My Imperial Hotel (Ameri-Towne bash) update

Very Cool... Keep us up to date with the progress.

Don't forget the K-Line Hotel, the Weaver Inn and the RMT Palace (Rooms, Meals & Trains)

Ron

Looking forward to your next steps.

Nice creation and great job. Excellent creative use of Ameritowne panels.

I like it.........the odd shape makes it stand out from the nice but simple kit.

Nice adaptation, Lee!

George

That is the secret to all the ready-builts (and kits) out there....add your personal touch...kitbash, whether just different color paint than out of the box, trim, signs, whatever.  Doesn't quite look like the Flatiron Building, but reminds of it, and looks believeable, one you'd walk or drive by in Podunk, USA.   The  danger to some from doing this is that it might push them across the border from a tinplater (out of the box) into a model railroader .  (although there is no shortage of the last on this forum) 

Nice project, kind of a take off of the Flat Iron Building.

Glad to see your return to this project; that it's nothing like the square/rectangular structures usually seen here makes it particularly noteworthy.  Looking forward to your progress reports and photos.

Thanks everyone.  This is it for today (and tomorrow, have to work).  I painted a bit and it now has a cardboard floor that will hold the interior and a heavy cardboard roof.  

Lee that looks awesome!!   Hope it has a bellhop or doorman out front!

Do you have a picture of the LED stick & where do you get them?

Ken M

Nice building. I'd like to know more about the LED sticks too. 

Guys, It is pictured in the photo below.  I bought mine on Amazon, ina set of maybe 50 at a time.  I cut one off and use it.  In this case is it glued to the lower side of the roof of the building.   

I've put in windows (cut from transparency sheets) and painted curtains (on only this one side so far).  Here it is running at 11 volts.

Thank you for your reply but when you look up LED sticks at Amazon you get 7" round sticks that are LED in various colors.

Thank You

Ken M

Usually can find these on EBAY also.

They come and go on Amazon, and I guess right now they are gone.  The bay usually has them, and i have seen them in another current thread on this forum bought on the bay.  they are a commodity item sold by numerous suppliers and they tend to pop up here and there, sell out, and then move, whack-a-mole fashion, to another small supplier selling through the bay or the big river.

Thank you Lee I found them & bought them on Amazon.

 Your hotel looks very nice

Ken M

Very nice...I like the glow of the LED's.

Today's progress.  All the windows are installed and I also painted all the curtains on their insides.  When note the room on the second floor just slightly left of center.  It has its lights out. If first covering it with a small bit of #600 wet dry sandpaper - it looks more natural during the day as "darkness in an unoccupied room" than painting the inside window black, etc.  Then I cover that with Gorilla tape.  On the fourth floor, rightmost suite (three windows) I covered the window with the sandpaper but not tape: only a little bit of light goes through the paper and it makes it look like just one light is on in the room, not a lot of them.  

You are very clever! That's easier than building blackout walls and multiple light sources like I've been doing. Lee, you said you, "painted the curtains." Just how do you do that?

That looks really nice Lee.  I like the window treatments and how you blocked off some windows.  So like real life.  You don't see every window lit up all the time in a building.  When I was putting in a row of MTH town houses, I covered up some windows in each building.

Lee,

Very nicely done.

Alan Graziano

The LEDs arrived today from Amazon. For less than 9 bucks you get 20, 3-light sets with their resistors embedded. Just plug up to a 12 VDC power source. I tested one. It's very bright... maybe too bright. They're a little towards the blue end of the spectrum so I may use a colored plastic cover to both reduce the intensity and shift the color. There are applications, such as simulated florescent lights, where the bluer cast is wanted.

Shipment Details

Rextin 20pcs 12V 7512 5050 SMD 3 LED Module White Waterproof Light Lamp for letter design ,3 years warranty  Sold by LORIZA  Condition: New  $8.29    Item Subtotal:  $8.29  Shipping & Handling:  $0.00  Total Before Tax:  $8.29  Shipment Total:  $8.29  Paid by Amex:  $8.29

This is one of the cheapest ways to light buildings I've seen. Thanks to Lee Willis. 

They're so bright they could be used to light up model spray booth with a low heat, non-explosive light source. They could be used for work bench lighting also. Considering under-counter lighting goes for $50 and up, you could light lots of stuff with these.

They arrived in a static proof plastic bag.

always enjoy your engineering and craftsmanship

j

The painted/lighted windows are great.  I have not lighted buildings but used different

colors of paper to put in curtains and shades..... it must have been fun gluing in some

of the windows in those tight corner "rooms".

Your string of Rextin LED's can they be cut into sections & if so what is the smallest section you can have ie one bulb.

Thank You

Ken M

You can cut them into three-LED modules, as in my last photo in the posting that started this thread.

The set Trainman2001 posted shows the entire set, all wired together.  I just cut one off with about an inch of wire - I have never used more than one per building and mount it and solder feed wires to it.   I just hook them up to DC power and run them at about 8 - 12 volts.

They are already separate (other than the wiring) and held together with a strip of foam tape. You just cut the wires, take a blade and cut the tape and you have 20, 3-light modules for less than 40 cents a piece with their resistors already included. Good deal!

That is what I was thinking one should be enough for most buildings.

Thank You Lee

Ken M

Hi Lee,

This looks great, very nicely done !!!!!!!

Alex

Hi Lee • Like all the interior lighting. it will look great on the layout.

Done.

Fantastic Lee!!  Just send this to my address...I have a place of honor on the layout for it!!...

Alan

FABULOUS!!!  Let's hold the OGR Christmas party there.

My favorite type of structure......

Original ....not gonna see it on other layouts....

Craftsmanship is key.....

Well done.

Great job Lee

Ken M

Lee

when you are working a project such as this, do you sit aside a certain time to work on it, or is it work until I cannot do any more

Very nicely done

j

when you are working a project such as this, do you sit aside a certain time to work on it, or is it work until I cannot do any more

I'd like to know Lee, how do you work on so many different complex and detailed projects all at once and so quickly?  This project, the Menards Bldg, the Tank Engine... How do you do so much in such a short time?

Ron

I wish I had some minions with abilities of Lee.  I am a fan of all his work.