TY'S MODEL RAILROAD: October 2011

White Tower Restaurant Kit by Walthers

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 10/19/2011 02:51:00 PM

Completed Walthers White Castle kit displayed on a kitchen table

I recently completed my Walther’s White Tower Restaurant kit. I completed it in just a couple days, opposed to my last two structures which took over a month! I know the kit is a lot simpler then my last two structures, however as my skills get better, so does the time that it takes to complete them.

Completed Walthers White Castle kit displayed on a kitchen counter

Like my Merchant’s Row I kit, this one needed a lot of masking. The kit calls for white exterior walls and silver trim, but I decided to change this. I first sprayed the walls with Testor’s light aircraft gray paint. Once dry, I started carefully masking the exterior trim by cutting very small pieces of masking tape and smoothing it down with a small flat head jeweler’s screwdriver. I then hand painted the trim a dark gray.

Custom interior scene consisting of counters, tables, and a black and white checkered floor for a White Castle kit

I scratch built the entire interior, including the tables, benches, and counters, all from styrene. The black and white tile flooring I made in Photoshop and is a printed on copy paper. For lighting, I used a small 12v automotive bulb that I attached to the top corner of the kitchen walls. I hid the leads behind the kitchen walls so they were out of sight and have them exiting the building out of the rear base.

Custom interior scene showing interior lighting wiring for a Walthers White Castle kit

Just like I did for my Merchant’s Row I kit, the exterior of the building simply slides over the interior, making for very easy access to the inside if I ever need to change the light bulb or interior. I did not use the window glazing that was included in this kit, as it was very poor quality and opaque. I instead used clear styrene from Evergreen.

Completed Walthers White Castle kit with steel awning supports

The window awnings were designed in Photoshop and printed on printer paper. I cut the awnings out and glued them to a thin strip of styrene. I drilled small holes with a thumb drill into the exterior walls and shaped supports out of thin steel wire, which then slid into the holes. I then glued the awnings to the supports and exterior wall.

Side of a completed Walthers White Castle kit displayed on a kitchen table

The decals used were included with the kit, however I did some slight modifications. The “White Castle Hamburgers” decals also had “5 cents” and “buy a bagful!” in the design, but I opted to not include these as it made the signs look too cluttered and dated. For the decals, I first sprayed a gloss coat to the structure and added the decal once the gloss coat was dry. The decal was then covered with a second coat of glass paint. This method reduces the visibility of the glossy decal backing. I then sprayed the entire structure with dull coat to get rid of the gloss.

A lit interior scene consisting of counters, tables, and a black and white checkered floor for a White Castle kit

Completed Walthers White Castle kit with lighting effects on display on a kitchen counter

The the same time, I also built a small Atlas Telephone Shanty kit which I purchased for $0.99 at a hobby clearance store in Calgary last month.

Completed Atlas Telephone Pole and Shanty kit

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Model Kits

Merchant's Row I Kit by Walthers

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 10/07/2011 05:02:00 PM

Front of a completed Walthers Merchant’s Row I kit displayed on a kitchen counter

The weather this September was nicer then it was in July and August, making it difficult to stay indoors and work on my layout, especially in my dark basement. However, even with the beautiful weather I still managed to find some time to finally tackle my Walthers Merchants Row I kit.

Partially constructed and painted Walthers Merchant’s Row 1 kit with masking tape applied around trim

I received this kit as a Christmas gift last year from a friend and finally pulled it out of the box about two months ago. I started by constructing the basic shell; the four walls and two doorways, leaving the roof and window glazing off at this point. I finalized my paint schemes before I started painting, comparing colours on paper to ensure they didn’t clash with each other.

Partially constructed and painted Walthers Merchant’s Row 1 kit with masking tape applied around windows

This structure has lots of detailed sections and components, all on one common piece of styrene. I found that you need two basic skills to successfully paint this: patience and masking. After painting each section, I ensured the paint was completely dry before moving on. This ensured that overlapping colours did not bleed together and that I didn’t accidentally put my fingers in wet paint. Masking tape is essential for straight, crisp lines. I don’t have a very steady hand so painting a straight edge freehand is almost impossible for me.

Partially constructed Walthers Merchant’s Row 1 kit with completed paint scheme on store fronts

I used a hobby knife to cut small pieces of masking tape for almost all straight edges and used a small flat jeweler’s screwdriver to push the masking tape into hard to reach areas. This came in especially handy when painting the window frames. The extra time it took to mask and allow the paint to dry really made the difference in the end, not to mention how it made up for the shortfalls in my free-hand painting skills.

Paint scheme on the back of a Walthers Merchant’s Row 1 kit

Paint scheme on the left side of a Walthers Merchant’s Row 1 kit

Once the basic structure was painted, I used a white wash on the red brick sections to colour the mortar then sprayed the entire model with Testor's Dull Coat. I then used clear styrene for the window glazing. For the blinds, I used Google image search to find several different types of blinds then shrunk them down in Adobe Photoshop to the sizes I needed. I printed the blinds out on a colour printer, cut them out and glued them to the back of the clear styrene windows. You can find these templates on my Design & Construction page.

Printed window blinds on a sheet of 8x10 photo paper

I wanted do a couple interior scenes as well as add interior lighting. I was posed with two issues however. The first was that I did not want to light every window in the structure, and second was that I needed to divide up the interior. Dividing up the interior was important as the kit has so many windows that it looked unrealistic when you looked in a window at one end and could see all the way through to the other end.

Scratch built interior styrene walls on the first floor of a Merchant’s Row 1 kit

To divide the structure into interior rooms, I first cut a base from a bulk sheet of styrene which fit perfectly inside the structure to act as the floor. I then made interior walls with styrene, gluing them to the base. I made sure that the building’s shell slid easily over this interior unit, ensuring that the interior walls didn’t bind against the exterior shell. I built the interior as a removable insert so I could more easily work on it. This also provides future access to the inside scenes.

Interior scene details of a Merchant’s Row 1 kit showing a café, barber shop and an antique store

Interior scene details of an antique shop inside a Merchant’s Row 1 kit

I used textured craft paper for the flooring and walls that mimics carpet and wood flooring and painted walls. I put a large piece of cardstock towards the back of the interior unit, reaching all the way up to the roof. This is to block out all light from reaching the rear windows of the building. For the second floor, I built individual small rooms from a combination of styrene and cardstock which I then glued directly to the inside of the outer shell. For the rooms I wanted lit, I simply cut a small doorway opening to allow light in at the back of each room.

Interior scene details of a barber shop inside a Merchant’s Row 1 kit

The interior scenes are furnished mostly with painted accessories from a Model Power interior accessories kit. I printed small photographs and paintings I found online on a colour printer then cut them out and glued them to the walls to represent full sized artwork.

Interior scene details of a cafe inside a Merchant’s Row 1 kit

For the grocery and clothing storefronts, I built small photo holders from styrene and glued these behind the windows. I then took images of real storefronts, re-sized them, printed on a colour printer and inserted them into these small holders behind the window glazing. I now have storefronts that look like they have real window displays. You can read full instructions on this method in the October 2011 edition of Model Railroader magazine.

A long, narrow illuminated styrene light diffuser box with 3 – 12 volt bulbs

Lighting the unit is achieved by a light box that I built out of styrene. It is lit with three small 12 volt incandescent bulbs and is painted black on the top, back. This is so light only glows from the front and bottom. The box sits snugly in a slot I left in the building above the main floor walls and behind the second floor rooms. Light from the bottom of the light box illuminates all of the main level interiors, while the light glowing from the front of the light box lights the top level rooms through the small doorways. I opted to use a light box as the styrene diffuses the light evenly and reduces harsh shadows. The incandescent bulbs are preferred over LED’s as they have a warm, yellow glow which is difficult to replicate with LED bulbs.

Interior scene structure made of styrene for a Merchant’s Row 1 kit

Custom built interior rooms and light diffuser made from styrene and cardstock for the second floor of a Merchant’s Row 1 kit

I finished the model with dry transfer decals from Woodland Scenics. I applied these directly to the window gazing and signs included with the Merchant’s row kit. The “Mitch’s Antiques” and “T&B Clothing” signs, as well as the coke product logos were all printed on photo paper then cut and glued to the structure and signs. I'm very pleased with the final result. I took my time on this one, and I think it paid off!

I’ve now started working on a Walthers White Tower kit, which I plan on building as a bank. The cold fall weather is definitely here and summer is officially gone. Time to start working again in my basement on my actual layout!

Backside of a completed Walthers Merchant’s Row I kit displayed on a kitchen counter

Completed Walthers Merchant’s Row I kit showing café interior scene and lighting effects

Completed Walthers Merchant’s Row I kit showing storefront interior scenes and lighting effects

Completed Walthers Merchant’s Row I kit showing storefront interior lighting effects

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White Tower Restaurant Kit by Walthers

Merchant's Row I Kit by Walthers

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