Model Railroader – October 2019

By Cody Grivno

October 2019 25

STEP 3

STEP 2

PRIMING AND PAINTING

TIME FOR GLUE

I washed the model in warm water

with dish soap added to remove dust,

skin oils, and other impurities that

might affect paint adhesion. Then

I spray-painted the model with Rust-

Oleum Painter’s Touch 2X Flat Gray

Primer (no. 249088). The plastic-

compatible paint, available at most

big-box stores, doesn’t craze plastic.

Before proceeding, I made sure the

primer was completely dry. Then I air-

brushed the building with Model

Master no. 4720 Sand. Let some

primer show through to give the

bricks a weathered appearance.

I let the Sand paint dry overnight,

then masked the side and back walls

with blue painter’s tape. To ensure

crisp separation lines, I trimmed off

the factory edges with a sharp no. 11

blade. I burnished the tape with a

toothpick after applying it.

I airbrushed the front of the

building Oxide Red (no. 4882) and

let it dry. Then I masked everything

except for the windows, sills, headers,

cornice, storefront, chimney caps, and

ridge caps. I used an airbrush to paint

these areas Reefer Gray (no. 4886).

Then I masked the windows, store-

front, and cornice. I sprayed the head-

ers, sills, ridge caps, and chimney caps

Concrete (no. 4876).

Finally, I added spot color to indi-

vidual bricks. I used Roof Brown

(no. 4884) and Boxcar Red (no. 4881)

on the front wall. On the sides, I used

Tallow Coating (no. 4211), Radome

Tan (no. 4722), and discontinued Polly

Scale SCL Hopper Beige (no. 414388)

on the side and back walls.

I assembled the wall panels with

Plastruct Bondene, a plastic solvent

cement. To help keep the corners at

right angles, I used Bachmann’s mag-

netic snap and glue set, available

from the Kalmbach Hobby Store

(no. 84013). I applied the glue with

assorted Microbrushes, also available

at our store, and a paintbrush.

Next, I carefully applied plastic sol-

vent cement to the joint from the

outside with a paintbrush, as shown

in the middle image. The solvent

cement will melt the plastic, filling in

any small gaps between the side wall

panels and the front and back panels.

The result will be a nice, tight joint

that’s nearly invisible.

Gluing a joint from the outside

may cause some of the plastic to bub-

ble up. To remedy this, I carefully ran

a no. 11 blade in a hobby knife along

the joint, knocking down any high

spots. I followed that by passing a 3M

final stripping pad (no. 10113NA) over

the seam to remove any shiny spots

from the glue.

Watch this project on “Cody’s Workshop” exclusively at http://www.MRVideoPlus.com.

Flat Gray Primer, Rust-Oleum Sand, no. 4720

Burnish tape with toothpick

Tallow Coating, no. 4211

Radome Tan, no. 4722

Knock down high

spots with no. 11

blade

Apply plastic solvent cement

with paintbrush

Magnetic snap and glue

set, Kalmbach Hobby

Store no. 84013

Microbrush