I probably should have done a proper build thread on this kit. I really like these kits and encourage people to give them a try. this is the 4th ITLA (Imagine That Laser Art) kit that I've built and I came up with a technique that works for me and is super easy. In two nights I'm almost finished with the kit and they make great background structures.
The first thing I do is all the painting. the walls got sprayed with Rustoleum Ruddy Brown. I masked off the lower stone portion and painted the stones with craft paint after the primer dried. for the pilasters I sprayed them with Camo Brown and then after that dried hit them with the Ruddy Brown. This will give you a subtle difference in color. you have 3 choices in building this thing, I went with the L shape. All the windows are sprayed with the Camo Brown, and the sills were sprayed with Camo Khaki and then some craft chalk paint.
before the windows and sills are installed, I hit the walls with Robert's brick wash and then wiped the wall down after. Any mortar wash would work...
The windows go in easily and then the sills. after that the pilasters are glued on and then the upper trim is glued on in layers. Again, super easy and the results are just fantastic. the Back wall fits in the slots and does not have to be glued in, for removal if you want to light the thing later.....
The roof piece I covered with fine grit sandpaper and then glued that in place.
this is where I am now:
Very nice Bob. I have looked at ITLA kits in the past but wasn't sure about the quality.
Curt,
the quality is top notch, the kits are engineered nicely. The only thing that I don't like is the laser cut cross members for under the dock and the water tower cross members. Things like that look so much better with strip wood. Some other kit manufacturers do the same thing and I'm just not a fan of it. Other than that, You can't go wrong with these ITLA kits. With this kit you can combine it with others to make a monster of an industry- the walls fit together great....
I didn't sand the back of the sign enough, so it was impossible for me to get the brick work to show through. I may just frame the sign in wood,,, IDK...
I painted the steel dock framing using the Vallejo rust method of painting.....
the roof details are next....
Miskatonic Casket! Nice! A touch of Lovecraftian Gothic dread to the old layout, eh?
Love it.
--George
Great looking modeling.
Thanks George for noticing!!
Yup, I was having a tough time with my freelance layout theme... was looking at NH to Mass. railroad, but was having problems making it work. Now I'm doing the "Miskatonic Valley Railroad"--- moves from western Mass to the seaport city of "Kingsport". This way I have the Miskatonic River element and my Boston and Maine locos can run on them. This all came to me a few months ago reading my H.P. Lovecraft Omnibus book!