WOOHOO! Good weather = time to build

[Gary S]

Gary - to my eye the Walgreens building and scene looks super. The street somehow looks like a dust storm or fog has rolled in...maybe too much gray? As for the street lights and all that wire, I think you should definately find a way to work it in somehow. All the lines and wires in your prototype picture really add to the urban feel. Drawing them on with a pen or even pencil might work fine. Modeling power lines is tricky. Plenty of great ways to do poles...lines, not so much.

Galen, the street definitely needs work. You're right, the traffic signals and wires need to be put in, along with the other horizontal stuff in the background. I think that will help delineate the hazy background shapes down the road from the blue sky above, which will negate the "dust storm" look! For practice and experimentation, what Iwill do is stick a piece of paper to the backdrop at the street and then draw in the traffic signals and everything, just to get a feel for what needs to be done.

I have found that wire works better to model ropes and, sometimes string works better to model wire. Go figure. But most of the time wire holds its shape and can be carefully curved to hang the way you need it to. A little off topic, but I DO NOT like the stretchy string used on the pre-wired telephone poles...looks too taut to be power lines or telephone lines.

I'm with you. The stretchy line stuff pulled tight never looks right to me. Has anyone ever tried leaving it a little loose so it will hang like real power lines?

Why not paint the line on the backdrop and glue on a styrene streetlight?

Hmmm... makes sense and should have been obvious! Thanks!

Galen[/quote]