NAPM Backdrop ELA Tenements

The next section of the backdrop, eight to ten feet, will be a series of tenements.  The inhabitants of East LaSalle need a place to live.  It seems appropriate to include them in this retail, light manufacturing environment.  To maintaining the consistency of the background these buildings will be angled to the backdrop with the side of the structures being the primary exposure.

Finding appropriate models will be a challenge.  On Monday I purchased a Scale Structures Victorian Townhouse kit as a starter.  I have found from past experience that building these kits is a challenge, nothing fits very well, and this one proved to be consistent with this experience.  I took the kit to the club on Tuesday and got an idea of how the angles would work out.  At home that afternoon I got started.

 I plotted the angle on the roof section and then sliced the two sections apart.

Next I cut the angle.  It does take some courage to attack an $80 model with a hack saw!

Next I tacked the three wall sections together with CA.  When the glue hardened I then added a substantial bead of five minute epoxy to the joints.

I added the second rear wall segment and then fitted the roof.  The roof is shorter than the side walls so I butted the front edges to keep the side wall step downs even.

These photos show the mismatch on the rear and slight gap in the front.

I filled the gap in the back with some 1/4 x 1/8 basswood strip material.  Luckily it was an exact fit.  I also used some of the same strips to continue the side walls.  An 1/8 sq strip was used to fill in the top of the right rear wall.

These are the other two sections assembled.

Again a filler strip was added at the rear to fill the gap in the roof.

 On Wednesday I spent some time painting the right hand building.  I spray the interior black in the event that someone at some time might want to install lighting.  That is not my bag, I just build models! The next step will be weathering.