FOS Gorman Sign Company build

[ReadingBob]

Time for an update on this one.

I figured out where the dormer was going to be placed on the main roof card, removed the 3M Transfer tape (peeled off the backing and then rubbed the sticky stuff off with my finger) and cut out an opening so the light would be visible in the window.  The instructions don't really give any specifics as to the placement of the dormer, so I used the photos and my judgement as a guide.



I made the roof removeable (though I'd later glue it on anyway) by cutting out some triangles that matched the walls.  I glued this in position, so they'd butt up against the inside of the walls to properly align the roof. 



The roof assembly fit pretty well.  I did glue end up gluing it down to help prevent light leaks on the section that extends below the dormer.  It'll be easy to slip a knife blade in there to break the bond so the roof can be removed if access is needed to repair the lighting.



Next, I weathered the roof cards by brushing them with Pan Pastels.  The only downside to this was I had both black and gray strips on the main roof and, when I was finished, you can barely see the difference in the underlying colors.  Oh well.



I added some trim to the top edge of the walls.  I found these tiny cloth pins in Hobby Lobby which make great little clamps for something like this.  They don't crush the wood.



I found a chunk of Gator Foam (actually it was an old poster from a conference at work) and cut out a piece for a base and rattle canned on side flat black.  I figured out the minimum size I'd need by laying out the structure and covered work area roof card and the fence.



More in a moment...

[ReadingBob]

I used a strip of painters tape to mask off where the dirt portion of the diorama (behind the building and fence) would be and then spread Elmers glue over the area to be 'paved'.



I smeared the glue around to get a thin layer.  This step probably isn't even necessary but it's just something I've always done.



First attempt at paving the lot was done using some Wallboard Joint Compound.  Problem was I've had this sitting in the garage for a long, long time (previously opened and used) and it was no longer pliable enough to spread a nice thin layer.  Total failure.  I simply scrapped it off and started over.  This time I used some spackle.  That too, was also finely aged and not very easy to spread but it worked better that the Wallboard Joint Compound I had.  I got one layer down.  After it dried, I sanded it, but it needed another layer.  This time I went to Home Depot and bought a new container of Spackle and it went on much better.




While the spackle was drying, I went ahead and started weather some of the castings and cut out letters for signs using a sponge and some burnt sienna.  Dry sponging it on just to get hints of rust here and there.



I decide to construct the fence.  The fencing material I had previously airbrushed with Floquil Old Silver and rusted up with the sponge as noted in the previous picture.  I glued the frames to the fencing material.



After the glued dried it was easy to trim the fencing with a pair of micro shears.



More in a moment...

[ReadingBob]

Next, I added the supports for the fence and the sign.



I tried to make sure they remained square while the glue set.



Here's the finished fence/sign.  I forgot to nip off the connectors between the while letters and the S is a little out of line.  I'll have to go back and fix that.



There are a lot of signs included and it took a while to cut them all out.  The instructions say to shade the back with a pencil rather than anything moist/wet else it will bleed through.  I did that but don't particularly like the effect.  But you won't see much of the back anyway, so I left them as is.



Back to the paved area of the base.  I scribed lines in every 10 feet and added a few cracks using and X-Acto knife.



And that's all for today's update.  Hope to wrap this one up soon.  Thanks for following along!

[Zephyrus52246]

Looks great so far, Bob.  So many signs.  Oh, wait, it IS a sign company.  

Jeff

[Vietnam Seabee]

Coming along nicely, Bob....easy to follow sbs
Terry

[ACL1504]

Bob,

I've been following along but haven't posted my thoughts. Excellent build as always including the SBS and your reasoning for why you did some of it. Very well done and the building color seems to go with the signs.

Have a great vacation and a safe one.

Tom 

[Jerry]

Bob I haven't been keeping up with one.  Great work as usual.  And your tutorial are some of the best.

Jerry

[ReadingBob]

Looks great so far, Bob.  So many signs.  Oh, wait, it IS a sign company. 

Jeff

Yes, Jeff, there are a LOT of signs!  Thanks for following along!

[ReadingBob]

Coming along nicely, Bob....easy to follow sbs
Terry

Thanks Terry!  Wrapping this one up and moving on to something new (and different) shorty.  I hope to be able to show it to you soon.

[ReadingBob]

Bob,

I've been following along but haven't posted my thoughts. Excellent build as always including the SBS and your reasoning for why you did some of it. Very well done and the building color seems to go with the signs.

Have a great vacation and a safe one.

Tom

Thanks Tom!  This is a fun little kit.  Loads of details.  We're safely back from vacation and I'm ready for my next workbench adventure.  

[ReadingBob]

Bob I haven't been keeping up with one.  Great work as usual.  And your tutorial are some of the best.

Jerry

Hi Jerry!  Thanks for the kind words.  Glad to have checking in.  

[ReadingBob]

Okay, time to wrap this one up.  Only one construction photo and then the final build pictures.  Most of the 'finishing' stuff was just gluing all the details in place.  Nothing photo worthy.  After I scribed the joints/cracks in the concrete I painted using FolkArt Terra Cotta 7028 Cool Concrete followed by a wash of Americana Khaki Tan.  I was actually quite pleased with the effect.  I don't have a set formula I use for concrete.  I'm always messing around trying different paints/chalks/stains/washes until I get something that looks right to me.  After I got the color to a point that I was happy with it I tried (for the first time for me) applying Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (Black) to the joints/cracks.  You can see in the photo it bled out from the joints and didn't look good.  So here I am taking a brush dipped in plain old Rubbing Alcohol (90%) and scrubbing the surface to loosen up the paint and blend the black into it.  It worked and left me with a concrete sort of color that has some varying shades throughout.



Okay, now for the final photos!







A few more in a moment...

[ReadingBob]

Last of the pictures....









I really enjoyed building this little kit.  Other than a 'slot' being cut in the wrong place (easy fix for that - eliminate the 'tab') I had no issues with it.  Enough strip wood to get the job done.  I didn't have to dig into my stash.  Lots of great details.  The 3D printed stuff is wonderful.  

Thanks for following alone!

[Vietnam Seabee]

Bob... thanks for your narrative on the concrete coloring...it's not only helpful to what works but what doesn't work as well
A great build...well done
Terry

[ACL1504]

Bob,

Another masterful build from start to finish.

Tom