MORTAR LINES IN DPM KITS

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

HeLLO,

Does anyone have any suggestions on definning mortar lines on DPM kits.? Any other modeling tips for these kits would be appreciated.

THANKS

MOSEMAN

2

Howdy Moseman!

There have been various and sundry examples of how to make them on styrene and molded brick walls such as those in DPM kits. Some use flour, some use caulk, some use washes of white paint, some use spackle, there are many options to choose from.

Here is a link to a search I ran on MORTAR LINES for the MR Forums, it should get you started on finding a technique that works for you…

http://cs.trains.com/search/SearchResults.aspx?q=MORTAR+LINES&f=ODgsMTEsNzQ0LDEzLDczNA==&u=

Regards,

Ryan

3

Here’s my method. Before assembling the kit, paint all the brick surfaces with an appropriate brick color. Wait until it’s completely dry. Rub dry plaster of paris powder into the surfaces. Spray a fine mist of water over all the surfaces. Wait until its dry. Brush horizonatlly and vertically with a stiff brush to remove excess plaster. Assemble the kit. Weather with thin washes of acrylic paint.

4

Brush powdered chalk into the mortar lines. Use a lot of chalk. Work it into the mortar lines with a brush. I made powdered chalk by rubbing ordinary white school black board type chalk on a bit of window screen.

DON’T Dullcote over the chalk. Dullcote mates with chalk and turns it invisible. All your careful mortar detail work will disappear. Structures don’t get handled nearly as much as rolling stock (structured don’t usually derail) and the chalk will stay in place without the Dullcote.

5

Here’s a good NMRA article on building those kits.
http://www.gatewaynmra.org/structure.htm

Here’s a commercial mortar mix you could try.
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=e-z+mortar