Stained Glass

The ornate glass decoration above the storefront windows of the Ensminger Building offered me an opportunity to include a similar detail on my version of the structure.  As I noted in the post "A Fancy Facade..." I don't have the space to recreate the same pattern as the prototype.  However, I can create something that echoes the look of the real thing and for me that's part of the joy of kitbashing.  Sometimes the compromises we're forced to make due to the available materials and their limitations can lead to unique and wonderful results.

I used "Testors Clear Parts Cement & Window Maker" combined with Daler Rowney inks to make my stained glass.  The inks are really strongly pigmented and somewhat translucent, though not entirely.  You can hopefully see the effect in the second image below.  I had painted the window "lead" using charcoal colored paint before applying the colored glass.  However I had to go back and touch up the lead after the glass had dried because it is quite runny and tricky to apply cleanly in such a small opening.

Blue and Yellow make many shades of Green

Still need to add the large plate glass panes

In truth this is one of those details I did just because I wanted to and "I'll know its there".  It will be mostly hidden beneath the large veranda directly above it.  While not perfect I'm pleased with the result.  If this structure weren't along the edge of the layout I might not have done this but I'm glad I did.  

The veranda and its occupants will be the topic of the next post.

Fancy Facade Revisited

Something was bothering me about the storefront on my model of the Ensminger Building.  After staring at it on the workbench over a few days I realized it was the doors and windows.  I was really happy with how the small-pane inserts looked but not happy at all with the kit supplied doors and the precast two-in-one clear plastic nonsense.  The solution was to utilize parts from another kit then add more small pane muntins.  This not only more closely matches the prototype but unifies the storefront windows visually.

What follows is a sequence of images showing the step-by-step process of how I modified some N scale windows to fit the tall narrow entry windows, the new doors modified, and the assembly as a whole.

3x4 window cut down to 2x3

Side frame trimmed

Side frame reapplied

Original mullion removed, cut down window installed from behind,
 and a new mullion installed using styrene strip

Same process applied to central double door transom

Doors and side panels installed with kit-supplied entry ceiling

 

Scratch That

With the facade complete I took the next steps to assemble the core of the brick structure; applying brick texture to the back of the cornice, filling gaps with putty and creating a peak on the rear wall.  Next I assembled the walls using the kit-supplied alignment pegs and mid-level brace.  This is a nice way of ensuring the walls are plumb and square; thanks, Kibri!

Next I could begin pondering how I'd construct the photo studio add-on.  I had originally planned to use a Life-Like General Store, a structure I had kitbashed once before, years ago.  I nixed this idea because of the windows; there are too many on the kit and the prototype only has a handful.  

Test fitting with the Life-Like components gave me a feel for the relative size of the add-on and revealed an interesting geometry.  Placing the peak of the studio roof in line with the second story door then aligning the back studio wall with the side wall of the brick structure means that studio wall is slightly higher than the rest.  Based on the photos I have I suspect this was the case for the prototype structure.  Enlarge the photo below and trace the planks along the wall that says "Photograph Gallery", to see what I mean.

With these factors in play I decided to scratchbuild the studio using v-groove styrene sheet and window castings from my collection of parts.  My first order of business was to double check the fit of the structure in place on the layout.  Then I could begin making a simple-enough drawing to provide the necessary data to begin cutting parts.

The green framed windows came from the Grocery store kit and will need to be masked before I can prime them, as they're cast with the clear plastic and green plastic in one piece.  The metal windows are of unknown origin, though I suspect they're Alexander.  My brick structure isn't as wide as the prototype, so my high studio wall will be higher than the original, but that's okay.  This sort of situation is part of the fun of kitbashing, when reality suggests something out of the ordinary.  

I genuinely believe that the limitations imposed by real-life situations often produce more interesting models than we can imagine.  Studying photos of real places builds a library of possibilities which we can access to create realistic models with great interest.  Just as the freelancer studies real locomotives to produce a plausible steam engine for their pike, so to the kitbasher (and kit designers!) must study real structures so that their creations have a ring of authenticity.

Reducing and Enlarging

Recently I've been fitting the Tichy windows to the openings in the Ice Company building.  In order to make it all fit I had to first reduce the size of the windows, then enlarge the size of the openings in the walls.  Funny, I was more nervous about enlarging the openings in the walls than reducing the size of the window castings.  I suspect it is because the windows are so precisely made that the cuts and subsequent reassembly was easy to do, and I knew I'd do so with precision and careful work.  Whereas the walls were die-cut cardstock and I'd be tracing around the window to make the opening, not terribly precise, with more room for error.  Fortunately Gorilla Gel CA glue will fill any gaps between windows and walls when it is time to fix them in place.

A Pane-ful Job Made Easier

Yes, you read that correctly.  Pane-ful instead of painful.  Regular readers of this blog may know my disdain for installing window glass.  I have reached the point in the Trail Drive challenge where I'm installing window glass in the cabeeses.  There are sixteen windows on each caboose.  Fortunately the Tichy windows I used in the cupolas come with pre-cut clear styrene that drops perfectly into the window.  But that's only six windows per car.  The remaining ten in the body will need to be cut from clear styrene sheet.  Thankfully the cuts on these don't need to be precise and they're all the same size.  

However the real challenge isn't the fit of things; rather, getting the little buggers into place without smudging glue all over and having to curse and try again.  Enter blue-tack.

A tiny blob on the end of a dental tool allows me to pick up a pane and set it precisely into place deep inside the caboose body, just where I want it.  Once the glue has grabbed I can gently roll the tool to release it from the pane.  No swearing, weeping, gnashing of teeth or rending garments.  Why didn't I think of this before now?

When Two Become One

Or, when the materials speak, listen.

I had planned to use the little narrow windows from the Tichy Work Car Windows set to replace the narrow side windows in the cupolas.  I had thought the narrow Tichy window frames would work, but when turned vertically they weren't as tall as the square window frames on the front and back of the cupola.  However, included in the assortment were wide two-panel windows.  I held one window against the cupola side and immediately knew I had to use it. 

The narrow window openings had bothered me since I made them, and I really didn't have a good solution.   Something about the relative size or placement was off and I couldn't figure out what bugged me, I just knew I didn't like it.  So when the narrow Tichy windows didn't make it better, I was doubly discouraged at that point.  But my displeasure turned to satisfaction when I put the long, wide windows in place.

The actual fix was simple.  I cut out the center section between the two narrow windows, then added scale 2x4 strips to the sides.  I'm going to say that the new frame is a slider, and my train crew will be pleased to be able to open that window and get a breeze through the cupola rolling down the tracks in central Florida.