1/35 scale Sandwich Shop ... already in progress

[BKLN]

APPROVED.

[Malachi Constant]

THANK YOU for your help here!

Alrighty, we will need some further refinement & improvement in the final round, but I think the approach here is a winner!     Before getting started, I went up and down a nearby street that has lots of buildings done with the nominally 3x8" brick that I favor for this project and shot TONS of photos ... example below.

The basic approach is a modification of the cobblestone-making techniques by Gordon Ferguson, which are illustrated here:

http://www.finescalerr.com/smf/index.php?topic=549.msg26842#msg26842

And described in a how-to here:

http://www.finescalerr.com/smf/index.php?topic=549.msg30151#msg30151

[Malachi Constant]

Made an embossing tool by laminating various styrene strip to the desired size (compared to a "stock" size of K&S rectangular brass tube) ... so the interior matches the 3x8" brick face. But, this will have to be modified for the next round because ...

The deep opening in the embossing tool and the soft clay resulted in very rounded "cobblestone" or "bread loaf" shaped bricks (top portion) that had to be flattened (bottom portion) by scraping ...

Improvements for next round:
-- The DAS clay is available in a TERRA COTTA color which would provide a nice base and have an appropriate natural color for chipping ...
-- Make the embossing tool with a SHALLOW interior so we start off with flatter brick surfaces!

[Malachi Constant]

Marty's right!  It needs more color ... actually, there WAS a lot more color here, but that got worn off while handling the piece to do the mortar.  Guess I need to seal it FIRST next time!  (Doh!)      

Mortar was done by pressing tiny ribbons of Magic Sculp into the grooves ... have to slap on the magnifiers and do that with a little more care in the next round, then do some coloring on the final mortar to get it "just right" (or close enough!)  

Printed a proto photo to roughly scale size along the way to check thickness of mortar lines ... reasonably close!

[Malachi Constant]

The mortar lines at the top and bottom of the sample piece are really gross ... but let's ignore that here!    Just showing that the overall "flavor" and general color should work here. 

Will go for some more color variation in the finished piece, but probably something fairly subtle like the bottom photo ...

Thanks again!  ... for your input & assistance here.  Currently running a sale on my On30 web site, so I'll be tied up with that for a bit.  Meanwhile, I'll get hold of some of the terra cotta DAS and make a "flat top" embossing tool for the next round ...

Cheers,
Dallas

[Ray Dunakin]

Looks good!

[mad gerald]

... looks promising ...   ... just adding another brickwall for reference (in case of interest):

[Gordon Ferguson]

Dallas, admire your patience and bravery to take my little technique to this sort of level .................. I was working in 1/24 and the randomness created by my sloppy workmanship I could get away with for street cobbles but you managed to tighten up the whole process and do it in 1/35  !!!

If you ask Nick nicely sure he will give the dimensions for all those Kings, Queens  and other oddly named and shaped bricks etc 

[Malachi Constant]

Dallas, admire your patience and bravery to take my little technique to this sort of level .................. I was working in 1/24 and the randomness created by my sloppy workmanship I could get away with for street cobbles but you managed to tighten up the whole process and do it in 1/35  !!!

If you ask Nick nicely sure he will give the dimensions for all those Kings, Queens  and other oddly named and shaped bricks etc 

Gordon --

Thanks again for your original post!  That immediately looked "do-able" to me and I rushed out and got the supplies as soon as you listed them ... and here they sat until just recently.    The actual stretch of wall that I've got to do is a little more than 2x the size of the sample piece, so that will be a bit of a job ...

Then I'll really look forward to doing some cobbles so I can get nice and sloppy!   

And, of course ... it appears that some fancy brick sidewalks are in order too ...

I'm afraid to ask Nick about Bricks ... he'll tell me all sorts of things that my feeble little mind can't process! 

Cheers,
Dallas

[finescalerr]

Nick may find a nit or two to pick but I think ya done good. -- Russ

[Malachi Constant]

-- Jig + styrene strip + paint + pre-painted stripwood (latter two appear in final photo) 
-- Styrene tile + strips ...

To be continued ...

Cheers,
Dallas

[Malachi Constant]

Got the 1/35 brick mold that Nick recommended from Diorama Debris:
http://www.dioramadebris.co.uk/135-scale-german-standard-size-bricks-mould-1350001-3-p.asp

... hope I haven't buggered things too badly from the start!

[Malachi Constant]

Some preliminary planning on the stoop ... and a high-tech PencilCad 2.0 rendering of the revised storefront design ... somewhat larger than actual size on a 2x2 post-it note! 

[Malachi Constant]

Work in progress with various loose ends ... any/all comments, suggestions and criticism welcome.  Please pardon Mr. Mudgeon for going first on the criticism ... it's kinda his thing! 

Cheers,
Dallas

[shropshire lad]

Looks alright to me , though I would have had the curve more semi-circle like . To try and lessen the width of the front of the mortar joints of the brick on edges on the curve  .

  Nick