After starting construction in May and multiple hiatuses, the Hudson Life Building is now done.

Construction

In the final update on construction I will show you few last details that were added and show you the completed store fronts.

Camera Shop

I went through many different ideas of shops to fill this little area on the building.  I had thought about a barber shop, bakery, butcher, pastry shop and a dozen other stores that would go well, but I decided on a camera shop.  Like the bookstore I pieced it’s design together from a meddle of prototype camera stores.  The name I took from one, the design from another and the color from another.  I also decided to go with a more 50′s style or “retro” as we would call it today.

To begin construction I went down a little bit of a different road as previous store fronts.  I cut the acetate for the windows first because the bulk of the front is glass.  I scribed it in two spot so I could form it into a Z shape.  I then figured out exactly what sizes of strip styrene I would need to build the front onto the glass.  I then used a Metallic Silver Prismacolor marker (PM-117) to color the pieces.  With the pieces now the appropriate color, I began to add everything in.  Very carefully I glued the parts to the acetate with CA glue.  Care must be taken when using CA on acetate because it will fog it up.

Next I went to work on the sign.  Like all of the signs bookstore, it is my own design printed with a laser printer on a good thin and glossy presentation paper.  To build the body of the sign I took a piece of .060x .188″ styrene and glued on each end a .060″ quarter round.  I then laminated the paper sign to the body.  Once the glue had cured I painted the top and bottom of the sign a dark grey.  Although the shop is fairly new, I decided to do a little weathering to the sign.  This helped to tone it down a little because it was calling a little too much attention to it’s self.

I wanted to add a little window display so I didn’t have an empty window.  Being a camera shop I figured I better figure out a way to make some cameras, this frightened me.  As it turned out, cameras are very easy to make in N scale.  I started out with a strip of .010x .040 styrene and then I took some .020″ styrene rod and cut little pieces that were about .020″ to .030″ in length.  I then glued these to the full length strip styrene.  When the glue set up, I then painted all of the assemblies a flat black and then touched the tip of the styrene rod with the silver marker to make the lenses stand out.  I then cut out each assembly off of the strip, and touched up the ends with some paint.  To get even more crazy I decided to build a tripod for one of the cameras to sit on.  I used a craft wire that I would guesstimate to be about .010″ in diameter.  Two of the legs I made by bending a single piece of wire and then glued it to the base for the window display at a slight angle.  Next I glued the third leg to the base and the top of the tripod.  I also added three pieces that acted as stabilizers.  These were difficult to glue on and totally unnecessary because most tripods of the era were just legs.  After I glued in the display, I then added a few camera advertisements I had found on line.

Haberdashery

Although the haberdashery was built awhile ago, it had remained unfinished because I didn’t want to damage anything on it.  I first started by building window displays to go in the five openings.  I have a box of unpainted Preiser figures that I have had for years and there were fortunately a few men in suits with hats and also some luggage.  I went through and painted the men in different colors that were appropriate for suits of the era.  Once dry, I cut off the heads and then cut the hats of the heads so I could glue the hats directly to the suits.  I also placed a few pieces of luggage in some of the displays.

I only had a couple of hats from the figures and being a haberdashery, I needed more.  So like most things, I scratch built some from styrene.  The hats were basically done the same way as the cameras, I just used a thicker rod and a thinner and wider strip of styrene.  With the hats it was easier to cut them out first, then paint them because I had to cut the rim of the hat out.  To paint them, I just stabbed the under side with a hobby knife and then painted them while they were on the tip.  To display the hats I made a few racks from some more strip styrene.

The awnings were done in the same manner as past structures.  First I create the artwork for the design I want, this was a simple orange with HABERDASHERY printed across the over hang.  I then print them out on a laser printer on a presentation paper and cut them out to size.  I bend the overhang to the length that I like, usually about a scale foot.  Next I bend some .010″ wire into shape that will go into holes drilled into the storefront.  Everything then gets glued into place with CA.

Last Details

A few minor details were added to the building to give it a finished look.  First I added a some random piles of wood on the roof.  This has sort of become my signature now, I try to sneak in at least one random board on my building rooftops.  When I looked at the Detroit Life Building on Google Earth, you can actually see a few random piles of wood, so I am just mirroring the prototype.  I also built a little chimney that can also be seen on the prototype.  It is made from some scrap brisk sheet that was wrapped around a core of styrene.  I then cut a little cap from .040x .188″ strip and I topped it off with a piece of brass tube painted silver.  The last added roof detail was a flagpole made from .030″ styrene rod and a sprinkle.

I then finished off the building by adding two sconce lights that flank the main entrance.  I made them by using Titchy Train Groups lamp shades that were attached to .010″ wire that I bent a 90° angle.  I painted the assembly silver and then mounted it in to holes drilled into the facade.  Other than the figures in the Haberdashery, the shades are the only commercially made product on the Hudson.

The End

Finishing a building that you have been working on is a huge relief, but also sad.  You get to know it so well and are comfortable with it, that its like saying good by to a friend.  Thank you to everyone for your endless support and comments of my work, I value them so much, thank you.

I am extremely excited for my list of projects that are coming up, I am starting a small shelf switching layout that will be a more industrial slice of the City of Hudson.  Bench work starting soon.