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HOW TO : Build A DPM Corner Turret Building Kit                    
   Article By Bryan Catley and his Alligator Lines  Copyright ©                                                                                                          
  DPM Corner Turret Building

This is the third structure completed for Scenery Project 13D. It is also the second Resin structure I have worked on, the first being NuComp's Tool Shed for Project 11 (which I only remembered was a resin kit -and not plastic- recently!)

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. This means there are fewer pieces to be concerned about but it does make the painting job a little more challenging! And, similar to the Hydrocal kits, it will be the painting that will make or breaks the finished structure.

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

The kit comes in a sealed plastic pouch and consists of a three page folded set of instructions and parts identifier along with the molded resin pieces still attached (for the most part) to their sprues and two pieces of acetate for the windows!

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 store some window signs would be very appropriate!

As has been indicated above these kits have the windows and doorways molded into the basic walls of the structure! However, with this kit the main doorway is a separate piece because it sits at an angle. The side 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 the Fifer Hobby page for this kit and here is the DPM page. (I never realized until now that DPM is apparently owned by 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.

The suggestion is to build the turret first but since it looked like it may be a little complicated I decide to start with the walls.

However, once again, there is another preliminary step! There are two chimneys on the rear wall but they are in two pieces. Two halves are actually molded along with the 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 and so far I haven't seen any bad effects!

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

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!

The cornice, the main door and other items were 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!

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 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!

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

Luckily the walls do provide some guide tabs (or alignment pins as they call them). When gluing them together the main thing is to be sure the bottom edges are flush and the corners are at right angles! This is easier than it sounds but you will require some kind of assistance to help you in achieving this. I used my Micro Mark Gluing Jig.

Note: The instructions suggest using a square block of wood.

The first two walls are the easiest while the second two walls require a little bit of care! With this particular kit the four walls do not actually meet because the main door is at an angle and the turret fits nicely above the main door!

Once the walls are glued together the basic framework for the structure is in place. Adding the main door and gluing it into position makes the structure that much more sound! This left the turret (for now, anyway).

The turret consists of five pieces which are all similar. In fact three are identical (making up the front of the turret) while the other two are different and make up the back side pieces. The differences are in the angles of the sides so they fit together in such a way as to make up the five sided structure. The two back pieces are identified so you really do know which is which!

Start by gluing the three front pieces together. Take your time and try to get the angles correct. Once dry add the two back pieces being careful to get the correct one on each side.

Once done you have the basic turret ready to install. The front door (added earlier) should provide the correct spacing between the walls so the turret should fit with very little manipulation. If it doesn't, try doing a little flexing. The resin structure does have a little flexibility so that may be all you need.

Mine fit very well and one side was glued into place first and then the second side. This was all done from the inside, of course.

The roof is next and it was painted a flat black followed by a little weathering. (Some light gray, dark gray, a little brown and a little green all dry brushed on in moderation). The corner stone (for over the turret) was also painted the color of the turret and glued into place at the appropriate corner.

Note: While I had the black paint out, I also added the "chimneys"!

The roof is pretty easy to install although the instructions do say you may have to sand it a bit first. Mine fit very well. You start by sliding it into position from the front of the building until it is flush with the bottom of the chimneys. That edge was then glued from the underside.

Once dry, the front edge was also glued into position from the bottom and allowed to dry while insuring the corner block was flush with the top of the walls.

Now, as per the instructions, was the time to add some "glass" to the windows of the turret. A piece of acetate was cut out, curled and placed inside the turret. The pressure of the acetate trying to uncurl holds it in place.

Note: The instructions suggest applying a base to the turret made of acetate painted black. They even provide a template for this piece. I decided to omit this step. Given the position the structure was going to occupy, no one was going to see the turret base anyway!

The Cornice was next. I found this item to be a little awkward since there are no guides and the thing just sits in place. In the end I just applied a little glue to the roof corner block and positioned the cornice making sure the two sides were in alignment with the wall tops. Once dry, and using a toothpick, I applied some glue under the cornice (on top of the wall) one side at a time. That seemed to work quite well.

Now it was time for the turret dome and finial. The final fit into the top of the turret quite snuggly and no glue was necessary. Once in place I also painted the finial a yellow to give it a little better appearance. This was glued and centered on the corner of the cornice.

The final touch was some touch up paint around the top of the walls, the cornice and the edges of the turret. Besides filling in some small gaps this also makes it look a little better!

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.

Further, as stated earlier some signs for these storefront windows would also be appropriate. Whether or not I will find and add these is still up in the air.

Before finishing this write-up I have a confession to make. When I installed the turret I thought "wow, this seems to be quite small". It turns out that I constructed the turret and installed it will only four of the five pieces. I found the fifth piece on the floor around the time I start writing this!

So be careful! In my particular case I don't believe it will be overly obvious simply because of where the structure will be located. However, it could have been serious given a different location for the building!