Geraldine Depot Update #3
The depot is completed for now. I say for now because there is always something more to do. I like to study these photos and see where improvements can be made. Touch up paint here or there, additional weathering, fill a bad gap, you get the idea. It is interesting what you don’t see until after a photo is taken and studied.
On this project I did not have enough pre-made shingles for the roof. Rather than ordering or buying from the local hobby shop, I decided it was time to make my own. I have done this on other structures in the past, but found a great time saver in the pre-made variety. For this roof, I wanted to push it a little farther then I had done in the past. The shingles were given a random texture as to their size and condition. That meant cutting more angles for individual shingles and a wider gap in between. For the gap defining each shingle, I took a #11 blade and snapped the point off. This allowed for a wider separation between shingles. The it was simply a matter of doing some angle cuts from these gaps to give the shingles a more aged look. The color of the paper I used looks like your standard shopping bag or card board light brown.
The Milwaukee Road in this area I’m modeling had green shingles on their roofs. To get an approximation of that color required some trial and error. As an art student we were taught to create illustrations by using markers. This was before computers were common place and you had to learn illustration. I still have a large selection of these markers that were purchased during my college days. It is amazing that most of these work after 35 years! For the shingle color, I choose an olive style green and randomly went back over the sheet with several colors of gray to add variety to the overall appearance. Creating shingles this way took more time, but I really feel the end result is worth it.
Click on a photo to enlarge the view.
