Challenge 2015 - Peter Bowen - HO Roundhouse

[PeterBowen]

On of the problems I face with assembling a kit vs. scratch building a structure is that if I stick to the kit and build it as supplied it will bother me that something is wrong. At this early stage it is the floor. I cannot understand why there is no provision to cover the spaces between the floor assembly sections.

Styrene sheet (plastic card) to the rescue…!



I am using .030 thick styrene sheet. This material is easy to draw on with a pencil and cut by scoring with a sharp Xacto blade and bending back and forth until it ‘snaps’.

Here I have cut two shapes: one for the edge by the side wall and one for the central sections. I will use these two shapes as templates to cut the other pieces required to cover the entire floor area.



The result is shown below and when glued in place will form a strong and rigid surface as well as a more prototypical floor layout.

[PeterBowen]

Styrene has been added to the floor sections and it is now ready to be transformed from plastic to concrete…!!!



I use Halfords grey primer because it is easy to use with lots of ventilation because the fumes can kill you or give you a nasty headache.



Remember to use a lot of light coats instead of one very heavy coat and don’t wory too much if it does not cover completely because this is only a base coat – a primer on to which we will weathering and wear to simulate worn concrete.







The side wall sections had locating tabs which aligned with the original flooring structure but since we have now applied a .030” thickness these tabs need to be removed:



This photo shows the tabs on side walls after removal:

[PeterBowen]

While waiting for the roundhouse floor sections to dry I started looking at the interior walls – and they still look like plastic…!!!



So I decided that they too should get a coat of Halford’s Grey Primer.

[PeterBowen]

After spraying the roundhouse floor sections, allow at least 24 hours to dry. The surface might appear dry but it is not and will not accept the next step which involves a lot of surface rubbing, so the primer must be dry and hard.

Using a 2B pencil to draw lines on to the concrete floor to represent expansion joints.



Take a look at concrete floors or concrete paths and you should see joints every so often, a concrete path that does not have expansion joints will eventually crack because the mass is unable to move under pressure from weight or frost.

So to simulate a worn concrete floor, the first step is to draw on the expansion joints, in this case I am using 12 to 16 foot spacing.





To further simulate the concrete slabs I am using the same 2B pencil on it’s side create a dark shading of graphite:



Next rub your finger into this pencil graphite





And apply your finger to either side of the pencil lines by rubbing over the lines – apply some pressure – the effect is very subtle.





Keep doing this across all pencil lines, some can be done several times so that the overall effect is random.



The result is starting to look quite good – but we are not done yet – it’s way too clean…!!!

[PeterBowen]

Applying pastel chalks and other weathering…

The next step is to start applying more signs of age and wear. I like to use Tamiya Weathering for this as the results are very subtle and can be built up with many layers.

There is no right and wrong way to do this, it just takes time, a lot of time so be patient.



Again the application of the weathering chalks is random and not following any pattern, except for the rubbing over the concrete joint lines to simulate dirt collecting in the joints the application is more like rubbing here and there.



As the surface begins to resemble wear, cracks in the concrete will appear and can be applied now with the 2B pencil draw shaky lines, they will also be rubbed over so the effect will be very subtle.

Remember this is fun and there no rules so enjoy…!!!

[PeterBowen]

The next step is to add more signs of wear… and spills etc.



Using a very dilute wash of dirty water and my favourite paint brush mentioned earlier I like to apply a very watered down coat of this dirty water mix by “blobbing” on to the surface:



This starts to add another dimension to the surface, the Tamiya Weathering pastels are water soluble so be careful – too much water and you can wash away all of your hard work…!!!







The resulting effect can be toned down by applying further applications of the weathering pastels.

[torikoos]

Looking really nice. I've had various success with the Tamiya weathering materials myself, some colours better than others.
Gotta keep in mind that they are water soluble, I didn't know that.

[deanobeano]

Hi Peter,

The weathering of the floor looks really good, our garage floor looks something very similar!!

I guess the techniques are the same no matter what the scale but I guess the larger the scale the better the opportunity to make it look like the real thing - any pointers for a n gauge man and a novice at that!.

Regards Dean

[PeterBowen]

Dean

The trick here is to apply many thin coats or washes so that they build up and produce a believable look of subtle shades of colour. Experiment with lighter colours to start with then add the darker shades to add depth.

Peter

[PeterBowen]

Adding oil stains...

To simulate parts that have been removed and have left oil stains in the concrete floor use the end of a ball point pen dipped in gloss black paint.



I am using Vallejo No. 861 Glossy Black as it has a slight gloss sheen to it.



Using different sized tube ends dipped in paint achieves the look I wanted. Combined with some off white chalks.

[PeterBowen]

WINDOW GLAZING


Interior wall section less window frames:



Wall section with window frames cemented in place:



Exterior wall section with window frames inserted:



To glaze the windows I am using clear thin acetate sheeting similar to what florists or supermarkets use to wrap fresh flowers it is totally transparent but very thin and hard to work with but I think the finished effect is much better than the supplied plastic glazing that came with the kit (which scales out at 6 inches thick…!)



I am using UHU contact adhesive to stick the clear acetate sheeting to the back of the window frames. A cocktail stick is ideal for spreading a thin layer on to one surface and then laying the acetate sheet over.



The overall effect is quite good but far from finished…!


Time to apply some weathering, dirt and grime to the inside surfaces. The outside glazed surfaces would be washed by rain so the inside gets the dirt applied to it.



I am using the Tamiya Weathering pastels Sand and Light Sand to apply an irregular coating to the surface of the acetate.



The weathered glazing effect from the inside looks like this:



And from the outside:



The finished glazing:



And a close-up showing the detail of the window frame weathering and the glazed window complete with cracked panes and cobwebs…!!!

[PeterBowen]

Assembly of the Walls

I am using Humbrol Liquid Poly which is applied with the supplied brush in the lid. This seems to work better on the kit plastic, where as Plastic Weld seems to work better on white styrene.



I started assembling the wall sections to the stall floor that even though there is not a lot of surface area to attach to.



The roundhouse back wall sections appear to go together quite easily, however the fit between them is not as good as I would expect as there are gaps between the sections as hard as I try to keep everything as level and square as possible...



A close-up view shows the gap!



And the fit between the wall sections is in my opinion quite noticeable as show here:



Perhaps I can lessen the effect by disguising it with something...?

[PeterBowen]

The Monster Grows...!!!

As I was attaching the back wall sections and the monster started taking shape, my previous size calculations started to concern me.

I realised that the overall structure would not fit on the intended 24 inch wide module that I intend to plant this on to and out came the Razor Saw...!!!



I need to remove one of the stalls to reduce the overall width to 5 stalls in total.









A styrene spacer is installed to strengthen the removed section:

[PeterBowen]

I started looking at the steelwork for the roof framing and it looks very (black) plastic…!



Good old Halfords Grey Primer to the rescue:



The grey primer is a very good basic primer that takes Vallejo paint very well, diluted as washes or full strength and dry brushed.

I wanted to represent old steelwork that had started to rust in places and just look old even though it is under cover and protected from the elements, steelwork in old factories starts to darken with age and any moisture or condensation will eventually start to attack unpainted surfaces.

I started the process by looking at a possible palette of colours:



Shown here are the colours that I ended up using - Vallejo No. 343 Dark Rust which is a reddish brown colour and forms the base coat which is applied with a dry brush technique.
Vallejo No. FS31090 Beige Brown and Vallejo No. 343 Shadows Flesh a dark red colour used sparingly to add highlights to the heavily rusted areas.



Starting point primer grey:



Vallejo No. 343 is to be applied as a first step using a dry brush technique.









After applying the dark rust colour the next step is to apply the beige brown colour – sparingly with a dry brush just to add highlights.



The addition of the beige brown starts to add an extra dimension to the old and rusted effect as shown here:



The plastic appears to be rusting…!!!



Very small amounts of Vallejo No. 343 a dark red colour is applied to some of the joints.

The girder assembly frames are attached to the roundhouse stalls.

[PeterBowen]

Roundhouse steelwork being erected:





Adding the front doorway arches:









As the structure starts to come together the one noticeable thing that bothers me is not being able to see the detail that has been applied to the floor and steelwork and how dark the inside is starting to look:



I have decided that I will add the front doorway arches and the roofing at the front edge to provide stability to the structure and try to make the rest of the roofing removable.



Joining the rear roofing sections:



The first attempt resulted in no strength at all, there is not enough surface area to bond the joint.



Masking tape to the rescue...!!!





That did not work - again there is not enough surface area to create a strong enough bond.

Time for my secret weapon - Rocket Hot Bonds in 1 to 5 seconds !!!



THAT WORKED !



Photo to show the strong bond and rigidity obtained with the secret weapon.



Masking tape removed from underside:



Roof underside in need of weathering and colouring - I will come back to this.



Rear roof sections in place: