Saturday 2 April 2016

The Wall (1/35)

The long brick wall separating the bakelite factory yard and Nystrup Gravel's 600 mm. track is a an important back ground feature on the factory module. I was inspired to build the wall from the white painted brick wall in my back garden. The brick wall at Banke's Bakelit was probably erected in 1942 after one of the company's lorries toppled the old wooden fence.

I built the brick wall from elements cast in plaster using a mould from Diorama Debris. The elements were glued to a piece of foam board. I filled the transitions with plaster and a thin mix of plaster was also used to cover most of the wall to represent a plastered wall. A few spots were left without plastering to show the bricks. On the rear side of the wall I glued Tamiya brick paper as the wall will not be viewed by many from that side.

The plaster castings that makes up the main parts of the wall.
The wall assembled, plastered and painted.
I painted both sides of the wall with thinned white acrylic paint. After the paint had dried I covered the wall with matt acrylic varnish from a spray can. I sprayed the wall with varnish twice to make sure I got a good covering. The varnish provided a safe foundation for the final treatment with oil paint. A thin mix of turpentine and raw umber was washed over the wall. I made sure to get the treatment heaviest near the bottom of the wall. A little green paint was used to represent algea growth near the ground.

Applying oil paint to the wall.
Ground up chalk pastel was brushed on the bottom of the wall with a short and stiff brush. Although the pastels need a protective cover of flat varnish, the wall is now basically ready to be fitted to the module.

The wall seen from the bakelite factory yard. This is the side that will not be seen by many, as it is facing away from the module's front.
The wall's front side. Although inspired by my own garden wall, this one is much dirtier.

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