Hey Everyone,
I am thinking about getting Merchants Row 1 http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3028 and Merchants Row 2 http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3029 From Walthers. I have never built a kit before. Are these hard to assemble and paint or should I avoid these for my first try? Also what will I need to assemble and paint these? Any help would be apprecitated.
Thanks
I have build structure kits, but looks like CSX Road Slug has already posted about the specific kit you’re interested in, so just go to the link above (and note that the middle of the thread has a lot of posts regarding signage, but toward the end of the second page it gets back to tips on assembling the building kits).
As for tools, the standard - files (to smooth out end and remove molding nibs), knife (to remove flash if any), sandpaper (again, for a smooth finish), and plastic cement (I use liquid Testors) - and some sort of right angle straight-edge to keep the walls lined up.
Hey Chutton01,
Thanks for the fast reply, what would you recommend for paint colors if I wanted all of them to match and look mostly the same with maybe different trim colors but the same brown brick color. Also, I do not own a airbrush so what type of brush should I get?
Thanks
Actually the painted examples on Walthers online catalog look pretty plausible to me. Greens, dark reds, and grays seem the most common colors for store trim. Brick tends to be red/brown, cream colored (here in Milwaukee) or dark gray for cream brick that has been aged by years of smoke and pollution. And sometimes brick is painted of course.
Without an airbrush my advice would be to get a good quality spray can of paint compatible with plastics. Tamiya makes several usable colors; they are a bit pricey but the quality and choice of colors is good. Think about masking off the “wood” parts of the kit from the “brick” - my own feeling is that the brick part will look best painted with the spray can versus even a very good paint brush. I’d also consider trying to paint the pieces before you start assembling the kit, remembering to scrape off any paint from joints that need to be glued or cemented together. Some weathering chalks or powders can give the painted brick surface just that hint of variety of shade that makes it more realistic.
It might be possible to mask off and paint the lower portions – the non brick portions - of the store fronts also using spray can paints. But the wood trim parts and the windows/doors should look good if painted carefully with a good brush, meaning a relatively fine point – not the crude type of brush that comes with elementary school Prang paint sets in other words. really good brushes cost a bit of money and need to be carefully cleaned after use to protect your investment in them.
While nothing can beat the results of a decent airbrush, surprisingly good results can be obtained using quality spray can paints. My own practice is to really shake up the can - I stand in front of a clock and shake for at least two full minutes often three. I tend to paint outside (in nice weather) so I can make large sw
Not too much I can add to Dave Nelson’s post, except that Merchant’s Row I & II are definitely supposed to represent different (independant) buildings (as opposed to Merchant’s Row III, which is a single building with different storefronts). While a landlord could own a whole block, of individual buildings it’s more likely that they are owned seperately and so the trim and finish can reasonably differ among them. Everyone’s favorite basic red brick finish is Red Rattle Can Auto Primer™ - I usually use Rust-oleum because that’s what I have on hand, but there are others available, and many people have several different brands on hand because the color differs somewhat between manufacturers (or lots) and so you can have slightly different brick colored building. For beige or cream brick, I’m afraid I don’t have a great suggestion (maybe Tamiya’s deck tan?)
Also another thing you will see mentioned often on these forums is art markers - now, a decade or more back I hated them as they were splotchy, poor coverage etc on even primed plastic - however, I recently started using good quality markers (not paint pens - they still seem splotchy for me and good only for weathering track) for detailing (e.g. black for banding/brown for rusted metal strips), and some people on this forum swear by them for coloring brick and window details (for brick/blocks - they spary paint the building the color of the mortar (say light cream or light grey), then carefully color the raised surfaces of the brick details with the marker leaving the mortar color in the cracks untouched. If nothing else, you can use this method to touch up a few bricks here and there on a otherwise solid brick color building to provide contrast and liven it up a bit (NOT BRING IT TO LIFE - OKAY!?! - ahem, sorry, old inside joke).
If this sounds like a lot of work, that’s OK because Model Railroader no longer uses the phrase “Model Railroading is Fun” …
These are not hard.
These will take a LONG TIME to get right. It will take longer the first time as you learn the process. There is no substitute for expermentation and experience. You can get nice results and the second group will be better than the first.
You can paint them with a brush, that does work.
You have to like the process, because the result comes only after a lot of effort.
For me, it’s the bulding process that I like.
Good luck, I hope you like it. I built a FSM kit in my motorhome in AZ last winter and it was a blast.
Dave,
Thanks for the additional advice. I will keep that in consideration if I get this kits which Ilook forward too. Since they will represent my small country town, they would probably look more realastic the way you mentioned.
Thanks
The important thing to remember is that there is almost no mistake that cannot fix. Plan on this being a learning experience, that you will probably make a whole bunch of mistakes and that you can go back and make them better. George Selios of Fine Scale Miniatures probably builds the definitive city scenes. He talks about using spray cans for painting and covering mistakes with vines and pipes. Here is a site with his work for inspiration:
Thanks for the website MikeFF. I will have to check it out!
Model BNSF –
A couple of items I’d like to comment on. First of all, brush vs. spray vs. airbrush: a good airbrush is a great thing, a cheap one is a source of never-ending frustration. Also, with he right paints and brushes, I find that I get excellent results brush painting. I brush paint most of my model railroad stuff, as well as miniature historical and fantasy figures.
First, some assembly tips: pre-fit everything before you cement it, and file the parts if they don’t fit just right. Secondly, apply styrene cement using a needle applicator (Testors sells cement in a black square box with an excellent tip on it, or you can buy applicator tips for squeeze tubes). Whenever possible, fit the parts together and apply cement to the inside of the joint, allowing capillary action to draw it between the peices. This will minimize the amount of cement you get on the outside of your model, which will improve the appearance.
For painting, use good quality paints. Personally, I am partial to acrylics and use Testors Model Master Acryl and PolyScale colors. Most hobby stores will have a selection, or you can order them on line. Acrylics also clean up with soap and water, whereas enamels require solvents to clean. Make sure the paints are well mixed and very thin (they should run freely off of a stirring stick pulled out of the paint. This way, the paint will flow smoothly onto your model and not leave brush marks. Use two or three thin coats rather than trying to cover with one coat. Paint lower surfaces fist, then raised ones. If you make a mistake, let it dry and repaint it.
Go to an art supply store (even a big box one like Michaels) and invest in some good brushes. Do not buy at hardware stores (which probably won’t have the small sizes) or general merchandise stores. By good, I mean the natural (sable hair) or synthetic brushes that cost about $5 - 8&nb
CTCValleyRR, thanks for your reply. You have some great points! Will have to check out Michaels next time i’m near one.
Thanks
Good tips so far. In no particular order a few random thoughts to add:
Just getting started out, it’s always nice to have early success to keep your interest up. There is a company called “AM Models” that has some very nice looking, in expensive, easy to assemble kits. The Williamsburg Yard Office being one. Walthers carries the entire line. You might want to check those out.
For the modern era, the Rix/Pikestuff line go together fairly well and aren’t too expensive.
Being a teenager often means not having a lot of cash laying around. For plastic kits I use ordinary lacquer paint thinner for adhesive. That’s a LOT cheaper than the small liquid adhesive bottles and works just as well.
Keep us posted.
Lance
Visit Miami’s Downtown Spur at www.lancemindheim.com
Lance,
Thanks for the reply and your right about not having alot of cash!!! Maybe I will try a rix/pikestuff thing first to get some experience and because they look alittle less complicated and would go together alittle faster. Will still get mercahnts row but do it after I get something alittle easier accomplished first. BTW, I love your layouts, I was just looking at the pixs of both them the other day.
Thanks[:)]
The trick to making the Rix structures look good is to paint them as opposed to relying on the natural color of the styrene. Rattle spray cans from the hobby store or hardware store are fine. When done, carefully apply a dilute wash of 1 teaspon india ink/pint of alcohol using vertical brush strokes. The brush should be damp, not dripping wet. On the Model Railroad Hobbyist forum a guy by the tag of Jappe did an excellent job on a diesel service facility using a Rix kit. I think this is the link: http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/3281 Lance Visit Miami’s Downtown Spur at www.lancemindheim.com
I don’t think this was covered in the previous suggestions. One of the ideas that I heard and made me feel dumb because it seemed to obvious was to experiment with pieces of kits. For example, you can buy brick walls from Plastruct and play around all you like with getting mortar right for yourself. This way you’re not experimenting with an expensive kit. The point made by another person on planning to cover up defects is really important. You won’t be able to avoid defects in assembly so just plan to have to hide them in some way.
Painting will definitely take more time than assembly, especially for MR1. With MR2, the turret assembly can be a little tricky to get looking correctly. With MR1, you will notice that one of the buildings has a block rather than brick facing, which gives you more options color wise since block would likely be painted. Brick is sometimes painted but usually is not. Brick comes in various shades of red-brown. Tan brick is also an option. Also remember that often commercial buildings were built with top grade brick in the front and a lesser grade in the back. If your kit will be visible from both sides, you can vary the color of the front brick and use the same basic color for the rear.
For most of my brick structures, I spray them with red primer as a based coat, then use various shades of red/brown acryllic paints for the finish coat. The nice thing about these paints is they are fairly inexpensive and you can experiment with mixing them to get different shades of brick.
MR1 and MR2 are styrene versions of the old Magnuson (now Scale Structures) resin kits and I think are outstanding. MR3 is a recycled Heljan or maybe Kibri kit and I am less impressed with it. It’s an OK basic structure, but I think there are better choices for downtown commercial buildings.
Lance,
Thanks for the link and tips!
Also, Tetski(I think I got that right) That is a wonderful tip about using plastruct first.
I looked at MR3 and thought it did not really go along as well with the frist too. It looked different was alot more like one store then alot of little ones.
Thanks