Saturday, May 29, 2010

Sheriff Office: Part 5 - Finished Model

Here are some photos of my finished model of Old Glory's 25mm Sheriff Office from their older Western building range.

Painting the Walls
The cell walls are "wet drybrushed" with Ceramcoat's Antique White, with some areas dirtied up using a grayish ink wash--you really can't see that in the photos due to the lighting. I painted the office walls with Folk Art Bayberry. This is a classic light green that I have seen in many old railroad buildings from the turn of the century, so I decided to use it here as well. The wooden trim and doors are painted Ceramcoat's Walnut. The gun rack is Americana Light Cinnamon. The posters are from my earlier post.

The Jail Cell
When I went to put the jail bars in place, I discovered that the longest section did not fit between the back wall and the interior wall. The gap was too large for my tastes. The solution is what you see here. Instead of having a large cell on the right and a smaller cell on the left, I made the one cell. Works for me. I can always use the other cell piece for something else.

I dulcoted the building before gluing in all the pieces in place, making it easier to varnish everything evenly. I think it also helps the glue adhere. As a kid I was told that glue does not like paint. Anyway, I glued the jail using Zap-a-Gap on the bottom and ends of the pieces. This left a little puddle of dried glue on the floor, but I dabbed on some Ceramcoat matte varnish and took care of it.

Oops!
After finishing the building, I realized I had made a few mistakes. Looking at Old Glory's photo, I glued the windows upside down. I tried putting them in the other way but would have had to carve out some of the stone bricks to get the window sill to fit properly. Not my idea of fun. I think the windows look fine and doubt anyone will critique them. I am disappointed that the window openings are about 1mm to 2mm too wide, causing a slight gap between the window and the wall. You can see this when looking at the building from an angle.

My biggest oops was gluing the front door on backwards. I seem to have a problem with this! The door knob really should be on the right instead of the left. Oh well. If someone asks, I'll just say a left-handed carpenter built it and that it makes it easier for the right-handed sheriff to open the door when he's rushing out of the office to a gunfight in the street. (See, we can rationalize anything!)

Not Done Yet!
Having bought some thin plywood the other day, I still want to make a permanent base for the building. When I do that, I will add posts to the front porch. The porch being in sections like it is, I just felt the posts would get snapped off as I transported the building. I still want to add some interior details like a desk, cot, and so on. I got some great suggestions from TMP to use.

So there you have it. Now the dusty streets of Gun Town can finally have a real sheriff and retire their vigilance committee. At least that's what the sheriff thinks!





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