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HOW TO : Build A DPM Char’s Soda Shoppe                    
   Article By Bryan Catley and his Alligator Lines  Copyright ©                                                                                                          
  DPM Char's Soda Shoppe

This is the sixth Resin structure I have worked on.

Note: This kit is very similar to all the DPM kits worked on previously. If you haven't already reviewed those write-ups you may care to do so.

In general, resin kits appear to be very similar to plastic kits in that they look a little like a plastic kit and come attached to sprues just like the plastic ones. The big difference is that resin kits have most of the windows and doors molded right into the walls. The sprues also have a much stronger/thicker attachment. This means there are fewer pieces to be concerned about but it does make the painting job a little more challenging!

Here we will just discuss the kit and the actual construction of the kit. CA glue was used during construction.

Like the others the kit comes in a sealed plastic pouch and consists of a two page folded set of instructions and parts identifier along with the molded resin pieces still attached to their sprues and three pieces of acetate for the windows. It also includes three pieces of styrene for the roof, roof supports and the main door side panels. All styrene pieces require trimming before use.

Note: This kit does not come with any signs or detail parts. You will need to supply these yourself and since the lower level is a shoppe some window signs might be very appropriate!

As has been indicated above, these kits have the windows and doorways molded into the basic walls of the structure! However, like many of these kits the main doorway is a separate piece because it is set back from the front of the structure. The rear door is molded into the wall.

The instructions are reasonably complete but seem to be general for all scales with some notes which are specific to the N scale version. They consist of both text and (drawn) pictures which show the recommended construction technique, plus they also serve to identify the parts.

Here is a link to Mike Fifer's page for this kit and here is the DPM page (DPM is a part of Woodland Scenics)!

Note: You may download the instructions from the Woodland Scenics site as a PDF file if you are interested in reading them before actually purchasing the kit. This appears to be true for all the DPM kits.

As with most structure kits it is best to start by painting the walls and any detail pieces. However, with plastic and resin kits it is first necessary to remove the pieces from the sprues and clean any flashing. Do this only as you need the pieces.

Resin kits have another step; to aid in removing the pieces from the mold some of the wall ends are actually at a slight angle (rather then being square). It is necessary to sand these smooth and the instructions are very clear on which edges need this treatment. To insure a square finish hold the wall flush with square piece of wood (or something similar) and then run back and forth over some sandpaper.

Before getting started there is another preliminary step! There are two chimneys on each side wall but they are all in two pieces. Two halves are actually molded along with each side wall itself while the other two halves are two separate pieces. These two extra pieces were glued into place before anything further was attempted. Once dry the joins were smoothed over, making them ready for paint.

Note: I have read many times, including in these instructions, that it is best to wash the resin pieces in warm, soapy water before doing any painting. I have never done this previously but did add this step this time around. To be honest I didn't notice any difference between this time and the earlier kits where I did not wash the pieces first and so far I haven't seen any bad effects using either approach!

The window frames were the first areas to receive some paint. The upper and lower window sills along with the storefront were also painted. The doors were painted as well.

Note: A very small brush was used for these small and detailed areas. Further, be sure your paint is not too thick. That could cause you a lot of issues! By the same token make sure it is not too thin either!

In painting the front door I did, inadvertently, leave the paint too thin! Luckily this worked out quite nicely by giving the door a mottled and varnished look! Not intentional but it did work out!

Before painting the main walls the building's trim was also painted. This left the main "brick" walls to be painted. This was done starting with a small brush around the window areas and finishing with a somewhat larger brush. Once dry the inevitable touching up was performed!

Note: I have always painted the details and then the larger areas. Other modelers choose to do the larger areas first and end up with the details. Either method works! You just have to decide which works best for you!

The next step was to cut the acetate and glue it on to the back of the walls over the window areas. Some "window blinds" also seemed appropriate and they were cut from white and yellow "stickies" and positioned, after which a little glue was applied to hold them in place permanently.

Note: Remember to make the blinds of differing lengths!

The next step was to add the main door and its side panels to the front wall. This step has always given me problems! But each time it has gotten a little easier and this time was no exception.

The piece of styrene provided for these panels is of the correct width but does need to be trimmed for the correct length (height of the door). Once this has been done the panels need to be glued into place. The instructions indicate to glue them to the door edges first and then to glue the entire structure to the back of the front wall.

This front door did have some guides and, as a result, made life a little easier.

Now that the walls and chimneys were finished it was time to start gluing them together.

When gluing them together the main thing is to be sure the bottom edges are flush and the corners are at right angles! This sounds relatively easy but you will require some kind of assistance to help you in achieving this. I used my Micro Mark Gluing Jig.

The first two walls are the easiest while the second two walls require a little bit of extra care! Once the walls are glued together the basic framework for the structure is in place.

Note: In the past I have always had an issue with getting all four walls aligned up perfectly, usually having to resort to using some filler to fill in some gaps. This time things went pretty well and no filler was necessary.

The roof was next and like the other kits it comes as a separate piece of styrene that you need to trim to the correct size!

To do this I placed the structure over the piece and drew an outline using the inside of the walls as a guide. The "roof" was then cut out with a pair of scissors. Once done, it was painted a flat black.

The roof is pretty easy to install. It is inserted from the bottom of the building and glued to the bottom of the four chimneys. (Dry fit first). From this point I added a thin bead of glue, from the underside, around the edges. The kit does provide a small square of styrene to use as roof supports but I found they weren't really necessary.

A vent was also added to the roof, not a part of the kit but I had one and decided to use it!

I had already decided to "gravel" the roof as I had done with some of the other kits and since they had turned out really nicely; I used the same technique.

First thing I did was spread a little full strength white glue over the roof (not too much) and then, using a decent soft paint brush, it was spread around to cover the entire roof area. (Paintbrush then went into some water for some soaking). Before drying a minimal amount of gray fine ballast was spread over the roof using the thumb and forefinger sprinkler. Once dry any excess (very minimal) was shaken off.

Note: A little of the black paint was showing through in places but that was just fine!

While weathering has been applied to the roofs some of the earlier kits I decided to go a little heavy this time around making it look like the roof was in need of some TLC!

A little blackwash was used to start with followed by some black, brown and green paint being dry brushed on. A little "rust" (Raw Sienna) was also applied from the vent to the back of the building.

Some black wash was also applied to the walls but it is not very obvious.

The structure was now complete but not necessarily finished. The storefront windows are quite large, making it easy to see the interior from certain angles. The instructions suggest cutting a piece of black craft paper to the correct size and inserting it diagonally inside the building. This could make sense and I may yet do something along these lines. I'll wait closer to installation to decide.

As stated earlier some signs for these windows would also be appropriate. Whether or not I will find and add these is still up in the air. Given the planned location and the view this will likely not happen.