A Great Link and Free Signs to Boot.

Hi all, 

I just rediscovered a website that I haven't been to in years, in is called the Triveno Circle, and is run by James A. Powell.  The layout that he has been building is in HO but ideas, styles and basic construction is generally universal in all scales, so I don't discriminate against the other scales except TT, right now it looks silly, but so did N when it first arrived.  But anyway his layout is called the Wiscsasset Trivino & Western, it is an excellent layout with many great structures.  He has a style that is a little unique, he weathers the pants off of everything and the layout has a very dark undertone.  I highly suggest checking it out.

But one of the bonuses of his site is he has many great free signs to download.  I have a few examples down below that are from his site.  I have had these signs for many years but had forgotten where I had gotten them from, you may notice on a few of my structures I have used these signs, most recently on the Gordon.  Just click on the free signs tab on his site for many more to download.  Just one note, the signs are at a high resolution so the quality is excellent, you will need to shrink them down so they will be appropriate for N-scale.  

So don't just take the signs from here and his site, spend some time looking at his amazing layout and get some great ideas.

http://www.trevinocircle.net/wtw.asp

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.  

Lets build a billboard frame.

On my Dominion building I have a few billboards that will be applied in a few areas.  There will be a total of four billboards, stacked in pairs, such as the photo above.  The construction was very simple and requires minimal tools and material.  I probably spent a whole $1 on this, the color copy cost half a buck and the rest maybe added up the rest.  If you don't have the material on hand, it will obviously cost a little more.  

To begin with I made a copy of the billboards.  Something I will highly recommend is to go to Fedex Kinko's, Office Depot or a place that makes color copies and pay them to print it.  If you have a color laser printer, that will work as well.  DON'T use a inkjet, the ink will run if it gets wet and can smear by just handling it to much.  Epson printers that use the Dura-Bright ink are the only exception to this.  Also laser printers and copy machines lay down much crisper text than an inkjet.

The billboards that I am using were created by the  moderator of the N Scale Modeling blog.  

He has the Morton Salt sign and many other very useful signs to download for free.

 After I had printed the signs I cut them out using an X-acto knife.  I then cut out a back from .020" sheet styrene, cut it about a scale foot higher and wider then the paper sign.  Use white glue to attach the sign to the back, making sure to be centered.  I then lightly scored the sign to give the illusion of separate sheets.  I had pre-painted some .020x.040" (for top and side) and .020x.060"(for bottom) strip for the frames, green is the most common for the style that I am going for.  Now cut the strips to fit, the sides need to be precise but the top and bottom can be long, then just file flush with the sides.  After touch up with same paint as used earlier,  and you have the frames.

Next we cut the vertical mounts from .020x.040" strip, an I-beam would work 

well in this situation.  I spaced the mounts about a 1/2" from each other.  After the glue setup I began attaching .020x.030" horizontal slats below each billboard.  

Once all slats had been applied, I cut four 1/4" pieces of .010x.060" strip for the brackets to attach the platform.  I then glued the the brackets to the vertical mounts.  After the glue setup, I then added two planks for the platform made from .040x.060" strip styrene.  

Once the glue has set up we need to finish painting.  I first painted the vertical mounts a dark grey, don't paint the back side cause that will cause issues when you attach it to your building.  I then paint everything else the same green that I used on the frames.  Once that has setup I then dry-brushed on a little white to age and highlight. Then I added a little india ink wash to a few spots for further weathering. 

I still need to build the second set of billboards and a little more prep work needs to be done to the building before I attach them. 

I will post photos of the billboards once that happens.  Until then keep watching.

Thanks,

Chris

Hotel Sign

This is just a basic sign that I found while on vacation in Jackson Hole Wyoming.  I simply love these old signs.