A simple faded sign

[Bill Gill]

Modeling time has been hard to come by, but today a project that floundered for years got completed.
This simple sign had been a continuing source of frustration as experiment after experiment for doing it failed. Finally it's done and it's exactly as hoped it might look.
I wanted a faded sign showing the lumber shed has been around, and also because the stark black and white contrast of a freshly painted sign would be a visual distraction for the scene.



Compare the above scene to the same scene below without the wall sign. The viewer's eye isn't pulled away from looking down the street.

[Stuart]

Yes, a much better solution to the bolder black and white one.  What was your method?

Stuart

[Karl.A]

The sign looks great Bill, stencil or tissue paper? either way it blends beautifully.

I kinda do miss the roof sign though due to its geometry and weight breaking up the big open roof expanse. Maybe something else there to replace the effect?

[Bill Gill]

Thanks, Stuart and Karl A.
A modeler laser cut my stencil design out of regular office copy paper. I sprayed that with Krylon clear matte to waterproof and toughen it.

Instead of paint, two colored pencils were used to do the lettering: A. regular Crayola black , B. watercolor Crayola black.

I taped all four sides of the stencil to the wall and pressed down the tabs for the letter counters with pointed tweezers to keep the counters from shifting.

The initial coloring looked ...awful...when the stencil was folded out of the way. It looked like a pencil had been rubbed on coarse textured paper and there were also gaps where the scribed vertical siding lines are.

I tried to blend and fill with the damp tip of a round toothpick. That didn't help much and I considered stripping and repainting the whole wall, but I tried scrubbing everything lightly with a damp paper towel using downward vertical strokes and that gave the result I wanted.

[Bill Gill]

Karl A. yes, The roof sign will be back after it gets toned down a little. It does help the composition.

What I really wanted to avoid was the visual distraction of a stark B&W freshly painted wall sign.

[Karl.A]

What I really wanted to avoid was the visual distraction of a stark B&W freshly painted wall sign.

Well, you achieved that perfectly.

Also, thanks for your detailed answer on how you did the new sign.

[Ray Dunakin]

Nice work on the sign. Great scene, too!

[1-32]

Hi Bill.
The wall really needed a sign overall the scene looks great.
Cheers

[Bill Gill]

Thanks, Ray. It's a tough angle to view in person, and tougher to photograph, but I really like the scene too.

Thanks, Kim. You're right. That wall faces the main road into town. It needs a sign. Countless attempts (on scraps) at freehand painting or trying to hand cut stencils all turned out unsuccessful. Finally did something that worked.

Modeling time has been caught up in the 'supply chain shortage' for awhile, but in between things the long neglected roof sign finally got securely mounted in place. This sign is visible from Main Street, so it's necessary too.

[TRAINS1941]

Very nice Bill!

Jerry

[Bill Gill]

Thanks, Jerry. Little bits, but progress.

[nk]

The sign looks really good Bill. Nice work.

One of my favourite lumber yards was in Malibu Take a look at what happened to it I hope yours escapes this fate. 

[Bill Gill]

nk, Sorry I missed your comment until today.
Yuck. Something even more drastic happened to one of the local lumberyards that I'd used for inspiration. It set along the railroad tracks at the edge of a village since the invention of dirt. And it fully looked the part. But within a couple years of taking the reference photos I had it was totally demolished and replaced with something apparently attempting to be stylish contemporary condos, a blight on humanity.

[finescalerr]

I have been researching photos of the San Fernando Valley (northwest of downtown Los Angeles) where I grew up. It was never beautiful, just average. But when you compare the photos from 1870 through about 1960 with the hideous state of the Valley today, it is like looking at the painting of Dorian Gray. I fully understand how you feel, Bill. -- Russ

[1-32]

Morning Bill.
The project is coming along very well Happy New Year.