New Project - Custom Building Front Update 12-11

Took a whole day and a lot of wasted hardboard to figure out the cornice - compound angles and me don't mix. Did some more work on the front.

The front is ready for the brick and wood lamination. Working with brick lamination I learned that one should laminate the sides first then the front otherwise the corner seam shows. I rather have it on the side.

Next up are the signs. Other than hand painting the text which I would never try I am hoping I can make or find decals with that type of text.

Joe, that looks like a really nice project, looking forward to following it and seeing the finished product.   Thanks for sharing.

I built the front canopy, main door and window frames (all using styrene). They are in paint - will have photos today. Making a window frame allows me to paint it separately and attach clear plastic before installing. I will use colored paper as the wall paper inside the window displays.

I laminated the building front with brick and clapboard sheets. Did my best to match the text in the photo. I ended up with two different text sizes so will let the customer decide what he wants. The color for the text is temporary. Once I paint the clapboard base color I will try to match the text color to it.

You can see the main door and window frames in the upper corner of the photo below.

Photo of building so far. The canopy is on the right side. The clapboard siding is styrene however the cornice is wood. The building front is in paint. I'm using a brown base with a dark red over spray.

Joe Fauty posted:

Took a whole day and a lot of wasted hardboard to figure out the cornice - compound angles and me don't mix. Did some more work on the front.

 

You and me both! This one took me some time to work out. Windshield tip back. Nose angles down. Top cab sides angled. All joints mitered!

Looking back, it was fun!

(Back then, it wasn't)

I'd rather watch you do it now!

Looking good Joe.

The base coat is on for the wood. I will let this sit for another day before taping over it to paint the banner areas.

I need to do some touch up painting then the building front is ready to spray for decals.

I tried something new for me with respect to the mortar. I usually make use of joint compound then darken it up with an India ink wash and powders. This time I tried Humbrol dark brown wash from a bottle. I tried letting it seep into the mortar lines but ended up brushing it on the entire surface. The trick is to wait about 2 hours for the wash to dry then use a pencil eraser to wipe the wash off the brick face. This was time consuming but the effect looks real good. I forgot to wipe off the area in front of the door so did this the next morning. By this time it was considerably harder to wipe off the brick surface.

I still need to find a decent interior image for the store. I will mount this to some thin hardboard.

Wonderful project; thanks for the explanations and photos.

PS:  Thanks for updating the thread's title.

Joe Fauty! Your craftsmanship is out of this world. Thanks for sharing some of your tips and tricks. Can't wait to see the finished product.

The building is complete. I still need to over spray the decals then I will be able to ship.