Excellent work Ray!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Ray, more of your amazing modeling work! Thanks for the photos!
York1 John
I asked my doctor if I gave up delicious food and all alcohol, would I live longer? He said, "No, but it will seem longer."
When I started on the interior for this building (way back in January), I thought that using "store-bought" tools to make window displays would save me a lot of time creating interior details. As it turned out, enough of the interior is visible through the doors that I still had to create a lot of details for the interior. I ended up getting bogged down, and set the project aside while I worked on other things. Anyway, I finally have some progress to show... I made a row of bins for nails and screws, with space above it to display other products. Only one end is detailed because the other end will not be visible: I built another rack full of various pipes: The store's interior is built in a box that slides into the main structure. I cut an opening the rear wall and turned it into a false doorway to another room, using a photo. I also began adding details to the rear wall: Here's a look at the interior as it nears completion: The last item I made for the interior is a cash register. I used some Lego pieces to form the basic shape, then added various bits of styrene to make it look like an old-fashioned cash register with a wooden case: Here's how the building looks with the interior installed and lighted: The only thing left to do is make some exterior light fixtures, mount them, and complete the wiring. .
Thanks, everyone! I appreciate all your comments.
When I finished the exterior of the building back in 2014, I also made the removable box that will contain the interior details. The walls, floor, and ceiling were also finished, so all that remains is to add the interior details and lights:
I'm taking a couple shortcuts on this project that will make things easier for me. First of all, I found some inexpensive 1/24th scale tool and hardware sets online. These should work well to represent brand new hardware, with minimal work needed to make them presentable:
Secondly, I decided to make enclosed displays for the two windows. This means the only view into the interior will be through the glass on the doors, so I won't need to put as much effort into detailing the interior. I built the display enclosures out of 3mm Sintra PVC board:
Test-fitting the enclosures in the room interior:
That's all for now, more later.
.
Ray, Your artistic work is like a well executed movie set, all those subtleties adding to a wonderfully realistic sense of time and place. I suspect ol' Sol plays a fading part under those bright 'Sandy Eggo' skies.
Thanks and regards, Peter
I agree with everyone Ray, spectacular!
Museum quality for sure!
Mike.
My You Tube
Hi Ray!
All I can do is echo the others superlatives! You are an inspiration!!
Cheers!!
Thanks for sharing your great work with us on the forum. I hope you can continue to update us with progress on the hardware store.
Ray, your modelling is so well-done that I'm never sure if I'm looking at model-work or the real thing.
Beautifully rendered!
Wayne
It looks great Ray.
I'll bet that project would have made a great spoof of "flip this house" with the right narrator.
It was effort well spent.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Looks fantastic, Ray!
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Many modelers are good.
Some are very good
Some are excellent
Not many, but a few take it that bit further.
'One or two' are memorable.
---------
Out there beyond we find Ray.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
I just finished another project. One of my early structures is a two-story drugstore. The exterior walls were made of real stone and mortar. Unfortunately I had used clear plastic in the windows, and this became fogged, yellowed, and cracked from exposure to the elements. Also the painted styrene portions of the structure were becoming worn and faded. The incandescent grain-of-rice bulbs I used for lighting had burned out long ago.
So I refurbished the building, putting real glass in the windows, replacing the bulbs with LEDs, and repainting the parts that were worn and faded. I also cleaned out the dirt and cobwebs that had gotten into the interior.
At last the building is finished and reinstalled on the layout:
That's all for now. Enjoy!
A really lovely piece of work that is 'in the top drawer' of modeling.
Thanks for showing.
Ray, When I get my house done, and my workbench set back up... I would love for you to send me a figure that I can paint for your layout.
Ray, Whenever I see your fine work makes me wanna' go up in scale. Thanks & regards, Peter
"The figures don't look quite as good in close up..."
I'm sure you are your toughest critic,Ray. They all look amazing.Thanks for posting those shots.
Mike
Here are some more figures I made...
My father-in-law is the engineer:
Our son is the fireman:
These two represent my dad and my stepsister. They were built to occupy my scratchbuilt railbus:
The passenger in the rear is Cris' grandmother:
Thanks. The figures don't look quite as good in close up, but here they are:
middleman I'm blown away by the figures in front of the buildings.
Me too... I would love to see close ups of these guys.
I'm lookiing forward to your "Un-Urban Renewal" project,Ray,but I'm blown away by the figures in front of the buildings. More of your own creations?
Thanks Dave!
hon30critterI wonder if gel CA or epoxy would work to re-attach the balcony post to the wall, assuming that it won't pull the stone loose?
Yeah, I will probably be using thick or gel CA to tack down the loose end.
I think I will have to paint the balcony in place, and just carefully mask off everything else.
Hi Ray,
The whole structure is very well done and will look better with the spruce up, but I continue to be amazed by your ability to detail interiors. They look incredibly real. I'm glad that they have survived the last 10 years.
I wonder if gel CA or epoxy would work to re-attach the balcony post to the wall, assuming that it won't pull the stone loose?
My next project is underway...it's a repair and upgrade of the Dos Manos Drugs building which was finished in 2010.
This structure was built much differently than my current methods. I used real rocks and mortar for the walls. There are pros and cons to this type of construction.
Pro: It holds up well in all weather, never needs to be repainted, and you can't beat the appearance of real rocks.
Con: The only way I could find to make the interior accessible was through the top, so it had to be built in two pieces, and I couldn't make the interior removable. It's not completely moisture-proof. It's heavy, and although it's sturdy it can shatter if accidentally dropped. And unless you have a stone saw it's hard to make stones to fit arches, etc.
Anyway, the real problems with this structure were with the other materials. I had used thin, clear plastic to glaze the windows. This stuff aged very badly, becoming yellow, opaque, and eventually warped and cracked. I used styrene to build the "wooden" parts of the structure, and although the styrene is ok, the paint on it has become worn and faded. Also, I had used incandescent "grain of rice" bulbs to light the interior, and these all burned out rapidly.
Here's how the building looked after I removed it from the layout. A few parts broke off as I was handling it:
I started with the ground floor, since it would be the easiest to repair. The first thing I had to do was remove the displays that were mounted in the windows. These were glued into place but luckily I was able to break them loose without causing any damage:
The displays are in much better condition than I'd expected, and just need to be cleaned up a little. The paint on the "wooden" sidewalk has almost completely worn off, so it will need to be repainted.
Next I removed the plastic glazing from the windows. I was worried this would be difficult, but all I had to do was press on the plastic with a blunt tool, near the edges of the window frames, it it popped loose. When I got enough of it loose, I grabbed it from inside the structure and pulled it off. With that weathered plastic out of the way, you can now see that the interior details are still in good condition:
The red and black paint on the framework was in pretty good shape, just a little dull. The paint on the underside of the balcony was much worse:
I repainted the underside of the balcony, and touched up the red and black frame to brighten it up a bit:
I set that part of the building aside and turned my attention to the second story. I removed the corroded plastic from the windows, but that was as far as I got:
The entire balcony is badly faded and needs to be repainted. Several parts of the railing have fallen off:
This end of the balcony railing and canopy is loose:
It would be easiest to paint the balcony if it were separate from the main structure, but with the exception of the loose bits at this end, the rest is very securely attached. I don't think I can remove it without causing significant damage, and I don't want to be forced to replace it.
So for now I have to put on my "thinking cap" and figure out the best way to go about repairing and repainting the balcony.
I just got some new LEDs in the mail today, which I will be using to replace the incandescent bulbs that were originally installed in the structure.
As usual, your attention to detail is amazing, right down to bird poop on the window sills!! At least, I think that's what it is supposed to be.
Right now I am concentrating on getting track laid and getting the layout running, but your work makes me look forward to the time when I can get back into building and detailing structures.