Replacement for Ertl plastic powerhouse.

A client sent me an HO scale Ertl kit, the Easton Mill. It consists of two plastic buildings, but the sculpt, fit and factory paint-and-weathering on them... let's see, how to say this nicely... it's not up to my standards.

I talked my client into allowing me to build the power house as a cardstock model. I pulled all the dimensions from the Ertl kit and then made it in The Gimp.

Here it is.

Stereoscopic View

 

The main part of the building is inkjet-printed cardstock laminated onto museum board. I used Clever Models textures, as usual. I laminate with the cheapest spray adhesive I can find, which happens to be Aleen's Tacky Spray. (I'll have to do a proper how-to post on this technique when I find the time.)

The most painstaking part of this build: I cut out the doors and windows, then painted the thick edges of the holes with neutral grey acrylic, then I used brown, yellow and grey gouache paints to touch up the edges to match the stones.

I tried a new technique for the steps; I made the bottom tread part of the base of the building. That way, there's no chance of the steps falling off if the structure is handled roughly. Once I had the steps assembled, I treated the edges with cyanoacrylate glue and sanded the edges. 

The original model included a boiler out front, and I replicated it with two caps from Trader Joe's disposable pour-over coffee brewers, along with some brass tubing scraps and bits of museum board.

All in all, a quick and fun project.

Stereoscopic Views of Howl's Moving Castle

Here are some stereoscopic views of my build of Howl's Moving Castle. This is one of the more intricate models I've built. No single part was terribly difficult, but there were a lot of them, and I printed this model about half the intended size. The main body is about the size of a orange.

It's available on my Etsy shop.

These images are intended for free-viewing.

Stereo Views of the Small Brick Machine Shop

Finally got a new battery in the better camera, so here are some slightly-better-than-before stereoscopic shots to document the Clever Models Small Brick Machine Shop build.

As usual, these images are for free-viewing, not cross-eyed. US penny for scale.

More Stereoscopic Documentation of Builds

Just doing a few more stereoscopic shots of some of my builds. These both happen to be N scale. The first is the Bates House from Psycho (free download here), the second is the Bulldog Cafe.

Views are all for free-viewing, not cross-eyed.

Spot the differences Between the HO and N Scale Gorre Water Towers

A quick stereoscopic comparison of the HO and N scale Gorre water towers from Clever Models. You can see there are a few details on the HO model that I left out on the smaller version.

Penny shown for scale.

More Stereo Views of My Models

 I went on a bit of a stereoscopic binge over the last few days. It occurred to me that I might document my builds in 3D both to have a record of things I've made, and it's much more portable than carrying delicate models when I meet clients.

I took these by setting the camera on the table, taking one shot, then sliding the camera about 3/4" and taking the second shot.

I printed these on 4x6 photo paper, then trimmed them to fit in a viewer I got from a book.

These are all for free-viewing. 

These two are from Discworld. First the Library:

And the High Energy Magic Building:

This is the Gorre Water Tower by Clever Models:

 

This is a scratch-built wooden depot, based on a Clever Models template: