Well, over 3 years since launching the tenement model kit, I've finally got round to customising a model. It was partially inspired by the work of Alan Wolfson - absolutely amazing modelmaking. You can see it here.

I've added a bit more detail than comes standard with the kit, with a pub and a shop on the ground floor, chimney pots, drainpipes, satellite dishes etc etc.

Here's a little bit about how I did it.

First of all, I took my inspiration from my local area. I decided on a shop and a pub, simply named The Shop and The Pub. Usually, when tenements have bay windows above shop units, there's a stringcourse that sits beneath the bottom of the bays, and displays the shop signage. I cut the bay windows down to 3 storeys, and expanded the voids in the wall to then add the shop and pub fascias. These were painted as separate pieces that were glued onto the main wall of the kit, with hand painted signage, and the all important Tennents sign.

The chimney pots are simply thin dowel glued on top of the usual timber chimneys. The window boxes are made of very thin wire, drilled into small plastic strip, and painted appropriately. The drainpipes are plastic rod, glued onto the back wall, and the aerial on the roof made of the same material in different widths. I added the staining on the stonework with very diluted (almost just water) paint. It is quite common to see this staining on stone buildings of this type. It also adds a bit more depth to the colouring. One of my favourite details is the bin bags outside the back door - these are simply scrunched up paper painted black.

Finally, I cut a base of another sheet of card, and painted a kerb (making sure to paint the edges of the card) and paving flags. I used acrylic paints throughout.

Lots of fun, now I'm trying to decide what to do next. Why don't you give it a go?!