Tuesday Tips Two (Too?) - Goff Brook Farmhouse: Glues, Windows & a Fail

I figured when I got home after work tonight I'd finally get to start construction - all I had left to do was add the window glass and some curtains first. I even thought I'd get that done before dinner. But I was wrong.

I've heard of a bunch of different products for gluing "glass" (typically acetate or clear styrene) into our model windows, and like any good former armchair modeler, I have them all - even if I hardly ever use them. Of course "canopy glue" is the most-talked about, but I have (count'em) three different versions of Aleene's "tacky" glue I wanted to try out - especially since I've always thought the canopy glue was too runny.

So I set up a little experiment.- I'd use a different glue on each of the 15 windows I had to do and would decide which I liked best (jury will be out until tomorrow to see how they dried...)

I cut up the window stock (.5x.75", score & snap, repeat 15x), put a few drops of each glue in separate cups and used different microbrushes to apply it around the edges of the window frames. Self-clamping tweezers made the glass easy to handle and apply.

I had an old sheet of different "curtains" left over from a long-forgotten kit that I decided to cut up and use (I should have remembered to make some color photocopies first!), but any colored paper or cardstock could be cut up and be just as effective. Old manila folder stock is especially good for this purpose (and can of course be colored with markers if you don't like quite so much manila).

Things were going along fine until I picked up a window to review my handiwork . . .

Notice any problem here?

Yup, despite my last-minute decision to "solve" the translucent wall problem by painting the backs of the wall black was a little bit of a big fail. I thought I was oh-so-clever to mask the backs of the windows to keep the black overspray from coming through and spoiling the white window frames. But, as you can see, of COURSE there's no black paint in those masked areas to block the light.

Ooops! Good thing I (really, now, for sure) don't plan on lighting up this house. Ever.

In the future, I suppose I could either 1) cut my masking tape to match the window frame perfectly; 2) brush paint around the window, let that dry, and then mask and spray; or 3) just brush paint some flat black now (well, before window glass and shades are installed). Note: none of this is a problem if the window frames in your kit come separately - just paint the back of your walls without worry.

Fortunately, when all's said and done, it doesn't really matter all that much for my purposes - but it's certainly a lesson learned.

And here's where we are at the end of the night. Yes, you read that right. Actual construction still hasn't started. But I really, truly think that it will - finally - tomorrow. In the meantime, I think the curtains were worth the extra time they took to cut out and install.

Oh, and by the way, after using all four glues on about half of the windows, I ended up liking the Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue the best and used it for the rest of the windows and curtains. It has a nice viscosity (not too runny) and, while all of these glues supposedly dry clear, having this one go on clear was strangely comforting.