1:35 Lampy na zeď

A lamp on a facade instead of a post

In the narrow streets of old towns, lamps were not hung on posts but anchored straight into the masonry of the houses, or suspended on cables across the roadway. For the modeler this is practical: a bracket on a facade takes up a minimum of room on a base and yet gives the scene the height a post would otherwise have to provide.

Casting plus metal

Eight resin parts form the lamp bodies and shades, and the photo-etched fret adds the arms, collars and brackets. The division follows the logic of the real thing, because a real bracket is thin rod and in a casting would have to be several times thicker if it were not to break when taken out of the mold.

Details that decide the result

• Shape the metal arm before gluing; once it is on the facade you will not move it
• A suspension needs a firm point; it pays to drill a shallow recess into the masonry and glue the arm into it
• Glass can be imitated with a drop of clear glue, which turns transparent once dry
• Paint the inside of the shade light; the reflection then works even without real lighting
• Wipe the metal parts with spirit; grease from the fingers stops the base coat adhering

Metal and casting under one finish

A brass fret is smooth and non-absorbent, whereas resin has a surface the pigment bites into. Without a thin base coat on both groups of parts, a difference will therefore appear that shows on the finished piece: the arm will stay glossier than the body and a scuffed edge will shine with metal.

Anyone who wants to light the lamps for real has to allow for the fact that a wire will not hide inside a thin bracket and will have to run through the wall of the building. The simpler way is to light the scene from outside and to imitate lit glass with color.