Durango Press Newspaper Office as a Photographer's Studio

[jerryrbeach]

I think the subject says it all.  

First up, a major disclaimer.  This is not a build thread.  I often seem incapable of taking a photo of each step, often skipping more than one before it dawns on me I failed to get the necessary shot. 

I'm also slipping in a couple photos of a Campbell newspaper office I built when the forum was non-existent.

[jerryrbeach]

My friend Jim gave me a Durango Press newspaper office many years ago.  At a later date, I think when he went to O scale, he also gifted me a Langley Models old time photographer.  I decided to pull this kit off the shelf and start it, and given its large front windows it cried out for a detailed interior.  Beware the flash powder my photographer likes to use, and let's get started. 

Here's a photo of the kit box.  I'm only building the main structure, if such a small building can be called a "main structure". The parts for the small building will be saved "just in case". 

Already I "messed up" in that I failed to photograph the kit contents before I started working on it. At least you cannot say I did not warn you!

[jerryrbeach]

So, lets start with the first group of photos I did take, the wall bracing.  I have a good number of quilt clips.  I prefer them to clothespin clamps for bracing the walls of a kit.  The walls of this kit are board and batten so the wood grain runs vertically, thus bringing the need for horizontal bracing into play.

I'm going to stop here, though I do want to note I messed up when numbering the photos I took.  So, if anyone notices gaps in the photo numbers, the only ones missing are the ones I forgot to take.

[deemery]

Something to consider:  Historical photographer studios often had a large skylight in the roof to let in natural light.  That would make a nice, and easy-to-do detail.  (Best to use a window casting with multiple smaller panes, if you want to be most historically accurate, cut a large window casting and then frame it with either styrene or wood pieces.)

dave

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looking good, Jerry.

Great cornice on that Campbell structure.  What a beauty!  Very neat work.

Cheers, Mark.

[GPdemayo]

Nice commercial building.....I'll be looking in Jerry. 

[PRR Modeler]

Very nice Jerry. I'll be following.

[ACL1504]

Jerry,

Regardless of your disclaimer, your off to a great start. I looked at the photo and thought you were taking "going green" seriously. Then I read the clips are for quilting. 

Tom 

[jerryrbeach]

Something to consider:  Historical photographer studios often had a large skylight in the roof to let in natural light.  That would make a nice, and easy-to-do detail.  (Best to use a window casting with multiple smaller panes, if you want to be most historically accurate, cut a large window casting and then frame it with either styrene or wood pieces.)

dave

Dave,

That is a great suggestion, one had not thought of prior to starting this build.  Unfortunately, the build is ahead of the photos posted thus far.  Due to a minor mistake (yeah, let's call it that) while assembling the structure, adding a skylight now would mean building a complete roof assembly.

[jerryrbeach]

Looking good, Jerry.

Great cornice on that Campbell structure.  What a beauty!  Very neat work.

Cheers, Mark.

Mark,

I enjoy building some of the older kits because I find the way architectural details could be fabricated using various common sizes of strip wood interesting.  Sometimes as modelers we forget what it was like before we were blessed with plastic, resin, and 3D printed detail parts.

[jerryrbeach]

Nice commercial building.....I'll be looking in Jerry. 

Greg,

Thanks for stopping in and following along.

[jerryrbeach]

Very nice Jerry. I'll be following.

Thanks for the kind words.

[jerryrbeach]

Jerry,

Regardless of your disclaimer, your off to a great start. I looked at the photo and thought you were taking "going green" seriously. Then I read the clips are for quilting. 

Tom

Tom,

Would "going green" be so bad?  I bought those clips long ago based on a recommendation from someone whose name I have long forgotten.  The bracing can still shift if i am not careful when I apply them, but I find them easier to work with than the "traditional" close pin clamps.  The disclaimer is because there are a lot of gaps between the construction steps where I failed to shoot photos.

[jerryrbeach]

When I plan to build a kit I think about what color scheme would show it off the best while being at least slightly different from existing structures on my layout.  My idea for this took me back to my grandparents' cottage.  My grandfather decided it was time to give the cottage a fresh coat of paint and I was enlisted to help.  My grandfather was always looking for a bargain and he found several gallons of oil based white paint for a great price.  It turned out there was a reason for the "great price".  The paint was closer to water with some white tint, than it was to house paint.  When I looked at this kit with its board and batten side walls I thought what a great building to "paint" with a watered down coat of white. 

What happened next was the first of my major mistakes.  (Stay tuned for the second, it changed the entire build, but more on that later.)  My usual stain to use under paint is an alcohol and ink mix.  I have used that so often that I thought a change was due.  I chose Hunterline dark brown stain and applied it very lightly, wiping much of the stain from the brush before applying it to the walls.  What I did not consider (the old 20:20 hindsight) was that having roughed up the walls with a wire brush, no matter how light I tried to apply the stain, the walls came out much darker than I had intended.

After applying the same stain to a piece of scrap and brushing a thin coat of white acrylic on top it was pretty obvious that plan A was not possible.  The white turned into an unappealing translucent gray. On to plan B, change the color scheme.  I still wanted the board and batten walls to look less than well cared for, so I switched colors and was satisfied enough to apply it to the walls. 

I used what Brett gallant refers to as the "damp brush" technique.  I used a stencil brush because I thought the stiffer bristles would be the easiest way to achieve the look I wanted.  I unloaded most of the paint form the brush, and working from the top down (assuming the eaves would protect the paint along the top of the walls) I painted the walls.   

 

[jerryrbeach]

This thread would have been flowing along smoothly if only I had remembered to take a photo of the walls after they were painted.  The best I can do is post this photo I did remember to take a few steps later in the construction process.