FOS - Shakey's Pool Hall

[ReadingBob]

Great progress Bob, of course I'll be following.

Glad to have you following along, Curt! 

[ReadingBob]

Great work Bob, you are definitely in the "Zone".

Thanks, Gary! I hope I can stay in that "Zone" for a bit. 

[deemery]

I've never used a make-up sponge to paint castings.  I'll have to try that on my next project.

dave

[ReadingBob]

Amazing on fast your moving along on this!!
As usual your great tutorial to go along with the pictures.

Jerry

Thanks, Jerry! I really appreciate any and all feedback. 

[ReadingBob]

Howdy Bob,

Nice work on the kit.  The chronicle was enjoyable to read, and I'm looking forward to the build.

Have fun,
mike

Thanks for the kind words, Mike! They are very much appreciated. 

[ReadingBob]

Bob,

Another build underway. I've run out of words to describe your talent in structure building.

So, I'll just say fantastic!

Tom

Thanks, Tom! Another interesting kit from FOS. I don't know how Doug does it. 

[ReadingBob]

Tom took the words right out of my mouth...great build Bob
terry

Thanks, Terry! I hope all is well with you. It's been a while since we've seen each other. 

[ReadingBob]

I've never used a make-up sponge to paint castings.  I'll have to try that on my next project.

dave

For most of the detail castings I use brushes although I do use the sponges to create some rust effects on the vents, 55-gallon drums, garbage cans, etc. I find that dabbing them with a craft store acrylic Burnt Sienna and having the sponge nearly dry works very well.

Glad to have you following along, Dave! 

[Philip]

Great stuff!

[ReadingBob]

Great stuff!

Thanks, Philip! Glad to have you on board. 

[ReadingBob]

Let me bring you up to date on this build.

I painted the sidewalk/foundation using a sponge and Folk Art Terra Cotta Cool Concrete. This is just the first layer of color. I'll either use washes, Pan Pastels or weathering powders to alter the color and give it some depth. I haven't done that yet. The only problem with washes is the material these are cut from tends to absorb water, so I have to be a bit careful if opt to go that route.



Continuing with the painting/weather the next step was to "dry sponge" the walls and trim pieces with Folk Art Matte Dove Gray. By dry sponge I mean I don't want to paint the walls. I tap the sponge in the paint and then remove most of the paint so when I tap it against the wall or trim pieces it only leaves a little bit of paint. This is supposed to represent places where the top layer of paint peeled off and exposed the underlying primer.



I do the same for the windows and doors.



Then I repeat the process with Americana Khaki. This is supposed to represent spots where the paint peeled away completely and exposed the wood.



Again, I do this for the walls, trim pieces, doors and windows.



I add nail holes using a steel square and a ponce wheel. The rows are adjacent to door or window openings, the ends and/or at scale two-foot intervals where there are no openings. If the space between, say, the end and the first row next to a window is and odd number like 9 (scale) feet, I fudge things a bit and center the ruler between the openings so the difference is split between both ends. Close enough!



More in a moment...

[ReadingBob]

As mentioned in the last post I mark where the rows are going to go using a scale ruler and do that at two-foot intervals. To mark the wall, I simply create a little hole using this pointy tool I use for various things.



If I want the building to look really old and not very well maintained, I'll lift some clapboards up by sliding a chisel blade in an X-Acto handle underneath them to lift them. Sometimes I'll give it a little twist to crack the clapboard, and I may even remove a chunk entirely. I avoid sections of the wall where I'm planning on adding a sign that I want to appear painted on. If there's a section of wall that be covered up by an extension, or add on, that's a great place to practice this technique.



Next, I dipped the doors and windows in my A&I solution to darken them up a little bit.



I could have used the A&I on the walls and trim pieces, but I opted to use Hunterline Light Gray Weathering Mix instead. Among other things, this will darken any raw wood that may have been exposed when the lifting and breaking off chunks of clapboard siding.



I separated the window coverings from the signs and posters before the next step.



To make the signs and posters a little less 'bright' I painted the backside with my A&I mix. It'll soak through and darken them a bit.



More in a moment...

[Dave Buchholz]

Earlier you mention the laser does not quite  leave a 90* cut. That helps to explain a few issues with similar laser cut kits that I've worked with.

Ya never know what tidbit of info someone else will find helpful. I guess the lesson is never to assume something is and it should be.

Thanks

Dave Buchholz
Fifth Dave to the right

[ReadingBob]

For advertisements that I want to appear painted on the clapboard siding I lightly sand the back of the sign to thin the paper as much as possible. I work from the center out.



Next, I mix some Elmers White Glue with water to thin it out a bit.  Roughly a 50/50 mix but I don't measure it.



I smear the thinned glue on the back of the sign with a finger. The paper, having been sanded, and the thinned glue soaking into the paper, make it pliable which is important for the next step.



I position the sign on the wall and then carefully run a fingernail along each clapboard to seat it. It's actually a little bit safer if you put a piece of clear plastic over it (like the kind that some of the parts are bagged in). That'll help prevent tearing the paper with a rough edge of a fingernail. I felt daring this time around and it worked out okay.



Next up I dry brushed pretty much everything with Ivory White. Even the white walls. This highlights the edges and brings out the detail.



For window glazing I prefer to use Microscale Industries Micro Kristal Klear.  Canopy Glue works as well but I find Canopy Glue has more of a tendency to capture air bubbles. I spread a thin layer, over the back of the opening, using my little pointy tool.  Then I prop the window, door, whatever, up on some strip wood until the Kristal Klear dries and becomes clear.




More in a moment...

[ReadingBob]

Earlier you mention the laser does not quite  leave a 90* cut. That helps to explain a few issues with similar laser cut kits that I've worked with.

Ya never know what tidbit of info someone else will find helpful. I guess the lesson is never to assume something is and it should be.

Thanks

Dave Buchholz
Fifth Dave to the right

Yep! I learned that trick from Tom (ACL1504) so credit where credit is due!