5.16. O'Malley's Corner Bar
O'Malley's basically got its start as a sign looking for a building to inhabit. Since that was the name on the sign, I stuck with it.
I started with Miller Engineering's mirror-image animated BAR signs.
I laminated the two signs together with a piece of styrene to separate them, which was necessary in order to connect the wiring harnesses. Later, I covered the edge with a thin strip of stainless steel.
Miller Engineering's Triangle Hotel & Bar kit turned out to be the best possible recipient for the sign. The two windows in the end of the building were merged into a single large slot to accommodate the sign assembly.
This was a complex little kit, with a lot of different parts. Most of them were pre-painted in various colors before assembly.
The windows on the ground floor were fitted with translucent neon sign artwork illuminated from behind by Miller's DIY electroluminescent panels. Together with the animated sign wiring, the building's already-cramped interior was jam packed with electronics.
The building sat on a slope, requiring a complex foundation part designed to place the sidewalk precisely at the level of the bar's entrance. A bus stop scene was created on the point of the sidewalk to give the area life.
