Originally Posted by Pingman:
Lee, if you have the time, how about a "how I did it" description of the tools, adhesives, and decisions, among other relevant info, on this kitbash. I'd love to add this wonderful aspect to my enjoyment of the hobby, but I'm reluctant to "fly blind" in such an undertaking.
Well, I can get a few comments. I had two of the buildings: keep in mind that I disassembled both, at least partly, even though I often show only one below. About half the time involved I just took them apart without breaking too many things.
PHOTO 1: This is the building upside down. Note WS uses lots of tape to hold things ;together. I spent about ten minutes studying it and how it is put together - and how I would take it apart.
PHOTO 2: I took out the interior (very easy).
PHOTO 3: Here is one building with the interior removed. Easier to study now how I plan to take it apart -- See the locking tabs in the corners that hold the sides to the front, etc. It is glued together and there are tabs and pins/holes on all pieces - I'm pretty sure they are there now because they are necessary (if it were a kit I was pbuilding I would file them all flat - I did when I reassembled them): these tabs and pins, etc, allow them to assemble the buildings quickly at the factory - snap in place and glue). Anyway, . . .
PHOTO 4: I started by removing the front entrance. I was careful, but not subtle: I used an X-acto knife to open up a seam between two pieces and them a chisel edge to gently (at first) pry a seam open and work parts lose. There is the potential to break parts but I never did. I cannot describe how I did this except that I worked slowly, I thought about how to apply force and leverage so it would separate seams and not break the parts, and I took my time. when I could not get a locking tab to unfreeze and move, I ground it away from the inside with a dremel.
PHOTO 5: I continued to take the one building all part.
PHOTO 6: I removed the entrance from the second building. I trimmed some pieces. Then I used pieces and assembled a new entrance with angled windows at both sides, extending the ceiling of the entrance with pieces from both of the original cielings (you can see the seam). Once the glue dried with was a sturdy piece now.
Photo 7: The other building, with its entrance removed, I cut like this: the right side is the right side of the eventual completed building. Eventually i took apart the left side to build the TV shop in part.
NO PHOTOs: I apologize but I did not take pictures for a while - just forgot, from here on out. What I did was:
a) I took the two-window panel on the building front panel I removed from the other building (PHOTO 5) and cut it so it was only the two windows and the brick columns on each side of them, then used the completed front entrance assembly (PHOTO 6) and that two-window panel set along the front with only the right side of the builing in PHOTO 7, and estimated the width of the completed building. I then glued four 1/4 inch by 1/8 inch styrene beams to the underside of the roof on the rightmost side of the building piece above - imagine them sticking out to the left like fingers. I cut them about three inches long.
b) Then I took the roof panel from the other building and cut it to the right length and glued it to the beams: I now had a roof that extend completely the width of the building with its new wider footprint.
c) I glued the front entrance on to the building. Most of it fits just where I was oringinally in the piece at the right above.
d) I glued the two-window panel on the in the correct place, gluing it to the roof and using it to position and structurally hold every together.
e) I glued a side panel taken from the building I disassembled onto the left side, positioning it carefully so it fit the corner at the end of the new left-side two-window panel as well as possible, trimming, etc, so it fit well, and making sure it was straight and all, I glued it along where it meets the roof and reinforced it inside so it would stay in place.
f) I cut remaining panels from the building I disassembled and glue it to complete the back
g) I then filled it a number of small missing pieces of columns, etc. brick and facade here and there, butting pieces from building parts as needed and assembling them.
Note: there is a lot of trimming and fitting of pieces involved, in may cases with an adge cut to 45 degrees, to make it fit on corners. Its not always easy, but it is straightforward if one takes time.
h) I studied the panels and windows and doors I had left and cut them apart and re-assembled them into the best building I could make with the remainders. The roof of that is made from roof sections for Ameritown buildings - I had a bunch left over from building kits I used just as fronts.
Note: I fit gaps and thin but visible seams with yellow glue I apply with the end of a #11 X-acto blade. Capillary action pulls the glue into the crack and it hardens and fills it. Sometimes big cracks take two or three applications to fill smooth, but it works well to "disappear" a seam.
Once the building's glue was dry and taped windows back in cut the two interiors appart to make one wider one and installed it.
Note: I had to remove the LED's and wires from one building, and move one light on the other (the building that was the right side of the completed IGA grocery). The wiring is tape on and comes off easily, the led can be pried off with a small chisel insert underneath it. I was worried I would damage them but I did not.
A lifetime of doing this has made me pretty good at this stuff and very fast. This took me about ten hours.
