3.19.2010

My 2nd Skyscraper Scratchbuild - DONE!

I've been waiting to close the book on this building for a long time.  I started working on this building last summer.  Initial progress was good, but after I got the LED's wired up, something about the building didn't look right, so it sat in the form below for about 6 months.  Background on my basic approach for this building was covered in an earlier post here if you're interested.
I looked at real high-rise office buildings where I live for inspiration.  What finally occurred to me, and the piece of the puzzle that I could not figure out, was the 'top' of the building...what to do?  I finally decided that I needed a relatively large 'top' for this building, and that some sort of corporate logo would be necessary.  I fiddled around with trying to cut some letters into the sintra I used for the top, but it never looked right.  I ended up cutting a rectangular hole and filling it with a piece of clear acrylic with 3 laser-printed logo's on clear transparency paper.  Tah-dah!  The "Sony" building is born!

The ground floor has always been basically the same....a fast food 'taco' joint, a pharmacy, and the building lobby, but the actual entrance went through about 4 different changes....the first version had doors that were over-sized for N Scale (I measured...but not very carefully!), decals that didn't stick right or look good, etc...  Its still not perfect, but it is N Scale, so I'm about 160x away from worrying about that!
The final piece for the ground floor, and a somewhat common feature on office buildings around here, was the 'glass' covering over the front of the building for pedestrians, etc.... 
Overall, I'm satisfied...I think mostly because its finally done!  What's neat is that my 'tall' buildings are really starting to accumulate and I'm finally getting to the point where this is going to feel like a real city!

8 comments:

  1. That's pretty frickin' awesome, Jerry. I love the but at the top you came up with!

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  2. OMG ur awesome.
    BTW: Did you read my comment about the Mobile Station Upgrade?

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  3. Well, it's not as awesome close up! :-)

    Thanks for the comments!

    Fly3rman - YES I read your post on the new upgrade and looked at the PDF, still trying to figure out if my local Marklin/Trix dealer can do the upgrade for me! Thanks for the info! It sounds like they really improved some things! Also, I'm somewhat excited for the new mobile station, seems like some good improvements there as well!

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  4. I don't imagine much of my work holds up to close inspection either, but the important point is that it looks good from arm's-length, and it looks good photographed. I haven't seen your work in person so I can't comment on the first, but your work looks really good in photographs, especially the outdoor shots you've been taking lately. With a little work and the right weather, you could easily fool people into thinking this latest tower is life-sized. Really, you ought to be proud.

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  5. Really really really really really really great building!
    Each time I see your buildings, I think I have to add a module to my lauout with a cityscape. :D As soon as I can, I'll start building! :D

    Keep building! and...

    Thumbs up!

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  6. LOL, thank you gentlemen!

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  7. Amazing work. I have some of my first N-scale on order and after seeing this I can see it being a major part of my hobby time :)

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  8. Welcome Inrepose! It really is a great hobby! Thanks for viewing! I'd also recommend you start a blog on your work....its a great way to document your progress - for yourself primarily, but also for others - and it also gives you a chance to share with others all across the world your experience!

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