FOS Bandits Roost

[S&S RR]

George


I really like the plan for elevation change. Great start on the kit.

[Opa George]

Thanks for the comments and welcome, Tom.  I'm very happy to have you looking over my shoulder.

The walls, windows and trim have all cured for a day so it's time to start putting glue to wood. Below are the Vallon Paint walls with corner trim added.  I also painted the parts to the display window on the laser cut sheet.


I used the back of a razor knife blade to clean out the lines between boards. It gives it more definition in spots where the paint wanted to hide detail.


Added and weathered some signs.


And with windows, it is starting to come alive.


I was looking closer at the site plan and counted eleven or twelve structures in this kit (counting the livery shed as a distinct structure). Wow.
--George

[jerryrbeach]

George,

Looking really good (and you have barely started).  Glad I have a front row seat for this build!

[PRR Modeler]

Great color on the walls George.

[postalkarl]

Hey George:

It's looking just great. My Great Grandfather through myself were house painters and paperhangers. I mixed lots of White Lead, oil and turpentine. We used to make our own paint. Probably luck I didn't get lead poisoning.

Karl

[Opa George]

Thanks for the compliment, Jerry.   Karl, I love that story and your connection to that sign.  Sounds like maybe I should add a few extra vents to the roof, for safety.
--George

[MAP]

Great start George!  It certainly would be a more dramatic effect super-elevating the buildings.  I'll be following along. Lead, oil & turpentine oh my!  Extra vents would be a good idea. 

[Jerry]

Love that coloring terrific job so far!!


Jerry

[ReadingBob]

Repeating what everyone else has said - Great job!  The walls look excellent.   

[sdrees]

Hey George, the paint effect looks great, as do the signs.

[ACL1504]

Ditto to all the above.

Tom

[Opa George]

Thank you, everyone.  Let's continue with dressing out the walls for Vallon Paint.

Sometimes I mentally walk through the steps per the instructions, keeping all parts in front of me, so I can visualize and better understand the steps. At this point, however, I skipped over the paint stencil and installed the window castings first.  Had I visualized the steps, I would have realized that the window castings would interfere with affixing the stencil absolutely flat on the wall.  So I had to trim the top and bottom of the "PAINT" stencil to make it fit between the castings.  This made applying the black paint to the stencil a little more "fussy" than it normally would have been.  However, all turned out well enough.


My observation on using stencils is to apply a much, much lighter coat that you think you need, if you are going for an aged effect.  Almost what you would consider too light.  Here, I thought I had gone too light, but when I removed the stencil, realized it was even a shade darker than I had envisioned.  I like it though and did not attempt to lighten it by sponging on more white.  Don't forget to go back and carefully fill in the tiny areas where the stencil cut through the letters.

I added window shades, the laser-cut doors and began building the storefront window.  Below is a close-up to better show the construction of the bay window.


Here is the reverse of this same wall at this point in the construction.  The laser cut door components are so precise that gluing them in place can be a little difficult as their side edges are so thin, making a tiny area for the glue to hold.  Also, if your trim is not exactly right, a little light will show through.  If the door is solid and will be closed, I like to glue some black construction paper to the back wall surface. This allows me to glue the laser cut door directly to the black paper instead of to the door frame itself, and it also blocks any light that may show through the edges.


I took some very thin wire and fashioned a door handle, then used a pin vise to drill holes to match the wire size. A drop of wood glue on the reverse holds the handle in place where the ends of the wire poke through.  In the bay window, you can see some tiny bits of scrap representing a display.


Installation of the alley entrance door using the same black paper backing.


Just about ready to assemble the walls.  I found some tiny scraps of leftover shingles (already painted!--a bonus)  from The Terminal kit for the small bay window roof.


Maybe more later today--stay tuned.  --George

[PRR Modeler]

Very nicely done George.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Your structure is looking fantastic, George!

I love the little boxed window with all the details inside - and the addition of shingles to its roof looks great.  You seem to have also made most of your nail holes disappear, which is very effective.

Cheers, Mark.

[Opa George]

Your structure is looking fantastic, George!

I love the little boxed window with all the details inside - and the addition of shingles to its roof looks great.  You seem to have also made most of your nail holes disappear, which is very effective.

Cheers, Mark.

Thank you, Mark! I am slowly learning the art of subtlety in modeling. 

I mentioned earlier the high viscosity of the white acrylic craft paint that I prefer.  It also happens to be the cheapest at the craft store--so I can't genuinely claim "yea, I planned it that way."  But after seeing how it performed in a previous build, and how the dry sponged-on paint cracks and resembles chipping paint, I went out and got several more bottles before they changed their formula.
--George