scanned wall sides and printed the results to get some planning templates. Most recently (last year's build) I did that with a South River kit to figure out how to rearrange the wall pieces to get a longer building where the back wall would not be visible.
Mounting those templates onto foamcore and taping them together was a pretty good way to get 3d mock-ups.
dave
Quote from: deemery on January 06, 2026, 02:34:21 PMI've scanned wall sides and printed the results to get some planning templates. Most recently (last year's build) I did that with a South River kit to figure out how to rearrange the wall pieces to get a longer building where the back wall would not be visible.
Mounting those templates onto foamcore and taping them together was a pretty good way to get 3d mock-ups.
dave
Hi Dave.
Yes - I often do this. You can see the photocopied kit walls in the last photo. We don't have a scanner at present and it is summer school holidays here, so My wife isn't going into school where there is a room full of scanners and photocopy machines. I've got a pretty good idea of what I am doing, so don't foresee too many problems in the general shape and design. I decided designing with kit walls would suffice in this situation.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark nice project and looking forward watching you add your twist on things.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on January 06, 2026, 11:52:22 PMI decided designing with kit walls would suffice in this situation.
There's less risk when using styrene walls during design/mock-up than with the old plaster walls from SRMW and other plaster kits. Every time I touched one of those walls, I lived in fear that I'd drop it! :o (If you remember the big Colorado Midland roundhouse project I did about 15 years ago, I did have some damage to some of the plaster walls. Fortunately, they cracked, rather than shattered.)
dave
Thanks for joining the Winter Challenge Mark;
You've outlined an ambitious project! It will be educational watching it come together, great start. FYI the wife and I love New Zealand, one of the best trips we have ever taken.
Jim
Mark; This is an ambitious project, will enjoy seeing it progress.
Quote from: Jim Donovan on January 07, 2026, 12:36:40 PMThanks for joining the Winter Challenge Mark;
You've outlined an ambitious project! It will be educational watching it come together, great start. FYI the wife and I love New Zealand, one of the best trips we have ever taken.
Jim
Thanks, Jim.
Just before Christmas my wife and I did a wonderful drive down to Haast via the Haast Pass where we spent four days exploring the area before driving up the West Coast and across Arthurs Pass. The scenery was spectacular, and is also the locale of my Shadowlands and Tellynott layout. We did lots of forest walks, I took hundreds of photos and also collected some scenery materials for modelling.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: KentuckySouthern on January 07, 2026, 12:39:58 PMMark; This is an ambitious project, will enjoy seeing it progress.
Thanks, Karl.
I'm about to leave for our two day modelling meet. Hoping to make some good progress on the project, and have a great time with friends!
Cheers, Mark.
8)
Hi guys.
Nice to have you looking in, Philip.
I got some good progress done yesterday. I only have a few minutes before I have to leave for day two of our modelling meet, so a quick update.
Photo 1 - I started with the Walthers kitbash. Here are the two front walls cut, sanded and spliced together.
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Photo 2 - Here is the right side.
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Photo 3 - Here is the left side. I have cut out the hole for the road to go through. I used 1.5mm styrene for the unseen section. I buy this in large sheets (approximately 4.5'x2.5') from a local plastic manufacturer. One sheet costs around $15US.
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Photo 4 - Like I said, things were tight. Here are my leftovers. I may still use the basement sections for below my Atlas kitbash. All gluing was done on a piece of glass with some lunch paper between the glass and the wall, using medium viscosity CA.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark nice start on your build.
Mark,
You have made some great progress in the kitbash. I really had to look to see where the seams were. Looking forward to see the next update.
Quote from: Larry C on January 08, 2026, 05:06:46 PMMark nice start on your build.
Thanks, Larry.
I got a chunk more done today.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: elwoodblues on January 08, 2026, 07:33:13 PMMark,
You have made some great progress in the kitbash. I really had to look to see where the seams were. Looking forward to see the next update.
Thanks, Ron.
Next update soon.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - Here is the basic shell put together viewed from the left.
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Photo 2 - A view from the right.
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Photo 3 - One from behind. You can see in this photo I cut the length of the base down and spliced back together. I have also added stripwood supports for one of the mid floor supports.
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Photo 4 - A view from the left again. I made up an I-beam and two studs to support the building above the roadway from some bridge girders. The mid floors have been added and painted black. I always sand my sheet plastic before any application to give it good tooth for painting. Mistake of the day - I wanted to add a top plastic support to hold the top of the fourth story walls nice and rigid for painting, before adding the roof. I had forgotten that my hand would not be small enough to get in this one-story cubbyhole for window installation. The four story wall heights were slightly out after the splicing and so I added thin styrene shims to the top of the walls to correct. These will be under the eves and so the fact that there will be no bricks here will never be seen.
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Photo 5 - Taping the corners for putty. If you look carefully you can see I have cut a rectangular hole in the fourth floor to allow my hand access from the two floors below. This would have been far easier on the cutting board before installation, but a dremel and a small saw got the job done. I also added vertical timbers between the windows from the basement to floor one and from floor 2 to floor four. There is also a support at the top of level 6, and one cut for level 4 behind the stepped back front wall.
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Photo 6 - A closer view of the structure. It is nice and rigid now. I will add further vertical supports for the upper two stories. The back wall is cut, but wont be installed until after the windows and glazing is installed. I will add vertical timberwork for this, too. I will likely leave this back wall removable.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
You have made a lot of progress the past two days. That is one big building.
Great start. I like the idea of sanding the sheet plastic to help keep the paint on.
Jim
Mark, Cheers,
This will be a great addition to the layout. I'm on the front row for this one.
Tom
Mark that certainly is one large building. I can see lots and lots and lots of windows going into this; should be very impressive to view.
Quote from: elwoodblues on January 09, 2026, 10:52:01 PMMark,
You have made a lot of progress the past two days. That is one big building.
Thanks, Ron.
I have more progress to add yet. I typically get a lot done on our 2fatpossums modelling weekends. I like to start a new project that I can really sink my teeth into, so the timing of the challenge was perfect. We have another meet booked in for the start of March. We are getting the tail end of the Ozzy heat wave here in NZ this weekend. Nowhere near as bas as Victoria (up to 45degrees Celsius), but enough to keep me inside for most of the day and get a bit more modelling done!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Jim Donovan on January 10, 2026, 08:29:14 AMGreat start. I like the idea of sanding the sheet plastic to help keep the paint on.
Jim
Thanks, Jim.
It also makes the plastic far easier to mark with a fine pencil. I don't know if you have access to a plastic manufacturer by you, but it is so much cheaper than buying evergreen or plastistruct sheet products.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: ACL1504 on January 10, 2026, 10:40:08 AMMark, Cheers,
This will be a great addition to the layout. I'm on the front row for this one.
Tom
Thanks, Tom.
Great to have you along for the ride, diet pepsi in hand! Yes - it is a large gap that will be filled in. The left end of this structure is at the very end of module 2. I'll have to remember that when it comes time to work on the next structure to the left. The scratchbuilt section also crosses the module join. I may make the enclosed elevator between the main building and the tower removable.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Larry C on January 10, 2026, 02:37:10 PMMark that certainly is one large building. I can see lots and lots and lots of windows going into this; should be very impressive to view.
Thanks, Larry.
Yes - the windows for this build got a wash and primer spray yesterday evening. There are brick inserts for some of the window openings that I will also use. My plan is to paint them a different colour to the rest of the structure to show the passing of time and alterations and developments to the complex. That is why I didn't glue them in before priming. The Atlas kit only comes with a few brick window inserts - which is a shame. I would like a lot more. That building also has a lot of windows. Being on a separate sheet and being able to insert them after painting makes the painting much easier. The DPM M. T. Arms Hotel kit will be the real challenge to paint.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - Here are the back walls from two DPM M. T. Arms Hotel kits.
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Photo 2 - Here you can see I have cut the cornice off one kit wall and spliced this to the bottom of the other kit wall. I have then cut a section off at left to be the front wall (the left end of these walls has the brick patten embossed around the corner). I did another vertical cut to fabricate the left wall.
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Photo 3 - Here are the two fabricated walls glued together with a 1.5mm styrene foundation added. Cuts were started using a foot long steel ruler and kraft knife and then completed with a Tamiya plastic scriber. I am holding the kitbash in position on my layout against the end of the Creamoata diorama to which it will eventually be attached.
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Photo 4 - Here is a bottom and top wall from the Atlas Middlesex Manufacturing kit taped together. I have positioned one of the end walls behind the top wall at left, which is what I intend to use to lengthen the wall.
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Photo 5 - Shows the elevator shaft walls from one kit. My intention is to splice the walls from two elevator shafts together vertically to create an eight story shaft.
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Photo 6 - Test fitting and checking out the appearances.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
I think Middlesex Mfg is one of the all time great kitbashing kits. I always enjoy seeing big buildings and good kitbashes.
dave
Mark that's quite the building. Your imagineering techniques are really good; but I think you'll be seeing windows in your sleep after this build.
YIPES Mark !!!!! :o At the rate you going you are going to be finished in a week. ;D
That is one huge building. I just moved my chair closer to the front.
Quote from: elwoodblues on January 11, 2026, 07:37:47 PMYIPES Mark !!!!! :o At the rate you going you are going to be finished in a week. ;D
That is one huge building. I just moved my chair closer to the front.
All but the window glazing :-(
dave
Quote from: deemery on January 11, 2026, 04:02:22 PMI think Middlesex Mfg is one of the all time great kitbashing kits. I always enjoy seeing big buildings and good kitbashes.
dave
Thanks, Dave.
Its very handy having such big walls. It means a lot less splicing together. My favourite so far would be the Heljan brewery and malt house. I've created two large kitbashes on my layout from one kit and I still have walls left over. The Walthers American Hardware co. is another good one. Like the DPM M T Arms hotel, it has two walls of one design and two walls of another. I find these sorts of kits very versatile, especially if you buy two of them. Milwaukee beer and ale is another good one.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Larry C on January 11, 2026, 06:01:55 PMMark that's quite the building. Your imagineering techniques are really good; but I think you'll be seeing windows in your sleep after this build.
Thanks, Larry.
I guess it makes a change from sheep!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: elwoodblues on January 11, 2026, 07:37:47 PMYIPES Mark !!!!! :o At the rate you going you are going to be finished in a week. ;D
That is one huge building. I just moved my chair closer to the front.
Thanks, Ron.
Never fear - the painting will take a lot longer!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - Shows the splice of the end wall to the front and back wall. Whenever I splice a wall that has a 45degree chamfer on it I tack the walls together and then lay a bead of plastic rod in the rebate. More CA is then added to create a strong bond.
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Photo 2 - The foundation sections were cut off one group of three walls and then three 8-story walls were created. These were then glued together. I fabricated some square pieces of 1.5mm styrene and glued between all the floors to keep the tower square and true (two of these are visible in photo 3). I fabricated a brick insert to lay in the door opening on the fifth floor of the main wall. The elevator tower was then glued to the main wall. I cut the small piece of roof off the main roof piece and trimmed the cornice for a good fit.
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Photo 3 - Problem number two. This kit, like most plastic kits, is not designed with painting in mind. Indeed, most people building a kit like this assemble it in factory colours and simply place it on the layout. Windows and glazing are glued in place before adding the tower to the main wall. I wanted to prime and paint the entire structure before adding windows. This meant there would be no access to install the windows to the tower after it had been glued to the main wall. Again, I used a small drill to drill holes in the corners of 8 openings and used a knife, scriber and dremel to remove the plastic from the main wall behind the elevator tower windows. In this photo you can see I have removed the bottom five pieces.
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Photo 4 - Here I have used my razor saw to cut a vertical line through the cornice and a chisel blade to remove the excess. This is to fit the side wall from the M T Arms Hotel kitbash.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Below is a bit of background about how this diorama fits into my layout's imagined reality.
We recently when on a short holiday to visit the locale of my Shadowlands and Tellynott Railroad. It is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. It is a beautiful part of the world, with one of the highest annual rainfalls, and this leads to a land cloaked in a thousand different shades of green.
Photo 1 - Shows the bridge over the Arawhata River, a few miles before Jacksons Bay. This is the sort of river valley I can imagine my geared locomotives chuffing through as they embark on the 4% ruling grades. At the far side of this river was a shingle road that went a further 20km south, as far as it is possible to drive south in South Westland.
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Philosophy
Tellynott is my representation of Jacksons Bay, South Westland, New Zealand, and what might have been if the 1870's settlement had progressed as first intended. A haphazard town has developed on the steep terrain surrounding the bay and Tellynott has become the hub for the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the closest port to Australia, the closest port to the Haast Pass, the lowest pass across the Southern Alps, and surrounded by seas with great fishing. Fiordland is some 80 kilometres south of Tellynott, and the waters between are home to the Fiordland crayfish (New Zealand Southern Rock Lobster). This delicacy is highly prized for its exceptionally sweet and succulent meat. The Tasman Sea is also abounded with plentiful supplies of Tarakihi, Blue Cod, Snapper and Hoki. Salmon and Trout were introduced to local rivers in the area, and these are brought to the plant along with whitebait by rail. Shellfish and Oysters are also harvested and processed at the plant. In my fictional story the Tellynott depot of the Fiordland Rock Lobster company was first constructed in the early 1880's. The original structure has been kept and is the timber structure by the sea (hopefully I will have time to scratchbuild this structure as part of this years challenge). The saltwater environment has been harsh over the past 50 years, and this old wooden structure is rather run down. As the company expanded, various other buildings were built or acquired over time. This created a bit of a hodgepodge appearance, with various aerial walkways and small extensions clinging to the side of some of these larger structures. As my layout is set in the early 1930's, Shadowlands is still in a deep depression, and so things are generally pretty run down.
Photo 2 - A view of the Tasman Sea from Jacksons Bay, over the grave of one of the original settlers.
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Photo 3 - A panoramic photo of Jacksons Bay from the wharf. This wharf was supposed to be built in the 1870's but finally arrived some 60+ years late. In my alternative reality this wharf was built as the government of the day promised, leading to a thriving settlement. Those steep hills covered in forest is where my town of Tellynott is located.
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Photo 4 - The sign which spawned an idea. You can see the actual Jacksons Bay depot of the Fiordland Rock Lobster Company is somewhat smaller than my version. But I really liked the 'Fiordland' name helping place my layout locale. Everyone knows where Fiordland is!
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Photo 5 - A view of the Cascade River at the end of the 20km Jacksons River Road, over the martyr Pass. The Hermitage Swamp is one of the largest unmodified wetlands in New Zealand and produces abundant whitebait. This used to be flown to markets by small aircraft.
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The Walther's Fireproof Warehouse kit came with a good number of brick inserts for the openings. I will paint these a different colour from the rest of the kit to help give the feel of change over time, as if a different brick was used at a later date to brick over the windows. I will add various scratchbuilt aerial walkways suspended from the side of some of the structures to help convey this history of change. Painting and weathering will employ techniques to accentuate the age and hard life of the structures and the salt air.
I feel that larger industries appear more realistic on a layout and provide more realistic operation. I will apply this ideal to the Tellynott depot of the Fiordland Rock Lobster Company by joining together various structures with aerial elevators and walkovers. This will visually connect the different buildings within the complex, making it appear a much larger industry, and also give a sense of logic to the diorama. I'm still researching the time appropriate processing methods of the various seafood and river foods, and appropriate details will be added as the scene develops. This sense of logic expands into my wider layout, with a lot of thought put into the logic of the roads in Tellynott. Indeed, this is the reason for a road disappearing 'through' the back of this Walther's kitbash. I also spent several hours working on the track design to get aesthetically pleasing spurs to service the industry.
Photo 6 - Inspiration for the suspended walkways hanging on the side of the larger structures.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
Beautiful photos and a great explanation about the planning that went into your layout. As I'm sure you know, I'm a big fan!
Nice background information about your project. Looking at Fiordland here and elsewhere on the net makes me think about visiting NZ, but so far I've never been south of the equator in those longitudes.
When I join styrene wall panels edge-to-edge, I fill the joint with tube (model airplane) styrene cement, perhaps placing a styrene sheet reinforcement over it.
Quote from: jbvb on January 16, 2026, 11:56:40 AMNice background information about your project. Looking at Fiordland here and elsewhere on the net makes me think about visiting NZ, but so far I've never been south of the equator in those longitudes.
I've been down the west coast of South Island, although not as far south as Mark's layout. It's absolutely worth the journey.
dave
Quote from: jerryrbeach on January 16, 2026, 09:57:44 AMMark,
Beautiful photos and a great explanation about the planning that went into your layout. As I'm sure you know, I'm a big fan!
Thank you for your kind words, Jerry.
I was trying to give context to the diorama I am building for this challenge. Question one asks about your philosophy, approach and techniques used when building your diorama. I felt I needed to set the scene in order to show the thinking behind my actions.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: jbvb on January 16, 2026, 11:56:40 AMNice background information about your project. Looking at Fiordland here and elsewhere on the net makes me think about visiting NZ, but so far I've never been south of the equator in those longitudes.
When I join styrene wall panels edge-to-edge, I fill the joint with tube (model airplane) styrene cement, perhaps placing a styrene sheet reinforcement over it.
Thanks, James.
Keep an eye on my layout thread. I'm updating again and I will be adding a few photos from our trip. I took 688 photos while away! There certainly wont be that many, but I think it is good to set the scene of where my fictional layout resides in my alternative history.
Cheers, Mark.
Certainly an interesting project with all the cutting up of kit walls to make something new.
Great design and what you've done so far looks very good.
Quote from: Rick on January 16, 2026, 03:50:30 PMCertainly an interesting project with all the cutting up of kit walls to make something new.
Great design and what you've done so far looks very good.
Thanks, Rick.
I do enjoy cutting up kits and making something new! Plodding away at things. It was a bit too windy at the dog show today to make much progress. I got some windows glazed ready for installation.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Philosophy continued
Another big part of my approach to my structure modelling is to try to always think of my kits as a box of bits. This includes, to some degree, craftsman kits. I try to change everything I build significantly from what is intended to create something unique. I kitbash, kitmingle and scratchbuild. I often use prototype photos as inspiration and then try to think of kits I own that resemble that look, and then go about cutting those kits up and splicing them back together to create a 'feel' that gets me close. Planning is usually done with scissors, cardboard and sellotape and photocopies of the kit walls.
Back to the build
Photo 1 - Test fitting to see how things are looking. The Walther's kitbash has been primed with grey primer.
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Photo 2 - A view from the original structure at the shoreline. This shot shows a little of the lower tower and angled covered conveyer. This will be a fun little scratchbuild. I hope I can find the time!
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Photo 3 - In a little closer. I'm holding the DPM kitbash in place.
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Photo 4 - Paint colours going on. I decided on Josonja's burnt umber for the main colour. I wanted a dark colour to contrast nicely with the brick inserts. I smeared in a bit of red ochre and mars black as I painted. I used a large round brush and wiped most of the paint off.
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Photo 5 - I painted the brick inserts with the Studio Acrylics red ochre mixed with varying amounts of Reeves mars black for variation.
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Photo 6 - After gluing in the brick inserts I went about picking out a few bricks here and there in darker and lighter shades.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
That's coming along really well. I like the dark brick on the main structure walls, that's something I wouldn't have thought to try.
dave
Quote from: deemery on January 18, 2026, 04:59:08 PMThat's coming along really well. I like the dark brick on the main structure walls, that's something I wouldn't have thought to try.
dave
Even the oldest coots among us barely remember when everything burned coal, from the local gasworks and electric power plant to the downtown businesses to everyone's house. My layout's structures probably aren't dirty enough for 1950, though maybe much of the winter soot would have washed off the houses by August.
Quote from: deemery on January 18, 2026, 04:59:08 PMThat's coming along really well. I like the dark brick on the main structure walls, that's something I wouldn't have thought to try.
dave
Thanks, Dave.
I tried this colour on a much smaller structure on my layout a few years back. After grout was added I really liked the way it came out. So I thought I would try it on something bigger. I'm planning on doing the Large Atlas kitbash a more classic brick colour.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: jbvb on January 18, 2026, 05:51:46 PMQuote from: deemery on January 18, 2026, 04:59:08 PMThat's coming along really well. I like the dark brick on the main structure walls, that's something I wouldn't have thought to try.
dave
Even the oldest coots among us barely remember when everything burned coal, from the local gasworks and electric power plant to the downtown businesses to everyone's house. My layout's structures probably aren't dirty enough for 1950, though maybe much of the winter soot would have washed off the houses by August.
Hi James.
Tellynott has a lot of stacks and the area has a lot of coal, so everyone will be burning it. There is also the fact that the area in which Shadowlands is set has one of the highest rainfalls in the world to take into consideration...
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - Here are the colours I used for the Walther's kitbash.
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Photo 2 - I tried Selleys 'spackfilla rapid' as a grout.
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Photo 3 - I put about a teaspoon full in a small container and watered it down to the consistency of milk. I applied this with a #4 round brush, working it into all the mortar lines. I wiped the excess off with a damp cloth, rinsing as necessary in a bucket of water. I took the majority off with an initial pass, cleaned the cloth, and then went back over the wall again getting the rest off and using my finger nail through the cloth to remove spackle under sills and around lintels.
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Photo 4 - Here is the end result.
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Photo 5 - A closer view. I liked the outcome and will use this method again. On walls with lots of positive and negative detail I think my usual chalk grouting will probably still prove better, as it is easy to remove excess with a small brush.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Continuing...
Photo 6 - I washed the windows in dish washing detergent and warm water (as I did with the Walther's kitbash) and after it had dried I sprayed with grey primer. I let this cure and then sprayed with Belton molotow premium moss green. I dry brushed the front with Josonja's unbleached titanium. I then dry brushed using a number 7 round brush from the back of the windows, hitting at an angle up, down, left and right, using Mig old wood. I used a light prodding motion. I then hit the front straight on. Finally, I dry brushed with Josonja's antique green.
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Photo 7 - Here are two of my dry brushing colours for the windows.
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Photo 8 - We had visitors around so I snuck the kitbash into position. Here it is with the windows put in on the right side.
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Photo 9 - I glued the glazing to the back side of the windows using Zap high viscosity CA. I sprayed the back of the glazing with Dullcote. There was some cutting of the excess plastic around some of the windows to fit around my bracing timber. I test fitted each window as I went. There was usually some tweaking to be done to get a good fit. I also worked out which hand was going to hold the window and exactly what motion was to be used to get the window into position. Some of them were rather tricky to get to! I then applied 10 drops of medium viscosity CA around the window and contorted my chosen arm with the window precariously balanced on my finger tip and inserted the window into the opening. All went fairly well until Wilbur, or bullmastiff, went past at great speed and got the chord of the lamp caught around his leg! In order to save the lamp from crashing to the concrete floor I had to let go of the structure with one hand and hold it just with the other while I unraveled the panicked dog. When I returned to my work, fearing great disaster, by some miracle the window had slipped snuggly into position while I was wresting with the dog and the lamp. I don't trust CA long term, so I add Aleenes tacky glue around both the pains of glazing and the windows. I did one wall at a time and then applied the tacky glue and let set over night.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
I don't think I'll try to recreate your window seating approach, not even with one of our toy poodles...
The window coloring makes a nice contrast with the brick.
dave
Mark,
I had a lot of catching up to do. :o I was afraid that the size of the building would overpower the adjacent structures but looking at the building in place it fits right in. I also like the contrast between the main building and the window inserts.
Mark, your brick walls look very realistic.
8) A very industrious project! Looking great!
Quote from: elwoodblues on January 18, 2026, 09:48:19 PMMark,
I had a lot of catching up to do. :o I was afraid that the size of the building would overpower the adjacent structures but looking at the building in place it fits right in. I also like the contrast between the main building and the window inserts.
Thanks, Ron.
I think when the low pitched gable roof goes on with cupola it will change things up again.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on January 18, 2026, 07:17:35 PMI don't think I'll try to recreate your window seating approach, not even with one of our toy poodles...
The window coloring makes a nice contrast with the brick.
dave
Thanks, Dave.
A poodle would definitely be better. Wilbur weighs around 140 pounds!
I'm pleased with that green. They are nice paints, but I noticed the stock was rather low last time I was in the art shop - I hope they are not discontinuing the range!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Rick on January 19, 2026, 05:36:49 AMMark, your brick walls look very realistic.
Thanks, Rick.
Brick walls are fun to do. I'm enjoying kitbashing again. Its been a little while. That board on board sawmill has taken an age...
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Philip on January 19, 2026, 01:51:45 PM8) A very industrious project! Looking great!
Thanks, Philip.
I'm hoping to keep the momentum up!
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
Photo 1 - You can see I have added an angled styrene wall and roof for the road to disappear into. Before the windows were added I painted the sills with Tamiya FX-83 medium sea grey.
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Photo 2 - Here is the area surrounding the kitbash that will be added to the left. This kitbash will not be a part of the challenge, but I will likely mock something up so you get the gist.
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Photo 3 - The front wall.
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Photo 4 - a close up of the 5th and 6th story frontage.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on January 19, 2026, 03:56:55 PMA poodle would definitely be better. Wilbur weighs around 140 pounds!
I'm pleased with that green. They are nice paints, but I noticed the stock was rather low last time I was in the art shop - I hope they are not discontinuing the range!
Cheers, Mark.
My 'fat boy' weighs less than 14 lbs (but he feels a lot heavier when he's tight next to me trying to push me off the bed...), the other one is about 11 1/2 lbs. What do you use to thin the acrylics for brushing?
dave
QuoteWhat do you use to thin the acrylics for brushing?
For the brickwork, I don't thin. For the sills when using Tamiya FX I use isopropyl alcohol.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark great coloring on the brick walls; something different.
Quote from: Larry C on January 20, 2026, 08:39:40 PMMark great coloring on the brick walls; something different.
Thanks, Larry.
Yes - a change is as good as a holiday... Hoping to get a bit more done on modelling Thursday. I might 'pool' supplies for that scratchbuild. That way I can do a bit of pre planning modelling! Any excuse!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, excellent progress and terrific coloring choices.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on January 22, 2026, 06:25:26 PMMark, excellent progress and terrific coloring choices.
Thanks very much, Curt.
There are some nice colours in that spray paint range. I was in the art shop on Wednesday and asked about their unstocked shelves. Apparently they are so popular they can't keep up with the orders. No problems with getting anything, and all the colour swatches are on their website.
Cheers, Mark.
Hi guys.
A short update.
Photo 1 - Here is a photo of the DPM kitbash glued at right angles to the Atlas kitbash. As previously shown I had cut, chiseled and sanded any positive detail from the Atlas wall in order to achieve a good, tight fit when joining the two walls. I applied a bead of medium CA to edge of the bottom half of the DPM wall and then glued in position. The top half I applied a bead of thin CA to the inside seam, held in position and let the capillary action create a bond. I used a square when gluing to make sure things were pretty good for 90 degrees.
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Photo 2 - Using my paper plan I had drawn up along with measurements of the walls, I marked and cut out a base from 1.5mm styrene. I bought 3 more sheets of this last week so I should be all good for a few more years! The sheets are 4 1/2' x 2 1/2'. On todays exchange rate they cost a little under $20US a sheet. I made a copy of the base before trimming to fit the kit base I had attached and the small jut out at the end of the wall. I had to allow for the thickness of the walls. I glued the base into position on a flat surface with a piece of grease proof paper on top. After this had set I applied Aleenes tacky glue to the back of all the joins, but left gaps around the basement windows. I want to test fit this on the layout before adding a roof and floors, and as this modelling Thursday was at my friend, Neil's house, I left this project to set up while I carried on with something else.
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Photo 3 - A closeup shot.
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Photo 4 - I started marking out and cutting walls for the scratchbuild. There was a fair bit of decision making about the types of cladding materials I would use, and this slowed me down a bit. I decided to mix up the front wall with thin vertical siding for the tower and weatherboard to the left and right. The wall to the left of the tower actually sits considerably higher than shown in the photo, and I will splice some 1.5mm styrene to the bottom. The majority of the rest of the cladding will be wider vertical scribed siding.
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More soon, cheers, Mark.
Mark,
I don't know how you can build so many structures all at once!.
I would be lost.
Rich
Mark, nice job of glueing the walls together.
Mark,
The way you cut the wall sections and glue them together seamlessly is incredible. Once painted the seams will be invisible.
Mark nice work on getting the walls fitted tightly. Like Ron said once painted it will look seamless. Have fun with the scratch build.
Mark those walls glued together perfect!!
Jerry
Quote from: Pennman on January 23, 2026, 12:34:40 AMMark,
I don't know how you can build so many structures all at once!.
I would be lost.
Rich
Hi Rich.
If this building was a kit it would come with walls cut to size and shape and with all the openings cut in the walls. Things would be labeled and there would be some sort of construction sequence. Windows and doors would be selected (or materials and templates provided - I think I will have to scratchbuild most of the doors) and corner trim and stripwood for loading docks, decks, rafters and other trim packaged. I can do all of that and then put the build aside. This time around I'm hoping to do all of that and keep going. I can juggle four balls pretty well. I never quite got the hang of five - maybe its time to get them out and start practicing again!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Rick on January 23, 2026, 06:31:48 AMMark, nice job of glueing the walls together.
QuoteThe way you cut the wall sections and glue them together seamlessly is incredible. Once painted the seams will be invisible.
QuoteMark nice work on getting the walls fitted tightly. Like Ron said once painted it will look seamless. Have fun with the scratch build.
QuoteMark those walls glued together perfect!!
Thanks, Rick, Ron, Larry and Jerry.
I bit of time spent at the fitting stage always pays dividends. I often do the same when doing an internal corner with weatherboards. I should find time today to do a test fit and hopefully get a bit more done tomorrow, Sunday.
Cheers, and thanks for following along, Mark.
Mark, Cheers,
You are making some great progress. I really like the wall colors, the brick insert contrast as well as the green windows. They seem to please my eye as very natural looking for old brick buildings.
Fantastic, step by step, I'm enjoying the journey.
Tom
Quote from: ACL1504 on January 23, 2026, 03:10:20 PMMark, Cheers,
You are making some great progress. I really like the wall colors, the brick insert contrast as well as the green windows. They seem to please my eye as very natural looking for old brick buildings.
Fantastic, step by step, I'm enjoying the journey.
Tom
Thank you for your kind words, Tom.
I went through the paint swatches for the Belton range of spray paints, writing down the #'s and names of anything I though I might use on buildings. I listed over 80 different colours! That would be over $1,000, so I wont be buying all those! But it is nice to know there are so many options available. Greens, browns and off whites seem to work well for window and door colours to my eye, and contrast nicely with the brick colours. I was pleased with how easily and well my quick method of 'stabbing' on the weathered wood colour and dry brushing with a lighter shade of green was. I think the windows look much better weathered.
I'm pleased you are enjoying my step-by-step. I like to let pictures tell the story for the most part and just fill in a few details and explanations.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark,
Your plan of attack with choosing paint colors makes perfect sense to me.
I try to picture what a particular color would look like next to another one
and what that building would look like in the overall area, and change them up
accordingly. I wouldn't want one to stand out over any of the others. Sort of
a blend-in flow. I like your way of doing things.
Rich
I just caught up with this build Mark.
It looks like you have been very productive with some massive structures and your progress is amazing. Excellent work, as usual..... 8)
Mark, the brick work is great. I just read through the whole thread, I'll be sure to check back. Great progress so far, and what a challenge this will be. Like most of us, I've been centered on my own projects, and it's below zero here, a good time to model. Keep up the good work.