# How to assemble, paint & weather your first hydrocal kit.



## downtowndeco (Aug 20, 2010)

A while back I wrote a tutorial on assembling hydrocal kits and while it got good response I still feel that there is a sense of trepidation or hesitation from some modelers who may still be intimidated by a plaster kit. Stop it already! : ) It's a couple of pieces of plaster and some plastic doors and windows, they won't bite you. And as I mentioned before, most manufacturers who offer hydrocal kits are more than glad to replace any pieces that might get broken, no matter what the reason. Try one, you'll like it! : )

For this build I'm going to use the simplist kit we offer. The First Timer Bar. This kit is available in N, HO & O Scales and if you'd like to build along we me I'm offering a special deal on this kit, see details at the bottom of this post.










Start by cleaning up the edges of the castings with a sanding block. Pay special attention to the bottoms of the walls and places where the castings will join. 

I use 5 minute epoxy to glue the hydrocal castings together. Yes, you could use either Elmer's White or Yellow glue. But then you have to wait over night for the glue to dry + joints could become weak if you use a lot of water when you paint and age it. And yes, you could use ACC (super glue), but since hydrocal is so porous you'll need to keep soaking the parts and what happens to me is I always seem to "wiggle" the wall just as the ACC "goes off" & then I've got a crooked joint. With the 5 minute epoxy, it gives you a couple minutes to make sure the part is where you want it but you don't have to wait all night for the glue to set. Wham bam, move on to the next step. 5 minute epoxy is available in all hardware stores and even box stores like WalMart. Make sure that you mix the epoxy well!

It is important that you assemble the castings in the order specified in the instructions. This is because since the hydrocal is so hard, you will not be able to "tweak" the last wall in place like you can with wood or plastic. The plaster will not bend. : ) So I have you assemble the walls in a certain order, with the wall least likely to be seen (usually the back) glued in place last, just in case you need to sand or fill it a bit to fit. 

Start by gluing the right wall to the back of the front wall. Make sure the wall is straight & true. I usually use a scrap styrene that has a perfect corner to make sure the wall joint is square. Make slight adjustments as needed until the epoxy sets.










After the epoxy has set, glue the left wall in place. I sort of prop the castings up as the glue sets.










After the glue set I cut little cardboard "triangle" & cross braces and hot glued them in place to beef the structure up a bit.

Test fit the rear wall. You may find that you need to sand a little bit off of one or both of the sides of this last part to get it to fit into place. Use a sanding block, work slowly & check your progress often. Don't be tempted to try & force it into place, you will regret it. : ) If you find out that somehow you ended up with a bit of a gap it can be easily filled with standard lightweight household spackle.










OK, that's it for today, we've got the 4 walls glued together. All in all I spent about half an hour on this step. That's the great part about the epoxy, you can work fast!

If you want to order one of these so you can build along we're running a special on them. O Scale $39.95.00. HO $29.95. N Scale $24.95. Free shipping while I'm doing this build + I'll throw in a few "practice " castings so you can practice your painting. If you want one either give me a call (406-821-0181) or email me ([email protected]). We take CC or Paypal, heck, if you want you could send a check or MO (Downtown Deco PO BX 335 Conner MT 59827)

Questions? That's what I'm here for, so just let me know.

Cheers!

Randy Pepprock
Downtown Deco
http://www.downtowndeco.com


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## downtowndeco (Aug 20, 2010)

After the building was glued together I gave it 3 light coats of flat white spray paint. This seals the plaster so it's not quite as porous but does not seal it so much that the paint still won't soak in nicely. I won't belabor this other than to say everyone who has actually tried priming the castings first likes it much better and gets better results than if they were unprimed. Just do it, trust me. : )

Next I painted the whole structure fast & dirty using some acrylic craft paints. I used "Real Brown" & a little "Raw Umber". As you can see, I hit everything. In the next step we'll come back and add some contrasting colors.










When dry (you can use a hair drier to speed things up) I painted the concrete & stone sections w/Poly S "Concrete". When that was dry I painted in a few individual stones. I try not to make the stones too wildly different in color or tone or it just doesn't look right. For this building a used some "Raw Sienna" & "Raw Umber".

Next I painted in the patched brick area. I used "Adobe" color.

I painted a few bricks whitish & a few dark brown. I did all I needed to in 5 minutes.

Finally, I painted the cracked patching area on the walls Poly S "Concrete" Let dry.










When completely dry I have the whole thing a heavy, fairly dark wash of "Raw Umber". Put it on wet enough so the color will flow naturally to the bottom. 










That's it for today, remember the special offer on this kit!

Randy Pepprock
Downtown Deco
www.downtowndeco.com


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## downtowndeco (Aug 20, 2010)

The next thing that I did was to add the signs to the building. The ones included in the kit are simply paper signs that you cut out & glue to the building w/white glue. I'm too lazy to go through the ritual of sanding the paper thinner. The trick to making the signs look painted on is in the application. 

After I carefully cut it out, I put some Elmer's White Glue on the back of the sign and quickly spread it w/a scrap of styrene, almost like a skeegie. Then I place it on the building, using the horizontal brick rows to make sure that it is straight. Now here's the secret. I place a piece of clear plastic over the sign and, while the glue is still wet (and softening the paper), I burnish/rub the sign into place. I start by running a fingernail along each horizontal row of bricks, followed by general burnishing w/a soft piece of square stripwood. The plastic prevents the paper from being ripped, which means you can really burnish the heck out of it. All said & done it took me about 5 minutes to add these signs.










Next I aged/blended it in place w/some powdered chalks. I used some dark brown and a rust color.










Again, I'm running a special on this kit (see the first post). Order one today & you can build along w/me. : )

Randy Pepprock
Downtown Deco
www.downtowndeco.com
406-821-0181


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## downtowndeco (Aug 20, 2010)

OK, that's just about it. I glued the small beer sign to a piece of styrene & bent wire, drilled a small hole in the building & glued it in place. 

The roof is simply a piece of styrene covered with black construction paper. I aged it by adding "tar" lines w/a black Sharpie market & brushed on a bit of rust colored chalk.

To hide the joint seam between the front wall and side wall I bent a small piece of 18 gauge wire & glued it over the seam to replicate a gutter.










Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?

Any more questions? Remember, you can order this kit in N ($24.95), HO($29.95) & O Scales ($39.95) while this build is in progress and not only will I pay the shipping, I'll throw in a couple of pieces of extra hydrocal so you can practice your painting. To order email me ([email protected]) or call (406-821-0181). 

Randy Pepprock
Downtown Deco


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

Very nice looking, what scale?


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## downtowndeco (Aug 20, 2010)

The O Scale version is shown. The kit is also available in N & HO Scales.

Randy


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## Carl (Feb 19, 2012)

You have great kits.......just working my self up to the point where I might think that my skills might let me work with hydrocal.


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## jonyb (Mar 20, 2011)

Carl, I was never much of an artist, or was very good at painting and assembling buildings. I've been building a few of the DD kits lately, and after these, I probably won't go back to another plastic kit unless it's just something that's missing from my scenes. I've done 13 of the DD hydrocal kits from Randy, and every time I start a new one, I think of something better to do, or another way to customize it for me to fit my layout. Some of Randy's kits are really easy, some are kind of tricky. I believe that no matter how skilled you think you are, you'll do a great job on one of these kits, just use the instructions as a reference and that will help.


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