DelMonte Distributors Building Complex

Well, I have done it again. I touched a paint can (multiples in fact) and to make it even worse, I got out the weathering pastels again. There were 2 buildings on the layout that were on my to-do list that I wanted to change and both required white paint. I had gotten a can of flat white modelers paint for the projects and already had a can of flat black.

I used an old, old, way “too common”, Revell/Heljan DelRay Foundry (or bakery) building to stand in for a Del Monte Distributors market on Olive Street in Westville. Since the real building was white, here was project number one. Change the appearance of the Revel Bakery and hopeful mask its heritage and match the prototype buildings color. Great idea, right?

Revell/Heljan building at a previous layout location

I had already changed the buildings “give away” signs (Alaskan Travel & Shell Oil) to 2 Del Monte advertisements.

Problem #1:  12 windows and 4 doors to mask.  We were asking for trouble right off the bat.

Following sloppy masking, the white spray paint went on fairly well. The building indeed looked different. But then I decided to weather it with Doc O’Brien’s grimy black weathering powder. I thought you were supposed to be able to blow/wash away the powder if you didn’t like the outcome but I must not have waited long enough for the paint to fully dry. It went on and permanently stuck way more than I desired. Suddenly white is almost black. Lost the main benefit of the color change!

For the second building I was trying to get the effect of an existing line side Westville building. Originally it was Mid-Atlantic Lumber. It now exists on my layout as part of the DelMonte complex.

Nineteen windows, 4 doors, and multiple roofs! I masked it and painted the white portion. The building was ready for me to repaint the top story and roofs to get the effect I wanted. I re-masked it, grabbed the next spray can and went to work. It went on fairly well. Now remember my previous blogs about:

1) You don’t let Rick touch the paint; and

2) Rick is color blind?

When the paint was drying I noticed the roof looked suspiciously like the roof brown spray I use to weather my tracks and it was. I guess that is why I should actually read the paint color name on the can. Oh well, another coat and this time I used the flat black.

Another round of fighting with weathering pastels and I was done. Neither job turned out as planned but I at least met my goal of incremental improvements. (And maybe next time I’ll read the can name - but you can’t really count on that.)