Current project started fall of 09 Update on 6/30/10
A building my model city lacked is a 'City Hall' I was looking for something interesting and a challenge to model and thought of the New Haven CT city hall where I once worked part time in 1960 helping them convert their computer programs from an IBM 305 RAMAC to an IBM 1401 format.
The building has undergone a major restoration in the 1990's and the dark sandstone and
light limestone
façade I recall has been cleaned and polished. The building has also been significantly
expanded in the back. I will model only original 1861 portion shown in the following
photo. 
PS I did not take the photo and do not know who the person is. The building is a
combination of Portland CT sandstone (dark) and Nova Scotia limestone (light). I
have started the process by making castings of the windows. The model will
be 24"wide, 33"tall and 9"deep.Once all the windows and doors are completed I
will begin assembling the sides. I will be posting my progress here. I see
potential for using the windows to create railroad stations, churches, and other
brownstone buildings. There are 11 different windows on this building and I have
posted the ones I cast on my web site on the external casting page.
.Recap
I have completed Phase 1 of my plan to create a model of the New Haven CT City Hall. In this phase 1 I created a master of each of the eleven different window designs found in this building and the small door. I then laid out all of the exterior walls on 1/7" (.125) styrene and cut out the window positions working from the right side module, center module, and left side module. Note: the front right buttress will be added later, however I may place it on the left side or include one on each side. I then inserted and cemented each of the windows in place. Next I assembled all of the walls and bracing necessary to make the structure stable for handling. Lastly I created the ruff roof structure for the center and right side portion. The following photos show the results of Phase 1.
My objective in Phase 2 was to complete the roof on the center and
right portions of the building. Add the two dormers to
the front and right side of the right end module and add a single dormer to the center module.
In addition I wanted to complete the 3 corner towers on the right side module. The
following photos show the prototype roof work to be done. This photo shows
what the right front and side, dormer and turrets should look like.
This photo shows the dormer on the middle section roof.
4-23-10 Completion of phase 2
The following photos show the model after phase 2.
5-19-10 Completion of phase 3- Main Roof
In phase 3 I was planning to finish off the roof and side wall with shingles and bricking. So much for the best of plans. My ambitious expectations were based on years of creating building using individual bricks cut from styrene strips. Well after cutting and laying between 3500 and 4000 roof tiles and cutting and fitting the individual pieces of stone work on the dormers and turrets I have only finished the roof Now it's on to tackle the facing which I will call phase 4.
The following photos show the work after phase 3.
6-5-10
Status of phase
4- Applying the stone facing
Thus far I have added to two buttresses on the front sides of the building and faced the right hand module. To make the stone work I first spray painted .030 sheets of styrene with Rustolium sand stone spray paint with a textured finish. This made the sand stone material. I over sprayed some sheets with Rustolium metal primer (dark red) This created the sandstone material with a textured finish. These large sheets were then cut into individual stones per my drawings and photographs. Before gluing onto the face I touched up the 4 sides of the stone piece with Floquil paint. Unfortunately the Styrene cement is also a paint solvent and caused the edges to run into the existing stone. Also while I tried to match the stone colors to the 100+ photos I took of the building depending on the light and time of year the photos vary in color. Thus as you can tell from the following photos I will have to go back and repaint most of the stone work.
6-30-10 Completion of the lower exterior. (except for paint , weathering , completion of the entry)
On my last visit to the prototype a few weeks ago I learned some interesting and conflicting information. What I referred to as buttresses above are actually chimneys. The right 3 floor and left 5 floors each have a fireplace which heated the areas in the winter and the flues were connected one of the 3 chimneys. i was able to speak with the facility manager who has been on the job for the last 16 years and he believes the restoration was accomplished by tenting the building and using a chemical peal to clean it. Bad stones were replaced. He said that the original stone work was shipped from Europe and a match for the restoration was also found in Europe. Unlike what I remember growing up in New Have the building had a darker brown stone. In the above photos I started to paint the brown stone a reddish color. I did not like the pail red-grey-bluish appearance of the current building. In the photos below you will see that I have chosen a more brown appearance. I plan to use India ink washes of black, white, and brown to weather it.
Currently I have installed the wiring and lights in each of the rooms. What I have decided to do differently for this building is to have each of the 10 rooms selectively lit by a viewer. I am currently thinking of having a 10 position single pole rotary switch placed on the layout edge so visitors can selectively visit each area of the building. You will notice some additional wiring sticking up from the left side roof. On my visit I learned that the 'clock tower' is also a bell tower. The bells were out of commission since before WW2 which is why I never heard them. In the restoration each bell has been fixed in place and the hammers are electronically controlled. Also the 4 clocks have been regeared so that one motor and drive shaft operates each clock face. Towards the end of July I will meet with the manager and tour and photograph the tower's interior.
During my last visit I was able to photograph the Mayor's office (2nd floor left side) his reception and secretarial area (2nd floor center) and his conference room (2nd floor right side). The rooms on the 1st floor right and left side are set up as a public meeting room and committee meeting rooms. I will begin to recreate the furniture and setting for each room. These will be slowly phased in while I work on the tower.
One other commentary. Because I have taken the modelers liberty of changing the look of the building ( adding the buttress to the left side) to better suite my layouts needs, I will begin to call this building my version of a 'city hall' based on the architecture of the New Haven CT City Hall.
9-3-10 Completion of the lower clock tower
Made the four window frames which are opened to allow the bell sounds to be heard. Covered the roof sections with between 2,500 ands 3,000 individual tiles which was the most time consuming task. Remaining tasks to be done are to create the clock portion which has four 7'6" diameter clocks and the copular which sits on top of the clock housing. This will add about another 7" to the city hall.
