Part Three
The buildings
First thing to do is to make a floor template. Cut out a shape in foamboard. I almost always used 90° corners. Be sure that everything matches exactly; opposing sides have to be perpendicular.
This is the base of the building it will define it's form. So if side A is 3 mm longer than side B, the entire building will look slightly "off".
Then cut cardboard strips 6.3 cm high. The length does not matter. These will make the walls. Cut out windows. Measure the templates sides and cut the strips accordingly. Finally glue the wall sections on top the template. The first floor is almost finished!
If you're making an appartment building, use the same template for every floor. If you're not you can make adjustments to the template. Then repeat the wall building process.
The roof is the same as the template of the final floor. Don't glue it to the walls!
Now you have a naked foamboard building, time to dress it!
Almost the entire surface of the building is covered with plasticcard. Fot the walls I usually used horizontal and vertical strips/rectangles. The roofs were covered with more exotic shapes.
The interior floor were govered with plasticard tiles 2.5 by 2.5 cm. First I made each tile individually, later I used the engraving machine to save some time by engraving a grid on a sheet of plasticcard.
The pieces of plasticcard were beveled with my Varga bevel appliance but with sandpaper you may manage as well.
On top of the plasticard I glued Hirst arts blocks. This is the fun part because you can finally use these fantastic bricks! Don't overdo it!
Then the building gets painted. First I paint it with a basecoat of brown with a brush. Then it's airbrush time! I start by spraying it with a lighter brown. The I ad some beige or white to it and spray a second layer and so on until I spray pure white. Make sure some of the basecolor is still visible. Spray from top (where the sun hits the building) to the bottom. Never change the direction in which you spray. Finally you can highlight some of the edges with pure white using a fine brush. The hirst arts blocks are painted as well: pipes are painted black then silver etc...
To finish the building we add the windows. Measure each window and cut the acetate a little bit larger. Then glue the glass to the building. Don't use contact glue or the vapor will leave some white smoke on your windows. I learned this the hard way.
The building is finished.
Next in Part Four: Further thoughts and two more buildings.
First thing to do is to make a floor template. Cut out a shape in foamboard. I almost always used 90° corners. Be sure that everything matches exactly; opposing sides have to be perpendicular.
This is the base of the building it will define it's form. So if side A is 3 mm longer than side B, the entire building will look slightly "off".
Then cut cardboard strips 6.3 cm high. The length does not matter. These will make the walls. Cut out windows. Measure the templates sides and cut the strips accordingly. Finally glue the wall sections on top the template. The first floor is almost finished!
If you're making an appartment building, use the same template for every floor. If you're not you can make adjustments to the template. Then repeat the wall building process.
The roof is the same as the template of the final floor. Don't glue it to the walls!
Now you have a naked foamboard building, time to dress it!
Almost the entire surface of the building is covered with plasticcard. Fot the walls I usually used horizontal and vertical strips/rectangles. The roofs were covered with more exotic shapes.
The interior floor were govered with plasticard tiles 2.5 by 2.5 cm. First I made each tile individually, later I used the engraving machine to save some time by engraving a grid on a sheet of plasticcard.
The pieces of plasticcard were beveled with my Varga bevel appliance but with sandpaper you may manage as well.
On top of the plasticard I glued Hirst arts blocks. This is the fun part because you can finally use these fantastic bricks! Don't overdo it!
Then the building gets painted. First I paint it with a basecoat of brown with a brush. Then it's airbrush time! I start by spraying it with a lighter brown. The I ad some beige or white to it and spray a second layer and so on until I spray pure white. Make sure some of the basecolor is still visible. Spray from top (where the sun hits the building) to the bottom. Never change the direction in which you spray. Finally you can highlight some of the edges with pure white using a fine brush. The hirst arts blocks are painted as well: pipes are painted black then silver etc...
To finish the building we add the windows. Measure each window and cut the acetate a little bit larger. Then glue the glass to the building. Don't use contact glue or the vapor will leave some white smoke on your windows. I learned this the hard way.
The building is finished.
Next in Part Four: Further thoughts and two more buildings.
