Building The Waterfront by Bulders in Scale Pt.3

It seems The Saltbox is stuck on the back-burner and it may stay there for some time until I am out of any parallel paths to progress the kit further. For the time being I've decided to take and post some pictures.

Building Shady Grove Texaco by Bar Mills Pt.1

This is the second kit from my small kit series. It seems these days Bar Mills put all of their kits into same size boxes. What that means is that no matter how big kit is it takes the same amount of space on your shelf. Therefore building smaller kits you can free up the space faster. You can adapt this strategy to relieve spouse pressure when it is building up because you have too many kits.

Building The Magic Shop by FOS Scale Models Pt. N

I have been working on the Magic Shop on and off for the past few months. All I need is to finish painting the lamps and install cross bracing for the big sign. The problem is that I've run out of pre-painted stripwood and I don't remember what paint did I use. I realize that my memory isn't getting better and I need to start making notes. I'll do that starting with the next kit. Meanwhile I need to paint few test pieces. I have quite a collection of greens but like ones more than the others so it narrows the search a little. Eventually I will get through this. I am guessing when I will get into "I must to complete 2 or 3 unfinished kits before I start anything new" mode.

Building Tucker & Cook by South River Modelworks Pt.1

As I mentioned in yesterday's post I have new project that I am very excited about. It is first larger one since Elijah Roth that I am doing for myself. While working on it I don't follow the instructions much. According to the manual I should build one structure and then move on to another. It is probably right way for someone who is just starting in the hobby. I am starting too but I am a rebel in nature and like doing things my way. I prefer to prepare and paint laser cut wood parts at the same time. Same goes for all windows and resin cast parts. All right, the windows this time is a different story. The instructions call to spray paint them white and then paint turquoise color. If I was to put three coats of turquoise then it probably wouldn't matter but I do one coat. In this case undercoat matters. Usually I use grayish stain on wood and gray auto primer on plastic. The shade is quite close so the difference between plastic parts and wood is very small. Had I used white undercoat for windows and gray for wood the difference would have been quite noticeable. I could have given all wood white undercoat but after some thinking I have decided to take more difficult but better route. I spray painted windows with gray primer and then proceeded to paint them by hand. Should I mention that it is very time consuming process? After doing about 20 windows in about 2 hours I was ready to do something else. I got back few days later and did another batch. I figure I still have about 4 hours to go but I am sure I will have better looking windows. I need to check the level of my sanity though. I may be developing rivetaitis (rivet counter syndrome).
Other place where I deviated from the instructions was resin castings. I cleaned and washed them all at the same time. I didn't want to come back and do the same task two or three times although in smaller proportions. Also I glued together the walls of the brick building. That was also not the way I was supposed to do. I figured that most likely I would end up with the gaps and possibly getting glue where it shouldn't be. Fixing these issues before painting is easy and not so after. I was very glad I made the decision to glue first. I have made 3 attempts to finally get it right. First time I pushed the walls out of square with the clamps. When I attempted to correct it the walls just came apart. I used too much force I guess. Second time I realized that top 3-4 rows of bricks most likely have to come out forward a little compared to corner columns. I had to take everything apart and re-glue. During this ordeal the parts have suffered quite rough handling, some glue has oozed out, I've got some of it on the good side of the walls and I've got some gaps. I prefer working on the flat surface but sometimes convenience has to be sacrificed for a better end result.

Building The Waterfront by Bulders in Scale Pt.2

The past month hasn't been very productive. I have had few annual Christmas lunches and have done some traveling. The light blue structure called Saltbox is very close to being finished. It needs few last touches which can be done only at home. I am not sure when I am going to get around doing it though. I have this new home project I am very excited about and for now I don't feel switching. Meanwhile I am working on the second structure called Cannery and have prepared parts for the third.

Building Clothespin and Broom Handle Factory by Micro-scale Models Pt.4

I believe in the past five years I have built enough kits for medium sized layout. I mean for moderately populated with structures. It could be more than enough for a large one if it represents large open fields, wooded areas, etc. My idea of the layout though is small to medium sized heavily urban area. I don't think 40+ kits or 50+ if counted as separate buildings would do it. It is more like 100+ structures are needed. That is 10 years before any benchwork, trackwork, wiring, scenery, rolling stock. I don't know if I can sentence myself to that. Although there is always possibility of building kits for no particular purpose like I have been doing so far and storing them in boxes instead of auctioning them off. Then 10 years later get them out and see what I can come up with. Something to think about...
Speaking of the Clothespin and Broom Handle Factory, I didn't expect the loading docks and staircases to be so time consuming. It has taken me about three weeks to do all of it. I had to re-draw them in the process because provided plans didn't match the hydrocal base close enough. To be fair to myself I should mention I also have been painting castings at the same time as well. Unlike the McGee's this kit has decent number of them.
With the Clothespin Factory behind I am looking into the future without clear idea what I am going to do next. Few months ago I had some a plan but it is possibly too late to execute it. It seems at this time the most rational thing to do would be to clean up some shelf space by finishing few old projects. Am I feeling rational?  I think I'll just toss a coin. Or perhaps I should roll a dice. 1-5 start a new kit and 6 to finish old project.