Builders in Scale "The Waterfront"

[Opa George]

Time for just a little more work on the saltbox boarding house today. I assembled the dormer walls and windows per the instructions. Instead of blocking the dormer windows with fully drawn shades, I put black paper on the roof slope behind the windows. I think this will give that upper floor a little depth.

The spackling paste dried to my satisfaction, so I added a little white acrylic paint to seal it.  You can still see some of the spackle on the porch floorboards and the siding next to the stairwell entryway. I'll go over that with some weak A & I mix and it should go away.

The dormer assembly needs to dry overnight so that I can sand it level for a tight roof fit tomorrow. Roof weathering and final trim to come soon.

[Janbouli]

Hadn't noticed the open stairs on the store front yet , love the looks of that.

[ACL1504]

George,

I've been lurking and following along as well. Very nicely done on the BIS kit. Great job.

Tom

[vinceg]

Nicely done. Interesting kit, too. The architectural features (store front, stairwell, dormer) give it a lot of character. Looking forward to seeing the finished project.

[postalkarl]

Hey Opa George:

You are moving right along and I'm following.

Karl

[Mark Dalrymple]

Coming on nicely, Opa George.

I, too, like the visible stairway - a nice feature.

Cheers, Mark.

[Opa George]

Thank you very much Karl, Janbouli, Tom and Mark--I am a fan of your work elsewhere on this forum and happy to have  you following. This structure is coming along much to my satisfaction. Yes, the open staircase at the front is a nice touch. I am considering adding a handrail on at least one side if not both sides of the stairs, particularly since it is a focus point.

I finally have it "under roof," with photos below. Chimney weathered and installed and some roof weathering.  I may have overdone the soot on the shingles and may tone it down--or maybe it will grow on me.


I added the vent pipe from my spare parts box--still need to paint and rust it. Here is the front side.  Next step will be some detailing.


Sunday we're off to Philadelphia for a Phillies game--so probably no post until Monday. Have a great holiday weekend, everyone.

[Opa George]

Hot day today. Spent the morning gardening and now hiding from the heat inside and finishing up the first structure in the multi-structure kit. The saltbox structure houses an attorney's office, a cabinetmaker's shop (idea--up until the mid-20th century, many small town cabinetmakers also made the coffins used locally--I may add some coffins/ lids out behind the structure once it is sited), and an upstairs boarding house.

Today I finished the trim, hung the attorney's "shingle" added a stovepipe to the rear wall and installed stair bannisters for the exterior stairwell. This first structure is pretty much done.


These photos were taken under layout lighting and show the colors a little better than my workbench lights.


Next up will be the freight house and bait shop. But first I need a day to "redd up" the workbench, as my parents used to say.

[Zephyrus52246]

Looks great, George!  Love the posters.


Jeff

[Opa George]

Thanks much, Jeff.  Me, too. They really help set a scene.

[GPdemayo]

Nicely done George. 

[Opa George]

Thank you, Gregory!  I appreciate the support.
On to the Freight House, which is built in three sections. We start with the dock section--a nice square block of a middle section. I have constructed the "concrete" foundation from dimensional strip wood, cut out numerous pieces from the cardstock, including the dock floor which is shown glued to the foundation, and primed and painted the window and door castings.

Paint colors used: Rustoleum satin Colonial Red for the doors and windows, and Rustoleum gray primer for the foundation.


After sanding and before painting, I distressed the foundation with gouges, cracks and other signs of age:


Roof sections received strip shingles. The foundation also received a wash of quarter-strength A&I, then a very water-thinned coat of Nicole's craft acrylic tan to warm it up.  Waiting for it to dry completely, but I think I may want to bring out more of a tan/sand color to better mimic the old concrete.  There is more shingling to do, but I am shingled out for the evening. Time to put the finished roof pieces under a heavy book for the evening.

[Opa George]

I finished cutting openings for the windows and doors on the freight house structure, framed the large freight door openings with scale lumber and braced the backs with dimensional lumber. The instructions call for very light bracing throughout the kit and I experienced slight warping on the saltbox walls, so I will probably study the plans for a few places to add a bit more.  I seldom add extensive interior detailing--usually just some details near open doors to suggest interior activity--so additional bracing won't be hard to hide.

Also shingled the bait shop walls. The freight house is actually three distinct structures combined into one: an actual two-story freight house, an enclosed dock, and a small "tacked on" bait shop. The combination of angles and roof lines looks really nice in the plans and photos of the finished kit.  I also ran test fittings for the cast windows and doors, sanding a little here and there, distressed the board and batten walls, particularly near the bottom, and (after taking the photo below) spray painted the back sides with flat black primer to also help prevent warping.

[postalkarl]

Hey George:

looks like you are moving right along.

Karl

[NEMMRRC]

I'm anxious to see this fit into its rightful spot. I like waterfront scenes.

Jaime