New Victorian build - The Undertakers (Update 17/7 - p.8)

[uti long smile]

Another classic in the making.

[Chairface]

Lovely as always Neil

[Thunderchicken]

Hi all,

Time for an update. Nothing major, more fiddly bits than anything else.

I apologise for the strangeness going on in some of the pics, my camera has decided it wants to warp some of the straight lines here and there so doors and windows might look a bit wonky (that's my excuse anyway!).

The front and one of sides are coming along nicely so I thought I'd share some of the detail. I've used my usual painting method for the brickwork:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=49154.0

I painted the bottom half a mixture of off-white and cream, I then gave it a very diluted black wash to bring out the stonework. I painted the lintels Vallejo Iraqi Sand and I'll weather them a wash of GW Devlan Mud (may be called something else now) later:





Here's how I made the frame for the shop front. As you can see its a good mix of materials, basically I just lay the stuff out on the desk and go from there. I've used balsa wood framed with styrene for the sign. For the columns I used foamed pvc as it is easy to score; as you can see I've made the column supports from balsa. The bottom frame is all styrene. When the build is nearer completion I'll add the perspex window, any sooner and it'll probably get scratched:



Once it's painted it looks much better:



   

I've also added some drainage pipes (I don't do guttering.......... yet  ). I use 1:43 casts from S&D Models for junctions, fittings, hoppers etc. With a slight trim they fix nicely to 1/8th Evergreen plastic rods. When you order the S&D fittings you can choose between 1/8 and 1/32 fixtures, I prefer 1/8 as it scales nicely with the buildings. Anyway, it's these:



As you can see from the pic of the front section at the top of this post I have given the drain pipe a swan neck. The plastic rods are easy to bend with some tweezers but I use a pipe bender to avoid creases or kinks. I got mine from e-bay:





Once I've measured the length of the pipe I will need I just fix it to the fittings and pin the whole thing to the build. Any gaps between the pipes and the fittings are treated with a dose of filler. Here's some WIP drainage added to the back of the building (it's not fixed yet so isn't straight):




Hope some of these tips help 

Next I'll start putting the structure together........ Gulp.

           

[bbtoys333]

Lovely and inspiring work. Thanks for the interesting peek into your working methods too.

[OSHIROmodels]

Glad to see some progress old boy 

Your rounded elevation will have to wait until next year now 

cheers

James

[Ray Rivers]

Once it's painted it looks much better

Looking pretty awesome already, matey.  

Like I've said before, you must be closing in on a complete replica of Victorian London.  

Superb, as always.

[gamer Mac]

Great work
Do you paint the drain pipes before fitting them?

[Mason]

Brilliant, mate.
Bloody brilliant!
 

You have remembered to factor in the angle for the corner joins now, haven't you?
 

[Thunderchicken]

Thank you kindly gents. 

Your rounded elevation will have to wait until next year now 

Fear not old chum, I  wasn't sure how long you would be out of the game so found a way around it. I found a fabric roll that is almost a perfect fit. It wont look perfect but with a bit of improvisation it'll do the job 

Do you paint the drain pipes before fitting them?

Should have mentioned that, yes I do. I only paint the side facing the brickwork though, I paint the rest once it is fixed in place.

You have remembered to factor in the angle for the corner joins now, haven't you?
 

  Oh lordy yes! lesson learnt!

Like I've said before, you must be closing in on a complete replica of Victorian London. 

Alas I had to let a few buildings go earlier in the year but I'm getting there  Once I've got a few shillings back in the bank I'll be topping the terrain up with a few large buildings from 4Ground and Jimbibbly's Victorian goodies. 

[Thunderchicken]

Sorry all, been a while with an update but the scaffolding is back up and the builders are back on site  

Right, I've finished the shop front and have started to put the structure together.

To create the window frame, firstly I score on a perspex sheet where I want the frame to go. The frame will cover the score marks. (sorry, shite quality pic but it's the only one I took):




For the frame I use thin half round strips glued into place with GS Hypo Cement, it has a tiny precision applicator which is perfect for delivering small amounts of glue for detailed work:




Here's the strips placed over the scored lines ( I painted the strips before gluing them in place). Not a drop of glue in sight   You can just about see where I've marked out the dimensions of the shop front to ensure I've got the correct measurements for the frame:




Here's the completed shop front with the frame in place (you'll note I've added curtains to the windows, I'm coming to that   ):




Here's the completed window frame for the side section:





Apologies for the haze effect in the next two pics, gawd knows what I did to the camera settings!!!  




This pic is just to demonstrate how I grid the base, it helps me ensure I've got true right angles, straight lines and everything where it should be. I use Araldite to glue the building sections to the base and as you can see from the top section of the building I secure the corners with strips of foamed PVC (these will also act as supports for the flat roof when it is put into place later):




This gives you an idea of how the structure is coming together. Thanks to Svennn for hunting down and sizing the absinthe advertisement for me. To create the ad board I printed the absinthe ad on to normal printer paper then stuck it to thin styrene cut to size, I then created the frame using thin plastic strips. To stop the ad board from warping I simply painted the other side, a good tip picked up from Dewbakuk. The corners of the building and masonry borders will be tidied up and finished off later:




Here's the front. As mentioned earlier, I decided to add more detail to this build but couldn't make up my mind whether I wanted curtains or nets in the windows. After consulting with some fellow LAFers I went for both! I also added some privacy netting to the shop front. It might be hard to see from these pics but the nets do have a pattern. For the nets I used 'hem lining' from the other half's haberdashery stash. The curtains are thin felt, also taken from the other half's materials stash. I used superglue to glue both materials in to place with no adverse effects:




I want the corner of the shop to have a curve rather than an angle so here's a rough idea of how it will look. Obviously, this is where the entrance to the shop will be ( I thought I'd make it easy for myself   ) I'm working on this bit tonight so will update tomorrow:




Hope you're still awake  
  

  

    

[gamer Mac]

Looking great
Are you keeping the bottom floor stonework white?
Details are lovely

[moonshado]

That brickwork and the drainpipes are both beautifully done. Love that the windows have nets as well as curtains. Your eye for detail and your ability to reproduce it is enviable.

[Elk101]

Looking great! I'm assuming this is the building with the curved front you were talking about? It's shaping up really nicely. Cheers, Steve

[Mason]

Absolutely spiffing, Old Bean!
 

You nailed those curtains, mate, and that Absinthe sign is the dogs.
 

Pukkah, me old china.
Just Pukkah!!!
 

[Phil Robinson]

Brilliant, I like the round corner, it really sets it off.