In-ko-pah RR: Another brick building

[Ray Dunakin]

Well, I managed to squeeze in a tiny bit of modeling recently. Here's an update...

I started making some old-fashioned radios to decorate the interior of the radio repair shop. Across the top in this photo are the basic shapes for some large, tabletop radios. These were made from 6mm Sintra and some styrene. Later they will be painted and detailed.

In the lower half of the photo you can see the beginnings of some smaller radios. To make these, I found photos of old radios online, reduced them to scale, and printed them on self-adhesive vinyl. Then I stuck them onto 6mm Sintra, and cut them out. Later, they'll be painted on the sides and top:





Here are the completed tabletop radios. I printed the faces on vinyl and stuck them onto the fronts. Next I added knobs made of tiny slices of styrene rod. Then I painted the exposed surfaces, blending it into the edges of the vinyl images. I finished them off with a coat of Krylon UV-resistant gloss clear:




I cut out an opening for a door in the rear wall of the radio shop. I cut down the plug from the opening and added some styrene strips to it, to make a door. The doorframe is from Grandt Line:





Here's a close up of the doorknob. I made the knob by holding the end of a styrene rod near a flame:




Then I made a workbench out of 1mm Sintra and some styrene bits. The drawer handles are slices of 1/4" styrene channel:




I "weathered" the interior with thin washes of craft acrylics to give the walls and floor a little grime and wear:




Here's a test shot showing the placement of the workbench and counter:




I also made some shelves out of styrene. The brackets were made by slicing a thin piece from a 1/4" angle, then gluing on some .010" strips:




That's all for now. Enjoy!

[Hauk]

Enjoy!

Indeed! Those radios are ultramegaok. In lack of a better word.

[Bill Gill]

Ray, Strains of The Shadow linger in those old relics of radio history. Adding the knobs on the table top models makes them cast a real shadow to look just right. Great interior hardware to display them on too.

[finescalerr]

Wow. And the radios are double wow. -- Russ

[Ray Dunakin]

Here's another brief update...I've been working on some more interior details...

I found a photo online of a stack of vacuum tube boxes, so I scaled it down and printed it onto self-adhesive vinyl. Then I stuck it to a scrap of 6mm Sintra and cut it out. To give it a bit of dimensionality, I used a tiny jeweler's screwdriver to create indentations between the boxes.

Since this cut into the vinyl a bit, and I was concerned about such tiny pieces potentially peeling up later, I brushed a coat of acrylic matte medium over the whole thing, working it down into the crevices:




Later I glued styrene strips around the edges to simulate wooden shelving. This will go on top of the workbench. I made some more of these, sized to fit into the shelves below the workbench.

I also made some oscilloscopes and other instruments, using the same basic technique. To these I added bits of small styrene rod for dials and knobs. I also made some parts drawers too. Here's a shot of some of these things under construction:




And here are a couple shots of the finished workbench, with some of the details added on top:






It's hard to tell with this lighting, but I used a simple trick that made these items look less "flat" and much more realistic. I coated the "glass" scopes and dials with acrylic gloss medium. I did the same with the face of each little plastic bin in the parts drawers. When complete, this should show up better under the scale lighting.

I still have more details to add to the work bench area, and many more details to make for the rest of the shop.

[finescalerr]

Most satisfactory. -- Russ

[Hydrostat]

This is absolutely stunning - and convincing. I like the bench with the dirt stains around drawer handles. The bench is lacking depth for my opinion; I think you did this because of the door's position, so maybe you could reposition the items on the bench towards the sides, piling the parts drawers to have at least one 'bigger' area for repair work?

Cheers,
Volker

[artizen]

This is superb work and all the more astounding because it gets left outside once finished!

[5thwheel]

Outstanding. I also agree with Volker about the work bench.  I use to hang around a similar radio repair shop. May I suggest that you install a shelf above the bench for the testers and hang the parts bins on the wall?  Next step is a couple of chassis of radios with tubes showing on the bench being repaired. I am learning a lot by following your work.

Bill

[Bill Gill]

What Artizen said!

[Mr Potato Head]

Ray
Most fabulous and amazing
I once went to a TV repairman's garage sale, it might have been an estate sale
the junk that he had stored in boxes, he never threw anything away
your is truly amazing
MPH

[Sami]

Good effect !

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks everyone, for the kind words and the suggestion. The workbench is really narrow, mainly because the building is so small and I'm trying to fit a lot into it. I probably should have stacked some of the stuff off to the side a bit to make a little more work space in the middle, but it'll have to do.

[Gordon Ferguson]

Well narrow or not , it's fabulous ........ The use of the images & addition of knobs , etc, etc has produced a very realistic look .
Now a cardboard box under the bench full of wires and bits and pieces will just finish it off. 

[TRAINS1941]

More excellent work from you Ray.

Jerry