Kitbash Progress

First off, last week, sharp-eyed reader Geof noticed and left a comment that maybe I should knock down a cobweb in a photo that I had posted. Right you are Geof, and I thank you.  The cobweb was strung from the Jimbo's Bar-B-Q sign over to the building.  Anyway, it's gone and the photo is replaced (again) up top at the header and also in last week's entry itself.


Progress on my new kitbash structure which will go up against the backdrop has been moving forward nicely. Here are just a couple of quick takes from the workbench.

I put the clear window glazing from the kits across the back of the window openings and then spread drywall spackle overtop of them to simulate the openings having been closed in and then cemented over. I masked over the "concrete" framework of the building to prevent the spackle from smearing all over the plastic.  I couldn't fill in all of the windows at one time because the filler is really easily damaged before it's fully dried.  Don't ask me how I know this.  

All of, well actually almost all of, the window openings have been filled with the wall spackle.  I'm leaving that one space open just to break things up a bit.  Call it modelers choice.  If I end up not liking it this way, I'll be able to fill it in later.  I just smoothed the spackle well with the spatula/trowel and left it alone. I didn't sand any of it all, as I think that a tiny defect here or there will just add to the look in the end.

I first painted a few of the filled in windows with Concrete Gray, but it was a more brownish colour than I wanted, so I removed the filler and then did those spaces over again.  I ended up using thinned grey acrylic paint, giving some areas two coats and just one coat in others.  Looking closely, you can see some of that colour variation below.

Still at the bench here of course, the brickwork is painted craft paint acrylic "Brick Red", followed by thinned "Espresso" brown, and then a bit of thinned dark grey to really darken the red down.

Next up for the project will be to give the structure some weathering while I still have it laying flat on the workbench, and then attach the short ends pieces that will bring the building a couple of inches out from the wall.  Hopefully I'll have more done on this shortly.

I posted this next photo (below) at trainorders.com this week and received some pretty nice comments about it, so I thought I'd put it up on here as well.  The engine is an Atlas GP38-2, that I modeled after seeing a picture on-line of NREX 3885.  Ron Creasor added the ditch lights for me. 

NREX 3885 setting up for switching on the South Industrial Blvd. job on the JSSX