I ended-up going with my original plan, mounting paper fans on painted pieces of wood to give them more of a 3D/layered look. They look better than the flat paper ones. Still not great, but I'll take it. I cut out the round part of the fan, painted the wood pieces together, and glued them together.
Next up was the front door. I saved this for near last as I struggled with how to do it. I'm inordinately pleased with the results, as it came out better than expected. I built a wood frame and stairs, painted gray, added doors w/transparent glass (paper glued over plexi), then added velum paper and an interior lobby scene behind. I debated on the velum, but think the translucent effect is actually pretty neat. Here's a few pics of the build and assembly:
Not too bad... Though I did decided that the sign above the door needed more work and ended-up re-doing it. Sitting flush just doesn't look right, plus I left off the "S" in tires... whoops!
I also added some additional detail to the loading dock area, mostly in the form of signage. Made a point not to overdo it, since this loading dock will be well back and behind other structures:
...and here's where it currently sits. It is ALMOST done. These shots give a good view of the building name signs. They didn't look good stuck directly to the building (as noted above), so I added depth by mounting the big signs on 3/8" square dowels. This, in my opinion, sets it off nicely. I was worried that cardboard or thin wood would warp over time, so I printed the signs on full-sheet photo sticker paper and affixed them to plexi glass.
(that sign over the front door is backed-out in prep for it's replacement, which will the same size but 1/4" thicker)
-Dustin
