Gordon Building
Follow along as I build the Gordon Building for my layout, hopefully you will learn something new that you can use on a structure of your own.
Design
The Gordon is not based off of a specific prototype but a meshing of a few that had elements that I liked, such as the basic structure and the details. Once I had in mind what I wanted I drew a few sketches and I then created the front elevation to work from. Because I had good working elevations to work off of I was able to spot a few trouble areas that would be too difficult to model with styrene. So after a few modifications I was ready to begin construction.
Gordon Building Elevation
Construction
For the most part the building was actually fairly simple to build, I just took my time and triple checked my measurements before I made cuts and all went very smooth. Other than a few parts the building is all strip and sheet styrene, everything on this building was scratch built, not a single commercial part.
Layering the Facade
The vertical portions of the structure that the facade will be built upon are made from .060 x .188″ & .250″ butted together, and the horizontal parts are .250″ strips cut from Evergreen .030″ spacing metal siding, I also added a .020 x .060″ sill above each piece. The siding works great at adding some texture to the front of the structure. After this framework had cured in my magnetic gluing jig, I then added .060″ square bracing on the back side.
Back of the facade
I wanted to create the illusion of the facade being built of a larger cut block, so why not lay the blocks one by one from styrene. This is exactly what I did and the results were excellent, my only regret was I did not do it more. I cut .010 x .100″ strip into .250″ length blocks and then I simply laid them, I had to make sure the first tier was perfect but after that was done in went surprisingly quick, I had to cut multiple custom blocks but that was not that big of a deal and I will use this method for any other project that requires it in the future. For the vertical portions I just put in a long strips in and this is where I wish I would have continued to do the blocks. I then added a simple cornice to the top of the building to cap it off, I also had to add a lintel across the top floor so the next process had a place to sit.
pilaster plans
The three vertical pieces or pilasters were next to be built, these were the portion of the building that made me nervous to build but like the blocks went smooth and was not as difficult to build as I thought. It simply was layering plastic into the basic shape that I wanted and the plans for the pilasters can show better then I can write on how these were built, plus give you all the necessary dimensions.
Pilaster detail
Paint
Next I wanted to paint the front of the building before I began work on the windows and the first floor. I began by brushing on a coat of Polly Scale D&H Grey (414197) on to floors two through seven, I then let it dry an appropriate amount of time. Now I applied a coat of wash of india ink/alcohol to the entire surface and it is not critical to apply it evenly. When that wash is dry to the touch comes the final and very critical part to achieve the realistic looking facade, liberally brush on a coat of Polly Scale Dust (414305) over the entire surface, now begin brushing up & down where you first applied the Dust. What will happen is the Dust will remove the india ink/alcohol wash but it will leave it in the cracks, seams and corners where you want it.
Windows
I had been wanting to try this method for building windows for some time on other structures so I felt it would work well on this structure. I picked up a 2.0 mm etched brass mesh made by Special Shapes at my local hobby shop. The larger windows were going to be 6×12 squares and the smaller ones were 6×9, I cut each window a little larger then it needed to be so I would have some surface on the back to be glued. Now that I have all the windows in it is time to add some depth by building a frame from .020″ square styrene. I first added the top and bottom of the frames, next I needed to cut the vertical portions of the frames in and once those were in I glued in the remaining horizontal pieces. I then masked off the areas around the windows and sprayed on a darker grey paint and then weathered it with a coat of india ink/alcohol.
Windows, unpainted
First Floor
I didn’t begin work on the first floor until the other floors were done, partially because I had not decided on how to build it. I first built the entrance to the building on the left side, I wanted to carry the same Art Deco theme down to the ground floor and so the first thing I built was the door, I have found it to be easier to have everything grow off of the door, instead of trying to fit a door into a opening. I built the door from simple strips of various .020″ styrene and then painted with a Prismacolor Metallic Silver (PM-117) marker, this marker is great and I have used them on many aspects on my buildings. I then added more of the Evergreen metal siding above the door and then laid more blocks just like I did above, then to finish it I added a lintel. I then painted it all the same as above as well, after the paint dried I made two little sconces to go on the sides of the door, both were painted with the same marker as used on the door.
The right side was more of a challenge than it my look, again I started with the door, a simple 36 “x72″ that I built. I then worked from the bottom up using various sizes of .010 and .020″ thick strip styrene. Once I had it done I painted it with Tamiya Flat Olive Drab (XF-62) and then added some signs that I had cobbled together myself and some that I had on hand. Also I little detail that I had added that worked brilliantly was a tile texture that I put in the entry that I found online.
Main floor detail
Side Wall
The Gordon was built as a layout building not a show piece and so there was no reason to waste time and materials on the back and right wall, the back will never be seen and the right will have a building up against it. I built the wall from strips of .030x.125″ styrene and Holegate & Reynolds brick sheet (this sheet is now out of production), all of this was laminated to a .060″ thick sheet of styrene to add strength. Next I attached the side wall to the the front and then braced the corners with .080″ square strip, the other two walls are blank .060″ sheet. I then added the roof from the same thickness of sheet as the walls, once the glue had dried I painted the interior black with some basic acrylic craft paint. I then built a elevator shaft off of the side in the same manner as before, along the top of the walls I built a cap from 3/16″ pieces of .040x.080″ strip.
View of left wall
Water Tower
I decided to build another water tower for this project and I wanted to build the stand for it in a little more of a unique way, the tank is largely the same as in the Water Tower article. I had seen this style of base in a few different photos of New York City in the 1940’s and earlier, I had wanted to give it a try and I am pleased with the results and I have a unique water tower to go with a unique building.
Water tower under construction
It is made from .060″ styrene I-beams, .015″ brass wire, .010x.020″ strip, and a .080″ tube. The base stands about 7/8″ tall on for legs and then has bracing to distribute the weight to the outside walls. I painted the base a flat dark grey and then weathered it with diluted orange paint and india ink/alcohol wash and than glued it down to the roof.
Final details
The last things I had to do were to add the glazing which is just .015″ acetate, then add the window shades cut from a ivory card stock paper. Then once all of this was done I built a awning from .015″ brass wire and a printed texture on a glossy paper, weathered my usual way and the brass painted in a dark grey.
The Finished Building
Over all I am very happy with this building, this building was planned to be part of a larger scene, I did not want it to be flashy or a landmark, It should blend well into my city when that day comes along.
The Gordon Building
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