Sheesh, even in extreme closeups it looks really good!
And I can’t even get a stupid window frame square!
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Neither can I, Pete. Something about windows…
Exactly. Close-ups like that can really highlight flaws, and that looks great! I never see my mistakes until after I take the close-ups!
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Sadly it is too late for me to fix the many flaws I see in the safe. But I am not gonna list them because then you guys will see them too (if you don’t already and are too polite to point them out).
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Feet! And other minor tweaks.
The fun part is that nobody will ever see these feet. But I will know they are there!
Jim, do not feel like the Lone Ranger. I am also my worst critic. I have learned to shut up and let it eat away at me from the inside out.
You need not suffer in silence. LET IT OUT!
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Flaws, what flaws? The only flaw I see is that it will be inside the bank and not seen by the casual observer. It takes great skill to take random shapes and build something that looks that realistic. Job well done.
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Now I want to know, do the rollers on the feet actually roll??? I will still be amazed, even if the do not roll.
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Amazing Jim. Very well executed.
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Nope. Totally glued in place. If I need to move it, I suspect I can just pick it up and move it. No need to roll it 
I have always found Ray Dunakin’s builds inspiring (as I am guessing we all do). He makes it look so easy to build some weird object (like a pump) out of scraps of styrene. It has gotten me to just dive in and try it.
I am of course nowhere near Ray in skill. He’s crazy good. But it is fun to learn a new set of skills like that. Which is what I always enjoy about the Mik projects (one of the things anyway). Trying some new technique.
For the wheels, for example, I tried several different things before I settled on something that let me get close to the picture I was using for inspiration. Here I am fiddling with the side pieces for the wheels. I finally settled on .020" plain sheet stock. Cut it into pieces. Drew an approximate shape. Whittled away with various tools. Rinse/repeat until you get 8 of them, then figure out how to assemble.
Fun and stupidly tedious at the same time.
I could have made the wheels turn but not worth it for this case.
And here is wall number 3…
3 cups of mortar and 1 cup of water seems to be ok. Maybe a bit thick. Consistency changes fast near the optimum point it seems. Probably my imagination.
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I like the thicker look, gives the sign a nice shadow effect .
After a wrestling match with my airbrush (old paint, too thick), I finally got the safe and sign base coat done. Take that, stupid paint (er, paintER).
Playing with weathering the bank sign. Top is plain flat black, bottom has some dry brushed weathered iron oxide, then grime. Then dust.
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I like the weathered version, myself, gives it a sense of time (age). But it’s your bank 
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Oh for sure. Gonna weather the sign. My bank my weathering 
