After a couple of requests for pictures of the Downtown Deco Back Alley kit here it is:

It is still a work in progress with many details and weathering left to do.

I found it interesting to build a hydrocal kit for the first time, I will definitely be building more in the future.

I recently started a new kit from Downtown Deco.  It is a hydrocal (plaster) kit of a back alley.  Basically it is a series of five buildings that are only a couple of inches deep, designed to be placed against a backdrop.  I was given this kit, unfortunately a couple of pieces were broken and the box cover was missing.  With the cover missing I had to look online for pictures to figure out how to put together the major portions of the kit.  The instructions were pretty good, but were missing an exploded diagram to identify each of the pieces.

I glued the broken parts back together by using white glue.  This worked pretty well, however for the next model I intend to try 5 min epoxy.  I then glued the walls together again using white glue.  I found that this was a little bit brittle, but does an OK job of holding the fairly large pieces together.  I came back the next day and filled the gaps between the individual pieces with putty.  Sculpting tools assisted in filling the gaps to make them look less like a gap and more like a damaged area of the building.

I added on the lettering using dry transfer decals.  After adding the small lettering I decided to redo it in another location.  I find that is one of the nice things about dry transfer is that they are relatively easy to remove if you decide against them.  I did this by using the tip of a hobby knife to scratch them off.

I then added all of the final details, using grab-irons from a detail upgrade kit available for this model.  I decided that buying the upgrade kit would produce better results than trying to make them myself.  For the next kit I will think twice about them, because while they certainly were convenient it would be easy to make them.  Included in this detail kit was an etched metal kit for the end ladders.  This would have been a very good looking upgrade, however I found that my soldering skills were not up to the task – they will make good additions to a scrap pile some where on the layout.

After final touch-up, I sprayed the model with dull-cote.  I didn’t bother masking the windows as I did not put an interior in it.  I then used chalk to weather the caboose.

I have to thank my wife for the beautiful picture of the completed project taken on my “work in progress” layout.

I brush painted the various parts using Floquil paint.  This worked well on the wooden parts, but I should have sprayed it on the floor.  The outer roofing was really easy as it was basically a large sticker.    I really like the way it looks, when painted I think it will look like tar paper.  Using this outer covering helped me out on the cupola as it covered a crack that happened in the sub-roof as I was gluing it into place.

Also when building the cupola, I discovered that it was possible to position the laser-cut parts approximately where they were supposed to be, and then use an x-acto knife to do the final alignment.  The knife was also useful in pushing down the small parts to set them in place.

After installing the sheathing on the outside of the body, and assembling the cupola, I assembled the roof.  Again I was amazed at the precision of the parts and the limited prep-work they needed.

As you can see in the picture I had to improvise a little bit to hold the parts together while the glue was drying.

I had to improvise again when assembling the main portion of the roof.  In order to make the roof curve to match the frame I glued one side and then clamped it and glued the other side.  I tried using clamps at first, but they tended to shift parts around; using a nearby box of tools provided a flat surface and enough weight to hold the parts while the glue dried.