A very hydrocal introduction.

[downtowndeco]

Well I survived my first Expo & had plenty of fun. I sold a fair amount of kits & talked to a lot of very nice people. It was quite the haul to go so far east, maybe someday the Expo will be more on my end of the country. :  ) For those who did not attend or didn't get the flyer I was handing out here you go;

"It seems like almost every day I talk to someone who has never quite worked up the courage to try a hydrocal kit. "I've never built a plaster kit." "I'm afraid that'll I'll screw up the painting." "I'm afraid that I'll break the parts." "I don't even know what kind of glue to use etc."

Stop it. Hydrocal kits don't bite. They're simply model kits like all of the other model kits you've put together over the years, they're just made of slightly different materials, that's all. You test fit the parts, give them a swipe or two with a sanding block to get a good fit & then glue them together & paint the thing like any other model. That's all there is to it.

The instructions for my kits walk you through the assembly, painting & weather step by step in an easy to understand manner. I tell you what kind of glue to use, what kind of paint to use & exactly how I painted the model on the box cover so that you can get similar results. I write the instructions with beginners in mind. Yes, there's more there if you've built a few that you'll get something out of them too but I try to keep them simple & easy for the average person to understand.

What does a hydrocal kit have to offer that a plastic or laser cut kit does not?
In my opinion the place where hydrocal kits really shine is in their representation of masonry buildings. If you are replicating a building that is made of brick, stone, stucco or concrete there is nothing, and I mean nothing that is going to look as a good as a hydrocal model.

The main reason for this is not that the castings are made out of plaster, which yes, does take to painting or staining better than plastic or resin, but because the master patterns are all hand carved, one brick, one stone, one cracked bit of stucco at a time. Because they are hand created by an artist, rather than a computer program, they have an amazing realistic, organic feel to them that you're just not going to find in any other type of kit.

Cracked, chipped & missing bricks. Ghost stairways & remnants of buildings that have been long torn down. Decaying stucco with brick or stone peeking through. Real, organic looking rock. Crumbling concrete & bricked in windows & doorways. All of this is possible with hydrocal. No other material or type of model kit even comes close.

I like to see people have fun with my kits & not be afraid of them. You end up with a broken part somehow? Let me know & I'll send you a replacement part at
no charge, no questions asked. Afraid you're going to screw up the painting? Don't be. Have it & if you feel like you've really mucked things up give me a call & I'll send you another set of castings to give it a second try.  If you have any issues at all please feel free to call or email me directly. I want you to have success with my kits. I want you to be happy with them. I need you to be. I have a daughter in college. :  )

Time & again people tell me, "You know, once I built the first one I found out it wasn't that hard." Stop putting it off. Buy a hydrocal kit today, and when you get home, open it up & have at it. Trust me, it won't bite.

Randy Pepprock
Downtown Deco"

Metals Bank in O Scale. Also available in HO & N Scales.

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[Amagic41]

Randy
   I survived my first also .... wanted to stop and chat with you but one thing led to another ....I really wish I had I have wanted to tackle one of your kits for a while now




Kenny
KC's Workshop

[ReadingBob]

Randy,

It was great to meet you in person at the EXPO (you too Kenny).  Just by coincidence I started work this morning on the Trackside Tavern (HO Scale version) kit that I picked up from you at the EXPO.  I'm taking pictures as I go and plan on doing a build thread here on the forum when I get a little farther along in the build.  This afternoon I'll be switching back to working on one of Kenny's kits (I'll also be doing a build thread on that one). 

I agree that there's nothing to be afraid of with hydrocal kits.  They're not hard to assemble and it's so much fun to see them come to life as you paint them.            

[ACL1504]

Randy,

It was good to see you at the EXPO. I passed by your table several times and you always seemed to be busy. I entended to return and speak with you but time got away. I have several of your kits and background flats you offered on Ebay.

As you said, "Hydrocal is nothing to be concerned about". I've buitl several but not any of yours as yet. You are high on the list though.

We know what you mean about the long haul as Reading Bob, the Judge and I drove 17 hours one was to get to this years EXPO.

Tom

[chris.mincemoyer.3]

Randy,

Thanks for making the trip east.  Sat through your clinic and picked up a lot of tips and knowledge.  Didn't build my kit during the clinic, looking forward to tackling it sometime!

Chris

[jbvb]

As others have said, it was nice to meet you & I'm glad you had fun. I've built two of your plaster kits and one of Jimmy's and they all came out OK.  Your instructions were pretty clear on what I should expect, thanks.

[rpdylan]

Yes, great clinic Randy! Just finishing the little "First Timer's Bar". Will look great as an end building on the block.  I had ordered your kits in the past, 3 of them, and now ready to build them!

Bob C.

[downtowndeco]

New stuff, reboots & messing around. Enjoy.

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Randy Pepprock
Downtown Deco

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[GPdemayo]

Nice structures Randy. 

[Dave K.]

Unsolicited Testimonial:  You really need to give one of these kits a try! Randy's carving is fantastic, his tutorials superb and dummy-proof. The town of Millersburg I did on the club layout is probably 50% DD structures. I love our traditional wood kits. Hydrocal is a different medium and a lot of fun and a nice change of pace. Pick up a small starter kit like the trackside bar and give it a try! Once you do, watch for his occasional offering of boneyard castings. They're fantastic for background flats along the tracks.  👍👍👍

[UP Fan]

Randy, I love the abandoned, boarded up building.   Has a lot of character.  Nice job.