Building a model airport

[Charter]

Yes, good thickness and good material. No bending anytime and with any work on the wood. Good choice.

 

[SemKlep]

Perfect, its mdf

 

[SemKlep]

Starting to make a small airport for the test, he is not ready but i look nice!

 

[bakejobb_23]

Looks great so far! With the space you have, you may be able to squeeze in an extra gate if you’d like. Might only be narrowbody only but that’s not uncommon to see around the world right next to widebody gates. Keep it up!

 

[LeoMuse747]

Starting to make a small airport for the test, he is not ready but i look nice!

That looks neat! And that wood you got is great for a terminal. You just need to paint and add the windows and other details. This is the fun part

 

[Charter]

Yes, extra arking stand to add. Wingtip to wingtip you need a space of about 2 cm: the airplanes wingtips/winglets are relatively close to each other at parking stands, about 10/12 meters that are 2 to 4 cm in the different scales.
Then the wood panel: already grey so you could not have the necessity to paint it, but just realize the tarmac grid and then the parking lines and marks.

 

[SemKlep]

Ok, thank. The wooden plank have i already painted.

 

[SemKlep]

Which dimensions of the concrete tiles do you recommend? There are many different sizes.

 

[Charter]

Which dimensions of the concrete tiles do you recommend? There are many different sizes.

About the tarmac grid? 1 cm x 1 cm in 1:500 scale, 2 cm x 2 cm in 1:400 scale (1 x 2 cm in 1:400 scale if you want to realize rectangles).
Use a pencil or a black Stabilo pen with fine/medium tip.

 

[SemKlep]

Thanks

 

[SemKlep]

My first model airport is ready! I hope to buy some 1:400 lamps that can i place next to the bridges.

 

[Charter]

Tarmac grid well done, red jetways lines nice, white parking stands are missing: you can not draw them but in this case you have to draw the vertical white lines delimiting the parking stands. It is important to delimit the maneuvering/service area of the GSEs within the aircraft area.

 

[bakejobb_23]

its looking really good! you can get weathering powders and oils to make stains on the concrete as well. I also recommend spraying a clear coat on top to keep your board nice overtime. that way you can also give it a quick wipe down with a wet rag if its dusty or dirty.

 

[SemKlep]

With which products would I do that?

 

[Charter]

You can use modeling fixative spray or, cheaper, hairspray (same effect).
For the "dirty" on the apron you can use charcoal realizing tarmac/concrete cracks and dirty.

 

[bakejobb_23]

With which products would I do that?

I grabbed powders and other weathering stuff from a model train shop nearby my house. You could look online if you don't have one near you to find what you may need or want to experiment with. Lots of great model railroading videos to help explain the general process as well. A lot of the same techniques can be applied to our model airports just in different contexts of course. As for clear coat, I get a big spray can from a hardware store. Just make sure its clear and the finish can be satin or matte. I use matte finish as it helps with the sunlight glare for my photos a bit more.

 

[SemKlep]

So you spray the hairspray on the right spot and then paint over it with black, or the other way around?

 

[Charter]

So you spray the hairspray on the right spot and then paint over it with black, or the other way around?

Vice versa. You spray the hairspray once finished everything. At least 1 meter far otherwise the liquid drops of the spray will spread paint, colors etc ruining your work.