Dominion Building - The Results are In.

I am home from the show and I am here to tell you how the Dominion Building fared in the contest.

Results

Best of Show

1st place in Structure category

3rd in peoples choice

What really made me happy was I had competition at this show unlike the last show I entered in.  The HO victorian building was really good, it had a few minor issues, but still was a great model, a few of the other structures were good but not great.  There were a other models in different categories that were great, such as a S-scale caboose and a amazing N-scale SD70mac.  One thing that I was a little disappointed with was this wasn't a NMRA judged show, so no points unfortunately.  Also note the colors of the ribbons, Red is first and Blue is second???  When I walked up I thought I only took second but then I read the ribbon, sort of strange.  Another thing, I entered my building a day after most of the other models so I lost out on many votes, and I knew this would happen but I needed the time to touch up a few things, or maybe I am just making excuses.

Again I want to thank you guys for the input and suggestions with this building, it really helped me to build a better model.

Thank you,

Chris

Dominion Update - IT IS DONE!!!

This will be quick because I still have a few things to get ready for the show tomorrow, which actually started tonight but I don't need to enter it till noon tomorrow.  For the last week I have been rushing to finish off all the last little tasks on the building, and I just realized I knocked off a sprinkle and so I need to fix it.  

I will post more into detail on the things that I did such as the Uncle Sam sign created by the sign master Frank and the smoke stack going up the back.  Also I will give a better farewell to the Dominion as well on Sunday night after I find out how I faired at the show.  Then we will finish of the Gordon and another incomplete building soon, then I will begin a few new ones.

Let me give an informal Thank You! to all of you who have been following this build, your comments, emails and support are priceless to me and mean so much, you keep me motivated. 

Most of all I want to thank Frank, Jeff (my brother), and my wife for the never ending support.

Thank You,

Christopher Brimley  

Dominion Building Update - Trying to Find a Good Interior Designer

Hi Folks!  Well here it is the last Sunday update on the Dominion Trust Building, and I must apologize about the bittersweet end.  I am very burned out on this project, but don't worry, I still need to finish it for the March 6th show at Ogden Union Station.  I have a few little jobs left to do, but I need to shelve it for a couple weeks so I can start on the Gordon and finally start on some other major stuff.  I wont say too much about the gordon yet cause after all this is the Dominion show.

I began work in side and I hate to admit it but I don't like doing interiors for some strange reason.  I think it is because it is usually one of the last tasks and when it is time to do it, I am mentally on my next project.  The basically all but the furniture is photo textures that are free to down load at cgtextures.  I then sized and pieced them together on Adobe Illustrator and then printed them out on a nice glossy brochure paper on a laser copier.

The few pieces of furniture I built from strip styrene, then painted appropriately.  The table at the entryway, I added some pamphlets and a vase with flowers.  The pamphlets are paper cut to size and the vase was cut from aluminum tube.  The flowers are made from tiny squares of red paper and the stems are, he he he, hair:)  The few shrubbery's  are 1/8" square tube and clump foliage.  The paintings I got from the same site as the other textures, I them added a .020" plastic back, then colored the edges with a brown Sharpie.  I still need to build more furniture but that will come later.

I also added a black card stock view blocks on the upper floors but the windows are too lifeless and so I have a few things that I will try out to see if they will look better.  I have most of the glazing in, I just have a few windows left.  I also have curtains to hang as well on a few windows and have a few more signs and other details as well.

So I will post finished pictures of the Dominion before the show and have a better farewell but other than that we move to the Gordon.  I have built the Gordon about a dozen times in my head, trying to figure out the best route to take it.  I still have gobs of time today so I may post on it late tonight.  That reminds me, do you guys like the Sunday updates or would you prefer I post more often with smaller updates as I go?  If I don't hear anything I will stick with the Sunday posts. 

Question About . . . . . Birds?

Today I had two very similar comments made about my building.  The first came from the greatscaper saying that I should add birds to the sign.  Then a few hours later my brother came over and said if I was going to add pigeons and  pigeon poop on some of the ledges.  So I think I want to add birds to the building.  

I haven't looked yet but I don't believe any are available in N-scale, so like everything else I must create them.  

So my first question is:  Have any of you ever made birds or have you seen some one make them in N-scale?  

Question #2 is:  Do you have any suggestions for making them?

So let me know your thoughts and ideas on this I would like to know.

Dominion Building Update - Rooftop Sign & Columns

You guys probably wont listen to me anymore, I tell you todays post will be arriving later than usual but here it is earlier than usual.  I was able to finish the few things I wanted done for todays post faster than expected and I have a busy day ahead of me so I decided to get it out of the way.

After the poll and a few persuading  emails and posts I decided to forge ahead and erect the rooftop sign.  I had been hesitant to build it because I thought it would be a long and difficult trek the build it and the results wouldn't justify it.  But I've got to say, it went together rather easy and painless.  The 3D mockup I had done stood at 24' tall, I cut a piece of styrene to see how this looked and it felt too short, so I upped it to 30' or about 2 1/4".  

I needed to build six uprights, four would be identical and the other two would need to be custom to fit it with the rooftop building.  I built the uprights from .030" square strip, I wanted to use .020" square strip but felt that it wouldn't be strong enough, but the .030" worked well. 

I was surprised how strong the uprights were after the glue had cured.  

The letters had been a dilemma from the beginning, how was I going to get the font I wanted and have the not look like I cut them out by hand.  I am not a fan of those 3/4" white sign letters and so those were out.  So I started to get a file ready to send and have them laser cut for me, but then I discovered something very cool.  My wife loves to scrapbook and I heavily encourage her to do it because I feel guilty about spending so much time and money on my hobby.  I had been a supporting husband and tagged along to a few scrapbook stores with her, I started looking at die cuts to possibly use to cut the  the letters, but everything was too big or "too cute".  I did a little research and for fairly decent price you can get machines to hook up to your computer and cut any font or clipart you want.  My wife had been wanting a die cutter but just a cheep one that you bought the shapes and manually rolled the paper through.  So to my luck Tuesday was her birthday and I went out and bought her the Quickutz Silhouette (with the intention of using it for my sign).  So the letters are cut from a heavy card stock cause that is about the thickest it could handle, some of the more expensive ones out there can handle .010" sheet styrene.  video at the end of the post of it in action

So after the machine cut out the letters I then glued on two .025" rods while the letters were still semi part of the scrap so all the letters would stay evenly spaced and level.  I then glued on the up rights put it on top for a dry fit and . . . . its way too tall!!!  After some consulting with people I trust I chopped 10' off or 3/4".  That fortunately worked and it felt much better.  I then added the lateral X-bracing in three of the sections and then painted and weathered in the usual fashion.

The other thing I finished was the columns at the main entry, this was another area that I kept putting off cause I couldn't decide on what I wanted.  But I settled on HO scale columns made from Scale Structures LTD. (pt. # 2137).  I had to shorten them very slightly to fit but they worked very well.  

I have a open week coming up, so I hope to have most of the left overs done for next week, if I finish what I want next week will be the last Dominion Update (sniff).  I have a few new structures that I scratch build and I have a few old projects that I need to finish.  So what ever I do next it will be smaller than the Dominion, but don't worry they will be fun.

Chris

initial upright size

this is a very bad video of the Silhouette in action

Photo of the Day/Note on the Dominion

So what are we looking at?  First off I am fairly certain this is the Illinois Central yards in Chicago.  The two incredible landmark buildings are the Wrigley Building (left) and the Tribune Tower.

Just a little note for everyone on the Sunday Dominion update, I am trying to get a few things done, so I have something to post on, the first part is small but made a large difference.  The other isn't huge but six out of eight of you will like it, that is if I can get it done.  Also Sunday like the rest of the week is going to be busy, so the update wont come till latter than usual.

My Copper Patina Mix REVILED!

The most common question I have had since I began the Dominion Building over a year ago is "what did you use or how did you get the patina on your roof?"  I even had one person ask if I was using "reindeer piss", he was joking of course.  

I feel like everyone thinks I am using some kind of secret formula, but I guess I come forward and revile the smoke and mirrors I use to create the magic.   So here it goes . . .

I just mixed three colors of paint!

Kind of disappointing huh?  Now here comes the real disappointing part, I don't know what the exact mixture is!  My guess is 1/2 green, 1/4 blue and 1/4 white, the reason I don't know is I just kept adding blue or white to the green till it felt right.  The key is the blue and I would add it first, then lighten it up with the white.  

Now here comes the next trick to making it look real.  Once you have the paint down and you have given it ample time to cure, attack it with a very liberal coat of india ink/alcohol, but do it fast and then don't touch it because the alcohol will wash away the paint.  When it dries you can add further coats if needed but the first is good enough, I will usually touch up spots and add shadowing later.  Then after it is dry add highlights and some texture by dry brushing with white paint.  But remember you NEED to weather it for it to look right, just the paint mix alone wont work.  

But thats about it, sorry if I disappointed you.  If you still have further questions please ask me and I will try to answer it.  

These are the exact paint colors I used to make the patina and the resulting color (I think my mix could use a little more blue), any other brand should work just fine as well.

Dominion Building Update - Sidewalks

This Sundays update is coming to you early for obvious reasons (Go Steelers!).  I also need to apologize that I did not get anywhere as much work done as I wanted to.  It has been a busy week and a very nasty cold has swept through my family, I am just now getting it.

So the few things that I did manage to complete are the billboard on the one end that I posted about a few days ago.  The other is a plate for the building to rest-upon, and make the building look a little more finished.  It will be nice to display it on the plate because it will be a few years until it has a permanent home.  

The plate was cast from plaster in a mold that I built from styrene.  I sprayed a little Pam onto a paper towel and gave the mold a good rubdown.  The Pam acts as a release agent because you cant flex plastic like a rubber mold.  Also don't spray the Pam directly on the mold, rubbing it in with a paper towel is sufficient and gives you an even coat.  If you are careful with the mold you can get a few pours out of it, which comes in handy when you don't mix enough plaster and by the time you get the next batch ready, the first has setup too far to work it (not like that has ever happened to me).  I popped the casting out after just a few hours so I could easily add the expansion joints in the sidewalks by using a dull #11 X-acto blade.

Once the casting was mostly dry, I began staining (not painting) the plaster with washes of my favorite India ink/Alcohol mix, if have been following me you know that I love this stuff.  I stained the sidewalks, curbing and gutters with a fairly light wash (test it first on the bottom or on an area that wont be visible).  Make sure that you scribe in a line separating the street and the gutter, it helps to prevent the darker street wash from bleeding into the lighter.  I was very liberal with my washes to ensure that it was getting into all of the seams.  The street is simply a darker wash, I added a little more ink into the existing mix (a little india ink goes a very long way, so use it sparingly).  

The storm drains were very easy to make but add allot detail.  On the mold I had glued a 3/8" long strip of styrene.  Later I painted some .010x.080" strip a dark grey, cut it to length and glued it in.  The lamp I bought from Miniatronics (72-032-01), and it is very close to the bishops crook style that was used throughout New York.  It was molded in black so I panted it a olive drab to match a few pictures.  I made up the street signs from paper and styrene, they were a little more time consuming to make than I thought but I think they look okay.  The fire call-box I built from styrene again, then painted.  I used figures & benches from Woodland Scenics for the bus stop but I made the sign, I have a few more figures that I will add later as the building gets closer to being done.  The mail box is from Period Miniatures, I think.  Then I added a few things of garbage.

I still need to add a few fire hydrants and couple minor details, I don't want too much so the attention stays on the building.  Unfortunately next week is looking grim for construction time, so we shall see what I can finish up.  Please ask if you have any questions on something that I may have missed or didn't explain very well.  Sometime this week I will post about how I created the patina on the roof, I have been getting many questions on this.

Sorry about the blurry pictures, I need to download that Helicon Focus program.

 

Billboard Frame #2

This is the billboards and frames for the other side of the Dominion.  I wont go into much detail on how I built this set because the construction is basically the same as before on the Lets Build a Billboard Frame post from a few weeks ago.  

What I did change from before is first I simplified the design a bit, second I used a different paint scheme and third I used .060" I-beams for the vertical beams.  I wanted this one to be different from the first set, originally I wanted to go more ornate but unfortunately once the building is place on a layout this side of the building will never be seen.  I will reuse the signs in another location eventually because the are too good to be hidden.  

I want to thank Frank Giacobbe for making these wonderful signs for me, he does a first class job.

Dominion Sign Mockup

I have been messing around with doing the sign on top, I still am waiting to see what everybody thinks in the poll.  I have had a few emails and posts on why I should build it but I have seen a few no's, and I would like to know why you feel that way.    My mind isn't 100% made up but I am leaning to building it.  

I threw this together today, it still has a bit of work left, but I felt it was worth the time to get a feel for it and I can make dimensioned plans right off the drawings fairly easily, (that is if I can remember how).  I haven't used this program for about a year now and I am a little rustier than I thought I would be.  If you are curious, the program I am using is called Inventor, it is made by Autodesk, the company that makes AutoCAD and 3DStudio Max.

The lettering on the sign will be a white if it gets built, I changed it to a light grey so it would show up a little better for your viewing pleasure.  What you read on the sign is exactly how it reads in the picture, and this will be a very big sign as well, it will stand a scale 24' tall and 73' wide.  

Dominion Sign Poll

There is a sign on top of the Dominion in this picture and I don't know when it was taken down.  My question is should I spend the time trying to reproduce it?  Or don't worry about it?  I want to know the opinion of everyone of you.  

Thanks

Dominion Building Update - Doors, Windows and Roof's oh' my

This little guy is getting so close to being done, but I am having mixed feelings.  On one hand I cant wait to move onto other projects, and then on the other hand I am sad cause I haven't slaved away on one specific thing for so long sense, well, forever.  

What I finished off first this week was the doors and entry on the bottom corner of the building.  It was quite simple but I think I pulled it of okay.  First I framed the two doors from .010x.040" strip, and cut a bar from .015" brass wire .  After the glue dried I gave it a once over with a Prismacolor Metallic Silver (PM-117) marker.  I built the box for the entry from some scrap .020" sheet styrene, then painted to match the outside.  On the prototype I noticed there was a cast iron gate that is on the side walls when opened, so I used a section of Gold Medal Models iron fence painted flat black.

My next task was to finish off the roof, but before I could do that I needed to add the glazing and shades on the top five floors due to the fact the roof would be fixed and I couldn't reach the windows from the bottom very well.  Not much to talk about in this step other than the glazing was cut from .010" acetate and the shades are a light grey card stock.

I was then able to begin work, I cut the sheet of .020" sheet to fit the alloted space and then glued it in.  I than began work on the railing across the cap of the roof.  The balusters are from Plastruct (BLAC-200) and the posts are cut from .080" square strip styrene, and the little ball on top is. . . a. . . its a sprinkle, you know for cupcakes, ice cream and toping off posts.  I then painted the railing to match the grey on the bottom three floors.  The railing on the prototype could only be done by etching metal and I don't yet have the power to do that.

I then built the little mechanical house on top from sheet and strip styrene.  I also did a poor job at making a skylight, I want a few of these so I hope I can make less embarrassing ones soon.  That is the water tower I built a few weeks ago and I will be putting it up, even though there isn't one on the prototype.  My justification for this is that the prototype is in Vancouver, BC and there are mountains there so water pressure is not an issue.  But as my building will be going into a fictional version of NYC, the water tower is justified.  I wont do too much more to the roof because 95% of the rooftops I looked at during this era are quite clean and clutter free, but a little garbage looks good.

I finished most of the glazing and shades on the right side and will finish the left tonight.  There is so very few big things left to do, it down to details now.  Well see what gets done for next Sundays update, I don't even know.  

Dominion Building Update - Part 2 - 011709

Okay here on post #2 I have two things to talk about that have made me very excited.  

#1 - ALL THE WINDOWS ARE DONE!!!!!!!!!

#2 - All faces are done.

Sorry but I couldn't help but over emphasize the fact that the windows are done and yes all faces (walls) are done.  So now my list of to-do's is beginning to get short, What's left?  

 - Glazing and shades for windows

 - Roof

 - Mezzanine

 - First floor interior

 - Details and Signage

For the show I will be also making a little base for it to rest on.  But that is the list in a nutshell.  

These are a few more photos of the finished windows on the top two floors and a few other overviews.

Until next sunday.

Dominion Building Update - Part 1 - 011709

Its Sunday, and that means it is time for your weekly Dominion Building update.  

This week unlike last week I was able to plow through a few tasks, first off I have the back basically done, I just need to add details (my favorite part) but I wont do that till I have a few more tasks done so I don't snap stuff off from handling.  On the back I have all the brick painted by using Polly Scale boxcar red and then added mortar lines by using the sludge in the bottom of one of my bottles of thinner.  I have multiple bottles of thinner that I use to clean my brushes in, I keep the darker and lighter colors segregated because I like to use the sludge later for weathering.  

After the brick was done I painted the windows and some of the trim work.  I then began to add a little bit of detail that really began to finish off the back.  First I wanted to run some electrical conduit up the side.  I made this by simply using .015" brass wire and .010 x .030" strip styrene. I cut the wire a little long, bent one end at a 90 degree angle and inserted into a .015" hole I drilled with my pin vise.  One the wire was at correct length I gave it a coat of a dark grey paint, the styrene brackets I painted a brown and glued them down.  Once the paint dries add the conduit with a little CA.  

The other item I added was a little duct work that went around the elevator shaft.  I chose the location because I had a horrid seam in the brick, and so I disguised it.  I first built the duct work from 1/8" styrene tube, then I fabricated the five brackets from .010 x .020" strip (the smallest evergreen makes).  I eyeballed the brackets to whatever looked good, but I think their about 3/16".  Then painted and attached the duct.

I also finished off the upper right corner to sort of mirror the other side.  I admit that I cut a few corners and simplified it because it will mostly be covered by another set of billboards made by my friend Frank Giacobbe over at the N-scale Modeling Blog .  

  

The Dark Side of The Dominion

Its been a busy week for me, and so I have not been able to do much work.  I was debating whither I should post an update or not but I figured it would not hurt.  So here it goes.

My goal was to have the entire back done by today, and as you can see it is still unfinished, but thats okay.  Now the backs and some times the sides don't resemble the front facade of the building, usually to save money.  Many times a cheeper brick is used and many of the other materials change as well.  Other items you usually see are electrical conduit running everywhere, and duct work, vents, down spouts and many other things that you don't want messing up the front of your building.  The backs of some buildings are like the dark side of the moon (not the amazing Pink Floyd album) the suns light just never quite reaches it.  

So now this brings me to what has changed and what my ramblings above pertain to.  First what I did was to laminate brick styrene sheet to most of the surfaces.  the panel with the windows required a little more work than the others.  Originally the back was going to be left unfinished because it will never be seen, but when I decided to enter it in a judged show, I knew I could not leave it in that kind of condition. 

I laid out how I wanted my windows to look first, I then made my cutting marks on the back and cut out the material.  The windows I used are made by Tichy Train Group (the first commercial part used so far) and are a 44" x 66" double hung masonry window.  I needed to give the illusion of thickness on the walls because this type of window are recessed in to the wall.  So I just glued in strips of .060 x .080" strip on the back of the wall around the window.  Because I was not going to finish the back I didn't leave openings for windows, so I had to brutally cut openings for the windows.  

Next I built a basic loading dock and plopped in a little receiving door, the vender of the door I think is Period Miniatures, I purchased it a few years ago.  I then built the wood addition from Northeastern Scale Lumber siding, and more Tichy windows.  The structural supports are made from .060 and .080" I-beams from Evergreen.  

That is about all that I have done as of yet, hopefully I can accomplish more this week, but we shall see on next Sunday. 

before any work began

A HUGE Surprise!

My wife today had to go run a few errands today, which happens often.  But today she came home with a shocking treat that I was not expecting, a Kato GG1 and the Pennsylvania Broadway Limited 10 car set.  I was a bit surprised  to put it mildly.  I have been teasing her that I wanted it sense it was announced but it was mostly just for fun.  I never expected this.  

I really lucked out with her, she is the one that believed that I could actually build the Dominion and then has convinced me not to give up on it when I was ready to toss it.  She keeps pushing me to try harder and have confidence in my work and I owe her so much, thanks hun.

I was as giddy as a twelve year old and decided to see how it looks with the unfinished mess I call Hudson.  Sorry for the street running set up but thats all I can do for the time being.  The only negative thing about having the GG1 is now I need to run catenary where I want to run this, or I may pick up the E units that Kato has coming out soon. 

I realized I have not posted much about the Steven's Hotel, in a little while I will talk about what I did to build it.  There is still a little work left on the first floor, but nothing major.