Making windows

I have been working on a little industrial building (well nothing is small in 1:20 scale) Purchasing windows is difficult and expensive, so I make my own. I have several ways to make windows. the easiest is just to paste sticks to a peice of plywood and paint it to look like a window with black painted plywood "glass".

This is the next fancier system which is to make a "grill" like window so light and air can pass through.

I start with some 1/4" thick strips with square ends and cut grooves in them half way through with the tablesaw. Each groove corrosponds to a cross peice in the finished window.

Next I slice off 1/4" strips for the window frame and 1/8" strips for the grill parts (mullions?)

The pieces are assembled like Lincoln Logs with a dab of glue. finally I add trim around the window (see top photo) and glue it into an opening cut in the wall of the building.

These are fairly easy to make though they do take time. The hardest part is figuring out where to cut the grooves to get the window the right size with the right number of panes. they are a bit course looking but not bad for stand off viewing.