HARDER & STEENBECK
The windows and glazing were added by simply fitting the window frame units from the outside against a metal block held on the inside and painting from the rear with watered down PVA glue. Pieces of scrap cellulose sheeting, again fixed with diluted PVA, created the glazing.
The office with its steps was attached next and the exterior brickwork painted with Humbrol acrylic paint number 70. This was over-painted with an enamel-based mortar-coloured wash, then wiped over with a thinners-dampened cloth to remove the wash from the brick face.
To guarantee the roof sits centrally, the easiest way is to tape the rear face, sit it on the frames and then spot glue from the inside. When the spots have dried, a full bead of glue can be applied internally. The opening for the louvres has been cut into the roof tiles.
Both ventilation louvre gables are fitted and the internal surfaces given a coat of a brown wash. An Auhagen gantry crane has been modified using a wooden beam glued to the wall and fitted, taking advantage of the easier access, to extend over the loading platform.
The lower floor internal detailing was finished by fitting metal plates in front of the retort openings and scattering some bits of coal and ash around the area. This was all weathered up with dry-brushing and pigments to give the whole area a suitable industrial look.
The main modification from the outside is the roof. This has to incorporate a large arrangement of ventilation louvres to get rid of the significant heat build-up inside the building. To facilitate this the longitudinal roof supports were repositioned and glued to the frames.
The roof glued in place with the opening supported by the repositioned longitudinal supports. Keeping the two floors separate makes fitting the roof a lot easier, with frequent dry-fitting to check that everything is looking good.
The louvres were made from strip wood planks. These were supported at both ends and the middle with spare sections of wall edging, using the interlocking bricks as spacers for the louvres. These parts can be bought as separate parts from L Cut Creative.
The light that was to illuminate the retort front area was fitted below the flooring of the upper floor. The cable will eventually be led through a piece of copper pipe glued into the corner of the lower floor and painted up to look like another piece of pipe.
With the roof supports completed, the upper floor was test-fitted to the lower floor. The platform has also been added and covered with the wood planking sheeting that was used for the internal floors. The roof supports will hold the free edge of the tiling sheet (Step 14).
Two spare gable end brick walls were purchased along with the kit to enable them to be cut up to form the ventilation unit ends. These were then cut to sit on the supports and the edge of the fitted roof, making for a nice neat joint.
The brick supports were glued to the inside faces of the gable ends and in the centre of the ventilation unit before the wooden planks were glued into the respective slots created by the bricks. This was done with spots of PVA applied to the slots with a cocktail stick.