How do you model buildings?

Discussion in 'Structures' started by trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017), Nov 14, 2009.

  1. trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017)

    trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017) Passed away September 22, 2017

    Painting letters that small is well beyond my ability. Even with a stencil I doubt I could get clean edges. So... I'm going with 1/2" tall, peel and stick letters from Hobby Lobby. I guess that would dictate a freshly painted sign. I'll be near a Hobby Lobby soon to pick up the letters so the building should be done soon. I had a pretty good idea of the work/process to get to this point but I had no idea that it would take as long as it has. To everyone, thanks for the encouragement and positive feedback.
     
  2. Oldguy

    Oldguy Member Frisco.org Supporter

    What about using dry transfers?
     
  3. trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017)

    trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017) Passed away September 22, 2017

    I considered that... or wet transfer. The Hobby Lobby letters are very thin and will serve my purpose well. If Hobby Lobby has dry transfer letters, let me know. I haven't found them. I am really ready to get this building finished and show it off to locals... especially the current owners. I bought some 1/4" letters a couple of weeks ago but they are too small. I did not measure before I went shopping and was afraid 1/2" would be too large. It turns out that the 1/2" letters were exactly what I needed.
     
  4. Jim James

    Jim James Staff Member Staff Member

    Here's an experiment you could try. Use the Hobby Lobby letters as stencils and cut a letter out of thick paper or index cards and drybrush the paint to the backside of the letter and immediately press it down in place on a scrap piece of brick wall and lift the stencil right back up off the surface and see how that looks. Use a sharp blade to cut out the letters. Try it out on a scrap piece of brick siding first. May work for you may not. May need to adjust the amount of pressure used to push down on the letter or the amount of paint used to get the right amount of fade. Just a spur of the moment idea. You might be able to use the Hobby Lobby letters themselves instead of making some.
     
  5. Jim James

    Jim James Staff Member Staff Member

    Or use full strength white lettering and airbrush brick color over it to fade it out. Like on my early era boxcar project of late.
     
  6. trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017)

    trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017) Passed away September 22, 2017

    I thinks it's best if I let the video do the talking this time...
    [video=youtube;L7_eeEiQ1Jk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7_eeEiQ1Jk[/video]
     
  7. gstout

    gstout Member Frisco.org Supporter

    If you want to letter a building like the one in the photo, the way you do it is like this: FIRST, lay down a coat of white paint in the area you want the lettering to appear. SECOND, use dry-transfer letters (you can get them at Hobby Lobby or Office Max-doesn't matter what color) to make your sign on top of the white paint. NEXT, with the dry-transfer letters still in place, paint the building the color you want o\it to be (brick red, brown, Tuscan, whatever). LAST, use the sticky side of masking tape to peel the dry-transfer letters off (like lifting lint or cat hair off a jacket), revealing the white paint underneath. I do this all the time, and it works like a champ.

    GS
     
  8. trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017)

    trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017) Passed away September 22, 2017

    That sounds like something I may try. 1/4" peel and stick letters from Hobby Lobby were too small. The 1/2" letters are too large but work for now. I need 3/8" but Hobby Lobby doesn't have any, at least not in white. The original painted sign had a black background. It sounds like i could paint white, apply dry transfer letters, paint black background, and lift the transfers. I would feel more comfortable practiciing this on some scraps. It's not that I don't trust the tip, just that I don't trust my own lack of experience.
     
  9. gstout

    gstout Member Frisco.org Supporter

    You don't want those thick vinyl letters that are removeable by hand unless there is no other choice, because they will not "snuggle down" into mortar lines and you might wind up with paint bleeding around the edges. Better to use Woodland Scenics lettering. You can't re-use them, but they come in a broader variety of sizes and fonts. I have attached a link to their web site so you can see what all there is. Do not be intimidated by this approach. It is really quite simple and yields good results if what you want is a "painted on" look for your structure.

    GS
    http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/DecalsGraphics
     

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