When I left off last time, I just got done decaling and finishing the structure with dullcoat. I think it had more than enough time to dry in 22 days (chuckle). So now we are ready to install window dressings, acetate for the glass and the windows and doors. Back 2 posts ago we painted the windows and doors. So that was one job out of the way.
The first step to this step is installing the window treatments. Window treatments can be window shades, blinds (Vertical or horizontal), drapes, curtains or a combo of them all. With the kit, it is easy because it is Hydrocal. The building is casted solid so the window areas are solid. There will be no interior lighting in it. So I figured the kit has two separate businesses, so for the Palace, I chose regular 1/2" masking tape to simulate old, beaten window pull shades. And for the Worthington Hotel, I chose a real cheesy print on paper for the window drapes. Remember this building is suppose to be a seedy hotel in the bad area of town so the window dressings shouldn't look like they came from Macy's Annual White Sale.
The shades and drapes should be places at different widths and heights to give it that "Occupied" look. The tape at different lengths and the drapes parted differently too. You can hold the paper in place with a little Elmer's Tacky Glue if need be,
Next take the window acetate sheet, this has all pre-laser cut "glass" for the windows. Just place one in each of the window openings that already have window treatments in them. No need to glue these in place, the window frames will hold them in place.
Last thing for installing the windows are the window frames themselves. On a Hydrocal kit like this, they usually can snap right in place without any glue. Which is great because you don't have to worry about getting glue on the clear acetate. BUT, SOMETIMES, life will throw you a curve and it won't be that easy. No need to panic because there is a simple gluing trick I use for this and I am about to share it with you. You will need a piece of regular paper and some medium CA glue. Place some CA glue on a paper plate or piece of scrap material and then dip the edge of the paper into it. Wipe off the excess then just take the paper and run it between the window frame and the building itself. Do this on all 4 sides of the window that is giving you trouble staying put. After it dries, the window will stay put. Doing it this way, I never have a problem with the glue damaging the clear window material. And I found out that this works better than using a toothpick or Pipet. The finished results are in the photo below.
I love Hydrocal models but in mostly N and HO scales, they usually have one drawback. The castings are mostly casted solid meaning you cannot light the interiors on them right out of the box. You can carefully and I mean CAREFULLY cut out the window openings with a Dremel tool. It is time consuming and looks great and we will go into that with a future build. But I wanted to give this building a little illumination. So I went with lighting the front of the Worthington Hotel using a Hi-Intensity Blue 1.8mm LED. Why blue you may ask? Well yes Virginia, there is a reason.
Back in the 1980's when times were easy and I lived the life of a Bohemian writer, there was a Rock-N-Roll nightclub I use to go to call Escapades. It was located in Jersey City on West End Avenue. Now this was not the best section of Jersey City then and even now a days also. If you hit a red light there, you don't stop LOL. But across the street a bit was a seedy hotel much like the one we are doing here. It had a bright blue light outside under its awning that gave it an ominous look and effect. So this is what I am after here.
If you aren't sure how to use, setup & wire a LED for 12VDC or AC operation. Tell me and we will do a blog page on LED's. You can get prewired LEDs in all sizes and colors inexpensively at Evan Designs . They are quality and a great source to deal with.
To attach was simple. I centered where the LED would be under the awning of the Worthington Hotel front. I know it falls into the decal sign for the place but it is OK. I can post many prototype buildings in North Jersey where they actually do this in hast LOL. More so in the urban areas to give out security lighting. Next I take a pin vice and carefully drill a hole through my mark. If you take your time, you will not damage the finish. Once the hole is drilled take the leads of the LED and feed them though it. Pull it through until the LED is snug against the building's wall. Dab a little CA gel glue on the inside where the wires are to keep it in place and your done. When the model is finished, you will see a cool lighting effect that reflects a true urban area.
Last step for today's blog entry will be back to painting again. It is painting some of the little details that will be attached to the final assembly and make the building stand out a bit. What I selected here for the building are two ventilators (one round and one louvered for the side walls), Two Chimneys, a roof hatch, a small wall mailbox, two signs, a roof ventilator, a meter pan for an electrical service.
I paint these items the colors I selected and once dry, spray them with the Krylon Acrylic Flat spray and then place to the side.
Another detail we will be placing on the model are drainpipe in the rear of the building and an electrical service on the left side of it. I will use 1/32" tubing from K&S Engineering . This will hide the seam that joins the wall sections together in the rear and left side of the building. Seems everytime I do this exact model these are the seams that give me trouble the most.
So that is it for this installment of "How The N Scale Hydrocal Building Turns". The next installment we will finish the model up and see it lit.
So until then remember............ IT IS A HOBBY AND SUPPOSE TO BE FUN, NOT A CHORE ! Sometime the little extra effort really pays off.
Hope you enjoyed the first segment and hope to see you for the next one !
Mark.
Hope you enjoyed the first segment and hope to see you for the next one !
Mark.
No comments:
Post a Comment