Summit St. Pawn -- 2022 Winter Challenge Build

[Opa George]

Well let's get started on a winter challenge build. Earlier I posted my intent to scratch build something to fill one of the last vacant lots on Summit Street. The lot is triangular and small. After lots of useful input from forum members, I settled on a pawn shop to fill the space.

As an extra challenge, I'm building it from mostly leftover parts. My pack rat tendencies have resulted in boxes of leftover kit pieces, this and that. Below is a portion of my horde, dumped out in order to find pieces large enough for the main walls. The shop will have a frontage of twenty scale feet with a side alley wall of the same length. The other side wall will be only a few feet wide to fit the triangular shape of the lot, and the rear wall will be twenty-nine feet long.



Having found some likely scrap, I cut out the main walls and scrounged up some spare doors and windows.  Below are the walls with doors and windows lying on top to check placement.  At top is the rear wall.  I'm considering different options for a wall covering. I have plenty of shingles to use up, as well as some corrugated metal panels.  Could even do tarpaper, but I'm leaning toward a sheet of die cut battens from Master Creations that I did not use on the barn in the Waxworks kit.  Below that, from left to right: the alley wall, front wall and short side wall:



As assembled, it will be a right triangle shaped shop with one point slightly truncated. The back wall will be the hypotenuse wall and will face the aisle, so I am planning some interesting signage.

I'm thinking about a gabled roof that extends out over the front sidewalk, to add interest, but I haven't quite worked that out yet.

All for now.

--Opa George

[postalkarl]

Hey George:

Looks like you are making progress.

Karl

[PRR Modeler]

Nice job so far George.

[GPdemayo]

I'll be looking in on this one George.....

[deemery]

"Parts bin builds" are as much fun as good kitbashing projects.  Looking forward to seeing how you make the best use of your spare parts.


dave

[Opa George]

Glad to have you all along, Karl, Curt, Greg and Dave!

I cut holes to accept the tichy windows and doors. Cuts aren't as neat as a laser, but will do the job.  Of course I broke one of the narrow bits on the front wall, but frankly would have been really surprised had it remained entirely intact.  Tiny dabs of wood glue repaired it well.


The black wall, by the way, came from sheets of picture frame matting. We had purchased several vintage photos years ago at a craft show and the vendor used entire sheets of the matting as envelope stiffeners behind the photos.  I can't imagine that stuff is cheap, and I recognized right away that it would make fantastic modeling material. I've been using it ever since.

I added rows of nail holes with a ponce wheel, then bracing. Below, everything is braced, clamped and drying.


Tomorrow I'll add a base A&I wash, then sponge paint.  I'm thinking white walls with green trim.

--Opa George

[PRR Modeler]

Nice progress George. What a good idea using clothes pins.

[Opa George]

Nice progress George. What a good idea using clothes pins.

Thank, Curt.  I've been using clothes pins since--I can't remember when.  For quite some time I was sneaking a few at a time from the laundry room, but finally got wise and bought a bag for modeling use, thus maintaining harmony within the household.

George

[Opa George]

Back to work while the snow continues to fall outside.

Here are the front and side walls, fully braced, with a coat of Hunterline Light Gray. The door and window castings were given a primer coat of Rustoleum camo sand, then a sponged-on coat of medium green acrylic craft paint.



While the front walls dried, I began work on the rear wall.  Below is the rear wall, cut from some scrap strathmore board, along with the unused sheet of Master Creations battens, all ready to go.  The battens have adhesive backing, so application should zoom along quickly.



Below is the rear wall, fully covered with the battens, which are in random widths. I have found that a good random pattern is best achieved by NOT trying to make them look random.  In other words, blindly pick up and apply whatever piece is next.  I gave it a bit of a rest for the adhesive to set, then sanded the top and bottom sides smooth.



And here is the resulting rear wall with trim installed.



This is where I am at the moment.  Front and side walls have been given a sponge-painted coat of acrylic craft white.  After completing the rear wall, I decided it will remain unpainted.  That meant the small window needed to be re-painted in white.



More coffee, then back to work.

--Opa George

[Opa George]

When I walked back upstairs to load these photos, I noticed the snow has stopped and a plow is coming down our cul-de-sac to spread salt.  That is good.

Below are the four walls with windows, doors and acetate windows installed.



I glued all walls together and set it in place on the odd-shaped lot to check fit.  Had to adjust slightly, but pretty good so far.



Here is the rear face, which faces the aisle. I am keeping an alley between all buildings for more detailing interest.



Next up: install a structure base and start thinking about the roof.

--Opa George

[Opa George]

One more progress pic, then stopping for lunch.
Below, I have added a base from leftover strathmore board.  Note: I subsequently removed the "sidewalk" portion in favor of using an extra FOS sidewalk section--more on that later.

I also added the interior image, which is an unused image from the FOS Rust Rock Falls company store, which I turned into a junk yard office instead of a store. But it works well here as the interior of the pawn shop.  The "Checks Cashed" and "Loans" signs are unused signs from the Bar Mills 4th Street Bail Bonds kit, which I turned into a jewelry store (my "Mermaid Gems" store elsewhere on the forum).

Finally, I have decided on a flat room.  A gabled roof would obstruct the wonderful cigar / tattoo store signs on the building just uphill.  So a flat roof demands an ornate facade, which I put together from bits and pieces.  I'll spray paint them Camo sand as a base and to blend the various materials into a common "wood" color, which I will then sponge paint green to match the trim.



--Opa George

[PRR Modeler]

Great looking progress George.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Nice progress, George.

Coming on well.

Cheers, Mark.

[Opa George]

Thanks for the support and kind comments, Curt and Mark.

Time to put on a roof.  I cut out a roof base from spare cardboard. At this point, I have replaced the strathmore sidewalk with a spare FOS sidewalk and attached a roof facade on two sides.



The roofing is from a spare sheet of rolled roofing left over from a Bar Mills kit. I like the nail holes that they imprint in their laser cut sheets.



To finish for the day, I added a smokejack on the roof and the unused awning from my FOS Green Dragon Restaurant. I also added some signs to the back wall.  Here is the new pawn shop temporarily in place on Summit Street.



And here is the back side along the aisle.



Still lots of detailing, with the main sign yet to come.  I need to create a Pawn Shop sign, as I don't have one, for the rooftop billboard.

But I think that's about it for today.  Time to start dinner--my wife will be home from work soon.

--Opa George

[deemery]

I wasn't sure about that back wall with the uneven board spacing.  But with the signs on it, it looks great.


dave