Hi Mike - the material for the roll up door is 1/32 scale plastruct corrugated siding. Yes, I used to spend hours "assembling" doors - really not a very good use of time when you are building more than one of them!!!

Hi Ryan - the chain link is aluminum mesh - evidently intended for use by sculptors setting up a form that plaster or clay (?) might be attached to. This is another find from my trusty neighborhood art store "Blick's". As I mentioned earlier, the art stores carry all sorts of interesting stuff that can be repurposed by we model builders!

As to the fans, even easier to get materials for - just a cut up aluminum soda can! Assembly was a bit trickier, but achievable with more unusual parts and some patience! Mike - I've decided to orient these vertically and not horizontally - and yes, with a big green sheet of acetate behind them - yes, somewhat gratuitous, but, why not? Hopefully they look cool with a green backlight! If not, well, I'll do something else!

Working on detailing the cafe roof tonight. The ceiling side, will get a few openings for opaque acetate - again, might work...might not! The upper side will get framing, to serve as the base for the building above - three or four stories to go!!

Ok - thanks for dropping in and your comments!

Nick

Lookin excellent Nick , a nice futuristic greazy spoon , makes me not wanna eat there
Everything is turning out just great man , very cool !!!

Mike, I believe Nick used Plastruct sheet #PS-25.

Nick,

Thanks, wish I had a Blicks close (6+ hours away) or maybe not for my wallet's sake. I have ordered online from them before for balsa form. Is there a certain size you use? There is about 4 different sizes to choose from http://www.dickblick.com/products/amaco-wireform-mesh/#description

Another option for carve-able material is Sign Foam. See if you have any Shops that made the 3D engraved signs locally.

http://www.signfoam.com/
https://www.goldenwestmfg.com/

are just a couple of them.

Thanks, if I need more I will go that route. I have probably a lifetime supply of recycled corrugated plastic yard signs, a few rolls cork to keep me entertained for now.

Just a thought: Before you covered building #1 in cork you showed it to us using just the corrugated yard sign material (used to silk screen these things.) If you were to just paint this material I think it would take on the look like some sort of slightly futuristic metal siding.

Just suggesting a minor alternate siding texture for some future build.

Hi guys -

As to the corrugated plastic, I hadn't used it before this build - so far tho, I like it. It's easy to cut, light and fairly rigid, so it's not hard to get squared up. I used 3m spray glue for the cork and it set up with no problem.

Mike - yes, you and I are on the same page. I'm thinking the lower floor or two will get the cork - ala buildings we all see in our towns - those built in the early 1900's. Then, above, no cork, but the addition of layers of "metal" surfaces and bolt heads, and untreated corrugated plastic - and a different color - first couple of floors beige/Lt brown - then various grey/blue/black and rust and grime above -

Ok - off to work! Thanks for having a look and your comments - oh, and to Matt: Mr All-Materials!!!

Thanks
Nick

Dude... DUDE !
(sorry, I could not resist seeing your from Sunny CA)

That building is complete removed from the hook.
Really inventive and original. Tight layout / scene too.

Two words: Fabulous

Wow, this is amazing! Can't wait to see the little cafe lit by some overhead neon signs!

Hello - model builders, another quick update from me!

First though:

Cheyenne - yep, nothin' but fancy eats at this greasy spoon! but, in the movie, dumplings were the house specialty!

Neo - thanks for taking the time to comment! only three words from this dude: The Dude Abides!

Hi KC - thanks for checking it out - let's hope it works out!

OK - on to the project - while not huge progress, it's taken a lot of work to get this far!! and not all that much to show for it....!

First two pics - I was fooling around with an LED and a small battery, just to see what might happen:





So, I think sort of cool - as you go through the next few slides, you'll see I'm nowhere near closing this building in, so the decision on lighting can wait a while!

Some building framing - as before, the corrugated plastic with cork and styrene over it, and bass wood behind to keep it square











The way this has worked, the cafe is a little module - turns out I'm glad I built it with some bulk - as the rest sits on and next to it - making it the anchor of the block!





As you can see above, fortunately, it's all coming together pretty well - the new building though, has a long way to go...

And Mike - you can see below, cork on the lower half, and something else above - I don't know what just yet....



OK - thanks for having a look!

Nick

thoroughly awesome and entertaining and informative all wrapped up into one!
J

Mmmm ... dumplings! Looks like late-night munchies under the gritty ambiance of fluorescent lights. And gotta' love that vertical stack of fans!

—mike

Cowabunga Uncle Nick , the cafe is brilliant , dumplings or no , still wouldn't eat there I'm allergic to gross
Shaping up to be a nice sooty , dirty , filthy city .
Love it !!!

This is getting my nerdy juices flowing! With some relatively simple electronics, it'd be possible to have small screens displaying adverts - the film was full of neon lights filling the streets - and then there was that tall building displaying the Japanese woman's face as the cars flew by.

I'm thinking something along the lines of:
https://learn.adafruit.com/096-mini-color-oled



It seems to be capable of displaying bitmaps such as JPEG's and so on and it's about 1" diagonal. You could - with a tiny bit of coding - set it up to cycle through some images with very little power needs. Coca Cola adverts here we come!

Don't forget some of the walkers in the street had those cool umbrellas with a transparent top, and a light tube for a handle giving off an errie glow.

And...tiny little unicorns! Garbage trucks (time to die scene) and lots of flying cars (which that shoddy Bruce Willis and Milla Yockgiadfgwaerwicz film ripped off to no end) And please tell me you intend to model that floating blimp with the loudspeakers!

Also, these galleries may be of interest:
imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/mediaindex

behind the scenes models: http://io9.gizmodo.com/142-behind-the-scenes-photos-reveal-blade-runners-minia-1691950942

Should be able to pull of loads of graphics on the last link!

Ditto from Mike

p.s. I really like the texture on the sidewall of those projecting floors on building #2.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

quote - And Mike - you can see below, cork on the lower half, and something else above - I don't know what just yet.... - quote

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Time for more façade screening perhaps? Or some balconies? Decker had a balcony. Always thought his apartment said he must be making the big bucks, 96 floor, balcony & a grand piano, WOW!

I also like that piece of picture framing you are using for a roofline cap block - perfect! Exactly what it SHOULD look like.

This is proving to be a very enjoyable thread!!!!!

HOLY [auto-censored]E! How did you ever find time to do all this so quickly? Just amazing... makes me want to build models when I grow up!

without a doubt (some of) the best urban diorama-building skills I have ever seen! My hat's off!

Please tell me you're a professional model builder. You are making it look too easy.

WOW, WOW, WOW, your a master at your craft. I can't wait for you to keep blowing my mind with your models.

Master!

Dave

Hi guys, thanks to each of you for having a look and taking the time to leave some comments - I appreciate them! No progress photos today - the real job has been keeping me stressed and busy! I'm glad the weekend is here!

Jerry, hi, and thanks! I'm glad that I can show something you find interesting! I think my file has as many Jerry R WIP pictures as my own!! Your influence is all over this - even if you can't see it!

Hi Mike - thanks, yes, the "gritty cafe" hmm? A chain? Haha - as for the fan, Mike K reminded me of those - they play a big role in the movie, you see them in the last scene, with Roy Batty and Decker discussing the meaning of life...can't skip those! I've got to say, they turned out better than I could have hoped! And, ultra cheapo scratch work! Soda can, styrene, and wire...who would have guessed?

Hi Cheyenne - the gritty cafe indeed...I can't imagine what a health inspector might say!! For work I've (and no doubt many on this forum) have travelled around the far flung places on this world - I've eaten there!!! Wet floors, in smoke filled, grimy, humid places....always make me nervous!

Hi Karl - or Casey Jones!! As The great Jerry Garcia said "KC Jones you better watch your speed"!! While I'm fairly comfortable with some parts of model building, wiring is not on that list! If I get some decent lighting to work I'll be amazed!! Thanks for the reminder of some cool stuff I might include and ideas!

Hi Mike - wow! You do have an eye for this stuff!! I wondered if anyone would notice the few textured sheets used here and there! If you look at the building across the street, you'll see the light grey siding there is brick stamped styrene, flipped to the under side, and installed vertically! Creates lots of nice little shadows. The part you noticed is (I think?) is a round rock pattern...who knows how it will turn out? The cornice - yes, straight outta Home Depot! Sold in 3 foot lengths - not bad for what we do. As work was all consuming last week, there's still plenty of time to think about how to finish the upper floors - thanks for dropping by

Hi Patrick, well, much like your beach wreck, you just have to keep building, and to avoid the trap of non-random random! The great Jerry R and our dear friend Romain have not subtly reminded me, random isn't easy to do, but is essential! Even on streetscapes in non demolished places - rust, grime etc - it's very easy to fall into the trap of subconsciously making patterns - which, if unintentional, can fail!

Hi Paul - ha! Thanks tho - I'm just a hobby builder - probably better that way! No difficult clients to deal with, just me!! Haha! - oh, and you guys!!! That's what's cool about this site - lots of people building lots of cool stuff!!!

Thanks, Dave - building models for me is a great distraction from work - I like what I do at work, but with that comes lots of responsibly - this is just for fun! And, the community taking time to comment is other model builders, not attorneys, auditors, or the like (tho many may be in real life!)

Ok - hopefully I'll get some model building done! Thanks for checking it out

Nick

Hi Nick and others
I wanted to share with you something I thought my help with this. There is optic cables that glow on the sides that could help with this diagram.

Check it out and keep up the great work.

http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Sideglow.htm

Dave

Cornice, that's the word I could not think of. I like to call things by their correct titles!

You must have a lot of stress in your regular job given the amount of modeling progress you are making. I never finished so much model work as I did the weeks and months prior to my wedding day!

Hi Nick,

This is simply AWESOME!!

You raise the bar every time I look at the updates I see new things. You are a master builder and I take my hat off to you.

Looking forward to the next update.

Regards,
Kobus