Hi everyone!
I am building a gas station.
Here are the steps I have done so far:
1. I assembled most of the building except the roof, the doors and the windows.
2. I painted all the interior walls in black to prevent the building to glow in the dark if I decide to light it.
3. I painted all the interior and exterior walls with several layers of off-white.
4. I painted the floor with a medium grey colour.
5. I weathered the floor in the garage. I am not sure I am happy with the result. What do you think?
If I have to start this model from scratch again, I would have done it differently. Painting tiny interior walls when the building is almost complete was a big mistake. I should have painted the walls first and assembled later.
The next steps will be to detail the interior but I don't know what to do exactly. Once the interior will be done, I will paint, weather and glue the doors and windows. Finally, I will have to add the roof. What kind of roof do you suggest me to do for this gas station? A tar and rocks roof or something else?
Thanks for your help!
Stef
So far, your model looks pretty good to me. I have this same structure on my layout. I didn't bother to add an interior to the restroom area as these rooms can't be seen the way the structure is oriented on my layout. I did not like the glazing pieces that came with my kit as they weren't very clear and already had lots of scratches. I replaced the office window glazing with a piece of clear plastic packaging material. I carefully bent this piece of clear plastic to match the bends in the wall, then trimmed the perimeter to fit. I printed out a black and white checked floor on glossy paper for the office area. The office interior consists of a simple sales counter made from sheet styrene with a cash register cobbled together from styrene strip. You could add a couple chairs for waiting customers. I looked on-line for photos of calendars, clocks, pin-ups and auto product ads you might see on the walls of the typical garage. I printed these out at scale size (HO) and glued them to the walls. There is a sign thread on this forum that has been going for years that has lots of posters and ads that would look good, too. Can somebody bump that thread again? Don't forget a figure behind the counter!
I was (am?) planning to install a welding simulator inside the service bays so I frosted the insides of the door and window glazing. My plan is to install silhouettes of garage equipment and people between the welding LED's and the windows to create shadows on the window glazing. I have to buy a couple of welding simulators for a large construction scene so I'll probably buy one for this gas station at the same time.
If you want to add an interior to the service bays, JL Innovative Design has lots of items that will help you. Tool boxes, compressors, welding tanks, shelving units and various sized parts boxes would be appropriate. More automotive ads and pin-ups on the walls would work, too. If you put a vehicle in the service bay, make sure it's hood opens. Don't forget the mechanic(s).
I applied a tar and gravel roof to this structure. I think the easiest way to do this is to glue pieces of 220 sandpaper to the roof pieces, trim them to fit, then install the roof pieces. You can leave the sandpaper as is, weather it, or paint and weather it. I like to finish off the roof by applying a thin bead of white glue around the perimeter where the sandpaper meets the parapet walls. Once dry, I paint the glue bead with semi-gloss black to simulate tar used to seal the seam between the roof and walls. A small air conditioning unit atop the office would be fitting as well as a couple of plumbing vent pipes above the restroom area.
I like to add lights to my structure interiors using warm white LED Christmas lights. I bought several 100 light packages dirt cheap the day after Christmas a few years ago. It takes some effort and time to remove the individual LED's from these light strings but you get lots of diffused light (inverted cone) LED's that will add a nice warm white light to your building interiors. Run the wires up an inside corner of the structure that is difficult to see and place a single LED over the office and two LED's over the service bays.
Have fun and good luck!
Hornblower
I know JL Innovative makes detail parts for gas stations in HO, but I'm not sure about N scale.
I typically copy and print photos for interiors and floors on my computer. Cinder block patterns are good for the inside of the garage area of a gas station.
I like thin office supply poster board for roofing. I spray it with Rust-Oleum speckled textured black paint. That gives a good asphalt roof look.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
hornblowerI printed out a black and white checked floor on glossy paper for the office area. The office interior consists of a simple sales counter made from sheet styrene with a cash register cobbled together from styrene strip. You could add a couple chairs for waiting customers. I looked on-line for photos of calendars, clocks, pin-ups and auto product ads you might see on the walls of the typical garage. I printed these out at scale size (HO) and glued them to the walls. There is a sign thread on this forum that has been going for years that has lots of posters and ads that would look good, too. Can somebody bump that thread again? Don't forget a figure behind the counter! If you want to add an interior to the service bays, JL Innovative Design has lots of items that will help you. Tool boxes, compressors, welding tanks, shelving units and various sized parts boxes would be appropriate. More automotive ads and pin-ups on the walls would work, too. If you put a vehicle in the service bay, make sure it's hood opens. Don't forget the mechanic(s). I applied a tar and gravel roof to this structure.
There is a sign thread on this forum that has been going for years that has lots of posters and ads that would look good, too. Can somebody bump that thread again? Don't forget a figure behind the counter!
I applied a tar and gravel roof to this structure.
Thanks for your information and suggestions. Is it possible to post a few pictures of your gas station so I can have some ideas of what to do?
MisterBeasleyI know JL Innovative makes detail parts for gas stations in HO, but I'm not sure about N scale. I typically copy and print photos for interiors and floors on my computer. Cinder block patterns are good for the inside of the garage area of a gas station. I like thin office supply poster board for roofing. I spray it with Rust-Oleum speckled textured black paint. That gives a good asphalt roof look.
Hi and thank you for replying and for the link. I really like your interior photos. It's going to help me.
hornblowerI have this same structure on my layout. I didn't bother to add an interior to the restroom area as these rooms can't be seen the way the structure is oriented on my layout.
Hi. I would be very curious to see photos of your gas station if you don't mind?
Stef, I also model N Scale. I started out doing some kits, but I changed to scratchbuilding.
I was afraid of making a mess at first, but I found that I really liked having the ability to make what I wanted rather than what the model was.
I have grown to like this part of the hobby the most of all.
I attempted on several buildings to make the interiors look like something, but once the building was on the layout, the interiors for N Scale were basically un-viewable. I quit worrying about them and put in frosted glass that lights up, but you can't see through it.
About the only interiors I now work on involve buildings with large doors (like garage doors) that are open. I have done what others suggested -- I printed some things from Google images and sized them down to fit, and then glued things to the inside walls and floors.
This is a scratchbuilt gas station I made. You can see lots of mistakes if you get close, but from more than a few feet away, it looks fine.
York1 John
One of my side-hobbies is building these tiny dioramas, about 2 inches by 3 inches, that I can swap out in various locations around the layout. It is remarkable what you can get into this small space.
I managed to do a gas station scene on one!
-Kevin
Living the dream.
York1 Stef, I also model N Scale. I started out doing some kits, but I changed to scratchbuilding. I attempted on several buildings to make the interiors look like something, but once the building was on the layout, the interiors for N Scale were basically un-viewable. I quit worrying about them and put in frosted glass that lights up, but you can't see through it. About the only interiors I now work on involve buildings with large doors (like garage doors) that are open. I have done what others suggested -- I printed some things from Google images and sized them down to fit, and then glued things to the inside walls and floors. This is a scratchbuilt gas station I made. You can see lots of mistakes if you get close, but from more than a few feet away, it looks fine.
Unfortunately, my photos of this structure are being held for ransom by Photobucket and I can't find the correct SD card to upload them to IMGUR. AAAaaaagghh!