Hi Everyone,
I have been following this forum for years but this is my first post. I am so inspired by all your amazing work. I am no where near your level of proficiency but I do have a certain passion for the art form and a will to improve. Some of you may know a bit of my work, particularly Don, Nick and Karl.
I used to work exclusively in HO scale an example of which is Brett's Cove - created using 4 or 5 SierraWest kits.
Then I tried some O scale models about 2 or three years back and I was hooked on the level of detail one could achieve.
Welcome aboard, Joel! Your work looks pretty good to me!
Great work, Joel,
When I see some fine model building from someone I don't know it makes me wonder who else might be out there doing great work.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the kind remarks. This year I have decided to change things up from my typical backwoods scene to an urban street scene. I saw Randy Hage's 1/12 scale model of This storefront and knew I wanted to model it. My goals are to create this scene with the bicycle,, an alley next to the restaurant, a car or truck and maybe a streetcar out front. I looked at O scale but it seemed really small to detail and I really couldn't find a good bicycle (don't know why that detail is important but I'm clinging to it). I saw a kit for a tram in 1/35 and there are some good detail parts available as well as figures so I've decided to put it all together and make my first 1/35 scale model. Oh one last thing for some reason I thing it should be a winter scene with some snow, slush, ice and icicles dripping off the fire escapes. I've never tried modelling winter (except when I was 12 and used white felt for snow) so this will be just a bit more than a challenge. Hopefully there are those out there who can lend a bit of guidance. Or maybe a shovel...
May I suggest you model something similar to Randy's diorama but different? If you try to model somebody else's model, yours may prove not only second best but also possibly a caricature. On the other hand if you choose or create your own unique subject nobody can make a direct comparison. You have a distinctive style; why not apply it to a distinctive model? -- Russ
Hey Joel
Welcome aboard. I've seen your work many times at the shows.
You've done some really nice scenes. I'm sure this one will be just as good if not better.
Russ does have a good point there you have always gone a step farther with your models maybe you should do something a little different with this project.
Will be glad to follow along.
Jerry
Welcome! It will be interesting to see how your new project develops.
Well it has officially started. A bit of cheating really. I found a good photo of the shop on line and spent an hour or two photoshopping out the ladder, lights and shadows. Then printed it and built a styrene frame quickly aged with craft paints and rust streaks from AK.
Next I'll start on the storefront. A bit leery about it and at the same time excited. Anybody have a good method of making the windows look a bit dirty but transparent like Mr. Doan does brilliantly? I'll probably put a touch of frost on the bottom corners and maybe there will be a bit of condensation on the top edge (from the humidity indoors). I may be spending a bit too much time detailing what is in effect a 4 story backround building.
Looks good!
Your off to a good start.
Joel I would just drop Chuck a PM and ask him how he does the windows.
Jerry
I haven't been idle but not sure about showing progress to date. I have never built using styrene before but the storefront calls for it so here we go. i enlarged the photograph until I had a copy that was almost exactly 1/35 ( the florescent bulbs were 4 feet long). Then I just measured off the picture and glued the pieces together. I used a pin for the door handle.
I also made the pipe between the two doors out of a piece of brass wire wrapped with tape. Paint/chalk/dullcote
Welcome Joel,
Nice time-line of work.
Looks like the new project is off to a great start. look forward to seeing where it goes.
I like the rust and crud on that standpipe.
Thanks Ray.
Big admirer of your work. Now I know what that pipe is called! Been busy this weekend. Painted up the storefront and added the first layer of signs and details. Too bad the condensation ( a mist of gloss acrylic) hides the work on the fluorescents and neon sign. I'll try to take a better picture when we get some serious sun. Still have the electrical to do and the rest of the window dressing.
Joel very nice. Some nice detail work in the windows so far.
Jerry
That's looking good! I like all the old photos, signs, etc in the windows.
BTW, I'm only guessing at the name of that pipe!
Quote from: Ray Dunakin on December 08, 2014, 09:23:05 PM
That's looking good! I like all the old photos, signs, etc in the windows.
I second that. The yellowish worn/dirty aluminum effect of the window frame is extremely convincing. I'd like to nitpick a bit at (about?) the lamella of the air conditioning, which look somewhat coarse and arbitraryly positioned.
Volker
Very nice, Joel!
As a New Yorker, I can't wait to see more!
Christian
I did a little more work on the windows and started the electrical. The louvres in front of the air conditioner are a bit off. I wanted them slightly wonky but ended up with a bit more of a cartoonish look. Most of it will be covered with the electrical conduit and the sign so hopefully it becomes less apparent.
The trays are tinfoil bent over a rectangle of styrene and the knishes and buns are fimo. Haven't played with this stuff since my kids were small. I airbrushed a bit of brown and put a dab of gloss coating on. The icing is white paint.
I think you got white paint on your knishes.
This is coming together well.
Russ
Hi Joel, this is absolutely realistic and I would be delighted if you could a little more detail report on the origin of Datails.
Hi Helmut,
I'm glad you like it. It's certainly not the best on this forum but for a first try to build in styrene I'm quite pleased. Not sure which details you want to know about. So far everything is scratch built from styrene except the signs and photos in the window. Those are taken from actual photos of the shop and then shrunk to 1/35. Printed on glossy paper and then sprayed with dullcote. The edges are touched up after cutting out and thinning the paper (I split the paper so a layer peels off the back leaving a very thin photo which I further thin by sanding). The picture frames are styrene as is the edging around the "Open" sign.
The only real interesting details are the racks, trays and baked goods which are styrene, tin foil (the thick stuff from a tray of takeout lasagna) and Fimo modelling clay in beige and brown.
If there are details I missed, ask away.
Wow, that really looks great! What kind of metallic paint did you use on the exterior?
Alclad aluminum. Airbrushed on and then when cured I did a wash with AK dark brown and winter streaking grime. Most of the wash was wiped off and what you see is what I got.
A little work on the side door. All styrene except the grate which is brass, the hinge plate is laserboard and the conduit which is wire. The light does work (micro LED).
The keypad and sign were copied, sanded and glued in place. The sign is also "taped" in place with 4 very small bits of clear decal paper.
The hinge detail is visible too.
Well I haven't been idle but not the progress I'd hoped for. I need to work on the brick walls and have tried various techniques including plaster casting and carving from styrofoam. Unfortunately they all look a bit too cartoony in my coarse hands. I ordered some O scale brick sheets from Moster Model Works. They are laser cut bass wood and hopefully I'll have better results. meanwhile a bit of work on some details.
Here is bicycle #1 from the Tamyia kit with brass etching upgrades.
Nice! I wish they made those in 1/24th scale.
Nice!
Ray,
I'm hoping to build one in 1/16th....................
-Mj
Quote from: lab-dad on December 18, 2014, 05:45:57 AM
Nice!
Ray,
I'm hoping to build one in 1/16th....................
-Mj
You on a bike you can hardly walk without falling over!!!!! :D
Jerry
No brakes on the bike!!!!
Perhaps a bit of fine wire is required, used very fine plastic rod on a 1/35th Diopark bike kit (which came with etched spokes)
Les
A single speed bike of that era might have a foot brake that operates when you apply back pressure on the pedals. -- Russ
Even early bikes have always had a brake on the front wheel see here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_brake#Spoon_brakes).
Nevertheless, a simple great bike.
Helmut, in the USA "coaster" brakes were most common on bikes until relatively recently. These are the type that Russ mentioned. From the page you linked:
"In 1898, after the advent of freewheel coasting mechanisms, the first internal coaster brakes were introduced for the rear wheel. The coaster brake was contained in the rear wheel hub, and was engaged and controlled by backpedaling, thus eliminating the issue of tire wear. In the United States, the coaster brake was the most commonly fitted brake throughout the first half of the 20th century, often comprising the only braking system on the bicycle."
I haven't paid much attention to bicycles lately but used to ride regularly up until the early 1980s, and even at that time the coaster brake was still common on single-speed bikes.
Hello Ray,
of course, the bikes have always had a coaster brake, only the rear brake alone the bike turns when braking with the rear wheel forward.
Can you better not try a car for smoothness once briefly and strongly pulled the hand brake and already spun the car.
Therefore, bicycles also have a brake which acts on the front wheel.
(https://www.finescalerr.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buntbahn.de%2Ffotos%2Fdata%2F7526%2F13PB170036.JPG&hash=4fe41c8f52f200fba7d62c5989c6569c83ad83e9)
This service bike a mine overseer is over 80 years old and has the back-pedaling brake for the rear wheel and the second brake for the front wheel.
Helmut - What you say about brakes might be true in Europe, Asia, and Africa, but not in the USA. The typical single speed bicycle in the USA has a coaster brake on the rear wheel and no brake on the front wheel.
Bill Martinsen
I dunno about the coaster brake preventing tyre wear. I had one in the 80s that was decidedly binary in it's operation, ie the wheel was moving forward or completely stopped. Great fun as a kid, not sure my dad was so amused replacing the tyre every other month
Cheers
Jim
Well still trying to figure out the brick work. I built a second bike and this one has hand brakes. When I was a kid my bike didn't have any hand brakes I just put back pressure on the the pedals and that was that. Still nice to have variety. I also started the Street car. The weathering isn't done yet but I thought I'd do a mock up of the scene to give me an idea of proportions. I'm not one for pencils and paper so I sketch with styrofoam and toothpicks and some printed pictures of buildings.
If nothing else I can see there are many months of modelling ahead of me.
Spent some time painting the passengers. I'm not really great at this but they will mostly be behind dirty windows.
Still waiting to do the brickwork and firescapes until parts arrive.
Spent the last 5 days working on the cobblestone road. i made a mold and made 4 copies of the plastic cobblestone road from the kit. Then I put one down and cut the two others to fit like a puzzle. I then filled in all the gaps with individual "cobblestones" broken off of the scraps. I used some spackle to fill in a few air bubbles. Still a ways to go but I think it's a solid start.
Cool. Are the trolley tracks part of the castings?
Yes Ray the tracks are part of the casting so I had to break the castings apart (except one central one) to create what you see.
Now on to the sidewalks before painting/staining.
I made a styrene rectangle to use as a mold to make the sidewalk pieces. I placed the mold on some 220 grit sandpaper to give the surface some texture. I find that using old used sandpaper with plaster dust still caked on gives even more texture. I then glued some cloth to the back and cracked a few.
Nice!
Joel thanks for the update. Your doing some really nice work here.
Jerry
Here's the street with manhole covers, grates and the first couple of coats of paint/stain.
Sweet!
Spent the day building up the first of the fire escape landings. All styrene and brass. So far so good. Just 5-6 more to go.
Ok let's file this one under stupid/crazy. I scaled down pictures of cigarette buts and sanded down the backs so they were transparent. Then I rolled them and glued them over .12" wire.
Way too much work for the effect. I did the same for a coke can which I like better.
The last picture shows just plain wire painted with white and medium flesh tones and I think I like these cigarettes best.
Nice. It worked pretty well for the Coke can, but yeah painted wire is the better route for the cigs.
I can't believe you are devoting considerable time and talent to creating detritus a janitor long ago should have swept away. Go stand in the corner. -- Russ
Nice details! Maybe crazy, but not stupid.
Quote from: finescalerr on February 06, 2015, 12:23:29 AM
I can't believe you are devoting considerable time and talent to creating detritus a janitor long ago should have swept away. Go stand in the corner. -- Russ
Quote from: Chuck Doan on February 06, 2015, 07:44:50 PM
Nice details! Maybe crazy, but not stupid.
What he said .... and what he said .... you're certainly crazy ... but doing a great job of it!
Curiosity question: What's the time-frame or intended era of the scene? Cobblestones can suggest a long-past time ... but do survive in some places ... Coke can and cigarette butts with filters look modern ...
Good question Malachi,
I think I'm aiming for late forties or so. I guess that does mean the coke can has to go. I really should try to be consistent. Thanks for pointing it out.
OK I'm waiting on those brick sheets so I think I'll move on to the second major storefront. I've decided to try and copy this faded/peeling store.
What a great looking old relic of a building!
Finished up the landings for the fire escape. I like the interesting diagonal braces on the sides. I've never seen them before but they are prototypical.
Nice work, on a complex piece.
Well I did a lot of work on the new storefront. I took all the measurements directly from the photo and built it totally from scrap wood except the decorative trim on top which is a casting for a dollhouse. The peeling paint is a mixture of dry brushing and the excellent Chuck Doan technique. The sign and newspapers are all downloaded from the net and printed onto actual newsprint.
Unfortunately when it was finished I put a figure next to it and the left hand door measures out at about 5' tall oops. I'll have to re work it a bit but it's a good start.
Don't rework it. Just add a sign that says "Midgets' Entrance". -- Russ
Wow, that looks great!
Looks great!
What about 2' of stairs/steps going down in front of the left door?
(then lengthening the bottom of it)
mj
Great idea Marty but I already broke down the door. Ah well. It's rebuilt now and I've added a cement base with some tiles for the entrance.
Also painted the fire escape. I was going to paint it black with some rust peeking through but I think I like it as is. Thoughts?
Today I built a mailbox from scratch. It uses 37 separate styrene pieces all hand cut except the letters. It's not perfect but I'm still pleased. The street waste basket was made from scotch tape and tulle (wedding veil). It clearly needs some paint touch ups but it's a start.
Wow, that mailbox is especially nice! What did you use for the raised lettering?
Quote from: Joel Freedman on February 19, 2015, 02:09:11 PM
Also painted the fire escape. I was going to paint it black with some rust peeking through but I think I like it as is. Thoughts?
Hi Joel,
yes. I think you used instant rust or something for that? For me this always seems far to thick/coarse for small scales (and even the bigger ones): It rather tends to look like metal parts buried in a wet mine for 40 years or so. I never used it by myself and so don't know if it works, but maybe you can reduce it with a glass fiber pencil down to the 'pigments'. If it's completely removable i would start with black color as you intended in the beginning and then use some gouache for the rust stains.
Thiose tiny items are amazing. The tulle works very well.
Cheers,
Volker
Ray,
They are a small set of styrene letters I used for the "Knishes" sign in the first storefront.
Volker - thanks for pointing out what I refused to acknowledge. Really it would have been condemned with that much rust but it is a lovely effect. Ok I'll rework it. I still like some texture but it is a bit much.
Joel
Very nice on those details. Your doing a fine job so far.
Jerry
Thanks Jerry. I got a couple of hydrants in the mail today. I ordered them from Shapeways and voila! Quite amazing detail. They are slightly different as I wanted to see if it makes a difference ordering the more expensive "Plastic" which supposedly captures better detail. No question it does but it has a rough finish and the paint stuck so well that it was difficult to peel the paint. Also there are metallic flecks that show through the paint.
Also painted some lampposts. real problem here is that they are not supposed to light and I wanted them working. I could drill through the bottom half but then the plastic became too thin. I Drew the wires to the surface and cut a small channel. Ran the wires to the top and filled it with putty. Sanded and painted.
Nice stuff.
All are 3-D prints, huh? That's certainly a positive harbinger of what we may expect to become commonplace. -- Russ
Actually I forgot to mention I added some chain as in the prototype but yes the level of detail is remarkable, I love the nuts and bolts on the underside.
The Lamppost was from a Miniart kit but I'm sure it could have been made by 3D printing.
Joel, could you let me know which hydrant you ordered from Shapeways, there are several different one from different designers so was a bit wary but yours look good .
Thanks
Hi Gordon,
It was From Matt's Scale Model parts and is in 1/35. I wish shapeways had a simple program so you could buy any of their products and just put in the scale and the 3D model would be changed accordingly. Lots of beautiful stuff.
Anyway, a busy weekend up here. Finished the third storefront and started on the forth and final one. I still have the lights and interiors to work out but making strides.
Great stuff. I love the wood-grain detail in that close up photo. Those storefronts would look right at home in NYC or in a Nevada mining town!
Another good day. I used some stock pieces of laser etched basswood to build the first of my three major buildings. More of a practice as it is only an 1/4 of a building. This will go over the mahogany wood storefront which will be a music store. Still toying with an interior as it is so close to the diorama's edge.
Well I worked a bit on my first storefront and did the street elevator. I have to tone down the yellow but it's a start. The railings are wire and styrene and a bit of tape.
Cobble installation around NYC manholes.
That looks great!
First window done. Took about 18 separate pieces but I like the peeling paint. 7 more windows to go (for this structure then another 17 for the rest).
Marc,
Thanks, nice picture. Obviously I've let my manhole covers get a bit too rusty. I'll see if I can rework them a bit. Too late to repave the stones I'm afraid.
In the 'First window done' post, did anyone else at first see the optical illusion that the brick arch over the window appeared to be recessed below the surface of the rest of the wall and all the mortart lines appeared to stand proud of the bricks? Happened because the light was aimed from the bottom of the wall upward but our vision is programmed is expect light source from above. Took a minute to sort it out.
Nice wall and window.
Yeah, I got that optical "delusion" too at first glance.
Happened to me, too, but now that I know what it's supposed to look like, I can't get the image to "snap" back to when it looked like the arch was recessed. Brains are weird.
Bill Martinsen
It was fine until you told us, not all I see is recessed arch and raised mortar.
Well finished all the windows and used frosted "glass" in the bathrooms. The picture has the sunlight from the top to avoid the optical illusion. The electrical stuff is just a bunch of odds and ends glued to the wall.
I put a foil alarm trigger on the window of the shop. I tried with real foil but couldn't get it to look right so I just masked of the area and sprayed some silver paint. The "foil" may be a bit wide as I remember it being more like 1/2" or even a cm wide.
The foil alarm sensor is a nice touch.
Decided the music shop will have burglar bars too so I made a set. 91 pieces of styrene but pretty simple really. Still have to add the hasp and lock
Cool. Got any pics of how you made that?
No real secret here Ray. I looked at a nice model version by Randy hage. But I wanted mine openn like the HO scale vector Cut one so IO enlarged that picture to 1/35 then I cut the 9 vertical strips from .01x.03 styrene and glued on the top rail then put some tape on it to hold while I flipped it over. I cut about 50 small strips for the crisscrosses and glued them to the back. then i added the rivets to the front and voila. Took less than an hour but it should look good.
Ok installed the burglar bars and the lock. Also added an ornate clock and finished the window interior. Also remodelled upstairs a bit too.
Looking good! Is that clock frame laser-cut?
It's actually a giant HO scale brass etching from scaleLink. I used it as a small wall clock and I think it's quite effective. Still need to work on a sign.
Joel, No illusions there, just real nice modeling!
Thanks so much Bill. I started working on the details for the grocery store. I'm very happy with the apples. I made up a new technique which I'm sure art students all know about and there is probably some fancy french name. To paint the fruit I used 2 colours on the brush at the same time (green and yellow) and so each fruit is a different shade of the same colour and there is variation even on the same fruit. After the light green I dry brushed a bit of red and then a bit of gloss verathane. I think this works well for organic stuff and adds some interest so I will be using it a lot more for wood and cloth.
Joel, Beautiful vegetables! Not trying to hijack your thread, but here's how I made some bushels of McIntosch apples by mixing four colors of Fimo (a polymer clay). http://www.finescalerr.com/smf/index.php?topic=2511.15 (Scroll down to the bottom of the 18 MAR post). What I liked was not having to paint each apple, yet still got a nice variation in color.
OK the music store with its interior and sign are done and I've started the interior of the grocery store. All are individual castings or pieces of styrene with labels I made from down loading vintage box covers.
Really nice work on those items in the music store window!
Joel,
could you please tell something about how you made the music store items, especially the gramophone trumpet? Somewhere on the line I got lost about scale, this is 1/32 not 1/87, isn't it?
Cheers,
Volker
Hi Volker, not surprising as 1/35 is a weird railroad scale but because the scale is larger I feel the bakery can be really detailed also there are so many detail parts available for other things. The gramophone (and everything else in the window) are from a kit by Model Plus complete with metal etched records and record labels.
Joel your doing a really nice job on this. The details really bringing this to life.
Jerry
Ps See you in a few days.
Here's a rough picture of what the grocery will look like. Many of the details are just placed for now. Jerry look forward to seeing you at the Expo. I'll bring down the diorama to Scranton but I still have a few months work to go.
I like it!
Nice temporary placement. -- Russ
Show in Scranton? Really?
My grandson lives there.
More info/link please...
Carlo
http://modelrailroadexpo.com/index.html
A really great show, lots of interesting stuff
last post before I head off to the show. Took a few shots in the sunlight. Much better colour.
Hi Joel,
to me the coloring of the wooden barrel, crates and underframe looks too brownish. The color of pole and baskets rather show the right direction. Pole is obviously standing on the floor, drilling a hole and inserting it would add a lot to a convincing scene, but I'm nearly sure that's one of the 'for now' items.
Cheers,
Volker
Hey Joel --
Great looking scene! I agree with Volker's suggestions for refinement, but it's in the realm of "accomplishment" at this point.
Cheers,
Dallas