Old Advertising Billboard

[extraevildave]

For this competition I will be building more stuff that fits into my collection of post-apocalyptic/abandoned Mojave Desert terrain.

This entry will be an old style roadside billboard with changeable advertising.

The basic plan is for a wooden structure and an assortment of card advertisements for the front.  Concealed magnets and small pieces of metal will be used to hold the advertising frontage in place.

Pictures to follow (when something has actually been done).  

[SethDrallitoc]

Sounds good. Can't wait to see the sort of products being advertised.

[extraevildave]

(05-05-2016, 06:41 AM)SethDrallitoc Wrote: Can't wait to see the sort of products being advertised.

Since I plan on using it mainly in my post-apocalyptic game setting (Cuban missile crisis gone hot) most of the advertising should have a late 1950s up to October 1962 kind of vibe but with a bit of wiggle room if needed.

Now on with the build.

I used 7mm balsa wood for the posts and 1.5mm balsa wood for the advertising framework.  The framework was glued together with PVA and holes were cut in two of the posts to hold the magnets.  

Next up I planned to age the wood with a steel wool and vinegar stain but too much had evaporated since I last used it so I'll have to wait a few days while the next batch forms.  Well that'll give me more time to work on the advert selection.    

[SethDrallitoc]

???HOW???

[extraevildave]

(05-06-2016, 08:33 AM)SethDrallitoc Wrote: ???HOW???

With a dangerously sharp blade .
 
The magnets I'm going to use are 5mm x 5mm x25mm so that gave me 1mm of wood on either side and 2mm at the base.  I painted a mark on the side of the cutting blade 5mm from the tip so I wouldn't cut too deep and then made the longer of the cuts, then a lot of small cuts for the small top and bottom till they were also 5mm deep.  Once all the edges were done I made more long cuts but with the blade at about 45 degrees to the wood surface (the original cuts were at right angles to the surface) basically I ended up with a 25mm long prism of balsa wood cut loose and repeated the cut in the other direction for a similar result (hope that makes sense).  That cleared most of the wood out then it was just a bit more work with the knife and needle nose pliers and the magnets are now a snug and flush fit.        

[extraevildave]

The billboard frame parts were aged with an iron vinegar solution and once fully dried the magnets were glued into place and the structure assembled.





At the same time as the ageing solution was forming an assortment of billboard hoardings were made.  Both sides of a sheet of 200gsm card were spray painted with aluminium paint and then scored on one.



The hoardings were then aged and dirtied with several washes and dirt and rusty patches painted on.



I decided to use paper clips for the metal component of the hoardings.  A single cut with some pliers and a little bending did the job.  The pieces were then aligned with the magnets and the wooden frame, so they won’t be visible when in use, and then they were glued to the hoarding.









Next up, making the advertisements.  

[extraevildave]

As it took several days for the wood aging solution to form and another day for it to be fully dried when used.  I took that time to design and create an assortment of billboard facings (then I got carried away with the process and now I’ve got a few dozen designs ready to print).

For the initial design I used Microsoft Paint because it was just a simple case of cut and paste for the microphone and picking the right looking text.  



I then used GIMP to add a couple of layers of accumulated grime.  The final result was then printed out.



I cut a section from the centre of the advert and then tore and distressed it with sandpaper for a more weathered look.



Finally it was glued to the front of the hoarding and some additional rusting was added (the magnets seem to be doing their job).



Here are some more examples of some of the processes I used for making the billboard advertisements.

The Lucky Lager advert is a copy of a real vintage advertisement.  I used GIMP to add a layer of streaky grey-green grime and then again to add a bit more filth and decay.
  
I think the electoral billboard started life as a picture of a bumper sticker for the U.S. 1962 mid-term elections (perfect for my post-apocalyptic setting).  This time I added the first set of dirt and stains using Microsoft Paint and then, once again, used GIMP to add an additional layer of grime.  Finally it was resized and ready for printing.

[Blocky]

I really like these... from my point of view, the tear in the first one looks a little weird because it completely avoids the letters and numbers - I feel like it would have been more realistic if it was slightly off centre...but it's a really small thing and only my opinion

[extraevildave]

(05-21-2016, 06:07 AM)Blocky Wrote: the tear in the first one looks a little weird because it completely avoids the letters and numbers

The positioning of the tear is actually very deliberate and was planned even before I created the sign.  U.S. radio stations usually have a four letter call sign starting with a "K" for west of the Mississippi  or "W" to the east (although there are some anomalies) and the tear is where that suffix would go, that way I could have a "WTF" radio station sign fitting in pretty much anywhere in the USA.  Since I was planning to remove that spot I decided not to print anything there in the first place (and save my precious and expensive coloured ink).
I've also extended the damage a bit since I took that picture, as to have a bit of paper hanging from the torn section, that will probably appear in the final entry.   

[Caleb]

Lucky lager is for some reason still quite popular around here.
I think you've really nailed the grime levels. Wood looks good too.