Craft Section

CAV Terrain

Part II: Small Garage

by Dewen

Supplies

  • Small gray plastic electrical boxes
  • Hobby knife, metal rule, cutting mat
  • Spray primer, black recommended
  • Spray paint (at least 2 colors. 1 for the building and 1 for the details. You can use as many as you like)
  • CA glue
  • Plastic cement (Plastruct Plastic Weld Cement)
  • Model glue (all purpose, clear drying)
  • Styrene sheets and strips. The scratch building materials that can be found in hobby stores, especially ones that sell model trains
    • Plastruct square tile sheet styrene with 5/64" grid
    • Evergreen metal siding sheet styrene with 1mm spacing
    • (thickness depends on preference)
    • Evergreen strip styrene .030 x .250"
  • Base material (pressed board, mdf, …)
    • Project uses 4 pieces cut to 4"x6"
  • Various details
    • Toy blocks (legos)

General Instructions

  1. Wash the electrical box
    1. Use warm water and a drop of dish detergent
    2. Remove dirt and any adhesive residue from stickers
  2. Cut personnel and garage doors
    1. Use hobby knife on cutting mat with metal straight edge. A Chopper makes the job easy.
    2. Cut 2 personnel doors per building from Evergreen strip styrene .030 x .250" cut the desired height.
    3. Cut 2 garage doors 5/8" x 3/4" from Evergreen sheet styrene called metal siding with 1mm spacing. NOTE: you may need to vary the size to fit your electrical box. See placement in finished picture.
  3. Cut windows

    1. Use Plastruct square tile.
    2. This building has small 3x3 windows. I cut 2 for each building.
  4. Additional details
    1. I grabbed a lego vent and antenna The base of the antenna is a small square block which was cemented before priming.
  5. Prime building black
    1. I put the details on scraps of cardboard when priming and painting so I can rotate them without touching the wet paint or primer.
  6. Prime details (black or grey)
    1. Prime rollup doors, personnel doors, windows, and antennas.
  7. Base coat building and details with spray paint.
    1. I used Testors and Tamiya because of the color selection, fast drying time, and flat finish. If you own an airbrush, your buildings will look even better.
    2. I chose a blue for the building and gray for the details.

  8. Cut base for each building.
    1. I used ¼" board cut to 4"x6" for this building. Size to preference.
  9. Prime base
  10. Paint base
    1. I simply sprayed some gray around the sides on the black board to create value.
  11. Glue the building to the base.
    1. Use model glue or another all purpose gel type glue that dries clear. CA glue will not work.
    2. Clamp the building to the base or set a weight such as a heavy book on top while the glue dries.
  12. Glue details to the building with CA glue.
    1. I recommend the brush on that changes colors. The back of the styrene is white making it hard to see clear wet glue.
    2. Allow to dry according to the glue
  13. Seal your project with a matte spray



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