I needed to populate Hill Street in Cuspidor with some shops fairly quickly and picked up a Walthers merchants Row 1 at a fair price from a UK store. How.ever Hill Street is, you've guessed it, on a hill and a steep one at that.I figured a little slicing up would be possible. However there is a snag, there isn't any matching Walthers brick siding to be had over here. I may have to improvise. Anyhow I made my cutting decision which gives me a three store and a two that I can arrange on the hill. Next step tomorrow is to prime and paint the walls I do have.
Barry,
Building a town scene on a grade offers a significant challenge, but IMO the results are far more interesting than the same type of scene without the change in elevation. I will be following to see how you succeed with this challenge.
I'll be watching, Barry.
I cut this kit up and staggered it down a hill on a curve (using 3/5ths of the kit). It came out well. I think I used Slaters bricks for the fire walls. I also added hip roofs to two of the shops. Its great to cut these things up and splice them back together in new and unique ways.
Cheers, Mark.
Thanks Jerry, I'll try to remember to keep photographing the process.
Mark I'll take a look at the Slater sheets although I used to find them too sterile, one wall at least will be pretty visible so I might bite the bullet and pay the outrageous postage quoted from the States. Hill Street has a curve to it but probably not enough to justify further splitting. I'll think about that later if Wendy allows me back up to the loft this afternoon! Do you have a photo of your kitbash, I would be interested to see it. Cheers Barry
Hi Barry.
The Slaters product I use comes in small sheets and is quite rustic. There are several different brick 'bonds' to choose from. Like many of my structures my block of shops kitbash is unfinished! I also used another shop front from the 'block' to do another bash. You can clearly see the Slaters brickwork on the side wall of this bash. As it is for OO scale, it is a bit oversized, but that doesn't particularly worry me in this instance.
Cheers, Mark.
Barry,
FWIW, I have some Wills OO dressed stone sheets I think are pretty nice. Don't they make brick sheets, too?
Mark Nice work! I particularly like your colour treatment of the brickwork in the first photo. Thinking about where my buildings will be positioned I doubt whether the new walls will be very visible anyway so off to the LHC tomorrow in Coventry.
Jerry I use the Wills stuff occasionally but it only comes in small sheets and the thickness varies from one side to the other which makes it less than ideal to work with. I guess I'll have to work with what I can pick up tomorrow. Cheers.
Mark I like the Mansard roofs too! I may borrow that.....
Thanks Barry.
Umm - I think I'm confused - Wills sounds right, as they are small sheets.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark they might just do for this and if that's all I can get today that's what I'll be using. I've had to splice them in the past and because they are cast in an uneven thickness that can mean fiddling and filing, just an extra chore that shouldn't be necessary. Cheers
Barry,
Nice structures, well done.
Tom ;D
Tom If my kitbash works out as well as mark's I'll be pleased.
Quote from: barrymk on December 01, 2014, 02:07:40 PM
Tom If my kitbash works out as well as mark's I'll be pleased.
Okay, I did get the posts a bit mixed didn't I? Anyway, I'm sure your's will be nicely done as well.
Tom ;D
I'll try to live up to that!
I've been as busy as today's raft of honeydoos has allowed. Here's a progress report. painting, painting, painting.........
So far so good, lots still to do.
Pretty cool..
I can only hope that in the UK cuspidor has some different meaning than here in the western US.
Probably not....... great name though.
It's also an oversize word for this forum.
see ya
Bob
The blue on the one building looks a little bright, you might want to tone that down a bit. But I like the color choices.
dave
Quote from: bparrish on December 02, 2014, 06:01:15 PM
Pretty cool..
I can only hope that in the UK cuspidor has some different meaning than here in the western US.
Probably not....... great name though.
It's also an oversize word for this forum.
see ya
Bob
I'll see your cuspidor, and raise you a spittoon...
dave
A little quote if I may from my blog: "Here is the magnificent bronze statue of Alonzo Phleming, the first European to set foot in the
[/size]
[/size]Cuspidor Valley. An early Mountain Man, trapper and explorer he was famed for inventing the world's first collapsible, travelling spittoon, in
[/size]
[/size] honour of which he named the valley "Cuspidor".
[/size]
Dave I always find blue the most difficult colour to judge. I let this down with a lot of white, but there's still a fair bit of dry brushing to be done yet that should help. Frankly I'd be reluctant to repaint it and the one redeeming feature is that when these shops are sited you'll be hard pressed to see the fronts anyway!
Hmm good job I checked, that quote didn't come out. Here it is ,I hope.
"Here is the magnificent bronze statue of Alonzo Phleming, the first European to set foot in the Cuspidor Valley. An early Mountain Man, trapper and explorer he was famed for inventing the world's first collapsible, travelling spittoon, in honour of which he named the valley "Cuspidor". "
Quote from: barrymk on December 02, 2014, 08:02:42 PM
Hmm good job I checked, that quote didn't come out. Here it is ,I hope.
"Here is the magnificent bronze statue of Alonzo Phleming, the first European to set foot in the Cuspidor Valley. An early Mountain Man, trapper and explorer he was famed for inventing the world's first collapsible, travelling spittoon, in honour of which he named the valley "Cuspidor". "
Well, there was a long-standing tradition of British aristocracy investing in dude ranches, gold mines, and other endeavours in the American west.
On that blue, you could mix up some gray into the blue, extensively drybush the windows with this, and then do the more traditional white highlights.
dave
QuoteWell, there was a long-standing tradition of British aristocracy investing in dude ranches, gold mines, and other endeavours in the American west.
Hmm.... Not sure I saw him as aristocracy, just another chancer. He never made his fortune. Pitching his tent on an exposed gold reef he dismissed it as fool's gold and wandered off back into obscurity.
On that blue, you could mix up some gray into the blue, extensively drybush the windows with this, and then do the more traditional white highlights.
Quote
Yep worth a try Dave, thanks.
"Alonzo Phleming, the Earl of Cuspidor" does have a bit of a ring to it :-)
[/size]dave
Too funny Dave
Thanx
Bob
Working steadily on this and getting bored with it. Dulled down the blue but still lots more to do.
Let's do the whole peerage thing: "Sir Alonzo Phleming, 7th Earl of Cuspidor, of Spittoon Abbey"
That blue looks a lot better, much more weathered and 'to scale'.
dave
You forgot "Spittoon Abbey, West Phlemington"
Quote from: barrymk on December 03, 2014, 03:58:09 PM
You forgot "Spittoon Abbey, West Phlemington"
I think I've been to Phlemington, New Jersey.... :P
dave
OK Dave......
Let me see if I've got this straight now .........
Seventh Earl................... Does that mean that there six before ? ? ?
I'm just fishing here but......... did they lose their Earl-dom when they took a shot at the spittoon and missed.....?
Ah Yes ! ! ! Let's name the next Earl and see if he is any better shot.........
Staggers the imagination.
Oh and by the way......... I think Barry lost control of his thread here.
see ya
Bob
Sir Alonzo Phleming, 7th Earl of Cuspidor, is descended from a long line of of aristocrats born on the wrong side of the blanket. Notable forbearers include Sir Robin of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, and another relative known as Fitz-Blackadder whose exact parentage is still a subject of debate and DNA testing. The family was granted the former Spittoon Abbey by Henry VIII, in thanks for hosting Henry after a particularly embarrassing bout of stomach discomfort. The market town of West Phlemington grew up around Spittoon Abbey, dealing in used sheep, over-ripe fish, and its trademark Blew Cheese. In the middle of the 19th century Sir Alonzo decided to try his hand at dude ranching in North America, trying to leverage the family history with sheep. After all the sheep ran scared, Sir Alonzo next tried prospecting. On a trip to the Colorado Rockies, accompanied by his faithful donkey Lola, he spotted a shiny outcropping of golden rock. Dismissing it as a semi-crystalline form of Pyrite ("Fool's Gold"), he made camp on the outcropping one Christmas. From there he spotted an outcropping of coal, leading to the high Victorian notion of 'coal for Christmas' as an expression of disfavor and disappointment. Sir Alonzo eventually returned to England and partook in the Industrial Revolution. While in America, he developed the bad habit of chewing tobacco, and the Cuspidor is named in his honor. His heirs started the first factory for these, taking the abbey name as their brand. Phleming's Spittoon brand Cuspidors are known world-wide as the mark of quality, with the slogan, "You better not miss a Cuspidor".
And as Paul Harvey once said, "Now you know ... the rest of the story."
dave
p.s. Rege Cordic was a model railroader and had several photos published in MR. see http://www.pittsburghbrewing.com/blog/rege-cordic-and-the-origin-of-the-slosh/ (http://www.pittsburghbrewing.com/blog/rege-cordic-and-the-origin-of-the-slosh/) for the backstory on Olde Frothingslosh, there have been several Old Frothingslosh beer reefer kits over the years.
You have altogether too much time on your hands ;D
Dave...
Is there a chance that the good Earl ever made it to Texas in his US adventures and somehow messed around in the oil industry. Recall that if you talk to a "true" Texan........
They pronounce oil as if they were talking to the Earl.
Just thinkin' out loud here.
see ya
Bob
Bob,
You just may have a point that the good Earl did find his way to Texas. I heard many years ago about "scared sheep" in Texas, and after reading "the rest of the story" from Dave, it is all coming together, at least in my mind.
Barry,
This is a nice block of structures, the blue looks much better to me now than it did in the earlier photo. Again, these buildings have wonderful architectural details, and you have done a nice job with paint schemes that enhance them. Interesting thread, and I'll be watching your progress.
The blue doesn't look out of place anymore , and I like the color schemes , going to repaint some of my DPM's.
My 'trick' for painting these kinds of buildings is to use a good quality 1/8' angle shader brush:
http://www.dickblick.com/products/robert-simmons-expression-angle-shader-series-e57/
They work the same way a house painter's sash brush works, making it easy to get into corners and run along corners.
dave
Ahem, we do have poor people over her you know, we're called "commoners"....
Dave the angled brush tip "tip geddit?" is a good one.
I was aiming to put this group on the corner of Hill Street facing away from the viewer into the narrow tunel like street. Now I think it will be wasted facing in so I will place it on the other side of the road at the bottom where it can be seen.
Looking good, Barry.
Cheers, Mark.
Cheers Mark, don't know what's happened to my spelling though,"her" instead of here and "tunel" I think my proof reader's gone on strike.
Almost done with this group, I just need to find a plastic cowboy with a Winchester that I can cut off and use for Chester's sign. Chester Goode ws Matt Dilon's sidekick in Gunsmoke for all you younger listeners...
Barry, contact Mike at Paw of a Bear (http://www.pawofabear.com). He has a very nice laser-cut Winchester rifle.
dave
Thanks Dave I've emailed him.
Nice job on the corrugated iron hip roof, Barry. I adds a lot to the scene.
They are actually very common on such buildings - at least here in New Zealand. On my recent trip to Dunedin, a city on a hill, I found myself looking down on rooftops all over the place. It was interesting to observe what looks flat from below in actuality. You might want to add a scupper and downpipe each side of the façade of the structure with the hip roof - another nice detail.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on December 06, 2014, 02:44:51 PM
Nice job on the corrugated iron hip roof, Barry. I adds a lot to the scene.
They are actually very common on such buildings - at least here in New Zealand. On my recent trip to Dunedin, a city on a hill, I found myself looking down on rooftops all over the place. It was interesting to observe what looks flat from below in actuality. You might want to add a scupper and downpipe each side of the façade of the structure with the hip roof - another nice detail.
Cheers, Mark.
And if you're modeling a location that gets a lot of snow, those 'ice blockers'/'snow blocks' are very common details on metal roofs to prevent large chunks of snow and ice falling on pedestrians underneath. See http://www.toitvaillancourt.com/en/accessories/commercial-snow-barriers-controllers.php for a bunch of examples.
dave
Barry,
I, too, like the variety of roof types and materials. They add a lot of interest to the stores.
Mark absolutely right, I added the downspouts last night, they'd been waiting to get painted. When I'm in a new town I always spend time looking above the ground floor, it's amazing how much architectural history is left in plain sight but generally unobserved.
Dave thanks for that detail, I hadn't really noticed those although we also have them here but I have some brass frets that may now come into service.
Cheers everyone, now for the group of two shops to finish. I must say I'm getting bored with shopfronts! Might have a break and do some scenicking.
Pretty well finished the other part of the kit. I think that about wraps it up.
Barry,
I think you have hit a "home run" with your storefronts.
Very well done Barry.....thanks again for sharing. 8)
Thanks Greg, Jerry. I got hold of a cheap polythene cowboy in a toyshop today and now it adorns Mr Goode's gunshop. I also kept looking at the first group and the outside staircase entering from the rear of the building just grated, it didn't fell right. So I bit the bullet and ripped out the wall and rebuilt it facing forwards. Now I'm happier. Anyway here is the end result, not bad for a cheap plastic kit. The only thing I dislike about these kits is the over deep window frames, you'd think it wouldn't cost much more in the tooling to cure this.