Large Scale Central

My latest project, partially complete

Modeling
#1

I’ve been working on the first structure of my first town. This one will be a small two-story house. The bottom level is stone, and the top level will be (simulated) wood. I’m almost finished with the stone portion of the structure:

The door is from Grandt Line. The windows are modified 1/4" scale Grandt Line.

I plan to add some curtains and a simple interior. The curtains will be open enough on the main windows, to allow some of the interior to show. You can’t see much of it in this shot but there’s a compressed “kitchen” against the back wall. It’s got just enough dimension to it to make it look like there’s really something there.

Modifying the 1/4" scale windows was kind of a pain, but not as difficult as scratch-building them – I’m still not having any luck in that department. Also, I used real (slide cover) glass in all the windows.

#2

Nicely done. As usual.

#3

Very nice model. how have you done the stonework?

#4

And how did you do the old peeling paint so well?

#5
Tom Ruby said:
And how did you do the old peeling paint so well?
He did the doors and windows first, using PACTRA water colors, then he left them under a sprinkler for a while, then Ray used a clear coat! :P

Seriously, how did you do that? Amazing realism.

#6

The stone walls were made using a method similar to how I did my stone bridges. I used a three-dimensional form, laid in the rocks for one wall, added brass “rebar” and hardware cloth, then poured in the mortar. After it sets, flip the form and continue on the next wall. I’ll post some pics later.

The peeling paint was an experiment based on a slight misunderstanding of someone else’s technique. I scribed wood texture into the styrene, then painted it with thin washes of acyrilic paints to get the “old wood” color. When that was dry, I wet it with paint thinner. While the paint thinner was still wet, I lightly brushed on blotches of (water-based) acrylic. The thinner sort of broke up the paint, giving it that old, peeled/worn look.

This worked really well for the green paint on the door frame and the large beams around the windows. The window frames were so thin, it was harder to get the effect to look right, and covered most of it with a thin wash of white. I also had some trouble with the door, and touched it up a little by dry-brushing on some browns and grays. So this technique has promise but needs a little more development.

#7

Ray, you sure do great work, love your figures also. Over on the Westlake Publishing website, their forum there has a weathering forum with some good hints.

#8

Ray,

Very nice work. That’s going to be a real winner!

#9

Jerry, I got the idea for the paint effect from Chuck Doan over on the Westlake/Finescale forum. Except his method is slightly different and was intended for real wood. It doesn’t work quite the same on styrene.

#10

Ray, you need to write up a “How-to” article on this stuff. Excellent work!

#11

Hi Ray

I love the rock work. With the timber, I remember a guy in a model railway club I used to be in do some neat weathering on styrene and other plastics using masking fluid, the stuff that is a liquid latex rubber. He used to paint on an undercoat, like Floquil’s foundation mixed with grey primer, then dry brush on the masking fluid along the way the grain of the timber would be. After that dried, he would apply the top coat, then after it dried, just rub away the dried masking fluid to produce the peeling paint effect.

It stuck vividly in my mind, as it was being done on an LGB stock car, one of the first times I saw garden railway equipment in real life and not believing how big and real it looked.

Cheers
Tony

#12

Here are some photos of the construction process for this structure… I started with a form made of foam core board:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1030.jpg)

1/2" thick foam core plugs were used to create the openings for the door and windows:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1037.jpg)

Rock was broken up into small bits with a hammer, then I used tile nippers to shape some of the stones as I placed them into the form. (Later I found a pair of curved tweezers which made it much easier to reach into the tight spaces):

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1043.jpg)

The most square stones were used in the corners:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1045.jpg)

Brass “rebar” and hardware cloth were placed over the stones:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1054.jpg)

Then the mortar was added. I used a mix of high strength mortar and vinyl patcher:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1059.jpg)

The form was tipped over and stones were laid into the next section of wall, followed by hardware cloth:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1065.jpg)

This process continued, working my way around the structure one wall at a time:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1080.jpg)

The mortar didn’t get worked down into the stones properly in a couple of places on the corners. As a result, some of the corner stones fell out when the building was pulled from the form:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1098.jpg)

I fixed this by gluing stones into the gaps. Dry mortar mix was sprinkled onto the wet glue between the stones. This made the glue look like mortar:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1104.jpg)

On one corner, the mortar oozed under the stones:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1101.jpg)

I carved “stone” shapes into the exposed mortar and then painted them to match the real stone:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1106.jpg)

The second level of the structure is made of styrene, scribed and painted to look like wood. Here’s a close up view of the front wall:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1166.jpg)

I broke off a piece of hacksaw blade and fit it into a hobby knife handle. This was used to scribe “wood grain” into the styrene. A hobby knife was used to carve cracks and other details:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1119.jpg)

I’m finally having a little success at building my own window frames:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1169.jpg)

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1170.jpg)

Here’s a small vent for the attic:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1171.jpg)

And here’s where I’m at so far:

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1174.jpg)

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1178.jpg)

.

#13

Nice.
I’m looking forward to seeing the house when finished.
No worry about the wind blowing that house around :slight_smile:
Ralph

#14

Ray, That is a real neat way to build a structure, looks very nice.Great job on the windows. Dave

#15

Way cool! I’m working on a board-and-batten water tower right now, and I think I need to go back and add a bit more texture to the wood after looking at yours.

Later,

K

#16

Lookin’ great Ray. Congrats on your part deux GR article.

-Brian

#17

Ray, It’s really coming along. Ditto on the article.

Dave

#18

Excellent Ray…I have to ask is that a stove sitting in the corner in the 1st two pictures? :lol: I also love the hacksaw blade idea…I agree with Ken though please do some write ups in the articles section.
:wink:

#19

Those windows look great! I think you’ve mastered that technique.

I guess you mix the cement VERY thick, so it doesn’t soak through to the mold itself? I like the effect - the stone wall look great.

#20

David Russell said:
Excellent Ray…I have to ask is that a stove sitting in the corner in the 1st two pictures? :lol:

Inside the building? Yes. I put in a very compressed and simplified “kitchen” against the rear wall. Kind of crude but it didn’t need to be very realistic, just something so that when the lights are on inside, it won’t look empty. I also plan to add a table and chair, and maybe a lamp near the window.

(http://www.raydunakin.com/IRRWebfiles/StoneHouse1/wIMG_1145.jpg)

The dark area in the upper left corner of the pic is a simulated doorway into another (nonexistent) room.