I'm doing the interior detailing work on an ornate heavyweight business car and wondered if anyone out there had any tricks for making realistic-looking curtains?
Roll-down window blinds are no sweat, and Venetian blinds are available commercially, but I'm in a quandary as to how to duplicate the old-fashioned hung-from-a-curtain-rod style of drapes that were used in privately-owned cars such as the "Virginia City". (See link below for examples.)
Pete
If you're striving for this effect to be seen from the outside only, then bits of suitably coloured paper with lightly drawn vertical lines to simulate the folds will do. Use a grey or silver coloured pencil, else the lines will be too dark.
Many years ago, Bob Aaborg used single layers of facial tissue. IIRC, he scrunched it into rope-like lengths, then sprayed it with suitably coloured enamels. Water based paint won't work, obviously. He cut the rope into pieces, and tacked them to the walls. He worked in HO, BTW. I can't recall seeing swags - they would be real cool it!
HTH
I believe that some plastic building kits came with the curtains printed on the back of the box. I also think that there is some one making curtains for the Design Preservation kits. You could also make them on your computer so they will all be the same.
I'd look at a hobby shop that caters to the miniatures crowd
-- the dollhouses, etc.
i suspect that the'd have things which could be adapted, though their "scales" are probably along the lines of what we would call "G Scale".
On 12/21/2007 11:54 PM P. Roehling spake thus:
Thin paper can easily be "crinkled" to simulate the folds in fabric. (Not tissue, that's too thin.) Just work it by rolling it to "soften it up". I've done window curtains on buildings this way.
If you're going to purchase blinds anyway, splurge and buy curtains too. I've bought lace curtains that I've used in passenger cars and I believe that they're made by B.I.S. It may be O-scale instead of HO but it seems to work for both.
Norm
AHM Funeral Parlor for one...
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