SuperflyTNT - Innsmouth: Marsh Refinery (Update 1/2)

[superflytnt]

Well, I've learned something tonight. Don't EVER, ever, ever try to use an oven to mess with thermoplastics. Normally, I'd use my heat gun. But, because it's 1AM and I didn't want to wake my sick daughter, and newly sickened wife, I figured, "This will be fine...what could go wrong?"

As usual, I bollocked things by taking short cuts. Not totally buggered, but pretty much so.

See, I was weathering the roof and things were coming along nicely. But I remembered my buddy's roof, and how the edges on his hundred-year old house's roof were sagging, how there were sags in the middle...and so I thought, I can do that. Like an ass, I held the edges over the oven and bent them. Worked great. So, then I decided to go ahead and start working the center, to put some sags in.

Thermoplastics are funny things. They're a bit like man-parts. There's hard, and soft, and not much in between. About a second too long and it went from the former to the latter, and it started stretching. F- all if it didn't sag so much that I couldn't re-form it on the building. Instead of 30 years weathering, I gave it a hundred. Ugh.

Lemons/Lemonade. Now I have to add more beams than I had hoped to make it look even remotely reasonable, and while the roof fits and sits on top, it looks like it was done sloppily. I considered trying it again, stretching it gingerly. I may still. But ignore the whole "looks like ass" part, and look at the weathering.

Anyhow, I started off the weathering using an x-acto to remove the sharp edges, since they're always the first to go, and then I started in on the roof. Cut some holes (hard as all get-out to do, for what it's worth) and started eating away at the edges of the shingles on the ends of the building. All was going well, then I got the melt idea. What a tosser....ugh.

The first pic is the side I haven't chewed up, the second is the "complete" side.

[smokezombie]

Hey superflytnt. Your really making some headway with your buildings. Top one mate.
I think the church is still workable, a bit of paint and some exposed rafters like you say and shell look sweet.
I hope your lady's get well soon.

[Mason]

It is not so bad, mate.

If you have not already stuck the roof down, how about adding an extra row or two of tiles at the bottom using card, so that it overlaps the eaves and hides the bigger gaps?

[Tas]

Not to worry - unexpected yes.  Unrecoverable? not at all

Options include simply making a new roof with 2mm MDF and then making shingle from cardboard and sticking it down - would look quite effective

Or you can press on, try to make some bits to fill in the worst gaps (they'll look like bodgy repair attempts right in line with the theme of the model anyway) and if you hate it, go bck to my above suggestion

Or if you feel totally disenchanted you can send it to me (I've been trying to find one of these in Australia anyway) and I'll say thanks very much because I think that accident or not you are onto a winner!  

[Oldben1]

I know exactly how you feel.  Sometimes there just isn't enough time in the day, especially with the family.  I often rush things as well.  I'm always in a rush to get things done too.

The roof is a pretty easy fix for this model, and you wanted it 'rustic' anyways.  If you don't like the effect (I think it looks pretty cool myself) you could easily build a new roof out of card.  Otherwise paint it up and close in the gaps.  I bet it will look pretty awesome.  Its a fairly easy model to paint as well.

[superflytnt]

Thanks, gents. I have some ideas....

- Redo the roof in plasticard. It's going to be removable as the interior is going to be available for play (I cut off the front door) so that's workable, and I have a bunch lying around.

- Cut rectangular notches where the lowest points are, and run 1/4" x 1/4" balsa rafters through, to indicate a roof that has been so waterlogged over the years it sagged and bowed. My only problem with this is that roofs don't pull back when they sag, just spots fall out.

- Get the heat gun on it and stretch out the worst parts so it ~mostly~ covers the roof.

- Cut each side of the roof into two sections, glue the edges on permanently and leave the large gable section as removable.

I think I favor the latter option, because it gives me the holes I was looking for, but it's the most work because I'll have to have the rafters mate up on either side of the joint to look realistic.

Either way, what a mess!

[superflytnt]

Well, I cut out beams and hot-melt glued them in place, turns out that it's not bad. Not great, but not bad. Weathered the roof side that wasn't, cut some bits from the roof for the beams to protrude, and all done. Just need to wait for some warmer weather (>50F) to prime and then I'm all set.

[Oldben1]

yikes!

It looks like you'll be able to salvage it nicely.
You really Barbacued that one!
Reminds me of the time I was painting some Mos Eisley buildings and I used cheap paint and a bunch of them melted.  You actually learn a lot about solvents and paints when you are a modeller.

[Mason]

Good recovery.

I think that it actually looks better like that.
Plenty of character in that place....

[superflytnt]

Good recovery.

I think that it actually looks better like that.
Plenty of character in that place....

Woman: "Why did you marry that ugly tosser?"
Woman 2: "Oh, well, he's not much to look at, but he's loaded with ~character~"

LOL

[Tas]

You made a bland base model look much better! 
I really like it this way much more   

[superflytnt]

Lovely liars, the lot of ya!

It's still not warm, but I think I'm going to get this thing painted up, to hell with primer. It's only a ~few~ spots, anyhow. I just need to beat up the building itself now a little, since a pristine sanctuary under that mess isn't really feasible.

I knew this would be much more work the minute I couldn't get the roof cooled fast enough and it started going all disco on me.

[Oldben1]

disco lights by soaky, on Flickr

Based on your comments, how about this for the interior.  Doesmanyone make a Saturday Night Fever cultist?

[superflytnt]

Well, here's the Esoteric Order Of Dagon hangout...

I started with a black basecoat on the roof. The building was primed already, as was the roof, so it took the paint well..

I then used a dark chocolate, cinnamon, and dark grey drybrushing. After it was all done, I soaked some spots with pot water and then used a paper towel to smudge and remove some paint, blending it. Then I painted the exposed beams grey with a dark brown drybrush. Put some leaf green spots in the depressions where I planned to....

[superflytnt]

...put my flocking. I always put a base of flocking in to act as anchors for later flocking. Its an extra step, but it works for me.

The building and steeple had already been primed, but I needed to beat it up a bit. I spent 30 minutes with an x-acto removing the sharp edges all around, so it looks like it's been rotting for years. After that, I used two shades of grey to add some `texture` to the color scheme. Then some antique white in spots. All with a drybrush, mainly.