Hi,
Anyone on this forum have any experience with building hydrocal structure kits? I just received Downtown Deco’s Trackside Tavern. Randy Pepprock (presumably the owner of Downtown Deco) has written a very detailed 10 page set of instructions, including tips on how to paint the structure.
What I’d like to know is, are there any “quirks” in building hydrocal structure kits that I should know about? This is my first attempt at building such a kit.
I have built a Down Town Deco Adams Avenue kit.
The instructions are pretty straight forward. I didn’t have any difficulty or surprises.
I assembled their Addams Avenue part 1 and 2, and Bingo’s Pool Hall. The main thing about assembling these kits is to make sure the ends of the walls are filed or sanded flat so they are flush against the adjoining piece.
I severely weathered my kits before assembly using water based acrylic craft paints from Wal-mart because I wanted them to represent a really run-down, skid row area.
I used Goop to fasten the walls together instead of the CA that Downtown Deco recommends. Clamping the pieces together until the glue has thoroughly set is very important.
While I haven’t built one from Downtown Deco, I have built some hydrocal structures from other companies. The “quirks” I have observed relate to painting, especially for one’s first use of this material.
In that hydrocal is porous, any paint is going to react differently on that surface than on styrene or wood. It it thus recommended that one do some test applications of paint on interior or hidden surfaces to make sure that the finished and DRIED color is what you are seeking. Recognize that the first coat of paint will act as a sealer (if no initial sealer is used) and so any second coat - even if it is touching up an area - can result in a different color or finish than the initial coat. A second coat tends to come out with more of a gloss than the initial coat which soaks in. Also, when the hydrocal is poured into the mold to make the part, sometimes there are very small air bubbles that then result in a little indentation in the part. A quick swipe of a paint brush may not work the paint into those little gaps, which then become visible as tiny white spots after everything is dry. The solutions to this are to (a) examine each piece carefully before finishing, (b) many small imperfections or “bubbles” can be easily smoothed out by light scraping with a small file or a dental probe, and (c) use care in painting to make sure that paint is applied from all angles and worked into those little nooks and crannies.
These do make nice models and mine have held up well, even through a move.
Bill
I have built 3 of their kits so far with plans for more. I found them highly enjoyable and very detailed. Well worth the price tag IMHO. I used cheapo rattle can white primer to seal the castings. Used Aileen’s tacky glue to assemble the walls and left to dry a day or so before painting. I used slightly thinned acrylics for the base colors of brickwork and thinned gray acrylics for mortar. I used very thinned acrylics for staining stone and stucco. Heavy washes of india ink/alcohol and powdered pastels took care of the weathering. You can not be too careful in the sanding and filing of the window and door openings. It is extremely easy to accidentally file or sand away too much and your windows will suddenly become too small! (The kits arrive with “plaster flash” on many areas that needs cleaned up before sealing and gluing.) Test fit your windows before gluing in place and do not force fit them! You will break your wall in half if you do! (trust me on this one…[:-^]) If you do accidentally break a piece it fortunately can be glued back together without anything noticeable…unless of course you shatter it! I had a wall section that arrived in it’s box in about a zillion pieces and Randy cheerfully sent me a replacement at no charge even though I am sure it was more the U.S. Postal Services fault instead of his! I hope you have as much fun as I have in completing these kits! Here’s 2 pics of mine.
Matt
Thanks, Matt. Those are great looking structures! I hope mine turn out half as nice as those.
Also, thanks all for the tips on building. Now, I can’t wait to finish laying the track on my layout so that I may find a place to actually put this potentially well-charactered business in my run-down industrial corridor.
I’m working on one, along with everyone (almost) else that regularly attends the NMRA division meetings. We get together every second month, have clinics and continue construction.
So far, so good. I’ve painted and sanded the walls. You want the walls flat and square to make assembly easier. The kits we’re building use butt joints, so bevelling one edge makes it easier to make the joint. (Wood is actually used to make the joint, so a tight fit isn’t really needed for bonding at the joint.)
more details at:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/gd.knowles/plaster_kit/plaster_kit.htm
Just hoping the server doesn’t get swamped.