I have purchased a number of HO plastic building kits recently (Walthers, Model Power, Atlas, IHC). I was going to begin this weekend. I have read a few magazine articles and old posts about weathering, dullcoat and what kinds of glue are the best/safest.
So are there any potential pitfalls I should watch out for before I dive in ? Anything you can tell me to avoid, or tips to save time would be appreciated.
Example - Is Dullcoat safe for all unpainted plastic? What if your structure has both painted and non painted parts? Dullcoat after or before assembly?
One big caution about Dullcoat. It can potentially turn white when it dries. A couple months ago I posed the question on another thread about what caused it and got several replies about possible causes. What was a mystery to me is I applied it to several surfaces from the same kit that got the same paint job. Only a couple walls turned white. My best guess is that I may have applied a thicker coat on the walls that turned white. My advice is apply it sparingly to painted surfaces. If it does turn white anyway, it can be removed with rubbing alcohol so it is not a total disaster.
As for painting and weathering, layering is the key to create a nice texture. I usually apply a base coat of primer from a spray can. It can be gray, red, or white depending one what the finish coat is. I usually brush paint walls using cheap acrylic craft paints, sometimes using two coats. This produces a slightly uneven color over the surface which I think is more realistic looking. I use a thin was to apply mortar lines. I do this before assembling the walls while I can still lay them flat. If you apply mortar to vertical surfaces, it all runs to the bottom. I do my weathering after assembly. I’ve used both alcohol/india ink washes and powdered chalks with good effects. Usually after applying chalks, I mist the side of the building with dilluted alcohol or just water so that the powder streaks naturally down the surface much the way rain water does.
If you come up with a good way to paint the fine detail molded on to walls and other surfaces, let me know. I know of no easy way to do that.
There is one really big potential pitfall. You’ll enjoy the results of your efforts. That will lead to detailing and then, unless you perhaps join a 12 step program, kitbashing. Kitbashing is very dangerous. Suddenly you no longer have the excuses of “it won’t fit on my layout” “I don’t need on of those” not to buy something. Everything with a wall or window becomes purchasable.
Seriously, I don’t think there are any potential pitfalls of structure building. Nearly anything that can go wrong is fixable and will add to your abilities and knowledge. Unlike a piece of rolling stock, if you mess up, you can always put that side of the building facing away from the viewer - it’ll never be seen. ENJOY!
There is a steep learning curve for this, so dive in a build. With each model you will learn skills and useful data. Your first one will be the best you ever did, but not the best you ever will do. If you do a bunch of them, the odds are that you may go back and redo some of the first ones. Just have fun doing it, and enjoy the successes.
As for detail, I do better with a toothpick than a brush, and I dab, not stroke. Show us your work, it will probably be better than some of ours.
For kits, I have a water tower, passenger station, 3 passenger platforms, a warehouse, 2 three level store fronts, a barn and cattle pen, and a signal tower. I am anxious to get started.
I hope I get decent results. But like everyone says, problems can be fixed or hidden.
About how big around/high would an HO scale telephone pole be? I have some thin round dowels in my workshop that might be good for those.
