FOS - Frank Lava Gunsmith

[craftsmankits]

Your pigeon painting solution is about the only one possible once off the sprue.  Any lights to this build Bob? 
Mark

[Jerry]

Your off to a good start Bob.

As always I'm sure there will be tips along the way on how to do things.

Jerry

[ReadingBob]

Howdy Bob,

The kit looks like a fun build. Thanks for sharing your process for building the kit. It looks great!

Have fun,
mike

Thanks for following along, Mike! It is a neat kit. I hope I can do it justice. 

[ReadingBob]

Bob,

This will be another fantastic build by you on one of Doug's great kits. I just got mine in the mail yesterday. I also got the MD Garage. Looking forward to building the garage.

Anyway, great start.

Tom

Thanks, Tom! That MD Garage looks like an interesting kit. It'll look great in the area you're planning on using it.

[ReadingBob]

Your pigeon painting solution is about the only one possible once off the sprue.  Any lights to this build Bob? 
Mark

Hi Mark! Yes, I'll be adding some level of lighting to this one. Once I get the walls together, I'll have a better feel for where I'll be placing the lights. Thanks for following along!

[ReadingBob]

Your off to a good start Bob.

As always I'm sure there will be tips along the way on how to do things.

Jerry

Happy to have you following along, Jerry! Progress has slowed a bit as I'm in the painting of the details phase. I try to paint all the details, so they'll be ready for use when the time comes as opposed to painting them when they're needed.

[ReadingBob]

It's been a while since I updated this thread.  I had this batch of pictures uploaded and ready to go before I went on my trip but never got around to updating the thread so here goes.

I painted all the detail parts, including the 24 pigeons, which took some time. I wish I could give a step by step or rhyme/reason for this process, but I don't really have one. I simply grab a color I need for one specific thing that catches my eye (e.g. bottles in the garbage cans), paint them and then look for other places that color can be used. Over the years I've become a little more creative at mixing colors to get different shades, etc.



Given the trim color I'm using is a dark grey (pretty much black) I debated with myself about applying the light gray/khaki colors over it (using the dry sponge technique) because it will be really easy to overdo it. I opted to go ahead and give it a shot. I'm dabbing on the pale grey color here and trying not to overdo it.



Next up is the Khaki paint.



Good news!  The missing part arrived in the mail. Included with it was a sheet of posters. 



I moved on to prepping the walls. I mark where I want rows of 'nail holes' using a scale ruler. Along the ends, aligned with doors, windows, etc., and every 2 scale feet otherwise. Not fun when the open space between two rows is and odd number, like 9 scale feet. I just eyeball it and center the ruler between the gap by adding a 1/2 foot to my starting point to split the difference.



Then I use a steel square and a ponce wheel to add the 'nail holes'.



More in a moment...

[ReadingBob]

I roughed up the walls a bit using a chisel blade in an X-Acto handle.  Slip the blade under the clapboards to lift them a bit. Twist it to split off a chunk if you want a real weather-beaten look.



I used and Alcohol and Ink (A&I) mix to weather the walls a bit. Given this is over white paint I wanted a light coating of the A&I.  Not too dark. This is also a good time to "scrub", or clean up, any mistakes I may have made applying the grey/khaki colors. The A&I can wash off the grey/khaki colors, as well as the underlying white paint, and blend them together. 



Time to add the trim to the walls, per the template. I painted/weathered all four sides of the 1/16" square strip wood so before I add the glue I exam it to seek which sides look best and orient it, so they'll be visible and apply the glue. After applying the glue, I smooth it out/remove the excess with my fingertip (and them wipe my fingertip on a paper towel).



Get the corner piece lined up against the edge of the wall and hold it for a few minutes until the glue starts to set.



The corner piece is longer than necessary, so I trim it to fit using a single edged razor blade after the glue sets.



Using the same glue, which is Canopy Glue by the way, I apply the glue to the inside of the window openings.



More in a moment...

[ReadingBob]

Then I press the window into the opening. Oops, my finger is covering the window in this picture.



This kit comes with precut glazing for the windows, so I opted to use that instead of MicroScale Industries Micro Kristal Klear. I did use the latter, however, as glue to hold the glazing in place. I applied just a little bit of to the back of the windows.



And then carefully positioned the glazing in place. Try to keep fingers prints off of the glazing. I handled it by the edges and wiped it clean with before positioning it in place.



Next, I assembled the store front following the instructions. There are quite a few little pieces that make up the store front.



And that brings me to the end of the pictures I uploaded for this update! 

More to come. One of these days. 

[PRR Modeler]

Great modeling Bob. Glad you're back at it again. Can you get a closer shot of the dark gray with the drybrushed Kakhi?

[friscomike]

Howdy Bob, nice work on all those details. Have fun, mike

[Philip]

  Nice work!

[Rick]

Looking good Bob.

[Jerry]

Bob nice work as usual!

Jerry

[Pennman]

Bob,

Tedious work painting details. Nice job.

Rich