Building a 1930s suburban west London High Street using Kingsway Models kits

[nomisd]

My current layout is a a small single platform terminus based in west London (the thread in the layout section is here for a more detailed explanation). The plan is to have a 1930s built High Street by the station. 

 

At the bottom of the hill, it is the intention to have a suggestion of a residential street- the green rectangles behind the word ROAD on the right foreground below

 

 

For quite a while I have been eyeing the Kingsway Models website, to which I will add the normal disclaimer I have nothing to do with other than a so far satisfied customer. I first ended up there whilst looking at cinemas but after I browsed around it for a while (and once the idea for the layout crystallised) I came to the conclusion that the range of kits were essentially 1930s built west London suburbia in a box. I eventually took the plunge and ordered some kits last week and after the now obligatory payment to get them out of French customs, they arrived safe and sound this morning.

 

 

They are (top row L to R) Semi Detached House and Garage, Second Hand Car Dealer, Art Deco parade of shops, (bottom row L to R) Majestic cinema, 1960s supermarket and a small row of shops. With the exception of the house (which is destined for the second photo above), their eventual positions are all marked on the first photo. I have had a quick look at them out of the packets and they look very nice and have clear and complete instructions. All of my previous modelling in card has been with Metcalfe kits anding  that these are going be a very different prospect. I think I am going to start with the 1960s supermarket as it appears to be the one that looks the simplest to get going. It is my intention to record the whole exercise in this thread. So I better start then...

 

[Gwiwer]

I find Kingsway kits easy to build and a fair-to-good representation of prototype.  Do they still arrive stinking of tobacco smoke?  Mine all did.  That was a major reason I stopped using them. The smell goes away but it's not what I would expect from a newly-opened item.  

 

I have numerous bus and railway-related kits both built and awaiting time and space.  Follow the instructions carefully and you should be rewarded with something which looks more or less as you might wish.  

[Paul C]

Not built any Kingsway kits myself, however I feel I ought to do the Romford Fire Station kit one day as my grandfather worked in the Essex County Architects' office, designing Fire Stations, and we think this may be one of his.

[nomisd]

8 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Do they still arrive stinking of tobacco smoke?  

 

No the ones that I received didn't. I certainly know the smell, the books and papers I took from my late fathers study stank of stale smoke he being a 3 ounces a week of Golden Virginia man

[nomisd]

1960s Supermarket

 

Before we go any further, you will notice that this post is title 1930s High Street and this is a 1960s building. Well, the thing is that the street was built in the 1930s and I am modelling it at anytime between the 1960s and 1980s, so there is a space in a 1930s street for a building built in the 1960s, let us assume it caught a stray bomb during WW2. 

 

I have decided to start with this kit as it appears to be the most straight forward one. It comes on two sheets of thick card and two sheets of thin card. The thick card have the front, end walls, roof and strengthening pieces printed on them. The thin card has the windows, lobby and signs. I have cut out all of the pieces on the thick card.

 

 

I now have two decisions to make, one easy and one a bit of a poser. The easy one is what the shop is to be. There are three options for this - two late 60s supermarket options, Tescos and Fine Fare and a modern guise as a Sports Direct  (the supermarket presumably having moved to a retail park on the outskirts of town). I have decided to go for the Fine Fare option because the the entrance doors are a bit more ornate having FF handles (and there was also a Fine Fare in the town I grew up in, the Tescos not arriving until, well it was built out of town in the mid 1980s).  One word of slight criticism on the window. Both the Tescos and Fine Fare windows have the prices shown in pre-decimal money meaning that although it is billed as 1960s and 1970s supermarket, in reality they aren't really relevant after February 1971. Its only a minor point, more-so for me as it s not going to be at the forefront of the scene but its a point nevertheless.

 

The second decision is a bit more difficult. There is an option to cut the individual windows on the 1st and 2nd floors ot and put some from one of the thin sheets behind in the gaps to give a little for depth to the windows. Whilst this would undoubtably look good and I am weighing up the fiddly factor. There are 16 individual windows to cut out, which is 16 potential occasions to make a complete horlicks of the whole thing. One of the main things that concerns me is the 14 window bars that would be extremely delicate and I can see one or more getting damaged. I think the likelihood is that I won't do it but will sleep on the idea. 

 

[Blackthorn]

21 minutes ago, nomisd said:

1960s Supermarket

 

Before we go any further, you will notice that this post is title 1930s High Street and this is a 1960s building. Well, the thing is that the street was built in the 1930s and I am modelling it at anytime between the 1960s and 1980s, so there is a space in a 1930s street for a building built in the 1960s, let us assume it caught a stray bomb during WW2. 

 

I have decided to start with this kit as it appears to be the most straight forward one. It comes on two sheets of thick card and two sheets of thin card. The thick card have the front, end walls, roof and strengthening pieces printed on them. The thin card has the windows, lobby and signs. I have cut out all of the pieces on the thick card.

 

 

I now have two decisions to make, one easy and one a bit of a poser. The easy one is what the shop is to be. There are three options for this - two late 60s supermarket options, Tescos and Fine Fare and a modern guise as a Sports Direct  (the supermarket presumably having moved to a retail park on the outskirts of town). I have decided to go for the Fine Fare option because the the entrance doors are a bit more ornate having FF handles (and there was also a Fine Fare in the town I grew up in, the Tescos not arriving until, well it was built out of town in the mid 1980s).  One word of slight criticism on the window. Both the Tescos and Fine Fare windows have the prices shown in pre-decimal money meaning that although it is billed as 1960s and 1970s supermarket, in reality they aren't really relevant after February 1971. Its only a minor point, more-so for me as it s not going to be at the forefront of the scene but its a point nevertheless.

 

The second decision is a bit more difficult. There is an option to cut the individual windows on the 1st and 2nd floors ot and put some from one of the thin sheets behind in the gaps to give a little for depth to the windows. Whilst this would undoubtably look good and I am weighing up the fiddly factor. There are 16 individual windows to cut out, which is 16 potential occasions to make a complete horlicks of the whole thing. One of the main things that concerns me is the 14 window bars that would be extremely delicate and I can see one or more getting damaged. I think the likelihood is that I won't do it but will sleep on the idea. 

 

I'm looking forward to see how this build progresses.  It reminds me very much of the school I went to in Dursley, Glos. Now all knocked down and rebuilt into something modern.....but VERY ugly.

[stewartingram]

Before you do any cutting, scan the cards. Then if you make a mistake, do a reprint. Or, as I do, print on to A4 sticky labels, which are then attached to plasticard sheets.

Note - I am not advocating multiple copies of the kit, which would be an infringement of their sale, but just doing repairs!

[Downer]

For those not into card kits, I find Kingsway Model kits provide excellent and relatively cheap templates for making your own in plastic. 

[nomisd]

2 hours ago, stewartingram said:

Then if you make a mistake, do a reprint

 

Good advice - sadly it was too late as will be demonstrated.

 

I decided that I wasn't going to cut out the windows, my life is too short. I stuck the the windows in, eventually. The first time I did it I realised that I had started on the right hand side where the door is. I quickly pulled it out and stuck it over the other side. In hindsight I should have probably left it where it was as I think all of the openings are the same size and I would have just had the door on the left.

 

 

I then added the sign. This took longer than you would expect as I spent a long time considering the best orientation! I opted for this eventually.

 

 

Gluing the end walls - I was a bit concerned about this as I wasn't entirely convinced that they were going to stick

 

 

but the corner strengtheners work a treat

 

 

Then the only problem I encountered. Partly of my own making. The lobby is cut from thin card and then folded , stuck to a piece of thick card with two tabs and then stuck to the outside wall with two further tabs. I decided that the floor was in the wrong place so cut it off, It was only after doing this I realised I was trying to construct it upside down and the floor wasn't in the wrong place at all. This meant that I had to glue the floor to the strengthener as a separate piece and I made the whole exercise far more fiddly than it should have been, if only I had scanned it! The roof was the final piece, this comes in two parts and is glued with a joiner underneath. Actually this also cause a problem as for some reason I decide that rather than sit on top of the walls, it went inside. It doesn't and this of course caused joints to unglue!

 

 

I very quickly realised the error of my ways and repaired the damage. The above photo is with teh paving that comes with the kit. It is only sitting on this as I am not sure what I am going to do about paving (and indeed roads) yet.

 

Finally temporarily in situ

 

 

What I haven't done yet is decided what I am going to do about the cut ends. Probably pencil but how? For example there is a bare card edge on the end of front wall, this is various colours going up the wall because of the various materials. Try and match each colour or just go for a single dark colour? As a first go at one of these kits, it was fairly straightforward. Next the small row of shops, which should be a bit more of a challenge as it has curved bits of overlay,

[nomisd]

Small row of shops

 

This is again a fairly straight forward box like construction. Possibly the most trick part of it is cutting out the front wall. I thought it was going to be because of the curved tops on the roof. No, it turned out it was the order that I chose to cut things out. I started at the bottom, which meant that I had the long, thin pieces of cardboard in the way when I was wielding the ruler to cut out the window, A couple of times I caught one of the pillars and nearly ripped it off. Lesson learnt for the future.

 

 

I had what I thought was a light bulb moment - Mrs nomisd has a box of water colour pencils, why not try these for colouring the cut edges. And it worked pretty well I think.

 

 

However (isn't there always a however?), when I was gluing the windows in from behind, glue came into contact with the painted surface and I ended up with this above the right hand upper window

 

 

Not the worst thing in the world but irritating. The kit comes with 8 shop fronts however so does the row of shops that is going opposite it  and even the cinema comes with a couple of corner shops attached to it. So I had to get them all out to make sure I didn't end up duplicating. Because the art deco terrace and the cinema don't come with alternatives, I am going to end up with two florists but it could have been three.

 

I decided to go off piste and assemble the roof and the rear walls in a different order. The instruction ask for the rear wall to be added to the front and side walls and then the roof placed 7mm from the top into this box. There are then brick paper to add to the gap between the top of the roof and the top of the walls. I decided that it was possibly easier to measure the 7mm and fit the roof then add the brick paper and then add the rear wall. 

 

 

 

It worked so I am happy with it. Other than that the only disaster was glue on the side iof the building and managing to put my finger on and lift the top layer of the print. I think that I have repaired it okay.

 

 

Finished article - front, rear and in situ. Chimneys and roof dividers are not glued down yet and I am still undecided about what to do with the cut edges. I do like the water colour pencils but if they are going run its a problem. I have tried normal coloured pencils (meh) and felt pends (too vivid) I have a set of all the Bs arriving tomorrow so will try that as well before making any decisions. 

 

 

 

 

Used car dealer next.

 

 

Edited June 2, 2022 by nomisd

[BernardTPM]

Years ago, when making up BuilderPlus buildings in N I used Humbrol matt enamels for touching  in the white card. Seemed to work well, not softening or soaking into the card itself. The colour has proved more light resistant over time than the printing.

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, nomisd said:

I am still undecided about what to do with the cut edges

I used a mix of normal (not water-colour) coloured pencils and pastels.  In some cases it was enough to run a soft - say 4B - pencil over the edge.  

[Roy Langridge]

Have  you tried spraying the card with artists varnish before assembly? That really does help protect the surfaces as you work. 
 

Roy

[nomisd]

Second Hand Car Dealer

 

This is on the face of it a straightforward sides and front building. The main problem with it came with the front. It has some, admittedly fairly simple, curves at the top of the building. The problem is that there is a second pice that overlays them and getting the same curve was difficult. 

 

 

However I think that the end result was okay, it probably won't me any prizes but I am not entering it in a competition!

 

 

I am happy with the end result. I haven't done the chimneys yet and the roof needs some fettling at the rear but I am not going to approach that until I put it in place.

 

 

The scene is building up quite nicely and is definitely looking like the picture in my head. 

 

 

That is all the "simple" ones done. The last three all involve more complex shapes that just essentially a box. I am going to start with the semi detached house and garage.

[nomisd]

Semi Detached House

 

For some inexplicable reason, I didn't see fit to photograph the actual process of putting this kit together. Which is a shame as it was different to what had come before. With this, a card box was built in thick card and then the brickwork was laminated over this in thin card. The windows are printed on the thick card and holes cut out of the thin card to line up with them. I am pleased wit the bays. They are in thin card that have tabs on the side to glue tit to the house. It needs curving so I just put it in the palm of my hand and ran a pencil body of it and it bent on its own.

 

The roof isn't glued down yet, chimneys aren't there  and the finishing off of the edges hasn't been done yet. And I am not sure about the garage (I know its not straight). But yet again, it looks like it envisioned. Next the cinema.

 

 

 

 

[russ p]

I'm glad I've seen this thread , I've now ordered fine fare and woolworths to upgrade two shops of the same names I've built from Arcitex 

[nomisd]

Cinema

 

Everything else is just prologue. This is a much more testing kit. Its not particularly hard but has many stages and takes some patience. It starts with the sides which have cut outs for windows and shop fronts

 

 

 

The rear walls have an option for a fire escape. This is pre=positioned so you have to decided where you are going to put it

 

 

Cut it out and erm, hmm thats not supposed to be like that

 

 

It should be more like this

 

 

So glue the door in and then take the piece that I had cut out and take a piece off the top of it to fill the hole.

 

 

More than passable. Each wall is glued to a side and then the two back walls joined together. However when I come to put the two halves together I discover a more fundamental **** up than cutting too large a hole

 

 

 

Yep, I managed to cut the hole for the fire escape in what should be the top of the wall. Hmmmm. After a couple of minutes berating myself for not being more careful, I come to the conclusion that its not actually that great a problem. The wall without the fires escape is being glued to the back scene so you will never see the two walls tother. So its not that much of a problem. It does however prove the cut twice, measure once adage, or something like that! The roof was then trimmed down to fit inside the walls and that then brings us to here

 

 

Next the front and all its curves....

 

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by nomisd

[nomisd]

The initial stage to constructing the facade is the towers. This is simply three pieces of card that form a box with the fourth piece which is already on the side.

 

 

Both sides done

 

 

The next step is the foyer and doors. This is where you need to start forming curves. It is initially formed by a single piece which is definitely delicate. It essentially is a single thin strip of card about 10mm wide with two pieces coming down from this to form pillars. Once it is cut out it then needs to be bent. The order in the instructions is to bend and glue the front (adding tabs at either end to glue it to the walls) and then add the roof. I came to the conclusion that it was probably easier to glue it to the roof and then fit it as a single piece. This was mainly because of the curve on the roof - it seems easier to fit the curved shape (the roof) to the piece that needs to be curved (wall and pillars), otherwise you will end up with gaps. So thats what I did

 

 

The floor is then added (which I have already done in the previous photo) and the doors fitted. These are thing card, scored to make the curve and then glued with tabs.

 

 

Next is the lower part of the wall. This is made of thin card (with windows cut out and glued behind), which has tabs on the ends to glue it to the towers. It also has two thick card strengtheners glued behind it. 

 

 

This phot was just after it was all glued and its a bit lumpy where the glue hasn't dried. It did eventually dry however....this is where its started to go south. The next part is the sign part of the front. This is thin card, mounted on thick card piece and then bent to sit above the windows. I didn't wait long enough for the window section to dry and in putting the sign section in managed to tear the front away from the tab in about the top third. I then went to bed! This morning I went back and decided that it would be okay because it wiould be rescuable with a later part so carried on. 

 

 

The columns are the part that I hoped would cover the problem. As you can see (left hand side as you look at it) they haven't. Its not the only problem - the sign frontage doesn't fit on the right hand side as you look at it, there is a gap between the tower and the sign and wall. Look at the photos I think I have pin pointed the genesis of this problem

 

 

 

 

 

And then I turned it around to address the wall at the back of the sign and roof piece and found that I had done this

 

 

I finished it by putting the raised sign letters and the advertising boards on and placing the canopy.

 

 

I am disappointed with it because I think I could have made a better job of it. I think that I am going to give it another go as I think I know how I can do it better. I am not going to bin it straight away though as part of this exercise of building these kits is to try and gove myself an idea of of space and placings on the layout so it it is a more than adequate place holder for now.

 

 

And so the last kit (for now), the one I approach with some trepidation - the Art Deco Shops and Flats

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by nomisd

[nomisd]

Art Deco Shops and Flats

 

And so to the final (for now) model - the Art Deco Shops and Flats. This is big, the finished model comes in at over 18 inches long. Its made up of two halves, joined with a centre piece. The following photos are of the second half that I made. This is all the constituent parts of the right hand side but have fitted all of the windows and shop fronts. 

 

 

The next step is to fit the end, the roof and the flat wall together to form the basis of the building (from three different angles)

 

 

 

 

 

Next is the curved wall and windows, here in its flat form

 

 

and here after I had held it in the palm of my hand and run the handle of a Swann Morton over it a few times

 

 

Its is then attached to to the structure by the tabs. The formers had been glued on but I forgot to photograph them before I started to glue the wall section on. I spent quite a bit of time getting the tabs to fit correctly so that the wall covered the edges of the formers when glued down. I also left it a while to let the glue on the tabs to dry completely as still wet glue was one of the things that caused problems the curved walls on the cinema,

 

 

I then stuck the walls to to the formers. On the first section I tried to do it a little bit at a time but found that as I stuck it down I couldn't get to the next section of the former as the wall was in the way! On the second attempt I put a thin layer of glue on each former and then folded the wall over it. Both way required some extra gluing afterwards to stick down bits that wouldn't/hadn't stuck.

 

 

The roof of the shop fronts )or the floor of the flats depending on how you look at it!) was the added

 

 

I now have the two sides of the building, next to join them.

[nomisd]

The instructions say to put the shop fronts in then build the the other half and join them together. I decided that I wouldn't do that as I could see a potential pitfall with it. This is that the roof of the shops need trimming on one side and that this may create a problem with access and bits coming apart. So I got both sides to the point of the last photo in the last post and then started joining them. I glued the flat entrance door first

 

 

What I didn't take a photo of before I did this was a filler wall between the entrance and the flats so her it is after the front hand gone on.

 

 

I then glued the the other side on. I am glad that I took the way I chose as between the last photo and the next photo took nearly an hour of test fitting and slicing the thinnest pieces of the roof edges on the right hand side piece in order to get the best fit. I think that having the shop fronts in place would have hindered the constant test fitting.

 

 

Next the two sets of shop fronts. The only oddity here was the piece that goes between the door and the shop fronts. I am not sure if I did this correctly as I ended up slicing the piece for this in half as it made more sense to fit it the way I did as this meant that the shop fronts at the flat door and something to be glued to - you can see the piece in the second photo on the right had side shops..

 

 

 

Its all down hill from here with only the finishing touches. First the balconies which are thick card bases with thin card walls wrapped around them. In hindsight what I should have done with these was add a slight overlap around the side that glued to the back wall to act as a tab. I accidentally did it on a couple and it really helped when gluing them on.

 

 

After this the walls around the first set of flats was fashioned and the canopy over the shops were added.

 

 

The finishing touches were the edge around the canopy and a decorative piece over the entrance tall windows

 

 

I have to say that my expectations of my ability has been surpassed by this kit! I think that it is possibly the best kit I have ever built. It has its flaws and there are bits that need touching up (the camera is cruel!) but overall I am chuffed with the outcome.

 

[BernardTPM]

I thought those shops looked familiar. Then I saw the saw the instruction sheet in the 5th picture. Ah yes.