The weather this September was nicer then it was in July and August, making
it difficult to stay indoors and work on my layout, especially in my dark
basement. However, even with the beautiful weather I still managed to find
some time to finally tackle my Walthers Merchants Row I kit.
I received this kit as a Christmas gift last year from a friend and finally
pulled it out of the box about two months ago. I started by constructing the
basic shell; the four walls and two doorways, leaving the roof and window
glazing off at this point. I finalized my paint schemes before I started
painting, comparing colours on paper to ensure they didn’t clash with each
other.
This structure has lots of detailed sections and components, all on one
common piece of styrene. I found that you need two basic skills to
successfully paint this: patience and masking. After painting each section,
I ensured the paint was completely dry before moving on. This ensured that
overlapping colours did not bleed together and that I didn’t accidentally
put my fingers in wet paint. Masking tape is essential for straight, crisp
lines. I don’t have a very steady hand so painting a straight edge freehand
is almost impossible for me.
I used a hobby knife to cut small pieces of masking tape for almost all
straight edges and used a small flat jeweler’s screwdriver to push the
masking tape into hard to reach areas. This came in especially handy when
painting the window frames. The extra time it took to mask and allow the
paint to dry really made the difference in the end, not to mention how it
made up for the shortfalls in my free-hand painting skills.
Once the basic structure was painted, I used a white wash on the red brick
sections to colour the mortar then sprayed the entire model with Testor's
Dull Coat. I then used clear styrene for the window glazing. For the blinds,
I used Google image search to find several different types of blinds then
shrunk them down in Adobe Photoshop to the sizes I needed. I printed the
blinds out on a colour printer, cut them out and glued them to the back of
the clear styrene windows. You can find these templates on my
Design & Construction
page.
I wanted do a couple interior scenes as well as add interior lighting. I
was posed with two issues however. The first was that I did not want to
light every window in the structure, and second was that I needed to divide
up the interior. Dividing up the interior was important as the kit has so
many windows that it looked unrealistic when you looked in a window at one
end and could see all the way through to the other end.
To divide the structure into interior rooms, I first cut a base from a bulk
sheet of styrene which fit perfectly inside the structure to act as the
floor. I then made interior walls with styrene, gluing them to the base. I
made sure that the building’s shell slid easily over this interior unit,
ensuring that the interior walls didn’t bind against the exterior shell. I
built the interior as a removable insert so I could more easily work on it.
This also provides future access to the inside scenes.
I used textured craft paper for the flooring and walls that mimics carpet
and wood flooring and painted walls. I put a large piece of cardstock
towards the back of the interior unit, reaching all the way up to the roof.
This is to block out all light from reaching the rear windows of the
building. For the second floor, I built individual small rooms from a
combination of styrene and cardstock which I then glued directly to the
inside of the outer shell. For the rooms I wanted lit, I simply cut a small
doorway opening to allow light in at the back of each room.
The interior scenes are furnished mostly with painted accessories from a
Model Power interior accessories kit. I printed small photographs and
paintings I found online on a colour printer then cut them out and glued
them to the walls to represent full sized artwork.
For the grocery and clothing storefronts, I built small photo holders from
styrene and glued these behind the windows. I then took images of real
storefronts, re-sized them, printed on a colour printer and inserted them
into these small holders behind the window glazing. I now have storefronts
that look like they have real window displays. You can read full
instructions on this method in the October 2011 edition of Model Railroader
magazine.
Lighting the unit is achieved by a light box that I built out of styrene.
It is lit with three small 12 volt incandescent bulbs and is painted black
on the top, back. This is so light only glows from the front and bottom. The
box sits snugly in a slot I left in the building above the main floor walls
and behind the second floor rooms. Light from the bottom of the light box
illuminates all of the main level interiors, while the light glowing from
the front of the light box lights the top level rooms through the small
doorways. I opted to use a light box as the styrene diffuses the light
evenly and reduces harsh shadows. The incandescent bulbs are preferred over
LED’s as they have a warm, yellow glow which is difficult to replicate with
LED bulbs.
I finished the model with dry transfer decals from Woodland Scenics. I
applied these directly to the window gazing and signs included with the
Merchant’s row kit. The “Mitch’s Antiques” and “T&B Clothing” signs, as
well as the coke product logos were all printed on photo paper then cut and
glued to the structure and signs. I'm very pleased with the final result. I
took my time on this one, and I think it paid off!
I’ve now started working on a Walthers White Tower kit, which I plan on
building as a bank. The cold fall weather is definitely here and summer is
officially gone. Time to start working again in my basement on my actual
layout!
10 comments
Very nice work. I love the interiors and the diffused light box. Great idea.
ReplyDeleteHi, This post is so cool! Great ideas for lighting and detailing.Can't wait to see more along these lines.
ReplyDeleteI'm a recent visitor to your great website. I was wondering, what paint do you use for your models? Both spray and brush. Currently I use Testor's enamels for any brush work, but I'm not too happy with the results. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHello, and thanks for the comment. As for painting, I use mostly Humbrol enamel paints for painting my models. I prefer Humbrol compared to Testors for the following reason: Humbrol paints seem to be smoother and higher quality, especially when thinned out. Humbrol paints also come in a large assortment of matt colours which Testors cannot compare with. Testors paints seem to be aimed more at automotive modeling where you would use mostly gloss and satin finishes.
DeleteUp to this point I’ve pretty much only painted my models with a brush, as I’m still mastering the airbrush. It’s important to thin the enamel paint before applying it to the model. This will ensure a smooth, uniform finish, even though you may have to apply a couple coats of paint. I find the most important step however is finishing the model with a coat or two of Dul-Coat. This will take out any shine or highlights as well as even out the colour tone of the paint. Please let me know if you need any more information! Thanks again.
- Tyler
Thanks. I will try that.
ReplyDeleteHi. Love this post. Really awesome job! I just bought this kit and will soon assemble it and copy what you've done here. I love the color combinations you used here. Do you happen to remember all the color names? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. All my paints are Humbrol Enamels. The main colours consist of 70 Brick Red, 140 Gull Gray, 25 Blue, 34 White, 33 Black, 153 Insigna Red, 121 Pale Stone, 148 Radome Tan. Unfortunately, most of the paints were mixed with others to create the final colours, such as the deep red, the off-white, and the light black.
DeleteOh wow, what a fantastic job! I am staring in awe at the quality of your work. You really went for it with this one. I can't believe how cool the interior scenes are with the desks and lamps and chairs etc. Top notch.
ReplyDeleteI've been coveting Merchants Row 1 for years and finally got one on sale today. It will represent the bulk of my town in my little 2x6' shelf switching layout.
I am saving a bunch of your photos and tips for reference, they will be worth their weight in gold! Thank you Tyler for taking the time to share your build with us.
Tyler,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your excellent process! I am going to use your techniques on Merchant's Row II and maybe get Merchant's Row I as well!
Awesome, be sure to let me know how it turns out!
Delete