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Scratch-built card and styrene structures (based on real buildings around London Bridge)


grahame
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I've now added the back of the building and the coping on the top of the walls. Then I gave it a complete coat of grey primer and then on the brickwork area a blast of tan/yellow from an aerosol, which I think I'll use as the base colour for the brickwork:

 

post-33-0-93059800-1503660166_thumb.jpg

 

That'll probably be it for today - I've got some cleaning and cooking to do this afternoon.

 

G.

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Tidying the kitchen and cooking now done and time to get the Redutex fitted and a little basic colour on the building. It's just the first coat and the white need re-coating, then the brickwork needs finishing, weathering and sealing. Finally there are details to add like chimney pots, drain pipes and the steps up to the right hand door. Here's a pic with it sitting in a mock-up of the basements in front of the building and how it joins to the old church. The model is looking very pristine in this condition - the real building was spruced up recently for re-selling/leasing the office space - but I'll dirty it down as in the era I want it set most of the buildings in the area seemed rather grubby.:

 

post-33-0-48505900-1503682989_thumb.jpg

 

G

 

 

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I've had a bash as dirtying down and grubying up the front fascia. Weathering is something I'm not good at and need to get to grips with. I find it hard to make N/2mm scale brickwork look effective. So I'm not so sure how successful I've been, but I'm hoping it's reminiscent of how it would have looked in the 1980s. It looks a bit better in real life than it does in the is photo:

 

post-33-0-83566100-1503737451_thumb.jpg

 

G.

 

 

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I've had a bash as dirtying down and grubying up the front fascia. Weathering is something I'm not good at and need to get to grips with. I find it hard to make N/2mm scale brickwork look effective. So I'm not so sure how successful I've been, but I'm hoping it's reminiscent of how it would have looked in the 1980s. It looks a bit better in real life than it does in the is photo

 

G.

That's quite a transformation. I was thinking that the yellow was a poor choice as a base colour, but you've achieved what looks to me like a very convincing appearance.

 

Jim

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Have you ever tried crayons or even a pencil for weathering?

 

A ordinary pencil can weather nicely by rubbing it on sandpaper, the with your finger apply some of the powder onto the model, normally vertical strokes look the best but not always.

Same, can work for crayons as well.

 

If you haven't tried this before then lay the crayon/pencil as near flat as you onto the model and it will highlight raised sections at the same time.

 

Hope you find this useful.

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Have you ever tried crayons or even a pencil for weathering?

 

 

Thanks for the sugestions.

 

I've got a 6B pencil that is nice and soft and is a large size meaning the 'lead' is big and thick. I've also got a set of coloured pencils but not having such soft leads they are less useful. I use the pencil to highlight and darken raised surfaces (like embossed bricks) and then rub it in with my finger to blend and soften it.

 

I've not used crayons (which are wax) but I do have a Tamiya make-up style weathering set but find the waxy material tends to smear in to the recesses rather than highlight the raised bits.

 

G

Edited by grahame
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I've got some colour and weathering on the main section (with the chimney stacks and roof) and hopefully it matches the front. I've dirtied it down as it probably would have looked in the 1980s although I've no reference pics. The photo below is just a temporary mock up with the front wall rested in place (until the windows and glazing are fitted and details added) and how it butts up to the old church:

 

post-33-0-80607400-1503758149_thumb.jpg

 

G.

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Its only post #327 with the enormous God like hand  that gives the tiny size of this building away.. Otherwise I'd be assuming that its 4mm/ft scale at least.

 

Having no 2mm/ft experience and having little support down here even if I wanted to, where is your brick sheet sourced from? I didn't realise that you could get embossed bricks that small, but then again I am in Australia and we don't  get any of the good stuff.

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Its only post #327 with the enormous God like hand  that gives the tiny size of this building away.. Otherwise I'd be assuming that its 4mm/ft scale at least.

 

Having no 2mm/ft experience and having little support down here even if I wanted to, where is your brick sheet sourced from? I didn't realise that you could get embossed bricks that small, but then again I am in Australia and we don't  get any of the good stuff.

I've got massive oversize hands ;-) . . . . Not really. And yep, the scale is N/2mm (around 148:1 to 152:1) so the buildings are about half the size of OO/4mm scale ones.

 

I picked up the brick embossed plasticard from a trader at an exhibition I attended. It didn't have a maker mentioned but Slater's do 2mm brick sheets. The plasticard is quite thin so is supported with the mountboard card. Sometime I laminate in on to a sheet of card.

 

For making the models I don't have/need a lot of tools or material. The main stuff is

A craft knife with changeable blades (use a Swann Morton scalpel with 10A blades).

A steel straight edge

Large self healing cutting mat.

Super glue and liquid poly glue

Various thicknesses of cardboard and plasticard

Evergreen pre-cut styrene strip

Self adhesive labels

Halfords grey primer (an equivalent is available in motorfactors in Australia as I purchased it there)

 

G.

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If you look to the right of your building, the next door property is a slightly darker shade. That building was, in the '80s used by Guys Hospital. I know, because I went to several meetings there, representing Southwark Social Services. I believe it, Mary Sheridan House, is still in NHS use. I would doubt that Guys would have had the building jet-washed between now & then. I think that it was much like it looks in your photo. They were always a good-looking little group. My guess is that no.9, your building, would have been a similar shade. I get the impression that it has had a good scrub in the not too distant past.

There are a group of houses not very far away, of a similar period, if the canopies over the doors of a couple of them are anything to go by. They clearly haven't (or hadn't when I photographed them in 2006) been cleaned, since the Clean Air Act came in. So they may give an indication of typical weathering.

post-14351-0-33149400-1503766281_thumb.jpg

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Thanks Phil.

 

These are the buildings next door which will be the next to model. It is joined to the other one and although similar is a little lower (in height) with a mansard type roof and a different brick colour as you mention. You can see another colour change at the right hand end just before it turns at right angles towards the road. 

 

post-33-0-37943600-1503767985_thumb.jpg

 

On the 1907 OS map of the area it shows the whole row (in the courtyard) is marked up as 'Railway Offices'. It must have been later that it became used by the NHS although today (2017) it appears to be up for lease as offices (as in the pic above). There were vans moving a company in when I was there. The first building (on the left from the front) that I've just made was clad in scaffolding in Google maps views (probably a year or so ago) with decorators giving it a good scrub and paint which will account for it's current clean appearance.

 

It's always interesting when doing research on an area and the buildings.

 

G. 

 

 

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I am sure you are aware that sometimes the Historic England listings show photos right at the very bottom. They seem to rely on people uploading photos, which they moderate, and then publish. I am not aware of any that are by 'official' photographers, employed by them. I have contributed some for Southwark, Battle, Seaford and possibly Hastings. I haven't done any for a year or so, so I have lost touch with what I have done. You can only find out by going to each property in turn and seeing if you have contributed one or more snaps. I haven't any for this street, apart from the Operating Theatre. There is one fairly good shot here, by one Charles Watson - not the one I used to work with. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1385874

He has also done some which appear as a sort of mosaic for the other part of Mary Sheridan House.

Getting into the listings is a bit tortuous, but once you have done it a couple of times it gets more obvious. I always use the 'advanced search'. If you don't know the street number you get the whole listing for that street, from which you can find what you want. Of course it only works for listed buildings, but it surprising how many are in that area.

Edited by phil_sutters
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Windows and glazing are now in place and this photo was taken under natural lighting conditions so show the colour and weathering a little better (although real life still seems better):

 

post-33-0-99359900-1503850649_thumb.jpg

 

G.

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Grahame, the quality of these and the speed you seem to be churning them out at is incredible! Are you going to be at TINGS this year? I'd love to be able to see these in the flesh and have a chat with you regarding your methods as, despite all that is in print about these, there is nothing like seeing the work in progress to take inspiration to another level!

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Grahame, the quality of these and the speed you seem to be churning them out at is incredible! Are you going to be at TINGS this year? I'd love to be able to see these in the flesh and have a chat with you regarding your methods as, despite all that is in print about these, there is nothing like seeing the work in progress to take inspiration to another level!

Thanks.

 

I will be going to TINGS this year but not as an exhibitor/demonstrator and only on one day (probably the Sunday) so I won't be taking the building models. I'll be more likely lugging a camera and tripod around.

 

I did take some of my LB buildings to this year's NGS AGM as a display and several have been featured in the Journal.

 

G

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Thanks.

I will be going to TINGS this year but not as an exhibitor/demonstrator and only on one day (probably the Sunday) so I won't be taking the building models. I'll be more likely lugging a camera and tripod around.

I did take some of my LB buildings to this year's NGS AGM as a display and several have been featured in the Journal.

G

Shame, I'll most likely be going on Saturday this year. I've never attended an AGM but will try and change that next year. I've read your articles, including the non-NGS ones and think they are very good - no substitute for seeing such fantastic models in the flesh though. I'm looking forward to seeing your new layout started once you've moved house as I would also like to model and urban scene (albeit 40 or 50 years earlier than your own modelling period).

Edited by Atso
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- no substitute for seeing such fantastic models in the flesh though.

 

Thanks, although they're not that great. But it's always worth seeing models in real life. Your eyes tend to be more appreciative than a camera lens and your mind places them in proper perspective.

 

G.

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Thanks, although they're not that great. But it's always worth seeing models in real life. Your eyes tend to be more appreciative than a camera lens and your mind places them in proper perspective.

G.

If those model aren't great them I'd really love to see what great is supposed to look like!

 

You're models hold their own very well against the cruelty of the camera lens.

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If I can take you back to the "X" building for a minute;

 

How do you attach the sheet of clear styrene that makes up the front of the building to the card carcass?

 

Is it currently still removable pending fitting interior details?

 

Do you have any problem with frontages based on styrene or acrylic warping, when combined with card carcasses?

 

You mentioned somewhere (I can't find it right now) that you use sticky labels for some detailing; is the adhesive on the labels enough on it's own? Does it not start to curl up after a while?

 

Thanks. Loving the models here: excellent work.

 

Jim

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How do you attach the sheet of clear styrene that makes up the front of the building to the card carcass? Is it currently still removable pending fitting interior details?

 

Do you have any problem with frontages based on styrene or acrylic warping, when combined with card carcasses?

 

You mentioned somewhere (I can't find it right now) that you use sticky labels for some detailing; is the adhesive on the labels enough on it's own? Does it not start to curl up after a while?

The window wall (clear plastic) isn't currently glued in place, it's a tight fit so friction keeps it in place for photos. But I'll glue it when ready with a few dabs of superglue. The card carcass walls are 1.5mm thick so plenty of surface to glue to.

 

Not had any warping of card/styrene. It's really a matter of sufficient bracing.

 

Self adhesive labels can peel/curl after few years if not over painted and sealed with varnish. But if it does curl, usually at corners, it's a simple matter to apply a little glue and stick it down.

 

HTH.

 

G

Edited by grahame
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