Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce the release of my 2nd (and sort of 3rd) Z-scale model kits. The kits represent mirror images of a small ranch house that would be suitable for any layout from the 1950's to present times. I've done my best to design a kit that goes together well, has plenty of detail, and finishes nicely. I am particularly proud of the herringbone brick walkway and porch stoops. The kit costs $25.00 US or $62.50 for three (thank DonA. for this suggestion) and you can find it at Paw Of A Bear Home: Scratch and Custom Built Structures for Model Railroads Cheers
Thank You Thanks very much. By the time they arrive, I should have the tutorials that I promise in the directions up and running. I went to Timonium this past weekend and that put me behind schedule. Still, it was interesting to listen to people tell me about how bad their eyes are. I also met a couple of z-scalers and sold a couple of kits. Sold some N scale too. Cheers,
Michael Duggan's New House This is Michael's new house under construction. It has Michael's Signature Doorknobs and super detailed brick in the chimney, walkways and foundation. One other feature which is really nice is that the roof boards are marked with the laser to help locate the shingles. I can attest this really simplifies gluing on the shingles. Lots of work to go yet to get it finalized with lots of scenery. ...don
Duggan's house with some more work than in previous photos. Beginning to take shape. Lots of odds and ends to go yet including scenic the back side, trees, chimney and porch light plus other stuff. Grass in the foreground is using Melissa Cull's Grassnator. I'll try some different color toward the back yard. This is HO scale grass, but looks pretty good from a foot or so away. ...don
I used Elmer's White glue reduced with some water. The plywood base had been painted dark green & brown and other "stuff" colors. Still the glue tends to dry pretty fast. I think I need something that still remained sticky for about 5 to 10 minutes. Elmer's 'straight' tends to dry on the surface pretty fast. Suggestions, anyone ?? ...don
Essentially finished. There are still things that could be done such as doorknobs or porch light which Michael includes with the kit. I just have a couple of other non-Z items that are keeping me tied up and I'll finish this later as I build this into the layout -- along with 2 more houses. ...don
Don, GREAT roof weathering and the concrete looks very real. Need a macro of that and a technique. Buy the poor guy a lawn more tho. The grass is going to get weedy. .
Paintbrushes: Hustle out and get two brushes. One is about 1/8 inch wide or less and the other ends up at a point. I use these two for 99% of my painting over the whole layout. The pointed one is good for doing clapboard like on this kit. I have painted most of my layout with the 1/8 inch wide brush. Loren thought I was nuts, but he has seen it twice and realizes it does look more realistic than splashing the surface with a one or two inch wide brush. It takes forever, but what the heck. Paint: The "real expensive" stuff from Walleymart. Acrylics at about 75 cents to 1.00 per bottle. I NEVER mix completely. I put one drop [color] on a piece of plastic and a second or third drop beside the first on the same plastic pallet. Drag the brush through one color and an edge of the second color [or third]. This GUARANTEES that every brush load is a different shade. Mommy Nature does NOT color evenly. Sometimes add a twitch of water to help to get thinner colors or maybe get the surface wet and the next brush run it through the wet area. After the paint is dry, give it a good dusting with Bragdon Powders. Roof shingles: Paint sort of a sloppy pattern over the shingle sheet BEFORE splitting off a row. Since each row is reversed from the previous row you end up with a variegated pattern. After the shingles are down I then fiddle around with a little paint and a lot of water or some of these alcohol grimy rust materials. In any event do NOT put it on evenly. I'll keep doing a LIITLE painting with thin colors until it looks "good", but letting the roof dry before adding a little more color. I've tried colored pencils and they also look good. The whole idea is to get SHADES of colors and in uneven patters. Driveway: I use Google's Picassa to keep my photos under control. I am forever taking snaps of things of interest or magazine articles. With Picassa, rename the photos with keywords such as concrete or asphalt or a whole bunch of words as the photo name. I have about 25,000 photos. This is quite easy to do [contact me off forum as to how I do it]. In the case of the driveway I just looked for "concrete" and printed out about 3 photos, and used them as a reference. That got me the basic colors and patterns. As soon as the paint is "dry" say 5 to 10 minutes, I started using some Bragdon Powder weathering running it up and down the driveway, in different shades. ...and then ran my finger over the powder as the not quite dry paint held a little too much powder. Lawnmower: That was an experiment using Melissa Cull's Grassnator. It is Woodland Scenics HO so it is long. Still it looks good from a distance and that is how I see my layout. Ask Loren what I do with rivet counters. Macro Photos: I'll post a couple if the sun comes out. Last few days have been rain and sleet. You guys on the west coast have been holding out on the warm sunny days. ...don
Loren, nice to hear about your fall temperatures, we had our first snow this year because the wind was blowing direct from Torsja's Country
Loren finally gave up a little of his sunny weather. These few photos will give you a little idea of details. They also show I have to clean the windows a little. Macros, hand held snaps, are great for finding goofs. Note the detail Duggan does on the brickwork in the sidewalk and also the chimney. The sun obliterated the cross pattern, but you can see the detail in one direction. If you follow along with the instructions he posted yesterday you can see I didn't follow them too closely, but I do have fun and that is what Z is about. This kit is really nice, and I have two more to assemble. ...don
