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

[BKLN]

Dallas,
there is a visual disconnect. I think that the texture of the brick is too coarse for the clean lines of the brick layout. It's not here or there. The brick pattern and the thin mortar lines suggest a fancy brick wall, but the finish is too rough for that.
However, if this is supposed to be a rough back or side wall, then your brick layout is too clean.

I think you should consider "hand laying" separate paper bricks. ( I think Marc Reusser had a little test somewhere here a while ago.)

[Malachi Constant]

Hi Christian --

THANK YOU for the critical feedback -- much appreciated!  Agree with the points you mention ... but had to give "the easy way" a shot before moving on to however many attempts it will take to do it the hard way or ... well, we'll see what we end up with! 

Cheers,
Dallas

[Gordon Ferguson]

I have never had much success with brick walls so I am the last one to ask but think Christian summed it up pretty well.

don't know how you made the wall but I would be interested to see what it looked like with highly smooth bricks ..... type "Accrington Brick" into a search engine  and you will find the sort of bricks I mean .... These are are often laid with a tight / narrow mortar line.

The other point which you should look into is the brick pattern (bond?)..... With alternating rows of headers, sorry not technically proficient to describe properly , but have a look at some of the threads posted by Mr Brick man himself "Shropshire Lad"

[BKLN]

Dallas,
what about that brick that you have in the pie comic? That one looks a lot better.

[Malachi Constant]

Dallas,
what about that brick that you have in the pie comic? That one looks a lot better.

Thanks guys ... definitely help to have the critical feedback, thoughts & discussion!

Gordon -- Yeah, the "new" (un-pitted) version of the material that I used on the recent samples would do a nice job of the Accrington brick ... but I think I want to go with a rougher look.  The simple bond pattern shown is used all over the place locally, and that suits me fine for this ...

Christian -- Thanks!  I've repeated a panel of that cartoon above ... and, yes, that is closer to the desired look.  The individual bricks that I used for that are "crappy" in some good ways (nice surface texture) but really crappy in other ways ... very uneven thicknesses and a trapezoidal shape to way too many of the surfaces.  It does photograph reasonably well (though obviously has some flaws in coloring here) ... but ...

In the spirit of "George Washington's axe" ... I've redone the upper story of the building ... and now it's time to re-do the lower level.  Along the way, it occurred to me that I'm building a CORNER shop and there should at least be a corner window (duh!)        ... that would be enough to cut into the existing structure.  But, pondering that a bit further, it occurred to me that there's no reason not to put in a corner DOOR ... which would make sense with the location and allow a peek into the interior.

So ... the "brick update" for the moment is that I've started another test based on another idea using materials on hand ... looks like it has potential so far.  Will post that for review when it gets further along ... have a couple of back-up ideas using materials on hand ... but also some bookmarks for ordering better quality individual bricks if it comes to that! 

And, as a postscript, the "George Washington's axe" is an American idiom that might not be recognized elsewhere ... so short version:  The axe is a valuable artifact.  You're offered the opportunity to buy the artifact with the assurance that despite the fact that the head has been replaced a few times and the handle has been replaced a couple of times, it's still the "original" axe!    (So, I've rebuilt the upper story ... I'm replacing the lower story next ... and it's still the original stupid project!) 

Cheers,
Dallas

[mad gerald]

Christian,

... I think you should consider "hand laying" separate paper bricks. ( I think Marc Reusser had a little test somewhere here a while ago.)

... did you have this thread in mind?
http://www.finescalerr.com/smf/index.php?topic=1468.0

Cheers

[Malachi Constant]

Marc did an OUTSTANDING job in that thread ... have looked at that many times ... something like that is one of the possibilities ...

Thanks for posting that link here, good fodder for folks who want to do it right!)    

Meanwhile, very encouraged by the "experiment" currently underway ... have to get a bit further along to see if it's going to work or how bad it really turns out ... or whatever is going to actually happen!   

-- Dallas

[shropshire lad]

Dallas , Me Old Mucker , don't waste your time pissing around with silly little bits of paper , do the job properly and make your own bricks using a mold like these , http://www.dioramadebris.co.uk/135-scale-german-standard-size-bricks-mould-1350001-3-p.asp or http://www.dioramadebris.co.uk/135-scale-brick-wall-section-mould-1350029-22-p.asp . Admittedly the wall sections are boring stretcher bond but it seems you don't mind doing boring stretcher bond , so  I guess when you've had a go at the kiddies stuff you'll be confident enough to try out doing proper walls with more interesting bonds .


Nick The Brick ( and that is definitely a "B" ! )

[Malachi Constant]

Thanks, Nick -- Bookmarked for future purchase!  Those would definitely be useful.    -- Dallas

[lab-dad]

OH CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They have 1:16 molds!

Thanks Nick! (Make sure you get your kickback from my order!)
-Mj

[shropshire lad]

OH CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They have 1:16 molds!

Thanks Nick! (Make sure you get your kickback from my order!)
-Mj

Glad to be of service , Marty , just mention my name and they will add 10% !

  Nick

[Malachi Constant]

Why did the chicken cross the road?  To see the bricklayer lay a brick, of course!   

And, now that we've done a bit of that ... it's time to ask:

Whaddaya think?

Still needs some additional work, but at this point I think it would be useful to have some "fresh eyes" take a look and get some input, so ...

ALL thoughts, ideas, comments & criticism welcome and invited!

Thanks in advance!
Dallas

[Malachi Constant]

For comparison, here's the current test panel next to the crappy old brick that was shown in the pie cartoon.  -- Dallas

[TRAINS1941]

Dallas what a nice difference even the color is so much better.

Jerry

[lab-dad]

Looks like a brick wall to me!
Only needs some stains.
-Mj