Your own Custom Awnings
Splash Color on Drab Buildings

Awnings are rather simple devises used to curb the rays of the sun, most often on commercial buildings. On a structure model they add color. They are even simpler to model on a structure like Emporium Seafood using a computer, a printer and scissors.

I begin in a program called CompactDraw which is a feature laden Vector image editing program I use for creating my own “Ghost Signs” as well as other incidental signs I want to personalize.

Actually, computers have come to play an important role in scale modeling whether you are talking model railroading, dioramas, RC flying and racing as well as ship modelimg.They act as a worthy research assistant and in many cases play a more active execution role in the modeling project.

1. Begin by drawing a rectangle twice as long as it is wide. Fill it with the background color of your choice. I used a combination of blue and black to compliment the trim.
2. I added an initials (ESC for Emporium Seafood Co.) logo by adding the E and S in white and superimposing the “C” on them (see picture). This logo is centered on the awning block. 3. I save the ”awning” in its own file ready to import into Model Builder.
4. In Model Builder I resize the block to provide a scale 3 feet for the window’s width leaving a half-inch flap on each end.
5. Model Builder provides a Paper Tool that allows me to make a triangle out of the two flaps after I re-orient the image vertically. And flip it to triangulate the other end.

6. While the above image is aligned vertically, I use Model Builder to duplicate it successively until I have 16 awnings in two rows of eight.
7. I run a strip of blue painter’s tape on the backside of each row. Besides making each of the awnings blue on both sides, the tap acts as a stiffener.
8. Trim each awning with scissors and crease where triangles meet rectangle. Apply a meager amount of white glue to the upper edge and position over window.

This simple, economic modeling project can take less than an evening to have a real impact on your project.

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