Laserkit Dabler Mill & Supply

[Oldguy]

Well, the siren calls were overwhelming and I just had to dig into it.  Another misadventure begins.

Nice set of instructions although not in a decent sequence.  The color photos are a must and greatly appreciated.

Inside were three thick plastic bags of parts.  Generally organized by wood type, one bag had most of the wall sections.   Another had a ton of laserboard(?) parts.  They did provide a nice set of drawings to indicate parts on each set of laser cut parts as well as individual parts.  I started by labeling each part.  Then it was a matter of placing all related parts into bags or plastic containers.

Of all the loose parts, only one was broken.  I was lucky to find 3 of 4 parts, and glue it back together.

[Oldguy]

Darn, ran out of attachment allowance.

So I found some thin wood product to add for strength.
As typical, they don't have any bracing material, but do provide 28 corner braces.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Great kit, Bob!

I nearly bought this one many times!  I'll be watching your progress.

Cheers, mark.

[Janbouli]

Will be following along , did this one in N-scale a few years ago. http://janbouli.com/?p=hink.html

[PRR Modeler]

I'll be following your progress.

[GPdemayo]

Love this kit Bob.....it's on must build soon list.....I'll be looking in. 

[ReadingBob]

That's a great looking structure/kit.  Can't wait to follow along with the build and see what you do with it Bob!   

[Jerry]

Should be a fun build.


Jerry

[Oldguy]

Glad to have ya'll along for the ride.

I managed to get all the related parts, i.e., all A parts, all F parts, etc. in bags or containers containers where they can be easily located.  Each piece or group of pieces labeled and ready to go.

I was concerned over coloring for the model as they do warn that because of many adhesive backed parts, solvent paints should not be used.  The typical AI wash could be problematic due to the three different woods used.  So, I'll go a different tack.  But first, I need to short circuit the instructions a bit as I would like to see how everything  fits.  This means putting some pieces together a bit early.  One really needs to pay attention to orientation of parts.  One section has the clapboard on different sides.  At first it look weird, but just overlook it for now.   It was then I decided I need to add some bracing.  I just used some 1/8" square from my stock and hopefully picked correctly as some orientations.

Then on to color.  I decided that white was decent enough, so I choose Antique Parchment for the walls and Light Ivory for the trim.  Both were applied using a piece of packaging foam and stippled the paint on.  Then I went over it all with Dust Bowl Beige powder.


The Light Ivory is, at first bright but gets toned down.

[Oldguy]

I needed to keep an eye on progress steps, but also the final product.  They don't have you add the dry transfer signs until page 23, after the structure has been assembled.  I decided to do it while flat.  I also needed to add some background for the one side.

There are a ton of windows and louvers.  And different styles of each.  As I previously mentioned, I put the parts for each in their own containers.


Most windows are double hung and very nicely done.  First, Add the exterior casing, centered in the opening.  This gives a bit of adhesive for the window parts to hold on to.  I found that for adding the "glass" for the upper sash, it was easier if I peeled of the adhesive protective layer half-way to hold it down.  The pickup pencil makes it easier to handle the acetate and place it on the upper sash.  The lower sash glass, is a bit more difficult, but the adhesive doesn't really grab at first and one has some time to get it even.  And oh, the window exterior casings have a top and bottom.  There is a horizontal groove on the upper bit.


Here is the main front wall with the windows and louvers in place.  A bit about the louvers.  They do go in a lot easier than I had expected. Just make sure that the side pieces slant up.  Some wall sections need to be marked as to which is up, which will prevent a wrong direction installation.  Unlike the windows, the louver frames are added after the louvers are in place. 


They include material for boarded up windows, so keep track of those pieces and where you want to use or not.

[WigWag Workshop]

I'm interested, and will be along for the build. I'm really enjoying these more "complex" builds.


-Steven

[PRR Modeler]

Looks great so far Bob.

[Mark Dalrymple]

I like your colour choices, Bob.

Looking good so far.

Cheers, Mark.

[Oldguy]

It has been so last century since I fiddled with dry transfers and after two moves, couldn't find my burnishing tools.  So I made some from a craft stick and used micro brushes.  This sign is big enough to hold it down with tape and yet, access all transfer material.  For those who haven't done dry transfers, one needs to check on the transfer process, and it is essential not to move the carrier sheet. 


The ink is dark before one starts to burnish it and eventually becomes dull once most ink has been transferred.  Once I was done, the area was hit with weathering powders.

One item I didn't catch was the windows.  I needed to repaint them, two completely and two just the very lower sections, but they got done.

Another section needing dry transfer is the brick wall.  This is a printed overlay that looks really good.  I will admit that I looked long and hard about not using the brick sheet, but 1) I had no matching wood siding and 2) my attempt of scribing the blank wall was an abject failure.  So I 'll use the sheet.  I found through a series of dry runs that the best way to get the adhesive sheet exactly whee it needs to be as to stand each piece on end and just make sure the bottoms are even.

[Oldguy]

The louvers are also well done. The pieces are found scattered among different sheets, so keeping track of the part numbers is a must.  I kept all the external casings in a separate container as they get added later.  The fit into the side, from the inside is tight.  A spot of glue holds these on so the louvers can be added.  In hindsight, I should have added the lovers before the glue on the side pieces had dried as the is some up and down play that will show when the external frames are added.

Yes, the third photo shows a wall section (A20 I believe) that gets a louver.  Again one needs to pay attention to orientation.  The next sides also need to be labeled up/down as the sloped edge is down.

At this point, we need to make a ton more windows.  Thankfully, all parts have been painted and weathered.