Preparing to paint & assemble Merchants Row I


IronBeltKen

IronBeltKen

Lazy Daydreamer
Hi all,

I just opened the box containing my WKW Merchants Row I kit and was instantly reminded why I've been procrastinating so long with this: eac storefront is a different color, and 90% of the door/window frames are molded on and will need to be painted by hand! :eek: I can see this one's obviously going to take awhile to finish.

Do any of you who have already built this kit have any Words of Wisdom to share about your experiences - things to do first, things to avoid, etc.?

Better still, how about sharing some pics of your MR-I if you've got 'em!:cool:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ken, not sure if this is Merchant's Row 1 or 2 but the method for doing them is basically the same. First words of wisdom is paint the blank brick side and the rear the same brick color unless it's really visible and you want to carry over the individual storefront theme. Assemble the front of the building but don't attach it to the walls yet. With the front flat on your work bench with some paper towels for padding, first paint all the window frames and doors. Paint the wall colors after the windows and doors have been done. This may seem counterintuitive at first but you will always slop a little paint on the flat surfaces of the building when doing the windows and doors and it's much easier to cover those mistakes when you paint the brick/stone walls.

Get some Krylon Make-It-Stone black and white paint at a crafts store. Spray this on the roof. It will give a perfect representation of a tar and gravel roof with almost no effort.

Let everything alone to dry a few days. Now put in your window "glass" and windows shades or drapes for the second floor. If you are going to detail the interior, put the front and two side walls together, do the interior, and then add the back wall and the roof. Paint the top edges of the roof to resemble concrete coping tiles and touch up any of the walls. That should be about it.

Putting the kit together is pretty straightforward. Painting and detailing takes way longer. I'd estimate I have 30 hours or so into the one in the picture.
 
Jim, I figured I'd be hearing from you and I wasn't disappointed! ;) I'd have definitely painted the large areas (walls) first if I hadn't read your comments, thanks for the heads-up. The one I'm about to do is the same one as in your photo (Merchants Row I). If mine turns out anywhere near as good as yours I'll be happy.
 
Ken, good timing! I just "finished" Merchants Row II.
I masked the center storefront and sprayed the two ends, one with CT primer and the other with Krylon beige. Make sure to prewarm the Krylon in hot water before spraying.
These will have interiors and storefront details added as well as the animated neon signs by miller eng.
Here's a couple pics of the mock up:
 
Ken- I found that thinning my acrylic (craft) paints about 3 parts paint to one part water covers the window and door details less than using one heavy coat.
Let the paint dry completely before applying a second coat, if necessary.

I like to paint and Dullcote the wall sections before installing the window "glass" and curtins/blinds. I always seem to "frost" the glass with Dullcote, otherwise.
 
Nice job Rico! I noticed the plastic on my MR I was the same color as your storefront on the left (with the corner parapet); is the center one still unpainted (other than the door/window frames)?

I'm not quite ready to add super-detailed interiors, but I will be inserting painted cardboard partitions inside between the storefronts to prevent the "wide-open" look.
 
Mikey I agree, I don't want to have to worry about masking all the windows after going to the trouble of installing them.

Anybody know of a glue I can use for the windows that won't craze the clear plastic if any of it oozes out?
 
CSX_road_slug said:
Mikey I agree, I don't want to have to worry about masking all the windows after going to the trouble of installing them.

Anybody know of a glue I can use for the windows that won't craze the clear plastic if any of it oozes out?
Click to expand...

Ken- If I am gluing in individual window glass, I use Alene's Tacky glue. It is a water-base and dries clear, but is easy to "pick" off the excess after a couple hours drying time.
I have a bunch of old plastic "sheet protectors" and I cut large pieces of "glass" to cover all the windows on a wall at one time. That allows me to keep the glue away from window openings.
Maybe others are not as sloppy as I seem to be.:)
 
PNKFLOYD said:
Maybe others are not as sloppy as I seem to be.:)
Click to expand...

I hate gluing windows on for just that reason, i always seem to be sloppy lol, often times if there is a window grate like on the Walthers industrial buildings ill just install those and leave the "glass" off and just not even use them lol
 
CSX_road_slug said:
Anybody know of a glue I can use for the windows that won't craze the clear plastic if any of it oozes out?
Click to expand...

Ken, In the model airplane section of the LHS, I found this:

Formula '560', the world's best canopy glue. It's white like Elmer's glue, but dry's clear. Was $3.79 for a 2oz. bottle.
 
CSX_road_slug said:
Nice job Rico! I noticed the plastic on my MR I was the same color as your storefront on the left (with the corner parapet); is the center one still unpainted (other than the door/window frames)?
Click to expand...

Thanx Ken, as Jim sez it takes a little while one step at a time.
Yes the center storefront is unpainted, I forgot to dullcote it before putting in the glazing. D'oh! For the windows I use the liquid plastic cement, Ambroid I believe.
 
Rico, that's a darned nice job on the MR2. I've got that on the other side of my downtown square and it's a really nice corner building. Painting all the contrasting trim colors is really what makes these building unique and not just another run of the mill model. I know some folks say it's too common but, with the right paint and details, I think you can come out with a model that really doesn't match any other one you're likely to see.

Mikey, I use your sheet protector method for windows all the time. All the upstairs windows in my model are cut from strips of sheet protectors and you don't have to worry about getting glue slopped on the window itself. I also used strips of cardboard for the windows to simulate shades for the same reason. The tinted sheet protectors are really nice for use in more modern buildings with tinted windows too.

Ken, thanks for the compliment. The closeup photo shows areas I really needed to touch up but never noticed until I took that picture. :eek: I now take a close up of every structure when I think I'm done so I can see areas I missed. OTOH, I think it still passes the three foot rule so I don't worry about it too much. In my case, I wasn't going to detail the interior but I wanted to have it lighted so I sprayed the dullcote with the window plastic in. The fogging helps prevent that see through look and disperses the light from the inside of the building.
 
CSX_road_slug said:
Hi all,

I just opened the box containing my WKW Merchants Row I kit and was instantly reminded why I've been procrastinating so long with this: eac storefront is a different color, and 90% of the door/window frames are molded on and will need to be painted by hand! :eek: I can see this one's obviously going to take awhile to finish.

Do any of you who have already built this kit have any Words of Wisdom to share about your experiences - things to do first, things to avoid, etc.?

Better still, how about sharing some pics of your MR-I if you've got 'em!:cool:
Click to expand...

Naa you don't need to paint them by hand tape the area around the widnows and doors and shoot paint like I do:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top