Designing my next building

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks! The center of the panel is a separate piece of .010" sheet.

[chester]

You work fast Ray. And the front came out wonderful! I'm not convinced the arched windows fit but that's just a personal feeling.

[MrBrownstone]

Hey Ray,

Are you going to work the inside of this structure as well? (I can still picture the rock shop...amazingly realistic.)

Mike

[Ray Dunakin]

Oh yes, with all those windows the interior has to be detailed! I haven't decided yet what type of shop it will be. I'm considering a candy shop, a bakery, maybe a dress shop... something visually interesting but not too painful to construct.

[Ray Dunakin]

More progress... most of the exterior walls don't need detailing as they will be hidden, so they went together pretty quickly. 

 

 


I still have to detail the front of this small extension on the side. The door there will not have a window, so I'm just going to build the door right on the wall, and then build up siding around it.

 


Here's a test fitting to see how the building will look alongside the others: 

 


I chiseled out some of the rocks on the cliff, to make room for the rear extension of the second story.: 

   

[MrBrownstone]

Hey Ray,

coming along very nicely... and pretty quickly at that...

Those are some big windows... what do you plan on using for the glass?

Mike

[Ray Dunakin]

Mike, I'll probably use the .030" polycarbonate from Caboose Hobbies. I've been told it should hold up well outdoors. I used it on the rock shop and have had no problems so far. I'm using Testor's "Clear Parts Cement" to glue in the poly. This cement is flexible and can be easily cut out in case I ever have to replace the poly.

[MrBrownstone]

Hey Ray,

Yeah... those windows in the rock shop sure did look good (the large door window was very nice.)

well keep at it...

(It is pretty cool that the structures are holding up to the real world enviornmental elements)

Mike

[Ray Dunakin]

Another update... 

I built the overhang that extends out over the sidewalk, and started on the roof for that portion of the building: 

   


That part of the roof is designed to lift off for access into the interior: 

   


   


I also made the door at the side of the building, and added the siding. The door turned out a bit rough but it's supposed to be old and weathered so I think it'll be alright: 

   


I put in thick strips around the interior at the base, to support the floor; and near the top to support the ceiling: 

   


Pretty soon I'll be ready to start on the second floor.   

[Ray Dunakin]

I'm working on the second floor of the building now. I decided to make working windows, mainly just to see if I could do it. It turned out to be pretty easy. Here's one window, unpainted and without glass. I'll add the glass after it's painted:   
 
 
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

[marc_reusser]

This is really coming out nice. Thanks for the SBS.

The new windows look great.


Marc

[John McGuyer]

I particularly like all the fine detailing around all the frames.

John

[LLOYD]

Hello Ray,

you make a great styrene work on this Old West building!
I realy like this !!!

Sincerely!

Lloyd

[chester]

Makes me want to do everything in styrene Ray. A very nice job. Your wood graining looks excellent and I'm entirely impressed with the window details.

[Ray Dunakin]

Here's the second level of the building, in progress...   
         
The rear wall is only roughly textured, as it will be against the cliff and not easily visible. The right side wall is almost completely untextured, as it will butt up against the fourth building in the row. I just roughed up the styrene a little to help the paint adhere. Both the rear wall, and the right side wall, are made of .125" thick styrene sheet:       
   
   
   
 
   
The front wall and left wall are made of Evergreen "V-groove" siding, with .250" spacing. The siding is laminated onto .080" plain styrene sheets. I used a small piece of hacksaw blade, mounted in an X-acto knife handle, to scribe wood grain into the "boards":       
   
   
   
 

Here's a look at the bottom of the second floor structure. The bracing not only provides support but also keys the second floor into the top of the first story structure:       
   
   
   
   
     
This is the underside of the roof, showing the bracing. The triangular pieces are cut from .125" thick sheet. The rest of the bracing is just random scrap pieces of styrene strips. The roof "planks" are Evergreen "V-groove" with .5" spacing. The roof only has eaves on one side, since the other side will be against the fourth building. At this stage, the roof is just a simple peak, but later I will add a special structure to deal with drainage on the non-eave side:
   
   
   
 

Here are a couple shots showing how the building fits into the scene, with the second floor supported by the first floor in front, and by the cliff in back. Notice how some of the "planks" on the facade appear to be raised... I accomplished this by gluing strips of .005" thick styrene, to represent boards which have been warped or loose with age:       
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
The windows on this part of the building won't be installed until after everything is painted. I still have to add trim and other details to the outside of the building, and detail the interiors.     
   
   
...