On occasion, the director may want to blow up, for example, an industrial complex. Financial considerations aside, it is usually easier to build models to destroy than to find and wipe out an appropriate full scale abandoned industry. Since even big budget features have cost constraints, the construction department, painters, and model builders all try to cut corners wherever possible, including what materials they purchase.

To continue with the same example, if we were to build a gigantic industrial complex, we would need huge numbers of specific detail castings as well as more nondescript but complex looking parts to represent machinery, vents, pipes, chimneys, and air conditioning hardware-all that odd looking stuff you see on rooftops and are unsure what it is.

So the focus of this article is on saving money by finding common items to use for generic detail parts.

GO ON A SHOPPING SPREE

When we movie modelers need hundreds or thousands of nondescript, complex looking details, we often head to the local hardware store, find a shopping cart, and wander through the aisles. Rather than list specific items we often use to represent certain kinds of hardware (since any given store may carry only a few), I suggest you follow some general guidelines and use your imagination:

The plumbing department usually has a variety of p.v.c. pipes and fittings, some as inexpensive as 25-cents apiece. You may use them to represent industrial size vents, fittings, and high pressure tanks. Look over the store's inventory and choose whatever seems appropriate.

The "nuts and bolts" aisle has all kinds of strange little objects you may use. Acorn nuts, for example, come in dozens of sizes and work very well to represent roof and wall mounted vents. They are very inexpensive, too. By contrast, imagine the cost of ordering a few hundred vent castings from a hobby shop! True, traditional model railroad detail parts are more accurate but, if a model appears in the background, who will notice whether its rooftop vents are expensive large scale castings or 25-cent parts from a hardware store? The trick is in how you paint and weather the part but more on that in a moment.

The electrical department also may have few goodies. Look for gadgets to represent generators, large industrial insulators, and junction boxes.

I also use the little plastic "feet" you put on the end of table and chair legs. They work very well to suggest huge air conditioners on factory roofs. Try to find them in the photos.

Little of what you do actually must make sense mechanically; it only has to give the impression it is correct. Who knows what half of that rooftop junk is, anyway?

PAINT

It is critical to paint and age the parts to make them look real. A good finish can help you get away with a lot.

Begin with a couple of light coats of primer. Without it, the weathering colors will not stick. I use inexpensive spray paints. Black or gray work well as base primer colors for machinery. Red oxide primer is good for coloring brick; gray primer is good for painting cement, especially if you mist over it with tan to "warm" the color. Sometimes, though, you may want the weathering colors to chip off, for instance if you want the metal underneath to show. But, most of the time, it is much better to start off with a primer coat.

The next step is to use oversprays of other colors, pastel chalks, or even watercolors to add tint, texture, and weathering. Here is a trick we use in Hollywood: Spray on a base color, then use a household spray bottle to mist on a little tap water. While the item is still wet, spray on a weathering color. Finally, before the paint has a chance to dry, hit the piece with a little more water. With a little experimentation, you will find the result is a very unusual, crazed, chipped effect. It is hard to make such an effect turn out "wrong" and it looks good on machinery.

If you want extremely realistic rust, buy iron sulfate plant fertilizer at your local garden store. A five pound bag costs only about five dollars and it will last a very long time. Mix about a tablespoon into a cup of hot water, stir often, and apply it to any metal or painted surface with an old brush. After about twenty-four hours, real rust will have formed on the part. If you want a more dramatic effect, apply the solution again. Different surfaces give different results, too. For instance, if you apply iron sulfate to wood, it will turn gray and resemble an old barn board. Mix only what you will use in one session; the stuff smells bad. After you apply weathering or rust, spray on a clear fixative, such as Testor's Dullcote. That will protect the part.

After you have glued all the detail parts to the structure, the final step is to mist the entire assembly very lightly with a weathering color. That will help blend all the colors together so all seem as though they belong there. I usually prefer a light earth tone but, in some situations, a model railroad color such as Floquil Grimy Black often works well, too.

I hope this article has provided some useful ideas. If you are hesitant, just remember: Only you will know that many details on your scale model are actually "junk" from the hardware store and cost almost nothing. So for now, "that's a wrap!"

Notes: The author scratchbuilt the structure in the photos. The "Ricardo Lopez Fireworks" sign and the "tarpaper" on roof are from Downtown Deco, 3115 1/2 Clark, Missoula, MT 59801.