I’m interested in seeing how you add the mortar. I used to do the DPM buildings by painting them the gray color I wanted, then using an almost dry brush the paint the surfaces of the brick. It worked, but was a long process.
Again great modeling by you and you com padres. I like the way your doing the bricks too, I am gonna steal that technique .
Here's an up close shot of the mortar work on the Old Milwaukee Substation. I originally tried the Builders-in-Scale mortar mix and was horrified by the result. Either I mixed it wrong, too much powder, or I let it sit too long before wiping it off. The entire structure had a white haze on it after it dried. In any event I had to take as much of it off as possible. Luke warm water and an old toothbrush did the trick. So plan B was to highly dilute acrylic paint (75 thinner/25 light gray) and "wash" it over the brick. I let it sit only a few moments, allowing it to run into the grooves, then rubbed it off with paper towel. The key is to keep rotating the towel to get the maximum paint off the face of the brick. NOTE: be sure you've sprayed the entire model with clear matte BEFORE doing this. This result leaves less paint in the grooves but the subtlety of it is actually appealing. Next thing to do is weather, seal and put the building together.
Here's a look at last night's progress on the RGW. Doug continued his scenery work on the grounds under Mt Rainier. Ray continued his LED installs into the Dash 9. He tried installing micro LEDs in the Dutch lights. They were so small I could not see them. He hit a wall trying to solder the contacts. Ed cut out and mounted the electronics for the defect detector. His assortment of mini tools is awe inspiring. (I notice now in hindsight that the picture cut off the tool in his lap, operator error). I completed the reballasting in Maple Valley. Well, at least down to the red handled chisel anyway. I then worked on the mortar of the Old Milwaukee Substation. A fairly productive night to say the least. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all, as we'll be off for the next couple of weeks. Thanks for checking in. M
Quite a talented crew of Ganda Dancers you have there Michael. The talent pool is amazing! Thanks for posting pictures! Dale
Except for the roof, this job is done. With one possible exception. Your thoughts on leaving out the smoked glass vs leaving it in. Without : With: Thoughts, comments?
That's a hard call for me Mike. A casual glance, the clear would be better. To a person that walked by, then noticed maybe there is sumthin there, the smokey version adds depth and intrigue.
I would check it with the roof in place. If you are getting any backlighting without the roof, it might be too dark with it. I happen to like the clear version.
The smoked version is two ply of the material, tonight I'm going to try one ply and see if it isn't a decent compromise.
Time to get the roof completed on the Old Milwaukee Substation. I started by hot gluing supports in key places for bracing. I then traced a diagram of the structure onto butcher paper so I could start to fabricate the styrene. You may recall that this building hides a shelf support. So a part of the roof has to include a cutout for that and we cannot put the building in place with that section of roof on, so it must be able to slide into place after the fact. The main roof section includes the cutout. A couple of hours later, all the pieces are fabricated and several are glued in place. I need to paint the brick section before gluing it in, but that's about it. I need to top off each section with 600 grit sandpaper, my preferred roofing material, then we can slide this baby into place.
Mike- I should have thought about this sooner. On my web site, for your reference: https://www.train-orders.com/MILW/SB/SB.html