Dave, I like your concept. I think we're going to see great modeling for some time now; doesn't look like you can finish this one overnight.

I am wondering and worried about that little guy and whether he is going to safely navigate the sidewalk or just fall off the edge.

Mike

Kris, Carl and Mike...Good to have you follow along.

Mike...There will be a plant area between the edge of the deck and the retaining wall however, I may add railing just so he doesn't fall on the flowers!

The first building will be the Ives train store. The building is a simple foam board constructed box with cutouts for windows and doors.



I downloaded from the web a weathered brick pattern to closely match the sign, printed the pattern and sign, cut, spliced and glued the brick paper to wall with satisfying results.

By the way, the intent of this build was to use a weathered CocaCola sign that my friend Sgtbob forwarded to me. He used the sign on his last build (Buxley’s Books) and I loved it! Thanks again Bob.

Great job on the sign & paper, Dave.[^]

Very nice sign.

Rich, I think we all know who to look out for!

How is your retirement going? I may have a scratch build job for you.

ed

Dave,

Looks fantastic :up: :up:

I'm sure the rest of the structure will follow suit.

Bob

Thanks Rich, Ed and Bob.

Your comments are much appreciated!!

One of the masters of 'buildings on a slope' is Mark Dalrymple from New Zealand. See, for instance, this build thread: http://modelersforum.com/dioramas/c-...-manufacturer/

dave

Ray Dunakin also has a row terrific of large scale buildings on a slope. You can see some of them here:

http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/t...72&whichpage=1

The work Ray does in 1/24th. is a treat for the eyes. Such skill, I expect nothing less from you.

ed

Dave and Bill,

Thanks for the info...Mark and Ray sure build beautiful scenes!!

Ed,

I agree, Ray does a wonderful job building treats for the eye. I can't compete with his masterful work but it sure is a good source for inspiration!

Dave

Hi Dave. I'll be following along.

The one thing that I think you should consider changing is the sidewalk with steps. This has the effect of making the scene very 'blocky' and gives the feeling that the land was put in after the shops. In almost every instance I can think of all the buildings on hills I have seen have the sidewalks flowing up in their natural slope and the fronts of the shops just have to deal with them using all sorts of different techniques. Its also part of the fun and challenge of building models on a hill.

Cheers, Mark.

Hi Mark,

After viewing your build with the structures on a slope as well as a curve I understand completely what you are saying. Your layout is architecturally pleasing and draws the viewer into the scene. Beautiful work!!

My scene is only for a shelf or a flat table top but I wanted to give it a little more character than the same old flat street concept.

I'm using the logic that the builder wanted to keep the rocks at the front corner and on one side. This called for the building of a stepped retaining wall in the front and stepped concrete walls in the back alley. Debris and dirt were used to terrace under the buildings.

Practical, probably not, but just for fun, I'm going to stay with the concept.

Thank you so much for your insight. It is very much appreciated.

Dave

Dave, in Italy, there are many structures with climbing steps, San Francisco too comes into mind'..I'm looking forward to your build'. I think in modern construction, steps would replace slopes'..Your building will be a stand alone piece and your approach makes sense'.[^]

Thanks Ted. Good comments!

This photo shows the use of patching plaster to fill in the foam board joints before applying brick paper. This step helps eliminate foam board joints from showing under the brick paper. After plaster was dry and lightly sanded I added brick paper as needed to the back and front.



The next step was the addition of stone panels for the front entrance.

The stones were made with Sculpty clay rolled to 1/16” thick and textured with a piece of rough stone to roughen and indent the stone panels. ( I do all my clay work on a large ceramic tile to insure flatness)

When satisfied with the texture I cut the clay into 5/16” x 6” strips. Then I slide a thin blade under the first strip to loosen clay from the tile and pulled the strip away from the other pre-cut strips.

Using a piece of 1/2” square x 7” long stripwood I squared the 6” strip. After squaring I cut into 5/8” lengths, placed on parchment paper in an old baking pan and after all panels were cut they were fired in the oven at 265 degrees for 10 minutes.

After the clay cooled I applied the individual panels with Aleenes Fast Grab glue. Some of the smaller blocks, like around the windows, are easy to cut from the fired clay blocks using a

no. 2 Xacto blade.



Painted the panels with a dry brush application of a small amount of pink paint to represent colored stone panels. After the paint was dry I used a tooth pick and patching plaster to grout the joints and finger rubbed plaster to smooth the joints and remove any excess grout from the stones.



Stone work complete.



Mansard roof is next.