Sunday Scenic Showcase 11-11-2012

To continue a theme - downtown from the opposite direction.  

Jim

Hey Jim....looks great!!...OK....to continue from that "direction"....

Great pictures guys. I love the TALL buildings.

awesome cityscapes, alan and jim. any hints on how to build these type structures would be greatly appreciated.thanks. 

jerrman

WOW Alan and Jim , awesome photo's. Love these city scene's

Alex

Jerrman,

There was an article in OGR Run 228 (April 2008) which is now slipping back into the increasingly dim past.

Might be time to build some more and do an update.

They are basically cardstock strips glued to a plexiglas form. I like this method because it produces large buildings quickly and keeps urban expansion within my limited budget. They are illuminated by a single light bulb in a homemade diffuser.

Jim

thanks, jim. that is a super creative solution. the overall effect is really great. 

what kind of glue are you using to attach the cardstock and could a you also use thin styrene strips? 

jerrman

I used a contact cement called Plumber's Goop from Home Depot - similar to Walther's Goo. It has held well for 5+ years now.

You could use a variety of materials for the overlays. I have used metallic aluminum duct tape, various striping tapes, strips of pre-painted masonite, heavy paper, dollhouse trim moldings, etc., etc. Styrene strips would be perfect. The overlays can be given a stone texture with spray paint before applying too if you like.

You can also use various types of plastic sheeting for the basic structure. The City Pipe building in the photo below made use of fluorescent light diffuser panels with a block texture, and was built as a reduced-relief background structure. Many of the flats in the photo used this overlay technique.

There is a fellow selling at York who uses a similar technique with thin strips of something that looks like Coriander or some other stone-like kitchen counter material. Looks great, but very pricey. I'll stick with masonite and mat board cardstock.

Jim

You must be thinking of food. Time to stop playing with trains and come have your dinner.

You mean "Corian", not coriander, (which tastes much different.)

 Arthur,

Oops! I think I just had a Norm Crosby moment!!! I can hear the multitudes laughing at me now!  

Thanks!

Jim

Nah, we're laughing WITH you. Nice work on those sky-scrapers!

Glad I was able to add some spice to this thread!

Jim

Hi guys!!...I apologize for not chiming in before now but have been out all day and got in just a hour or so ago.

First..thanks for the compliments to all of you...it means a lot to me and I appreciate each and every one of you!

jerrman...the method Jim uses is very similar to what I have done while creating some of my structures.  The black building you see in my last picture is made of 4 pieces of bronze glass with a black piece of foam core inserted inside from corner to corner so that you can not see through the building.  Then the windows and floors are "applied" by using black electrical tape to the surface of the glass.  I like to use thick tape because it gives the divisions between floors a 3-dimensional effect.  The corners are joined with hot glue and then covered with black painted corner round. 

The gold reflective building to the right of the black building is made of two sheets of single strength glass covered in gold window tinting.  The horizontal and vertical divisions are automobile striping tape.  The ends of the building are made of MDF that has been painted black and then grooved to accept the two sheets of glass.

Got a bunch of other techniques so anyone that is interested in knowing more, please contact me!!

Thanks,

Alan