Wit and Wisdom Models Nighthawks Cafe

Have no idea of the degree of difficulty in assembling this kit, but it is a tip of the hat to Edward Hopper, who painted “Nighthawks” in 1942.

Fabulous,  thinking about ordering one.

I did the kit last year.  I bought the full version with the extra buildings.  The parts are laser cut and-well engineered.  The skill level is high intermediate.  There are a lot of steps.  There are 2 main challenges:

1. Finding the correct parts for the current step.  There are so many parts and while they are labeled, many parts codes are similar.

2.  Building the curved window wall in the diner.  This is made up of 5 or 6 layers of wood and clear plastic that must be curved to the proper radius and angle, glued and clamped.

The instructions and photos are generally easy to follow.  I rarely had to depart from them to make a part fit.  The printed Phillies Cigars signs were not long enough, so I had to match the orange paint to "extend" the sign.  

All the interior details and figures for the diner are included.  No interior details are supplied for the barber shop or the hardware store, so I put together my own interiors. The LED lights were not included either.

Bob

Bob,

You did a nice job on that!

I’d say that crosses the line from modeling to art

Great work

@RRDOC posted:

I did the kit last year.  I bought the full version with the extra buildings.  The parts are laser cut and-well engineered.  The skill level is high intermediate.  There are a lot of steps.  There are 2 main challenges:

1. Finding the correct parts for the current step.  There are so many parts and while they are labeled, many parts codes are similar.

2.  Building the curved window wall in the diner.  This is made up of 5 or 6 layers of wood and clear plastic that must be curved to the proper radius and angle, glued and clamped.

The instructions and photos are generally easy to follow.  I rarely had to depart from them to make a part fit.  The printed Phillies Cigars signs were not long enough, so I had to match the orange paint to "extend" the sign.  

All the interior details and figures for the diner are included.  No interior details are supplied for the barber shop or the hardware store, so I put together my own interiors. The LED lights were not included either.

Bob

Bob……..magnificent work!

Peter

Peter,

I have confidence in your abilities based on the previous builds that you posted. Your Oblong Box build showed your ability to pay attention to directions and build a great structure. Go for it.

@RRDOC posted:

1. Finding the correct parts for the current step.  There are so many parts and while they are labeled, many parts codes are similar.

2.  Building the curved window wall in the diner.  This is made up of 5 or 6 layers of wood and clear plastic that must be curved to the proper radius and angle, glued and clamped.

I've built and reviewed this kit as well.  For the large part, it's fairly straightforward.  You will definitely want to paint all the parts in advance of assembly.

#1 --> Yes - sorting through the parts is part of the challenge; my kit was missing parts and had some parts that were never identified as being part of this kit.

#2 --> That curved wall is very non-trivial to build per the instructions.  Probably far better to bend each layer in advance (it's beyond just a 90 degree turn) and then glue up the curved layers to make the laminated windows. There were some engineering lapses with the design of these layers as well, e.g., they were all the same length....

I also left the top over the the diner roof removable so that lighting could be added.

Here are some under-construction photos to give a better idea of what's involved.  Parts are laser cut and slotted.  That alone made most of the build process go very smoothly.

Prepainting with rattle can spray paint.  I used Rustoleum auto primer for the brick.

Here is the only difficult part of construction:  Laminating the curved window wall.  

Do the first layers in place on the model.  You should soak the kerfed curved corners before bending to prevent breakage.  Wet them and say "kerfed curved corners" 20 times and they will be ready to bend.

Final layers have to be done off the model.  Note the bar clamp to hold the correct angle while the glue dries.

Enhancing the brick with craft paints applied with a wet sponge.

Adding Robert's Mortar mix (top).

Interior details before adding roof.  Most are 3D printed parts (all supplied in kit). Coffee urns, napkin holders and salt and pepper shakers were painted with a rattle can chrome spray paint.

Since I am a member of the Rivet Counters Guild, I added napkins to the napkin holders (glued on squares of paper).

Martin Brechbiel did a detailed review and construction article in O Scale Trains Magazine Jan/Feb 2022.  He provides a lot of helpful hints.

Bob

@RRDOC posted:

Here is the only difficult part of construction:  Laminating the curved window wall.  

Do the first layers in place on the model.  You should soak the kerfed curved corners before bending to prevent breakage.  Wet them and say "kerfed curved corners" 20 times and they will be ready to bend.

Final layers have to be done off the model.  Note the bar clamp to hold the correct angle while the glue dries.

Good tips and instruction!!!  Your kit parts look a bit different than mine - there were early runs and then later runs that were a bit more refined.

Martin Brechbiel did a detailed review and construction article in O Scale Trains Magazine Jan/Feb 2022.  He provides a lot of helpful hints.

Thanks!

Bob, I like how you described building this kit. I think you did a grate job!!

I purchased this model with both buildings when I first read about it on this forum. Unfortunately I have not built it as yet. The reason I purchased the kit was that I knew it would take forever to design and build it myself from scratch. Have always loved Harper's work, and John Armstrong's model of Nighthawks.

Paul Goodness

Bob - Great tips on building the model. The corner was a bit difficult but after a couple tries I'm happy with it. Still plugging along, the supplied dowel rod for the stools was too large but q-tips fit just fine.

Scott

truly a great looking structure

When I first saw this very nice kit, I thought to myself could it be kitbashed to make it into the Horn & Hardhart Automat.

I never had a beef pot pie, baked beans and macaroni and cheese as good as when I was a little kid in the late 1950s and my mother took me to the Automat near Grand Central Station.

IMO, better than a kitbash, which I think could be very challenging, how about one of the manufacturers naming an O Scale Horn & Hardhart Automat kit?

For some of you oldtimers, like me, who have fond memories of having some delicious, high quality and inexpensive food (I was too young to drink the coffee there which I understand was outstanding and only cost a nickle) at the Automat in either NY City or Philadelphia, there is an excellent documentary film about the Automat in which Colin Powell and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, among other famous people, speak of their love of the food and coffee at the Automat. Arnold

@B&O Fan posted:

Bob - Great tips on building the model. The corner was a bit difficult but after a couple tries I'm happy with it. Still plugging along, the supplied dowel rod for the stools was too large but q-tips fit just fine.

Scott

Looks great, Scott.  You finished the hardest part, that darn corner.

Bob

Fantastic model and setting, Bob.

FWIW: reading this thread invoked a memory of John Armstrong's model of the building on the famous Canandaigua Southern RR (wow, must have been 25 years ago since I first saw that); and just now while researching Edward Hopper's 1942 painting, I came across the Blvd. of Broken Dreams, where another artist re-worked the original in 1984 to include some famous movie stars, Bogart, Monroe, Dean, and Elvis within the diner.

You finished the hardest part, that darn corner.

That corner is a real @#%#$^%& to get right.

For anyone building this model: I've remade the Phillies signs to correctly fit on the sign boards on the roof. If anyone would like a copy of the Word document, I'd be glad to forward it out so you can print your own. I used glossy everyday photo paper and am pleased with the results.

Thanks  - Scott

@B&O Fan posted:

For anyone building this model: I've remade the Phillies signs to correctly fit on the sign boards on the roof. If anyone would like a copy of the Word document, I'd be glad to forward it out so you can print your own. I used glossy everyday photo paper and am pleased with the results.

Thanks  - Scott

That’s great Scott. Wish I had it before my 5 attempts to mix orange paint to match the sign!

Bob

I received just the restaurant which is what I wanted. I actually got Kit #1. The c orner was not easy and took a lot of small clamps but I am pleased with it.

Dick

As a former window installer, I cringe at the size of those pieces of glass. lol!