Can someone please recommend techniques for modeling architectural details such as ornate column capitals or arches? For example, here is a photo of the Atlanta Terminal Station that shows the type of thing I am looking to
reproduce.
(http://www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/spcollimages/av/lane/jpeg/LBCB022-133a.jpg)
Or are there any companies that produce this kind detail pieces in HO scale?
Thanks,
Scott
You’re pretty much on your own for that sort of neo-Classical architectural detail. You might want to take a good, long stare at absolutely every European building kit ever made, since those will be your best bet. Some company used to make a plastic Parthenon which MIGHT be useful for some of the details. And don’t forget to check out non-model RR sources, like dollhouse manufacturers, military minature companies, and non-RR kits. I found a fantastic mansard roof house in the Polar Lights catalog. It’s a model of the Bate’s mansion from Psycho, and it’s HO scale!
If you can’t find anything, you’re going to have to hone your carving skills and make a master to cast in resin.
Good luck!
You could also try casting your own.
How about this one???
Faller “Official Building” from Walthers–when they’ve got it.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/272-131285
One idea for fluted columns. Go to your handy dandy do-it-yourself home building store and ask for the do-it-yourself aluminum screen section. There is a rubbery plastic ribbing material for putting around the edge of window screens, sold by the foot or inch. Needs a piece of metal piano wire or something stuck through it to made it straight. I used this material to make classic fluted columns for a 1910 bank building.
I once used small scale model ship part for the prow of the a ship with a carved eagle, a small white metal casting, for the American eagle concrete casting in a public school pediment.
Cheap plastic or soft metal (aluminum) tokens may have ting detail bas-relief sculptings, cut the piece into the architectural shape to fit the building.
And “have fun.”
Try this trick - take your photograph and manipulate it in a photo editing program until it is square and to scale by manipulating the skew and size. Now, manipulate the contrast until you have very strong edges. The idea is to get the basic lines of the detail. Once you have a good set of edges, square and to scale, print your photograph on regular paper. Take the photograph, place it over carbon paper, and that over a cast block of dental stone or plaster sized to fit your location. Now, using a very sharp pencil, trace the edges carefully through the carbon paper and on to your plaster block. Take your time and get the details sharp.
When you are through, your plaster block should have all your details on it. Now, using your plaster carving tools (I use a lot of dental scalers and scalpels, etc.), a sharp light, and again, a lot of time, carve out your details into the plaster block. This can take several hours to do right.
Finally, once you have your carved portal, you can make a mould and cast as many as you desire.
If you have access to decal paper, you can skip the carbon paper step. Simply make a decal of your photo, apply it to your plaster block, and carve once dry. Or, if you don’t have to have everything carved, simply apply the decal to the block and install on the building. You will be surprised how realistic it will look, especially if your building is a little further away from the viewer.
Tom,
I like this one a lot. I think this might take me a long time. But the results will probably be the closest to the real thing. I was hoping to do some kitbashing instead of scratchbuilding. But perhaps this is a good opportunity to try something new.
Thanks,
Scott [:D]
How many do you need? Maybe the answer is to carve or sculpt them using polymer clay. Once you have an original made, you could make a rubber mold and cast as many as you like.
They look extremely ornate, but by the time you get them down to scale there isn’t that much left. The key is to capture the general shape and a little detail, enough to trick the eye into believing that it is really all there.
