Large Background Warehouse Refurbishment & Detailing - On the Cheap! -- Updated 12 Mar 16

First step: Cutting out windows, then adding trim around the building top, to finish off the look.  I used dental-type trim from Lowes.  I also began adding supports on the inside for the floors and roof.  Floors themselves will be made out of foamboard, which is pretty handy in general for building interiors.  I may do a foamboard roof, too.  Here are some shots of the work in progress:

Next step: The window frames themselves.  Buying 1:48 factory windows seemed like a pricey option (especially with so many), so I opted to use strawberry baskets.  The bottoms of the baskets should work perfectly:

A little early at this stage, but I also started thinking about the loading dock.  I need a nice long one.  I have this old plastic base (where did I get this??), and I think I can cut it in half longitudinally and make something of it:

Now to continue adding supports to the interior for floors...

frizzinbee posted:

First step: Cutting out windows, then adding trim around the building top, to finish off the look.  I used dental-type trim from Lowes.  I also began adding supports on the inside for the floors and roof.  Floors themselves will be made out of foamboard, which is pretty handy in general for building interiors.  I may do a foamboard roof, too.  Here are some shots of the work in progress:

Next step: The window frames themselves.  Buying 1:48 factory windows seemed like a pricey option (especially with so many), so I opted to use strawberry baskets.  The bottoms of the baskets should work perfectly:

A little early at this stage, but I also started thinking about the loading dock.  I need a nice long one.  I have this old plastic base (where did I get this??), and I think I can cut it in half longitudinally and make something of it:

Now to continue adding supports to the interior for floors...

 

Great idea!

Peter

That old plastic base looks like it was from a Noma station.

RoyBoy posted:

That old plastic base looks like it was from a Noma station.

Royboy - Thanks!  I looked it up, and I think you are correct.  I must have gotten it in a lot of Plasticville parts I bought.

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Tonight I got the former Noma base chopped-up and am re-gluing it together as the basis for a large loading dock.  I plan to add some support pillars underneath, and perhaps a wood deck on top.  I'm having fun playing this part by ear.

I also got the window frames painted black.  So far so good on those.  Next comes cutting out all the "glass" to go behind them.

-Dustin

Interesting project.  I'm looking forward to following your progress.

Ah those strawberry boxes are a neat tip...thanks!

Bob

I love the idea of reusing everyday household products like the strawberry baskets.

Great job...

What a great project. I am following along. Thanks for the excellent ideas and all of the pictures to go with. 

Tom

Thank you for all the interest and supportive comments!

No huge leaps forward today on the warehouse project.  I did complete attachment of the final internal supports for the floors, though.  Once these support pieces dry, I'll be able to do some light sanding/filling and prep the building for painting.

I also checked on the future loading dock.  It's ugly, I know, but I intend to sheath it in wood, and then weather that wood some.  My thought it is that I'll use less (valuable) craft wood by using this plastic platform as a base rather than I would building one from scratch. 

I also picked-up something I think will make the (flat) roof look a little more realistic.  I had considered doing a sawtooth roof, but wrote-off that idea due to (1) complexity and (2) the fact that this building will be far enough back the detail wouldn't be appreciated.

-Dustin

Today I was able to repaint the building primer gray, giving it a more industrial/concrete color.  The inset areas will eventually be filled with printed brick sheets.  I have gray brick sheets on order, which should look pretty good with this:

I also did some more work on the loading dock, which will be placed against the back wall in the open area (first floor, on the left).  I covered the cut-up Noma base with some craft wood, added reinforcement to the bottom, and added the front leg supports:

This mini chop saw was absolutely essential for cutting-up all those wood planks quickly.  Little guy has come in handy on quite a few projects so far:

-Dustin

Had time to do a little extra work on the warehouse tonight.  Here I cut up some marker flags to make cross-braces for the loading dock legs, then weathered the loading dock, then added some red trim up front to give it a more complete look.  It's coming along better than I expected:

Next I started work on the roof.  I decided to make roof vents out of milk jug lids and a Christmas paper roll.  I also have two other vents made from Diet Coke bottle lids.  Plan is to paint them silver, then weather them up a little.

The roof itself is foam board.  Seems to be a good, forgiving material as it cuts readily and will squeeze in snugly if its cut slightly oversize.  I have a pic of the test fit below with mock roof accessories in place.  The mock roof accessories will be used to keep those areas clear while it's sprayed with the rock paint.

Wow, Dustin. I had no idea you were that far along with the warehouse in such a short amount of time. Excellent work, and consistent with the "modeling on the cheap" theme. Interesting you chose the stone American Accents paint. That was used as the base for the building's original paint to give it a rough texture. Great stuff.

That is a terrific project.   I am in the process of building a similar structure so I am really enjoying your progress posts and especially the creative use of common materials.

Looking forward to your progress reports.

Thanks,

Ed

Great project, great modeling ideas that make it fun !1  Enjoying your work.  Thanks

Pretty cool.

Nice idea for roof vents.  Where did you get the mini chop saw?

coach joe posted:

Nice idea for roof vents.  Where did you get the mini chop saw?

Micro Mark has them, or you can order one on ebay.  This one is not the highest quality, but it was also only ~$35.

Yesterday, I finished-up the flag for the roof.  The flag is just a printed picture of a waving flag, and its mirror, cut out and glued together. The flag pole is Plasticville, spraypainted silver (with a brass ball on top):

Here's a shot of the finished roof panels, complete with roof vents:

My kids also helped to "wallpaper" the visible inside walls, using some off-white printer paper and white glue:

Just for fun, the kids also experimented with some interior furniture placement.

Finally, here's a picture of the first LED light strip installed, this one over the loading dock.  The lights all come from a 5m roll of LEDs, with self-adhesive backing & pre-marked "cut" points.

How did you cut out your windows and keep them square?

BradA posted:

How did you cut out your windows and keep them square?

Well, they are not perfectly square, but they are reasonably close.  Hopefully close enough that they'll look good from 5-7' away.

I ended-up tracing out the correct window size using a template, then cutting them out with a jig saw.  I ran the jig saw just inside the line to make sure that the window frames will fit over the holes.

Looks great, do you need to add resistors to the strip of LEDs after you have cut a section?

ptiller posted:

Looks great, do you need to add resistors to the strip of LEDs after you have cut a section?

Nope, just cut where indicated, solder on new leads, and you are good to go.  Pretty neat stuff!

The next thing I decided to do on the building was install the "brick" in the recessed areas.  This website has a great brick-building tool, for all paper brick needs - you just enter all the parameters & it generates a .pdf file of your brick design.   It's a free website, but they do ask for donations to keep it going (and yes, I made one).  I printed my brick on heavier cardstock.

Here is the building with the brick cut-out and glued in place (the wrinkles smoothed out later).  I also test-fit the roof and the flag to see how it would look.  So far so good.

Very nice. Can't wait to see it on the layout. Where did you get the LED's? I can't seem to find them. Thanks for sharing!

TrainJunkie posted:

Very nice. Can't wait to see it on the layout. Where did you get the LED's? I can't seem to find them. Thanks for sharing!

eBay has several sellers offering them. I got a roll and I think I paid around $15 shipped.

AGHRMatt posted:

TrainJunkie posted:

Very nice. Can't wait to see it on the layout. Where did you get the LED's? I can't seem to find them. Thanks for sharing!

eBay has several sellers offering them. I got a roll and I think I paid around $15 shipped.

That's about what I paid, too.  I wish I would have discovered these lights sooner - they are pretty darn handy, and cost effective!  I tested out the lights for the warehouse the other day and they are certainly plenty bright.

<<break break>>

I made a little more progress this past weekend.  First, we started installing the floors (painted blue) as well as some basic interior furnishings.  This building will be viewed from at least 4-5 feet away, and the windows have small openings, so the inside doesn't need to be super detailed.  The kids and I made use of card stock cut-outs and some plexiglass furnishings I'd picked up in bulk.  If you look in the background of the first picture, we used some more paper roll as "conduit" to hold the wires leading to the lighting on each level.  We also added some Scooby Doo characters... because why not?:

I also cut out the windows and glued them to the painted window frames.  I wanted "stiffer" windows, so that they would mount to the exterior of the window opening, so I cut them out of a larger sheet of plexiglass.  7 of the window frames have an area cut out to add window fans - I'm working through a couple ways to do this.  The leading COA is to print pictures of industrial window fans and glue them to foam or wood backing to give them depth.

Finally, we got the loading dock installed on the first floor.  I added some railings along the back, and will also add some stairs leading up to the dock.

Some kind of a door will need to go here:

Well done!

Peter

A wonderfully described and photographed project, Frizzinbee.

Suggestion:  When you update this thread with new photos, edit the thread's title to include the date of the update--makes it easy for folks like me to recognize your most recent addition.

Wow, Dustin. I'm speechless. Fantastic work.

Pretty nice job!

Andre.

Pingman posted:

A wonderfully described and photographed project, Frizzinbee.

Suggestion:  When you update this thread with new photos, edit the thread's title to include the date of the update--makes it easy for folks like me to recognize your most recent addition.

Carl- Good suggestion, I made that change.

AGHRMatt posted:

Wow, Dustin. I'm speechless. Fantastic work.

Thanks Matt!  I had a really good building to start with, so nothing too impressive on my end.  I'm debating a company name for the building, and am leaning toward "Jackson Traction Tires"  ...whose company slogan would (of course) be "You get more Traction with Jackson".  I'm also going to leave a plug on the roof, so we can easily add a lighted billboard at a later date.

Putnam Division posted:

Well done!

Peter

Thanks!

AG - River Leaf Models posted:

Pretty nice job!

Andre.

 

Thanks Andre!  I'm sure you noticed that, in the background of several photos, a "Spiders" is also slowly taking shape.  That one will be squeezed into my (already crowded) home layout.  Kind of fun to work on my largest and smallest buildings ever at the same time.  Your kits, btw, are very well made and solid.  I especially liked the wall unit over the door.  If you can etch that small, you might consider making after market window screens for passenger cars.

-Dustin

Dustin, thanks for the edited thread title!

Nice upgrades.  Looking good!

Dustin, it looks great. I'm not trying to bust your chops...I'm not sure what you used for glue to glue the printed brick paper but I'm thinking you might have used white glue due to the wrinkles?

The next time you do something similar to this give this application scenario a shot.

1. cut the paper brick paper to fit the openings close to perfect

2. next go to a well ventilated area, lay one of the brick "cutouts" brick side down (back of paper facing up) and give it a light mist with some 3M super 77 spray adhesive (and I stress light coat making sure to hit all edges.

3. Let it get tacky for a couple of minutes and then apply it to the structure working from one side, laying it down smoothly, and working your way across to the other side (while smoothing it with your finger as you

proceed)

4. Repeat the process, piece by piece.

Sincerely,

Nick B

Nick:

Thanks for the suggestion, but the original brick panels were actually glued on with the 3M 77 sprat adhesive. The problem was that the stone-texture paint, coupled with the "Strawflower" top coat made the surface too porous for the adhesive to stick effectively. Before Dustin's work on it we had to re-glue some of the panels as they worked loose over time in the thermal/humidity conditions at AGHR.

Dustin

WOW Great I have a similar building I need to build for the TMB Club Layout on Long Island. I like the Strawberry crates used for the windows. Did  you have a source for getting the crates or did you need to consume that  many strawberries. Granted I like the berries but would prefer to get them in bulk.

Feedback Appreciated

Steve

3-M Photo-mount adhesive is a good choice for this kind of thing.

Dustin,

That is a wonderful job you have done.  You even involved your kids which is a great idea.  

L.I.TRAIN posted:

Dustin

WOW Great I have a similar building I need to build for the TMB Club Layout on Long Island. I like the Strawberry crates used for the windows. Did  you have a source for getting the crates or did you need to consume that  many strawberries. Granted I like the berries but would prefer to get them in bulk.

Feedback Appreciated

Steve

Steve,

We eat a lot of berries here, but they come in plastic snap cases most of the time.  The plastic berry boxes I used came from here.  The lot of them was plenty for the windows in this building, and left plenty of material for future projects.

-Dustin