The Modeler's Forum

Hi guys.

I've been preparing for this 2020 challenge for a few days, casting plaster so it was cured enough to work with and planning.

For my Shadowlands and Tellynott layout I've been working with mock-ups towards the right end of the layout, which is where you enter the room.  My plan is to get as much of the urban area mocked up so that visitors to the layout in Easter at our convention get a better idea of what I am trying to achieve.  I thought a completed diorama at the very forefront of that first vista would be a good idea.  I've been toing and froing between canneries and a gas works for some time, and have finally decided that a low relief gas works in the background giving some substantial height near the backdrop, and a cannery complex in the foreground  and mid-ground, in front of the gas works, would be the best of both worlds.  The foreground and mid-ground canneries complex will be joined by a covered walkway which will transverse the Tellynott yard at its end and hide a mirror underneath making the yard (and layout) appear larger.  Think Great Divide on John Allen's layout.  Jacksons Bay (probably to be named Slack Jon's Bay - I stole an 'l' from another name to get my anagram), the locale on which my layout is set, had a whitebait cannery (apparently much of the work in the early days was done at night under candle light, as the sand-flies were so bad during the day), along with waters abundant with fish.  In my story, all of these resources were tapped into, and by 1932, a tumbling complex of additions on and over the water, had developed.  I'm taking a lot of inspiration from Monterrey's cannery row on this one.  I need to be able to see the yard behind the foreground cannery, but with it being so close to the layout's edge, I can see over a fairly substantial structure.  The wharf being lowered by about an inch from the track height helps a bit, and I'm happy going up to about 5" in height.  At the right end there will be a tower of sorts, from which the walkover will depart, and there will also be a walkover (although uncovered) connecting to the main structure, to give a snapshot view to the scenery behind.

Now I'm waiting for my drawing board/ light box to arrive which I bought for Christmas (hopefully it will arrive Friday) before I can draw up a plan and elevations, but I was itching to get started. So I used google earth to find the plan of my scratch-build and tried to size things from there. I used the old framing perspective trick on a print of the structures front where you draw lines at the top and bottom of the picture following the perspective lines and drawing vertical lines at each end and then bisecting this trapezium with diagonal lines to find the center.  You then draw a vertical line and where they cross your top and bottom perspective frame lines and this is the center of the frame and where you start your next diagonals.  In this way I was able to split the front of the structure into 32ths and get a fairly good idea of sizes.  A google earth photo helped clarify things.  I am, however, happy to change things to suit my site and requirements.  I drew up a plan to determine the position of the retaining walls (which do not always correspond the the walls of the structure above) and I made up a quick mock-up of part of the structure to check size in relation to the rest of the layout and then went to work distressing and weathering strip-wood and making wharf castings.

The next step for me was to start on the wharf retaining walls. I had spent some time working out the dimensions of the site on my layout. The track is 57mm (2 1/4") above the baseboard. I cut a section of the poly/ ceiling tile base which is what sits on top of the baseboard out and cut a piece of 2mm MDF (the same size an shape as the removed piece) to act as a diorama base to build on. I then glued on some 30mm timber to create the lower wharf height (and give the 2mm base some strength and keep it straight and true), cutting this to the shape of the wharf, but allowing room for the plaster retaining walls. I used three different molds to cast some walls - one of my own to create the poured concrete retaining walls, one, also poured concrete, but with posts as well as shutters, and one of stone. The castings of my molds needed to be filed to 45 degrees to create external corners. I also used up some old castings left over from a previous build. A lot of this will be largely hidden under some of the various timber wharves, so I cut and pasted a bit. I used Spackle to fill gaps as needed.

Photo 1 - Quick plan showing the general shape of the cannery and wharf. The front of the paper cutout is the front of the layout. The large ruler sits where the front track will be.

Photo 2 - Quick cardboard mock-up. The diorama is 24" long, 6" long at the left end and 8" long at the right.

Photo 3 - The retaining walls glued in position. I used CA on the 45 degree joints and 5 minute epoxy to strengthen. The castings were glued to the base and 30mm timber with Selleys quick grab.

Photo 4 - showing the retaining walls from above.

Photo 5 - This photo shows the two different wharf heights.

Photo 6 - And here is a close up. I stained the concrete castings with 'Golden' titan buff followed by a light leather dye/ isopropyl alcohol mix.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

It's turning out very nice. I like how you mocked it up first.


Jaime

Mark,

This is going to be a great build and I'm on the bandwagon.

Tom  ;D

Hi guys.

Thanks Jaime and Tom.

Jaime - I usually go the whole hog with my mock-ups, so this is very restrained for me!

Tom - pleased to have you following along.

Next up was a bit of freelance composition.  I enjoyed this part immensely!  I wanted the shore to be rocky, so I grovelled around in my old plaster casting boxes looking for likely candidates.  When working on the rock work for my Fault lines layout, I always used up any left over plaster from the larger molds on smaller ones, putting these aside for later use.  Well - its later!  I placed and shuffled, cut and filed, replaced and reshuffled until I liked the overall look of my rocks from all angles.  I then drew around the base of each rock on the 2mm MDF, numbering the MDF and the corresponding rock casting base.  The rocks then went off for staining.  Some of the rocks up against the retaining walls were carefully cut and filed to fit snugly around posts and corners to make it appear as if the sea wall had been poured into/ on top of the rocky shoreline.

Photo 1 - the whole diorama

Photo 2 - right end

Photo 3 - center

Photo 4 left end

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Look forward to seeing your progress.

Very interesting project Mark.....I'll be looking in.  :)

Following along, off to a great start.

Mark, this looks really cool so far. I love the varied heights and materials of the retaining walls.  I am following along with great interest.
--Opa George

Hi guys.

Thanks for your comments and following along, Curt, Janbouli, Gregory and George.

Well - since this is a build thread I'll go through my staining process.

I used the leopard spot technique  using Woodland scenics washes.  The colours I used were white, stone grey and raw umber as my three secondary colours and slate grey as the overall wash.  I also put in some small highlights in yellow ochre and burnt umber.  I guess I kind of tried to randomly split the rock area into fifths - white, stone grey, raw umber, bare plaster and the last fifth split between the burnt umber and yellow ochre.  I found by using the white that when putting the wash over that area stayed a lighter grey.  I also used these colours on the stone retaining wall.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark


I will be following along with great interest.  You're off to a great start.

QuoteMark, this looks really cool so far. I love the varied heights and materials of the retaining walls

Thanks, George.

Yep - there are a lot of different materials in the prototype - In the actual structure as well.  There are also a lot of changes in height.  It makes it a tricky build - one in which you have to get the order right and get some areas finished before moving onward (or upwards).

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteI will be following along with great interest.  You're off to a great start

Thanks, John.  I'm please to have you watching on.

The new year and these challenges always seems to spark things up on the forum.  Its good for progress and also to see such a variety of builds going on simultaneously.

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

The rocks were then glued back into position using 'Selleys' quick grab.  Below are three photos showing them back in position, moving from left to right.

I then started weathering the wood. For my larger pieces I use a wire wheel in my battery drill. I kind of bounce it along holding the stripwood in place firmly. Its quick and brutal, and I do get breakages. After this I give the pieces a quick wizz with sandpaper and then a quick flick with a small wire brush.  I then gave the stripwood a bath of leather dye and alcohol and after it had dried I ran it through a sponge dipped into the Golden titan buff and ran it through a paper towel to remove most of the colour.  Usually I do this in the opposite order and use a brush to apply the black wash.  I felt doing it this way gave very similar results.  I'm so far liking this 'Golden' titan buff as a replacement for Floquil grime.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark,

Well done, I love the old weathered wood look. The rocks are natural looking also.

Tom  ;D

Mark, As usual some fine modeling. I'll be following along. Building a wharf is on my bucket list. However, since I model Colorado, it will be a mountain wharf.

Mark, the rocks turned out very nice. It really has an authentic wharf feel to it already.
--Opa George

Really looks great Mark!  I'm liking the rock coloration.

QuoteWell done, I love the old weathered wood look. The rocks are natural looking also.

Thanks very much, Tom.

I cut all the ends off the timber and put them aside.  They have chunks off the top which is lovely and rustic, so I will use them moving forwards in one way or another - maybe piles left behind from a previous wharf.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteMark, As usual some fine modeling. I'll be following along. Building a wharf is on my bucket list. However, since I model Colorado, it will be a mountain wharf.

Thanks, Larry.

I look forward to your mountain wharf in the future.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteMark, the rocks turned out very nice. It really has an authentic wharf feel to it already.

Thanks, George.

I had a lot of fun playing with those rocks - composing.  A great exercise for garden landscaping.  I guess when they weigh half a ton, you don't wont to much 'well that's OK, but can we just try swapping those two around and moving that one back to the far corner where is was before and...'

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteReally looks great Mark!  I'm liking the rock coloration

Thanks, Mark.

I was busy yesterday trying to chase down some moss in the right colour.  I trip to my hobby shop where I planned to just walk in, by Woodland Scenics light green fine turf and walk out again, was a total failure.  Apparently they don't make light green in fine turf.  Instead I spent ages hunting the shelves for something else that would work.

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Time for a progress report.  There has been a lot of squaring, both horizontally to make sure the wharf will line up with the structure above, and vertically to make sure the piles are right and the beams parallel.

Photos 1 and 2 - show the rocks glued in position and the 2mm MDF painted.  I used burnt umber, paynes grey and unbleached titanium to blend.
Photo 3 - shows one of about three piles of stripwood.  I've done 15" rounds, 14"x8"s, 8"x6"s, 12"x4"s, 12"x3"s, 10"x2"s, 8"x2"s, 6"x2"s, 4"x2"s, 6"x6"s, and 4"x4"s.  I hope I haven't forgotten anything.
Photo 4 - shows my outer most beam and piles.  This is the only beam which is not attached to the retaining walls and so the only one with diagonal bracing.
Photo 5 - showing the beam and piles in position.  There has been a lot of trimming to fit with this process moving forwards.  I guess it was either trim the rocks around the piles or the piles around the rocks.  I figure if you think too much about keeping the rocks out of the way of the piles things start to look contrived.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Testing a larger photo.

My lightbox arrived today to I tried a splice, trace/ sketch of my cannery.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark, I'm really liking what I see in that sketch.  Can't wait to see the structure portion start to take shape. It's going to be epic.
--Opa George

Wow , that will be an awesome build.

Whoa.  That'll be awesome!

Quote from: mark dalrymple on January 09, 2020, 01:30:21 AM
Testing a larger photo.

My lightbox arrived today to I tried a splice, trace/ sketch of my cannery.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Man, that is a striking scene, Mark. Maybe you could get somebody to turn that into a kit!

QuoteMark, I'm really liking what I see in that sketch.  Can't wait to see the structure portion start to take shape. It's going to be epic.

Thanks, George.

It will be fun to build - although rather tricky.  Not just with its ins and outs, but also its ups and downs.  I think for this one I will need to draw up a decent set of plans.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteWow , that will be an awesome build.

Thanks Janbouli and Bob.

I have to get the area under the wharf finished before I cover it over with timber.  Then I will need to break the structure into many sub-assemblies.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteMan, that is a striking scene, Mark. Maybe you could get somebody to turn that into a kit!

Thanks, Vince.

Actually, I was quite surprised myself that I hadn't seen this one out there as a kit.  It is nice to have structures on your layout that no one else has on theirs.

Cheers, Mark.

Moving forwards, if anyone has any information (close up photos, plans etc) of the towers to the far right could you please contact me?  I have only found grainy photos and a couple of paintings from a fairly large distance and I'm not entirely sure of the details.  I think the two towers are connected.  One of the photos is labelled 'terminal island' and one of the paintings 'fish harbor'.  Working from the material I have there will be a lot of guesswork.

Cheers, Mark.

Mark,

A very ambitious project and one which you will make look easy. I'm really enjoying this thread.

Tom  ;D

QuoteA very ambitious project and one which you will make look easy. I'm really enjoying this thread.

Thanks, Tom. 

I don't know how easy I will make it look (!!!) but its a lot of fun to work out.

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Well - before I move upwards with my project, I have to finish below!  I figure once the timber wharves are installed there will be no access to the scenery below.

The wooden piles for the center wharf and left wharf were measured and glued into position. I cut four coloums of plaster from my retaining wall plaster casting and measured and glued these in position. There was some careful cutting and measuring with these processes - including making up a wharf template so that I could square down from the position of the piles and mark on the baseboard.

I painted the baseboard with paynes grey blended into burnt umber mixed with unbleached titanium. I then mossed some storm tree trunks, made from sage bush branches, experimenting a bit with colours and textures, and glued these into position.

I then chose various colours and textures of scenery after careful study of prototype pictures. Bare in mind that this is South Westland, New Zealand, with a VERY high rainfall. I used N-scale white stones for barnacles, N-scale Scenic textures weathered yard ballast blended with Woodland Scenics fine turf soil for brown moss, Woodland Scenics course turf light green for spreading mosses, and Scenic Textures fine turf in two different shades (summer grass and autumn yellow) for lichens and highlights. There was also a bit of red and moss green that came from a super tree starter kit - unlabeled. This process was mainly done by toothpick, matte medium, gravity and blowing.  I dabbed on a few spots of matte medium (5 or 6) and then tipped my diorama to a good angle and sprinkled on my colour in pinchfuls.  The diorama was then turned upside down and given a couple of tapes and then the area blown to remove anything loose.  With the coarse turf I use a pair of tweezers to position small pieces of turf and then patted into the matte medium with a finger - if I could get a finger to it!  I added some Woodland Scenics grey small and medium stones. Random for me seems to involve carefully placing with tweezers! When these were glued in position I washed with slate grey to match my plaster castings. These photos were taken before the stones were added.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Well next up was the water.  I watched Troels Kirk's youtube video on making water to refresh my memory and got to it.  I used Atelier impasio gel.  This is a gloss gel and is a heavy gel.  It didn't seem to be quite as heavy as the gel Troels used and so to get any major action in the water I had to wait until it was starting to set.  I used toothpicks, ice block sticks, and a small pallet knife.  It was very time consuming getting the gel into all the nooks and crannies, and I had to kind of work it in there by dropping a blob and then pocking and prodding with a toothpick.  My next job is to paint the wave tops.  The gel dries completely clear.  However the hedge trimming guy turned up yesterday and we have 1.2km of hedging that will need cleaning up!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark, this is exciting progress on the wharf and scenery. I really like the look. Makes me wish I was there, on vacation in the scene!  Great job so far.
--Opa George

QuoteMark, this is exciting progress on the wharf and scenery. I really like the look. Makes me wish I was there, on vacation in the scene!  Great job so far.

Thanks very much, Opa George!  I take that as high praise as it is exactly high I feel when I look at pictures of Franklin on the F&SM.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

If this the level of detail you're doing "down below".....I'm looking forward to seeing what you do "up above".  :)

I'm not much into waterfront scenes, at least seaside ones, but love the way you have made it look.

Jim

QuoteIf this the level of detail you're doing "down below".....I'm looking forward to seeing what you do "up above".

Thanks Gregory!  I'm still working out the sizing of everything at this stage.  Usually you just start at the bottom and work your way up - but this complex has so many different 'bottoms'!

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteI'm not much into waterfront scenes, at least seaside ones, but love the way you have made it look.

Thanks Jim!  I'll take it as a great compliment that you stopped by!

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Well, I finally got around to getting some paint on those wave tops!  I painted the wave crests with a very light blue made from mixing Josonja's titanium white with Brera cerulean blue. The foam was done by dry dabbing with titanium white. The method I used was one I learnt from watching a Troels Kirk youtube video.

Below are some photos of the results.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark


I just got caught up with your build. Fantastic work and I love the design.

Those waves really came to life, Mark. Nice job.  I'm coming back to these pics for inspiration when I work in my water area.
--Opa George

Mark,

This is really great stuff. The water and sea grass look fantastic. Did I mention you make it look easy.

Again, really fantastic work on this.

Tom  ;D

Good work.  I can almost smell the salt air.

QuoteI just got caught up with your build. Fantastic work and I love the design

Thanks, John.

It is a very neat structure.  Next is to work out the heights of the different buildings.  There is nothing to give me a definite gauge in the photos.  I think I just need to draw up the front elevation and then tweak things until they look right.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteThose waves really came to life, Mark. Nice job.  I'm coming back to these pics for inspiration when I work in my water area

Thanks, George.

I take that as a great compliment.  Here is the link to Troel's youtube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMtXDlS0Tdg

He uses a slightly different product and I believe the gel he uses is thicker giving you the ability to give the water more action.  I have used this product for water on a canal scene several years ago and it still looks the same.  There has been no yellowing over time.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteThis is really great stuff. The water and sea grass look fantastic. Did I mention you make it look easy.

Again, really fantastic work on this.

Thanks, Tom.

For the Inglletown section (across the peninsula) I think I'll try to find exactly the same product as Troels uses and get some bigger wave action on the beaches.  I don't know about making it look easy.  I have been worried about ruining what I have done so far with every new step - but so far everything has turned out OK.  The four little plaster piles were the trickiest to do.  They were so fragile.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteGood work.  I can almost smell the salt air.

Thanks, Bob.

It was actually fun work.  I'm a bit more confident now and am keen to have a go at some bigger waves.

Cheers, Mark.

Hey Mark:

All looks just great sofar. Can't wait to see some more of this project.

Karl

QuoteAll looks just great so far. Can't wait to see some more of this project.

Thanks Karl.

I've started work on the front elevation drawing. Rather time consuming, but it feels like a long time since I've done any technical drawing, and I'm enjoying it.

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

As this will take a while, I thought I'd do updates as I work through.

Here is the font and left side elevations of the first sub assembly.  Remember there is another step from the timber wharf to the track (laid in paved roadway) behind.  Approximately 1 inch in height (7 scale feet).  Sorry about the mishap with the coffee.  But I wasn't about to start over!

There are still a few details to work out as I move through this project.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Quote from: mark dalrymple on January 25, 2020, 08:32:47 PM
Hi guys.

As this will take a while, I thought I'd do updates as I work through.

Here is the font and left side elevations of the first sub assembly.  Remember there is another step from the timber wharf to the track (laid in paved roadway) behind.  Approximately 1 inch in height (7 scale feet).  Sorry about the mishap with the coffee.  But I wasn't about to start over!

There are still a few details to work out as I move through this project.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark



The best designs always have coffee stains.  ;) Good thing you were not designing on your computer.

Hi guys.

Thanks, John.  Good to know re the coffee stains.

Well, below are the rest of the plans for this part of the complex.  I have also added the walk-over to the tower to the coffee stained plan.  I am keeping this walk over open to allow viewing through to the urban scene behind.  There has been a lot of consideration given to the different ground level heights as well as the internal floor heights.  I tried a slightly vertically stretched plan, but in the end it didn't help address any of the problematic areas of the complex and I felt it was slightly out of proportion.  I wanted the open walk-over to leave the tower at the same height as the one at right angles that will transverse the tracks disguising a mirror below (like great divide yard on the Gorre and Dephited) and so I needed minimum clearance.  With my stretched out plan the walk-over was closer to level, but I decided I liked it better with more slope.

There are still a few details to work out moving forwards.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Just read through this thread having apparently missed this on previous forum visits. Excellent work. I've always like your confusing looking results and how ell planned they always are. This will be no exception.

--Rich

PS  I noticed early on in the thread a mention of 'towers' on cannery row. Did you mean Hovden's vertical hoist standing out in the water a couple hundred feet off the 'row'?

Thanks Rich.

The towers I'm basing my tower on were right on the wharf.  Louis Gomes wrote this on another thread.  'those vessels at Terminal Island Fish Harbor unload their catches of sardines into the recesses of the canneries that line the land side of the wharf on Terminal Island, the crews would be ladling out scoopfuls of sardines.  The silver coloured fish come up in the meshes on the end of a long handle, and then disappear into the elevator and are carried up, sideways and into the cannery to be processed.' 

In my tower there will also be an open walkway as shown in the plans above.

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

I had a bit of a door dilemma. I need 6'8" doors for this project as the basement only has enough ceiling height for this height door. I also want some double freight doors. After examining and measuring all my doors it seems no one makes them. All the Tichy and Grandt line double doors are 8'. I've seem some great doors being scratch-built on this and other forums, and have always wanted to give some a go - so here was the perfect opportunity.

I got a few strips of pre-stained 6"x2" and 4"x2" strip-wood and dry sock dabbed the 6"x2" with antique green and the 4"x2" with unbleached titanium. I then taped a piece of high tack painters tape sticky side up and attached my 6"x2" to it after cutting it to length.

Photo 1 shows the 6"x2" attached to the painters tape. The cross braces are also glued to the door to give strength.

I then went about cutting and fitting the white 4"x2" trim to frame the doors and put in the cross bracing.

Photo 2 - shows the two doors sitting in approximate positions.

When done I trimmed off the tape, flipped the doors back to front, and cut about  1mm off the edge of the tape so you wouldn't see the tape when viewing from the side. I added Vector cut hinges which will look like runners disappearing into the channel above the doors. All in all it was pretty painless.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Quote from: mark dalrymple on February 07, 2020, 04:10:37 PM
Thanks Rich.

The towers I'm basing my tower on were right on the wharf. <snip> In my tower there will also be an open walkway as shown in the plans above.

Cheers, Mark.

Gottcha.

I did find a photo of the old Hovden bucket hoist...
https://pixels.com/featured/view-of-hovden-fish-tower-and-old-bucket-hoist-from-the-east-cannery-row-1927-california-views-archives-mr-pat-hathaway-archives.html (https://pixels.com/featured/view-of-hovden-fish-tower-and-old-bucket-hoist-from-the-east-cannery-row-1927-california-views-archives-mr-pat-hathaway-archives.html)
Just thought it was kin of interesting.

Mark, great job on the scratchbuilt doors.  They look much nicer than a pre-formed plastic part, for sure.  I am also quite excited by those plans. Can't wait to see more of your structure complex come to life.
--Opa George

Great modeling.

Looking good Mark!

That's going to be an impressive scene Mark.....well done.  8)

QuoteGottcha.

I did find a photo of the old Hovden bucket hoist...

Thanks for the photo, Rich.

I tried to find a picture after your initial post, but couldn't fine one.  Its similar to what I have in mind.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteMark, great job on the scratchbuilt doors.  They look much nicer than a pre-formed plastic part, for sure.  I am also quite excited by those plans. Can't wait to see more of your structure complex come to life.

Thanks, George.

I also discovered that neither Tichy or Grandt line make residential height french doors.  Again they are all 8' tall.  It seems to me there is a real hole in the market for smaller doors and windows.  With my 100 houses to build I'm going to need plenty!

I'm quite excited by the plans, too.  I hope I can bring them to life...

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteGreat modeling.

Thanks, Curt.

QuoteLooking good Mark!

Thanks, Carl.

We have a sick dog at the moment so I have set myself up at the dinning table so I can be with her.  She is on the mend now.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteThat's going to be an impressive scene Mark.....well done.

Thanks, Gregory.

Its nice that it will be the first up front structure that you will see when entering the layout room.

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Well I've been working on the first wharf.  Fiddly and time consuming.  The round post in the second photo is for the crane.  Its just sitting in position at the moment.  I just have 6 more railings to put on and then its plain sailing.  I'm going to leave the right end without railings for the fishermen to 'ladle their catches into nets'.  The decking was checked around all the posts so I got good fixing onto the joists.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Just catching up on you build. It's looking great.

Mark,

Getting caught up once again. Beautiful job on the doors. They look natural to me and the upper rollers are great. Wharf is coming along nicely.

Tom  ;D

QuoteJust catching up on you build. It's looking great.

Thanks very much, Larry.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteGetting caught up once again. Beautiful job on the doors. They look natural to me and the upper rollers are great. Wharf is coming along nicely.

Thanks, Tom.

I don't have much in the way of strip styrene - but found an I-beam that fitted perfectly in seconds!  I bought a few packets of Vector Cut stuff at Scranton in 2015 - so pleased I did now!

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Well - Daisy is allowed her cone off - but is not allowed to lick - so she has been sleeping at my feet while I just had to find something quiet to do.  Fortunately HO scale decking was perfect!

I checked a whole  heap of measurements and allowed a little extra coverage for my decking and have now finished decking back to the tower.  I want to check the front legs of the tower into the decking, so have to design it before I finish the last little bit.  The front of the tower will be at the wharf deck height - to allow easy unloading for the fisherman - while the back will be at road/ rail height.  The first floor of the tower needs to be high enough to allow a walk-over or conveyor to give enough clearance above the track.  This will give a floor height of 67mm from the road side and 87mm from the wharf.  That's 19' and 25'.  I then have to make the tower look in proportion - without taking up too much room.

Photo one shows a close up of the deck and water below.

Photo two shows the deck from above.  You can see I added some balsa wood to get a nice level platform (and some strip styrene).  These will both be hidden under the building footprint.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

That looks terrific Mark!   ;D

Mark, wharf and decking look very nice.  Good color to the wood.
Hope Daisy heals quickly!
--Opa George

Beautiful modeling.

Mark


Your project is coming along nicely - beautiful modeling.

Wow!!!!! That's one heck of a job Mark................Dennis

QuoteThat looks terrific Mark!

Thanks, Bob!

The next section of the wharf will be largely under cover so I have used some Campbells scribed decking.  I used the same weathering and distressing techniques.  The colour came up fine, but you don't get the variation between boards like you do with stripwood.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteMark, wharf and decking look very nice.  Good color to the wood.
Hope Daisy heals quickly!

Thanks, George.

I'm happy with this Golden titan buff as a colouring (and as a substitute for Floquil grime).  I think after doing the process a few times its best to give the wood a bath in leather dye and alcohol first, and then the sponge and paper towel wipe second.

Daisy is doing well.  Its a struggle to keep her quiet!  I try to remind her that she has just had major surgery, but it seems to fall on deaf ears!

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteBeautiful modeling.

QuoteYour project is coming along nicely - beautiful modeling.

Thanks Curt and John!

Our Easter convention is looming so I need to make sure I'm prepared for that as well. As well as the layout tour I'm giving a talk - something along the design/ composition/ use of mock-ups line.  I also suggested I might run a structure special interest group.  I've been to four NZ conventions now and there has never been one.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteWow!!!!! That's one heck of a job Mark................Dennis

Thanks, Dennis!

Its been a lot of fun so far.  I think its the most complex structure I've ever attempted.

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Well, I managed to get the next wharf area completed.  This area will be largely under cover, so to save on time and materials I used Campbell's scribed planking for the decking (stolen from kits I will never build or have kit-bashed).  I distressed and weathered it the same as my stripwood and then cut and glued it together, after some careful measuring and a bit of math, to the right size and shape.  I cut my 8"x2" joists to length on my Northeastern chopper and marked the positions on the underside of the wharf in pencil - approximately 18" centres.  I used canopy glue and tweezers to carefully position the joists.  Since this wharf will sit at the very front of the layout it will be possible to view the underside of the decking.  The prototype has a boundary joist running all the way around the outside of the wharf.  As I have gone to the trouble of putting the entire deck on joists, I elected to leave the areas not sitting over the concrete retaining walls without boundary joists, so that the viewer will be able to see all the ends of the joists.  this will hopefully entice them to check under the rest of the wharf to see if I have gone to the trouble of fully joisting the wharf where they will find I have.  I drilled and added nut/bolt castings to the timberwork attached to the wharf above the concrete foundation.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

The posts and beams look especially good with the aging & distressing you did.....well done Mark.  8)

Hey Mark:

That is coming along very nicely. Beautiful job so far. Can't wait to see what comes next.

Karl

Very good work on this, Mark.  Agreed that the distressed wood looks top-notch.
--Opa George

Beautiful, Mark.

I avoid waterfront scenes, I'd have to do them at ultra low tide, my water modeling is the pits LOL

Jim

Quote from: JimF on February 18, 2020, 02:27:38 AM
Beautiful, Mark.

I avoid waterfront scenes, I'd have to do them at ultra low tide, my water modeling is the pits LOL

Jim

But imagine what you could do with one of those "scent generators" for a low tide scene  ;D


dave

QuoteThe posts and beams look especially good with the aging & distressing you did.....well done Mark. 

QuoteVery good work on this, Mark.  Agreed that the distressed wood looks top-notch.

Thanks, Gregory and George.  My power drill with a wire wheel technique works well on the larger timbers.  I must remember to look at wire dremel wheels next time I'm at the hardware store.  They could be just the thing for the smaller timbers.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteHey Mark:

That is coming along very nicely. Beautiful job so far. Can't wait to see what comes next.

Thanks for your comment and stopping by, Karl.  I'm hoping to get a bit more done tomorrow.  I've been debating colours - mainly how much I want to add.  I like the unbleached titanium as a trim colour.  Its amazing how off white it looks on its own, and how white it looks when placed next to a bright colour.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteQuote from: JimF on Today at 02:27:38 AM
Beautiful, Mark.

I avoid waterfront scenes, I'd have to do them at ultra low tide, my water modeling is the pits LOL

Jim


But imagine what you could do with one of those "scent generators" for a low tide scene  ;D


dave

Thanks Jim and Dave.

Jim - I recommend the medium I used and Troel's video as a guide.  It really isn't hard.

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Sorry its been so long - I've been busy with garden projects, including making a model of our house to see how the proportions of the hedging, herbaceous boarders and formal lawn will look.

As I mentioned last time, I have been debating colours.  I have pictures of my wharf seen in a very warn state with very little variation in colours, and those colours being very washed out, and others straight after repainting with very bright new paint.  I liked the colours used, but I also liked the warn look, and so I will attempt to join the two.  I've been working on the walls that surround the perimeter of the wharf to the left of the high concrete retaining wall.  The colours I have used are Floquil mud, oxide red and big sky blue, and Josonja's unbleached titanium.  I used a fine brush to apply paint to the groves in the Northeastern scribed siding - a little randomly, and then dry socked the siding.  The problem with just dry socking (terry clothing, sponging) scribed siding and weatherboard is it leaves the paint off exactly where nature leaves it on the longest - in the groves and under the laps - where it has the most protection from the elements.  This extra step helps to remedy this problem.  I then followed up with a wash of light leather dye and alcohol mix and then a dry sponging and paper towel wiping with Golden Titan buff - my new go to weathering paint.  Trim was dry socked with unbleached titanium, but without the wash and titan buff.  The walls are just sitting in position for the photo.  I need to add some 6"x2" to the bottom of the wall, which i will hang down sufficiently to cover the Campbell's siding I used for the decking in this area.

I also spent some time working out measurements and continuing the planning work.

Mark,


I really like the walls along the retaining wall.  IMO, they're suitably weathered and the use of different colors really adds interest.

QuoteI really like the walls along the retaining wall.  IMO, they're suitably weathered and the use of different colors really adds interest.

Thanks, Jerry.

I agree that the different colours add interest.  I usually struggle a bit choosing colour schemes for my structures, so when I find one in a prototype that I like I'm inclined to use it, all be it a toned down version.  When I put the painted wall in position on the wharf I was happy with that decision.

Cheers, Mark.

Mark


Looking good.  I really like the colors and the painting technique.

Thanks, John.

My order of track arrived yesterday, so my modelling time has been spent out in the model room working out the finer aesthetics of my track design.  I've also been thinking and taking notes on the talk I'm giving at the Easter convention.  Really just trying to work out what I do that is a bit unique within the hobby, and how I can best make that useful for my audience.

More soon, cheers, mark.

Cheers Mark,

I agree with Jerry and John. The faded weathered wall will really add to the realism of the structure. I've seen many structures with different colors do to repairs and or additions.

I like the multiple colors, looks great.

Tom  ;D

QuoteI agree with Jerry and John. The faded weathered wall will really add to the realism of the structure. I've seen many structures with different colors do to repairs and or additions.

I like the multiple colors, looks great.

Thanks, Tom!

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Well the COVID19 has meant the end of our Easter modelling convention, so yesterday I got back to the cannery and wharf. I've been chipping away at various aspects of it, but have been concentrating on getting things ready for the layout tour and the talk I was going to be giving at Easter.

I built the walls into two sub-assemblies and then glued onto the wharf. The base trim hanging down below the wall made a nice L-shaped 'foot' to make fitting easier. I had to add a small shim where my meeting of the two sub-assemblies was slightly short, but I made the join at the inner of one of the two short return walls and so even if I had made it a little ugly (it turned out invisible) it wouldn't have been seen.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark


Sorry to hear your Easter Convention was cancelled.  Cancellations are the new norm here in the States, too.  I am getting to spend more time in my train room. ;)  I'm starting to talk to my little people.  I will be watching for your updates.

Hi guys.

Thanks for your comment, John.  Its nice to know your checking in on my progress!

I've been working away at my cannery the last couple of days as time permits. I scratch-built a few more doors and made up a foundation/basement for the left end of the complex.

Photo 1 - Here are the new doors.


Photo 2 - The foundation coming together.  I used Wills plasticard.  It may be some time before I can restock so I was very frugal and spliced together leftovers rather than using a fresh sheet.  With a good splice and some putty the seam pretty much disappears, and remember all of this will be under a suspended timber framing.


Photo 3 - Taping the corners to putty the 45 degree seams.


Photo 4 - A close up of the finished brickwork with door installed.  Painted with burnt sienna and black and grouted with white chalk.


Photo 5 - The foundation sitting in position.  You can see I opted for antique green for the main timber wall behind.  I still have to cut 1 or 2 openings in that wall.  The back of this will have combinations of the colours, including brick, in its walls.


The brickwork all sits above or behind the concrete wharf retaining wall. Its a big structure so I'm still unsure how I'll tackle getting everything lined up nicely both vertically and horizontally. I'm pretty much making it up as I go along!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

For the back wall opposite the front green section I decided to deviate from my drawings.  I found a nice picture of a group of workers outside a cannery and liked the look.  Its a simple wall without all the inns and outs I had proposed - ins and outs that would mean the main roof would have to be reduced in width - which I didn't like as it looked too thin, and a whole lot of extra work for a part of the structure which will only be visible from a distance.  I also added  a piece of aluminium channel longways to give the complex some stability and tie it all together.

Photo 1 - shows the cardboard with openings cut out.  I added a brick foundation above the two freight doors.  you can see I ruled horizontal lines for the shingle cladding.

Photo 2 - shows the Campbell shingles half on.  I covered the cardboard with double sided tape, but also added a bead of canopy glue to the top of the row of shingles below before adding the row above.  In this way the double sided tape gives an easy fixing point to keep the row of shingles lined up with the pencil markings, and the glue gives some extra fixing between the paper shingles.

Photo 3 - shows the shingles completed and my dark brown base coat applied.  I try to paint upwards, getting the bottom of all the shingles and underneath any that are sticking out.

Photo 4 - shows the dry brushing completed.  This is dune in a downward motion, often with the brush turned sideways.  the paints and brush I used are all shown in the photo.  This is a technique I learnt from Troels Kirk's DVD.

Photo 5 - shows the shingles cut out from openings and trimmed at the ends and top and the windows and doors in position.  The windows will be painted unbleached titanium and I still need to add trim around the three doors.  I will also add a piece of 4x2" between the freight doors along the entire top of the brickwork.  I used a chisel blade to remove the shingles and found this much better than a knife.  Double sided tape is a mare to cut with  knife.

Thanks for checking in, cheers, Mark.

Great looking wall.  Love the shingle coloring.


Jeff

Hey Mark:

Really love what you did with the shingled wall. Great coloring and drybrushing.

Karl

Mark, excellent detail work on those walls.  I'm getting a really good picture of it coming together from the drawings.  Exciting!
--Opa George

Build is going really well, fantastic work on the shingled walls, really pops.

Thanks very much for your kind comments Jeff, Karl, George and Lynn.

This technique is really very easy.  Its the first time I have tried such a big brush, but found it worked very well.  I'll also certainly be painting any wall shingles before removing the openings in the future - and using a chisel tip on my craft knife.  A bit of experimentation has resulted in a lot of small changes to this technique.

QuoteI'm getting a really good picture of it coming together from the drawings.  Exciting!

George - yes - I feel as though I broke the back of the build yesterday.  It has certainly been the hardest scratch-build I have attempted.  I'll post some more pictures later today.  I finally fixed the main structure base to the wharf.  I felt I had gone as far as I could with the sub-assembly separate.  Its the third time I have used a piece of 10mm aluminium U-tubing to keep things straight and aligned and add strength.  I'm now a big fan and will buy another length when 'unessential' stores are back open to the public again.  I'm writing a list as I keep getting 3/4 of the way through my non modeling projects and finding I don't have something I need.  Yesterday it was exterior oil for my macrocarpa cross cut flitch seat I built and so I can't mount it to my posts.  A bit frustrating, but no biggie.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

I've been working on a couple of the sub-assemblies, as well as correcting a mistake I discovered after careful examination of a couple of the prototype photos.  Basically I had missed a protrusion that if i didn't add would muck with the proportions of the building.  Most of the fix time was spent deciding how best to fix it and working up the courage to do it.  Once I'd jumped that hurdle the rest was pretty easy.  I had to remove a small sub-assemble attached to the main front wall, and then build a new sub-assembly to add to the internal corner.  The new piece had a panel of louvers near the top which was a nice feature.  The photos below show how I achieved this.

Photo 1 - shows the Tichy Train window shutters, the panel of ventilation louvers and the top of the new wall.  In New Zealand there are almost no structures with window shutters so these are always left over from structure builds.  I cut 5 of these in half, and glued them together.  I glued a piece of bracing on the back for strength. 

Photo 2 - shows the louvers in position.  I sprayed with dulcote to prime and then painted a blackish brown, and, when dry, dry brushed.  I lightly cut the shape of the louvers in the wall and then chiseled material out to the depth of the thickness of the louvers.  I also cut a rectangular hole in the wall for the wood bracing.

Photo 3 - shows the louvers finished.  I glued these in position using canopy glue.  I then used my chopper to cut pieces of 4x2", painted unbleached titanium, into two tops and 6 uprights.  I carefully glued these in position using canopy glue.

To paint the main wall green I quickly painted with slightly watered paint using a 1" brush and then immediately used a damp sponge to wipe off the majority of the paint.  This left the paint only in the groves and I then dry socked over this, following with an ink wash and dry brushing.  I'm hoping this technique will work with oil based paints also.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Here is a photo of the sub-assembly glued into position and the small flat roof detail.  I used extra sticky masking tape for the roof, cutting this into thin strips.  I attached it with a small overhang at the back and sides, cut the back corner out and then lifted it up 90-degrees.  I glued the edges of the sub-assembly, carefully slipped it into position, and then used a toothpick to work the tape to the sides of the wall.  I have made up a corrugated iron roof for the sloped roof (still to be added).  I've been working on getting some other walls ready - cutting to size, splicing, working out openings etc.  Still a ways to go.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Very nice work, Mark.  I like it, for sure.  This is where those multi-color walls really stand tall, in conjunction with the structure walls. Very eye-catching combination.
--Opa George

QuoteVery nice work, Mark.  I like it, for sure.  This is where those multi-color walls really stand tall, in conjunction with the structure walls. Very eye-catching combination.

Thanks so much, George.

Below is a photo of the right end sub-assembly coming together.  I spliced three pieces of siding together around the unseen plastic piece to save on material.  The ground level changes as we move from left to right to the blue walls, hence the step.  The nail-hole debate is really loud in my head at present.  I decided with these walls the large pieces would be nailed on first with a nail at each end, and then the battens nailed over the top of those nails.  Those battens are just to thin to get a nail hole in, so I opted for no nails.  I think I've pleased everyone there - the non-nailers are happy because there are no out of scale nail-holes, and the nailers are happy because there is a good reason for why there are no structure enhancing nail-holes!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Quote from: mark dalrymple on April 13, 2020, 05:08:39 PM
  I think I've pleased everyone there - the non-nailers are happy because there are no out of scale nail-holes, and the nailers are happy because there is a good reason for why there are no structure enhancing nail-holes!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

I like it!  But the most important result is that you please Mark.
--Opa George

Indeed, George!

Hi guys.

Well - a bit more progress today.  There is a lot to think about.  I made up a central floor to keep the sub-assembly true and square and to add strength.  I decided my best approach was to glue the side wall to the side of the existing structure and then glue the front wall to that, making a right angle.  I added horizontal bracing which also acted as a support for the internal floor and to get this floor properly aligned when gluing in the next stage.  The idea was that I could then make up the back and other side wall into a sub-assembly with the floor glued in place, and then slide this into position.

Photo 1 - shows the end of the main building where the sub-assembly I've been working on fits.  The plastic base is cut to fit the inside of the exterior walls.  You can see the aluminium strengthening rod which runs through the entire complex.

Photo 2 - shows where I cut and chiseled out a small amount of plaster to get a good fit.

Photo 3 - shows a close up of these results.

Photo 4 - shows the sub-assembly front glued in place from the front.

Photo 5 - shows the inside.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Short and sweet - I love it!  ;D

Very nice work. I love the idea of the alignment key. 

Hi guys.

Thanks very much Bob and John.

John - I have found the alignment key very useful attached to the back on low relief structures.

Below is the second half of this sub-assembly.  The colours are mud, big sky blue and unbleached titanium white.

Photo 1 - shows the side and the back wall sitting on the cutting mat.  You can see the internal floor is glued in position.

Photo 2 - shows the two walls coming together.

Photo 3 - shows the sub-assembly glued together.

I test fitted it with its other half and the fit was good.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hey Mark:

It's looking just great so far.

Karl

Hi guys.

Thanks, Karl - I'm enjoying this scratch-build.  There is lots of variety.

OK.  I thought it would be nice to do a bit more at the front.  Now that that last sub-assembly has been glued in position I can get the raised decking done.  I cut a piece of balsa wood the thickness of my joists shorter that the plaster retaining wall and glued that to the inside.  I also glued a piece of 6x6" timber to the green wall opposite, at the same height.  A marked a boundary joist at 18" centres and glued joists to it that would span to the balsa wood.  I kept these square in a temporary jig made from bits and pieces off my work bench.  When dry I was able to glue this sub-assembly into position in one piece.  I then added the decking in situ.  For the first section across the plaster I glued three pieces of decking together, edge to edge, and put in as one piece.  In this way I was able to 'float' across and slight depressions in the plaster casting.

I checked out the top and bottom of four 6x6" studs, the top for the beam and the bottom to sit closer into the retaining wall.  I then glued my cladding between the posts, leaving the cladding flush with the back of the posts. This will give a nice positive detail and give much better gluing, as the cladding will sit on top of the decking.  I then glued 6x2" trim to the top, and added the beam and some diagonal braces.  I actually had this part completed and was giving it an inspection when I discovered I had added the cladding flush to the front of the posts rather than the back.  Damn!  So I had to undo, clean off the glue and redo.

Photo 1 - shows the decking with the joists underneath.

Photo 2 - shows the decking completed.

Photo 3 - shows the back of the wall with the posts checked out (and the walls attached incorrectly)

Photo 4 - shows the finished wall.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Next was the veranda roof and the small addition to the left of the veranda.  For the veranda roof I cut a piece of black card to the right size, marked spacings for rafters on the underside, and cut these to length with a small angle at each end on my chopper.  I glued them on with canapy glue.

I stained and painted up some clapboard in antique green, marked and cut out the three walls.  I put high stick painters tape on the reverse side of the wall with the door in it, and carefully cut this opening out - against the grain first, of course.  Amazingly I didn't break it!  I glued the 6x6" corner trim to the ends of the raked walls and trimmed.  I added vertical stripwood to the inside of the two raked walls, flush to the back of the 6x6's.  This gives a good fit for attaching the front.  I also made up a base, back and roof out of cardboard to keep things square and true and to add strength.

Photo 1 - the underside of the veranda roof.

Photo 2 - the three walls for the small addition.

Photo's 3 & 4 - the veranda and addition sitting in position.  Please note - I hope to get the veranda wall a little plumber when gluing! 

These will have to be put aside until I design,build and install the flights of stairs.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Great work, Mark. Very creative. I especially like the chipped paint effect on the small addition. It does't look like sponging. Did you do something special there?

Hey Mark:

Looking good keep the photos coming.

Karl

Thanks Vince and Karl.

Vince - I use an inside out gym sock rather than a sponge, but I do another step which I think makes a big difference.  I use a fine brush and kind of bounce it along underneath the lap of the clapboards in a bit of a random way.  I then dry sock over that.  In the prototype the paint always stays on under the laps, where it has the most protection from the elements for the longest.  This extra step helps to emulate this.

Cheers, Mark.

Awesome work!
     I'm going to give that sock method a try,,, I've been a "sponger" for years and years! The paint on the clapboard looks really nice

Mark,
All of the add-ons is really making this come alive. Fantastic!
--Opa George

Hi guys.

Thanks, Bob and George!

Bob - I go into a bit more detail into my painting method earlier in this thread.

George - Yep - there are so many little add ons along with all those ups and downs, but they seem to look very natural - no doubt because they all had a purpose.

I'm trying to get a little bit done each day and then upload a few photos to help keep the momentum going.  So far it is working.

Today I put together another little addition.  This one will go on the last building I was working on, just to the right of the high concrete retaining wall.  I will need this one in place before tackling the flight of stairs in front of it.  I also made up another ventilation box - this one will sit slightly proud of the wall and so I framed the sides in 8x2" and then did the edges in 4x2".  This one will sit just below the dry transfer and above the veranda roof.  The unevenness of the vertical 4x2"'s is based on the prototype.

Photo 1 - showing the new addition glued together.  Painted mud with a fancy little window for a bit of variety, and the Tichy Train louvers glued together with a couple of pieces of 0.75x1mm styrene and glued to a piece of 1.5mm styrene.

Photo 2 - shows the ventilation box completed.  It was painted the same as the last one.  This box is 42mm (1.65") long by 15mm (0.6") high by 3mm (0.12") deep - way smaller than the photo.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark


It looks great - I really like the painting technique, very realistic.

Hi guys.

Thanks, John.  I'm working on getting through some of those Floquil paint bottles!

Well, just one photo to add today.  I decided having a porch without a decent set of doors behind it didn't look right, so I had to cut a hole in the assembled structure.  I really try to avoid this as much as possible, as its very easy to slip and cause damage.  All went well though, and I'm happy with the results.

I also cut out the last of the walls, including openings, and painted.  I put on the paint to one wall at a time, wiped off as much as I could, and then used thinners to remove more.  In this way I got paint in all the tiny vertical gaps, but not on the positive detail boards.  I then followed up with my inside out gym sock.  I'll follow up with a light wash of isopropyl alcohol and leather dye and dry brushing with titan buff tomorrow (and take some photos).

The photo below shows the new scratch built double doors installed and the roof, veranda wall and ventilation box sitting in position.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Very nice Mark.

Great looking peeling paint. I've been attempting the peeling paint with a terri cloth and dabbing , hard to get it right.

Hi guys.

Thanks for your comments and following along Curt and Lynn.

Lynn - I dab my sock on a paper towel until it looses the blob effect and I can see the individual sock thread loops.  When I need more paint I use a new part of the sock.

Below are the last (hopefully) of the walls after being painted as described before, and after a wash of alcohol and leather dye.  They still have to be dry brushed.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hey Mark:

The walls look great. Keep the photos coming.

Karl

The walls came out great, you say a sock huh? Maybe the Terri Cloth I'm using is a bad way to go.
I'm pretty much done with painting on my build but will try a sock on the next build. I do like the effects you're achieving.

The walls look great. I have several plastic kits to build and I plan on using this technique.

Thanks so much, Karl, Lynn and Curt.

I'm pleased you like the technique and it sounds like some of you will be giving it a go.  So, with that in mind, I'll do a small sample and try to elaborate with some extra photos.

I got the main overhanging structure together this morning so will hopefully get back to that again later today and upload some photos.  There is a whole under-frame of bearers and joists that I will need to do for this.  Also, the roof has a row of cupolas which I had to consider how best to get these aligned.  The doors and windows have also had a soapy wash and rinse and when dry will get a blast of primer.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Quote from: mark dalrymple on April 20, 2020, 06:50:31 PM
Thanks so much, Karl, Lynn and Curt.

I'm pleased you like the technique and it sounds like some of you will be giving it a go.  So, with that in mind, I'll do a small sample and try to elaborate with some extra photos.

I got the main overhanging structure together this morning so will hopefully get back to that again later today and upload some photos.  There is a whole under-frame of bearers and joists that I will need to do for this.  Also, the roof has a row of cupolas which I had to consider how best to get these aligned.  The doors and windows have also had a soapy wash and rinse and when dry will get a blast of primer.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark


I will be giving your technique a try, too.  I'm very interested in the texture of the sock - if you can figure out a way to take a picture of it.  I don't think all socks are created equal for this. I also gave up on the towel and have been using sponges with limited success.

Hi guys.

Thanks, John.  I'll be sure and take some pictures of my sock!

A quick update before I hit the hay.  Below is the new sub-assembly assembled and sitting in position.  I can already feel the drama this suspended part of the cannery will bring to the scene.  I have another (!!!) lot of stripwood taking a nice bath (10x2", 8x2", 6x2" and 4x2"), and the windows and doors are primed.  I was listening to a podcast today where Doug Foscale was saying he uses small pieces of sponge held in a pair of tweezers to do detail painting.  I wonder if I can do that with small pieces of sock?!!  Actually a serious question.  I'll have the answer soon!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hey Mark:

looking just great. Keep the pics flowing.

Karl

Quote from: mark dalrymple on April 21, 2020, 05:59:56 AM
  I can already feel the drama this suspended part of the cannery will bring to the scene.

  I was listening to a podcast today where Doug Foscale was saying he uses small pieces of sponge held in a pair of tweezers to do detail painting.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Yes, indeed.  This is exciting to follow. 
I heard that podcast, also. Lots of tips shared--were you taking notes?
Take care,
--Opa George

Hi guys.

thanks Karl and George.

George - no, I was busy modelling while listening.  I did rewind at one point to get his sequence on weathering.  Bob Van Gelder has been my favourite of their podcasts so far.  I'm looking forward to his return.  The way Bob incorporates changes in height to his complexes is second to none.  He also seemed to lead the direction of the podcast, which I think worked much better.  I think all the great modellers have their own areas that they consider their strengths, and the most important parts of the hobby to them, and if they are left to lead the direction of the podcast themselves, these are the areas they explore naturally, and we, the listeners, gain so much more.

Ok.  John - below are three photos of my sock! (Only on modelers forum!)

Photo 1 - turned in the right way.  You can see it has extra support for the ball and heel of your foot.

Photo 2 - turned inside out.

Photo 3 - a close up.  You can see the threads are looped - like a loop pile carpet.

And a couple of run of the mill pics.

Photo 4 - the doors and windows and sliding door tracks after priming.  Hopefully I will find time today to give the 'held in tweezers inside out sock piece dry dabbing technique' a whirl!

Photo 5 - two paper towels covered in more stained stripwood!  All those old wooden kits I bought cheaply over the years to use for scrap materials are coming in handy!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Quote from: mark dalrymple on April 21, 2020, 06:26:13 PM
Hi guys.

thanks Karl and George.

George - no, I was busy modelling while listening.  I did rewind at one point to get his sequence on weathering.  Bob Van Gelder has been my favourite of their podcasts so far.  I'm looking forward to his return.  The way Bob incorporates changes in height to his complexes is second to none.  He also seemed to lead the direction of the podcast, which I think worked much better.  I think all the great modellers have their own areas that they consider their strengths, and the most important parts of the hobby to them, and if they are left to lead the direction of the podcast themselves, these are the areas they explore naturally, and we, the listeners, gain so much more.

Ok.  John - below are three photos of my sock! (Only on modelers forum!)

Photo 1 - turned in the right way.  You can see it has extra support for the ball and heel of your foot.

Photo 2 - turned inside out.

Photo 3 - a close up.  You can see the threads are looped - like a loop pile carpet.

And a couple of run of the mill pics.

Photo 4 - the doors and windows and sliding door tracks after priming.  Hopefully I will find time today to give the 'held in tweezers inside out sock piece dry dabbing technique' a whirl!

Photo 5 - two paper towels covered in more stained stripwood!  All those old wooden kits I bought cheaply over the years to use for scrap materials are coming in handy!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark


Thank you for the pictures - now for a trip to the sock drawer. Mine or my wife's?

Thanks for the pictures , now I see what you mean. Those are actually called ankle socks, found out about these when we first started vacationing in Italy and needed cooler socks.
I too have seen the small sponge technique , something else I need to try.
I take it you throw those socks out after a while? For me I just asked my with for Terri Cloth , I told her of course I would be destroying it. I think my problem is I don't take my time and basicly blot the paint off on paper and then either put too much on or cover too much, I think I'm missing the fine line there.

Hi guys.

John - I hate when my socks get holes in the heels, but instead of throwing ones with good painting texture out, they get one last wash and then join my modelling supplies.

Lynn - its all about that texture.  Using a different part of the sock every other time you reload with paint helps.  If you leave it to long you start to get the blob effect.

So I gave the 'held in tweezers inside out sock piece dry dabbing technique' a go yesterday on a few windows.  My results are below.  Please remember these are magnified to many times their actual size.

Photo 1 - shows the small piece of sock held in some small reversible tweezers.  You can see on the card where I have dabbed socks previously.  When you start to see the individual loops its time to move to your walls (or windows).

Photo 2 - shows the result of dabbing the windows with the sock tweezers.  You can see I've run into the usual problem - no paint in all those hard to get places where it would normally stay the longest in the prototype.  I didn't try to force paint in here with the sock tweezers.  Apart from the possibility of damaging the window, you will end up painting the window frames in solid colour.

Photo 3 - I followed up with a number 2 paint brush and dabbed paint into those hard to get places, but left gaps here and there.  I also did the same with the outside edges of the windows.  When dry I followed up with a dusting of dark brown chalk.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Well - a small update.  The autumn weather has been very nice the last couple of days, with more to come - mild and still and extra quiet, and so there has been lots of outside work that has been fairly appealing and has eaten into my modelling time.  The fantails flit around and chatter to me as I work and many of the trees are adorned with vivid coats of leaves.  NZ moves from level 4 to level 3 lock-down next Tuesday, which will see  non essential businesses that are able to be operated without contact to the public reopening, and our bubbles increasing in size very slightly.  We have managed to get the new daily cases of COVID19 consistently into single digits this past week, and all cases have been traced back to a known source.  My wife will be going into school for a few hours one day each week to look after children of essential workers who are unable to find anyone else to look after them, but all learning will still be done remotely.

Below are a couple of pictures of the small progress I have made.

Photo 1 - shows the joists protruding from underneath the suspended structure ready for the porch decking.

Photo 2 - shows the small addition to the right sitting in position. A stairway will enter the hole at the back and connect to the roof.  Please note - the blue is the same colour as the blue on the retaining wall.  The small louvers are framed and installed at each end and the windows are glazed and glued into position.  I still have the bearers to add.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark,
This is certainly progressing very nicely.  Each day some new features that add interest.  It's nice to see it taking shape.

Glad also that the health situation is progressing for you.  That bubble concept really worked out--maybe a model for the rest of the world.

Best,
Opa George

Hey Mark:

Looking just great. Keep the pics flowing.

Karl

Nice progress shots.
So whats the verdict? Did you prefer the spondge over the sock method? :)

Cheers Mark,

Just getting caught up on your build progress. WOW, I love the look and the different colors really bring it all together.

I've made a note of your sock technique and will give it a try, one day.

Tom  ;D

QuoteMark,
This is certainly progressing very nicely.  Each day some new features that add interest.  It's nice to see it taking shape.

Thanks very much, George. 

Yes - I'm helping keep myself motivated by posting progress daily, as long as there is something to post.  I'm also using my phone to take photos - which means I always have it with me.  I smashed my old phone while working on a scaffolding last year and decided to go up a model or two.  I got an Oppo which had really good reviews, especially the 18 megapixel camera.  I'm finding it much easier to get good, clear photos.  Its almost hard to get bad ones.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteHey Mark:

Looking just great. Keep the pics flowing.

Thanks, Karl.

I'll do my best.  Hoping to get a bit more done today, although its another mild autumn day forecast for 20 degrees C (68F), so the outdoors will be calling.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteNice progress shots.
So whats the verdict? Did you prefer the sponge over the sock method?

Thanks, Lynn.

I've never been a sponger myself, so I can't really compare.  I did try a bit of artists sponge held in the tweezers to see what it might be like for windows.  I tested it on a piece of card, but found it a bit blobby.  I used to do my windows with a pigs trotter shaped brush and kind of dry dab from different angles.  I definitely like this new method, with the sock in tweezers followed up with a small brush, better, although I think it takes a bit longer.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteJust getting caught up on your build progress. WOW, I love the look and the different colors really bring it all together.

Thanks, Tom.  Pleased to have you looking in again.

I'm really enjoying the different colours.  There have been a lot of choices to be made, but I think the unbleached titanium pulls them all together.  I often look at the washed out look that Brett from Seirra West promotes.  The models are exquisite and I love many of the designs, but for my tastes I find there is a little too little colour in them and so everything has a bit of a sameness. I know this is the look he is going for, and it is very thoroughly considered, I just think I like the colours to be a bit bolder.  I had two examples of painting on the prototype - one very much washed out and the other very bold with many different colours.  I guess I tried to find a middle ground.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Yesterdays progress was to start work on the three cupolas for the suspended building.  I worked out the sizing from my plans and made up a cardboard base and drew the position of the cupola walls on it.  I glued two bearers nice and level across each side near the top of the inside walls of the cupola and the cardboard template sits on top of those.  I painted and weathered a bit more siding in oxide red, cut it to the width for the ends (allowing for the 6x6" corner trim), and glued the trim to the sides.  I marked the gable ends and cut out the six wall pieces.  I also glued together two lots of five window shutters, glued these to a styrene backing, and cut these into quarters longways.  These were painted a dark brown/ black and then dry brushed.

Photo 1 - shows the card sitting on top of the structure.

Photo 2 - shows the wall sections for the three cupolas sitting on the cutting mat.  The louvers still need to be framed in 4x2".

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Beautiful work Mark.  That would be a challenge to design and build in the computer never mind scratch building it as you have.

Hi guys.

Thanks very much, Darryl.  it certainly has had its challenges (with many more to come!).

Well - I have framed up around the louvers for the cupolas in 4x2" timber.  The vertical timbers were only 3mm long!  I have assembled 2 so far and glazed another few windows.  I also did a bit of signage - trying to get it looking very old and faded.  A lot of experimenting here.

Photo 1 - shows the louvers framed up in 4x2"

Photo 2 - shows the first cupola assembled.  As of yet I'm not sure what the roofing material will be.  There are a lot of flashings to do!

Photo 3 - shows my sign

Photo 4 - shows Adelaide, the busty brunette, taking in the view from her tiny office. With a smile that makes every male swoon, she is a favourite among the dock workers.

More soon, cheers, Mark. 

Very nice Mark.

Mark, those close-up shots show off your effective peeling paint techniques very nicely.
--Opa George

Hi guys.

Thanks very much Curt and George.

Well - I got the back wall glued in position and am not far away from attaching the suspended building. A few tweaks to make the fit perfect.

There is still all of the suspended decking and flights of stairs to construct at the front, and that will take days. Then there is the tower, the suspended water tank, the walk-overs (one open to show all the interior detail) and a loading crane as well as all the roofs and the left end buildings still to assemble.

Photo 1 - shows the shingle wall glued in position.  I'll need to add a shim - which I'll do with unbleached titanium 4x2" on its edge - to get a nice fit between the shingle wall and the back of the suspended building.

Photo 2 - shows the complex from the back and above.  You really start to get a feel for the mass of it.  Because it is made up of lots of smaller subassemblies, up until now the structure has felt quite small.

Photo 3 - from above and in front.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

The shingle wall is absolutely stunning.

Quote from: Janbouli on April 29, 2020, 06:24:48 PM
The shingle wall is absolutely stunning.

I second this comment.

Hey Mark:

Very well done so far. I also agree the shingled was is superb.

Karl

Coming along well Mark..... 8)

Love the shingle walls.

Thanks so much for all you complements Jan, John, Karl, Gregory and Curt!

The shingle wall was quite easy to do, so give it a try.  Here is a quick rundown of my method.  The shingles were Campbells.

* Cut your window and door openings in wall and mark the wall with horizontal lines as a guide for attaching the shingles.
* Cover wall in double sided tape.
* Remove the bottom piece of tape backing and attach the first row of shingles.
* Add a bead of canopy glue to the top of the shingles installed.
* Add the second row of shingles.  Press down every inch onto the double sided tape to fix and line up with your pencil marking.  Press the bottom of the second row of shingles onto the bead of glue.  Remove any ooze. (the aim is to get no ooze so you want a fairly thin bead of glue).
* Continue, covering any openings with shingles.  The wastage is minimal, and I find there is no damage during the painting process.
* When dry, paint, using a soft brush, with a brownish black colour, slightly diluted.  You want to completely cover the shingles.  Angle the brush upwards to get paint under the shingles, so that no bare colour shows through.
* When dry, follow up with a series of dry brushing with paynes grey, light browns and tans.  Dry brush from the top down.  If you go too far, reverse with brownish black.
* When dry, remove shingles from the openings by placing the wall upside down on a cutting mat and using a chisel blade to cut the shingles and double sided tape.  I found this better than a knife for getting a clean cut without damaging any tiny slithers of shingles that resulted.
* Install windows and doors.

Note: the painting method is as described on Troels Kirks DVD.

My hardware for my pergola arrived yesterday, so I've been busy with that, so no updates yet.  Itching to get back to it, so it wont be long.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Well - a bit of progress this morning.

Photo 1 - I started by cutting six pieces of card with the same slope as the gable end of the suspended building and so that they would be the same height as the gable ends when sitting on top of the inner flat roof template.  I then glued these to the ends of the three cupolas.

Photo 2 - I then cut an over all roof from black card, measured the size of the holes required for the cupolas to protrude, and cut them out.  My hope was that the roof would kind of wedge between the bottom piece of 4x2" on the louvers on each side of the cupola and the gable card glued to the ends of the cupola.  This took a bit of careful persuasion, but did work.

Photo 3 - The roof from underneath.  It is actually amazingly stiff and self supporting.

Photo 4 - mocked up in position.

I considered different types of roofing material, but was worried about how difficult the flashings would be to install and get neat.  I also didn't want anything of much thickness, as that would mean it wouldn't fit under the bottom 4x2" on the side of the cupola , which visually gives a nice clean line and follows prototype practice.  In the end I decided high tack painters tape to resemble rolled roofing was the easiest and best choice.  If I was clever I could cut the flashings for the side of the cupola into the main roof and fold them up at 90 degrees before reassembling and then use a toothpick to adhere to the ends of the cupolas.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hey Mark:

It's looking great. Can't wait to see some more progress shots.

Karl

Hi guys.

Hey, Karl.  Thanks fro following along.

Well I managed to get a bit more done before heading outside to work on the pergola.

Photo 1 - I dismantled my roof and added high tack painters tape.  I trimmed the outside slightly larger than the cardboard.  I trimmed the inside to fit under the louvers flush with the cardboard.  I trimmed the inside to fit up and down the rake of the cupolas slightly proud of the cardboard.  I cut slits at the end of the rakes and then used my thumb nail to caress the tape up to 90 degrees.

Photos 2 and 3 - I went through the process of manipulating the main roof over the three cupols.  I then attempted to add tiny pieces of painters tape to the top of the cupola gable ends and L-pieces up the corner posts.  I used a knife or tweezers to get the pieces into position and then a toothpick to press them into place.

Photo 4 - shows the tiny pieces in position.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Excellent modeling Mark.

Hi guys.

Thanks very much, Curt.

I got a couple of coats of brownish black on the roof.  I made sure to get paint on the edges and a little way on the underside as well.  I cut up some gable trim from 4x2" stripwood and glued these to the underside of the main roof at the edge as fly rafters.  Once dry I glued the main roof in position.  I test fitted the cupola roofs and did a little tickling up of a couple of the gable ends with a sharp knife to get a better fit.  I glued cardboard pieces cut to the slope of the gable roof to the inside of the cupola roofs - one at each end, but within the cupolas.  I glued fly rafters to the edge of the underside of the cupola roofs.  Once dry I glued these three roofs into position, using my trusty eye-ometer to check for positioning.  I touched up with a bit more blackish brown and then dry brushed with some tan.

In other news - the pergola is finished.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Painter's tape for rolled roofing is something I would never have thought of.  Looks great and it's thinness makes it more to scale.  Very clever.


Jeff

Hi guys.

Thanks, Jeff.

I tried the painters tape when wanting a quick easy roof on one of my tall city buildings - where it wouldn't be seen up close - one time, and really liked the results.  Having used the low take tape on windows, and knowing how hard that can be to get off if left too long, I have no fears about the high tack tape staying stuck.  In the end it came down to the ease of doing all those flashings.  What would have been a mare of a job with another roofing medium was relatively straight forwards.

Moving forwards with the build...

I added some 4x2" trim to the end of the shingle wall, to add 2 scale inches to the length of the wall.  I had to sand this down slightly to get the suspended building fitting tight against the front and back wall of the main part of the structure, and sitting correctly over the two posts at the front.  I have now glued this into position.  I painted the trim unbleached titanium, and had already added a piece at the other end of the shingle wall, so it looks nicely framed now.  Of course, for all that work it really looks no different to the last photo of it mocked up!

I then moved on to the two story addition at the far left of the cannery.  These one-storied clapboard walls sit on top of the brickwork to make it two-storied.  For some reason I had got my measurements slightly wrong and the walls overhung the brickwork a bit too much for my liking.  I had glued the 6x6" corner trim to the gable end walls, but had not assembled the addition.  The two small walls I cut down by 1 mm.  The two gable walls I had to first remove the corner trim, clean the glue off this and then cut 1/2 mm off each end.  I glued the trim back on, glued corner bracing on the inside of the two gable walls and one piece of vertical bracing on the middle of the small walls, cut a base from cardboard, and assembled.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

I carefully cut the and fit the two wing walls and the short return wall at the back for the lean-to between the suspended building and the two-storied structure. Vertical stripwood was added to the side of the suspended building to glue these walls to. I wasn't able to get a perfect fit between the second storied clapboard building and the brickwork, and I also ended up having to shim between the suspended building and the brickwork (see photo 4), so will add some 4x2" trim to hide the seem. I added some roof supports to the lean-to, and added the windows and louvers. I cut out roof templates and these are sitting in position.

I've been thinking about doing these roofs in corrugated iron.  I'll have to make a central gutter along the side back of the two storied building with scuppers and downpipes at each end.  Sounds like a nice challenge.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark


It's coming along nicely. I'm enjoying following along.

Beautiful job Mark. I really like the different colors.

Looks great Mark!  The mix of vertical siding, brick, clapboard, etc. plus, as Curt mentioned, the mix of colors really make for an eye catching model.  The peeling paint/weathering looks spot on too.  :D

Hey mark:

It looks just beautiful.

Karl

Mark,

This is just fantastic all the way. The many different materials for walls and roof angles is stunning. Very well done.

Tom  ;D

QuoteIt's coming along nicely. I'm enjoying following along.

Thanks, John.

The neighbour has the hedge trimmer guy in today, so I'm busy helping with clean up.  Hopefully back to it tomorrow.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteBeautiful job Mark. I really like the different colors.

Thanks, Curt.

I'm pleased I decided to go with all the different colours.  I also have honed and improved a few of my painting techniques, which is a bit of a bonus.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteLooks great Mark!  The mix of vertical siding, brick, clapboard, etc. plus, as Curt mentioned, the mix of colors really make for an eye catching model.  The peeling paint/weathering looks spot on too.

Thanks very much, Bob.

The brick was my idea, all the other wall mediums are as they are on the prototype.  It sure is making it an interesting build.  All the interconnecting stairways and walkways will add another dimension.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteHey mark:

It looks just beautiful.

Thanks so much, Karl.

It will be the first structure you see when entering the layout and will also be at the forefront of a very deep urban scene, so it needed extra attention.  It sure is a cool structure, but with that has come a lot of challenges.  All part of the enjoyment of the hobby!  Besides, if I get frustrated working on any of the fiddly bits there is always tomorrow.

Cheers, Mark

QuoteThis is just fantastic all the way. The many different materials for walls and roof angles is stunning. Very well done.

Thanks so much, Tom.

Yes - with all those different ins and outs and ups and downs and changes in materials comes a lot of added interest.  I found drawing the plans very beneficial, as I had to work out the flow of the building , both externally and internally.  This meant I worked out all the different floor levels and how they interconnected.  Hopefully this means my version of this complex will show logic.  The different heights that my layout placed on this structure made things more challenging.  I had a track height, a water height, and a wharf height to fit in between, and two of those heights had to correspond to internal floor heights.  All part of the fun!

Cheers, Mark.

Great progress Mark.....it is turning into a grand scene.  8)

Hey Mark:

You are quite welcome. Can't wait to see what you descibed to me in a photo.

Karl

Hi guys.

Thanks very much, Gregory and Karl.

I decided on corrugated iron for the gable roof and shingles for the roof in between.

I cut my iron to the required length - long enough to completely cover the card at the bottom, and sit down just a fraction from the ridge.  I cut a little over half the required material at one length, and a little over half very slightly longer.  I then taped one piece of iron to the cutting mat with a piece of tape at each end marked with the purlin lines in pencil.  I use a ruler and a compass to press down in every second undulation, hard enough to leave a circular raised knob when flipped, but not so hard that the compass pierces the iron.  With the second piece I kept the top of the sheet in the same position as the first.  This means the lead headed nails will be in slightly different positions on the sheets.  The iron is then cut into the required widths.  I score once with a sharp knife and then snap by wiggling back and forth.  I covered the roof in double sided tape, added fly rafters, and glued to the building. Once the glue was dry, I peeled back the double sided tape and carefully added the iron.  I varied the two different lengths of iron, but kept the rows of lead headed nails in line.  This results in sheets of slightly different lengths, but with the nails still in lines.

Photo 1 - shows the iron ready for adding the lead headed nails.  You can see my ruler guideline marks on the painters tape at each end.

Photo 2 - I then smoothed out a piece of aluminium foil and stuck it to a piece of double sided tape.  I cut a piece to the desired width to act as a ridge cap flashing.  I then carefully peel back one end of the tape backing and use painters tape to attach this, sticky side up, to the cutting mat.  The rest of the backing is then removed and a piece of painters tape added at the other end, pulling the foil straight and taut.

I cut a piece of thin plastic rod to the ridge length and carefully lay this down the centre of the foil.  I cut the foil slightly longer than the rod, so that a flashing can be bent down over the end of the rod.  I kind of meld the foil over the rod, using my finger and thumb, and the carefully place it along the ridge line.  The foil is then worked down onto the roof and then into the undulations of the iron with a toothpick.  This is where it is important to have kept the sheets of iron just down from the ridge line.  It gives something for the rod to adhere to (the double sided tape on the roof ridge), and aids with positioning.

Photo 3 - shows the roof in position and the ridge cap flashing completed.

Next was the central gutter.  I glued a piece of U-channel to a piece of bracing timber, fitted to span the roof at the back of the two-storied building.  I melded a piece of high tack painters tape into the U-channel, leaving a flashing sitting up to go along the clapboard wall.  I painted this grey and glued into position.  I marked the top of the piece of card with pencil lines for shingle positioning, and attached shingles as described previously.

Photo 4 - shows the roof from the back.  You can see the central gutter.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Nice looking roof Mark.

Hey mark:

The roof looks great. Can't wait to see more.

Karl

Mark


Looking good!

QuoteNice looking roof Mark.

Hey - thanks, Curt.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteThe roof looks great. Can't wait to see more.

Thanks, Karl.

I've painted the shingle roof and have started working on the porch.  Unfortunately my 1:1 scale concrete mixer ate into my time yesterday!

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteLooking good!

Thanks, John.

Actually, I'm surprised you can see your computer screen over that stack of plaster castings!  Boy that's a big project you're working on there!

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Well, I have the porch completed and the shingle roof on.

I started by decking the porch floor.  The last piece I marked for the position of my posts and carefully cut these post clearances out of this piece of decking.  I then used this as a guide for drawing up a plan of the porch on my cutting table.  The height of the posts was found by measuring from the deck to the lean-to roof where the front of the porch was to sit, deducting the height of the beam, and adding on the thickness of the joists and decking.

Photo 1 - shows the porch front assembled.  You can see my 30/60 plastic template I used for positioning the angle brackets.

When dry, I flipped the front over and glued on the piece of decking with the post cutouts.

Photo 2 - shows the deck front glued in position.

There was a slight discrepancy in height, so I opted to address this by cutting birds mouths in the rafters to sit over the beam.  This is very prototypical.

Photo 3 - shows my tiny birds mouths.

I made up a cardboard space to hold the end of the porch in the correct position and glued on the shingle roof.  I used high tack painters tape as the back flashing which I painted dark brown to closely match the colour of the shingles.  This was installed prior to gluing on the roof.

Photos 4 & 5 - show the completed porch and shingle roof.  These photos were taken at night so are a bit shadowy.

You can see the corrugated roof is painted.  I'm not quite happy with this and will attack it at a later date.  I do, however, think I have pulled it back from a total re-roof - which was looking possible!  I primed with Dullcote, then painted gun metal and then dark green.  I have samples that I did years ago using these colours and they look great.  My attempts on this roof, however, looked awful.  I painted with thinners to remove the majority of the green and then tried dry brushing with off white to tone down.  This didn't work either.  I then attacked the roof with rust coloured pigments - which is where we are now.  I did have one of those moments last night when I said out loud 'OK - time to walk away'.  I went and tortured some Bach on the piano instead.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hey Mark:

Looks just great.

Karl

Hi guys.

Thanks very much, Karl!

Well - I went on a slight tangent.  As this project moves forward there is more and more fragile additions added to the front and above the wooden wharf and so I thought I had better think about some details to add.  In my search I found what I assume are large ovens for cooking the canned fish.  They were wonderful looking details, and so I decided to have a go at scratch-building a couple to fit on the wharf.  I wanted them to be fairly visible (there is still a whole suspended deck area to go over most of the wharf) and came to the conclusion that there wasn't enough depth.  Not to be deterred I decided that they could be built through the brick wall, with the oven doors at the front on the deck, and the ovens protruding a short way onto the deck.  This way I would have room for overhead beams, pulleys to open the sliding doors, and piping for the steam to heat - all of which are great features.  I decided to attempt to cut circles on thin sheet styrene, and found that by using a set of dividers and scribing a fairly deep groove and then following up with a knife and nail files, I could get a pretty decent circle.

Photo 1 - shows the inspiration behind all this extra work.

Photo 2 - I cut four circles the same diameter and then marked the reinforcement braces on two of them.  I used a large needle to impress rivets (when flipped 180 degrees) around the outside and on the two central braces.  I then scribed/ cut the unwanted material out, leaving just a thin outer circle and the two vertical braces.  These I glued over the top of my other two circles.  I then cut a piece of irrigation piping into two short, even lengths.  I used the left over styrene around two of the circles (I did pre think this) to create a front by scribing and cutting two wider half circles around the bottom of the front.  I decided to keep the two ovens attached at the top for strength and ease of fitting.  I glued this front to the two pieces of irrigation pipe.  To set the doors back a bit in the oven, I held the two doors together back to back with a circular piece of baking paper between them (to stop them gluing together) and rolled them centrally onto a thin piece of strip styrene, gluing as I went.  I then used a sharp knife to cut the thin styrene in half and separated the two doors.  I carefully pushed the two doors into the irrigation pipe from the back, rotated until lined up nicely, and glued from the back.  I boxed out the sides and top of the unit, filing the sides to sharp edges so that they met the irrigation pipe centrally on the sides, which left the bottom section curved.

Photo 3 - I cut 1mm sheet styrene into two oven lids, canter-levered slightly at the front and sides.

Photo 4 - I srcibed and cut a larger half circle and marked and cut out the top of the two doors.  These tops are attached to pulleys above and the doors slide up to open.  I drilled holes in the top corners for attaching to the pulleys.

Photo 5 and 6 - shows the ovens in position.  You can see I cut and spliced some piping sections together.  This photo also shows the first flight of stairs and the landing.  The next flight and the bottom deck is also built as well as another flight of stairs.  Cutting those stringers is an awful job!  Its annoyed me for ages that just about every scratch-building supplier and kit manufacturer produces stringers at 45 degrees - which is a very steep and not very common slope.  I found that Builders in Scale had the same thought and now offer stringers in 6 different slopes.  Unfortunately shipping at the moment is very slow - so I had to box on, but I will be definitely buying some stringers off them soon for my scratch-building supplies.

Next up is the timber scaffolding which holds the pulleys and takes the weight of the doors when opening.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Fantastic detail work Mark.  It looks great.

Wonderful work on your project so far.  Will you be adding the aroma of the cooking fish as well?   :)


Jeff

Exquisite detail, Mark. The plumbing joints, nicely groomed mortar. The interesting building lines. Very, very nice!

Top notch modeling Mark.

Cheers Mark,

Fantastic details, this just gets better each time I check in.

Tom  ;D

Mark, very nice detail to have the boilers extend beyond the exterior wall.  Also a beautiful job scratch building those items. 
--Opa George

QuoteFantastic detail work Mark.  It looks great.

Thanks very much, John.

I got a bit of work done on the second room in the barn yesterday, so no more progress on the cannery.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteWonderful work on your project so far.  Will you be adding the aroma of the cooking fish as well?

Thanks, Jeff.  Now there's a challenge!

I guess smell needs scale too.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteExquisite detail, Mark. The plumbing joints, nicely groomed mortar. The interesting building lines. Very, very nice!

Thanks, Vince!

I have some fish gutting/ cleaning tables with overhead piping for water to add when the cookers are complete.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteTop notch modeling Mark.

Thanks, Curt.

Its been an interesting little side track.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteFantastic details, this just gets better each time I check in.

Thanks so much for stopping by and your nice comments, Tom.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteMark, very nice detail to have the boilers extend beyond the exterior wall.  Also a beautiful job scratch building those items.

Thanks, George.

I'm pleased you like them extending beyond the wall - it was the only way I could get that detail in there.

Cheers, Mark.

Fantastic modeling.

Hey Mark:

that model is really looking just beautiful. Great detail.

Karl

Hi guys.

Thanks very much Karl and Curt!

Well - I've been busy with gardening projects and family stuff for a bit, but hope to find some regular time to work on the cannery again.  In the mean time, here are some workers I painted up for the fish preparation.  I used a shovel to cut up and reattach as knives.  Please remember these are magnified!  If they look OK to me with my glasses on, then that will do!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

A fine looking work crew you have there, Mark. Not a slacker in the bunch.

--Opa George

Hi guys.

Thanks, George.  I like to think they all pull their weight.  Painting figures has become my new travelling project.

Well - a bit of progress to the cannery.

The right end addition has had the final ventilation grill added at the top of the gable.  I added blinds to the windows and glued the second half of the sub-assembly into position.

I glued a row of window shutters to a plastic backing and then cut this into to long sections.  I also did the same with two gable ends, cutting the rake into top.  These were painted brown/ black and then dry brushed.  I glued 8x8 timber corners to the sides of the gable and trimmed.  I glued the two sides to a plastic 'floor', and then attached the ends.  I painted up 4x2's in unbleached titanium and added these as trim to the sides of the cupola.  I made up roof sections from black card and covered these in high tack painters tape.  I painted these a brown/ black and then dry brushed with unbleached titanium.  I left the tape slightly long at the internal ends of the larger roof to turn up as flashings.  I glued the roof to the cupola and added barge boards.  I then carefully fitted the cupola through the rectangular hole in the larger roof and glued to the bottom of the 4x2 timber trim.  I then glued the larger roof to the structure.  I still have the barge boards to add to the larger roof.

Photos 1 and 2 - show the cupola completed.
Photo 3 - shows the larger roof.
Photo 4 - shows the roof glued to the structure, shown from the back.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Looks good. I like that trick with the louvered shutters. I'll have to try that.
--Rich

Mark


Very nice modeling! Great to see you back at it.

Mark,
Looking very nice. That last progress photo hints at the fantastic juxtaposition of colors--my favorite part of this build.

--Opa George

Hi guys.

Thanks Rich, John and George.

Rich - I was petty happy with how the louvers turned out.  In NZ we don't really have storm shutters, so its a good use of all those left over window shutters.

John - its good to be making some small progress again.  I'm trying to do a little something every time I walk through the garage.  Its great for all those multi step jobs that need drying time between all the steps.

George - I'm pleased you're enjoying the colours.  That dry brushing with unbleached titanium does a good job of toning them down.

Well - a while ago I promised to upload some photos of my painting steps.  I finally got around to cutting out the clapboard and painting it for the second story addition to the right end of the complex.

Firstly the walls are stained and wiped with Golden's titan buff.  (photos previously in the thread).

Photo 1 - I then use a fine brush to randomly paint along under the lap of the weatherboard above.  I sort of bounce the brush along and skip small sections.  This is the part of the clapboard wall where the paint gets the most protection from the elements, and so stays on the longest.

Photo 2 - I then dry sock my colour over the top of this.

Photo 3 - here is the wall with some nailholes added and a wash of alcohol and leather dye.

Photo 4 - shows the wall after some dry brushing with unbleached titanium.

Its the first photo which is the important one to me.  There are a few things I'm trying to change the modeling world about - and this is one of them.  I find walls that are dry socked/ terry clothed / sponged without this step to look jarring and unnatural.

Photos 5 and 6 - show a couple of reference photos.  Our first house - before I painted it, and a very cold holiday house we stayed in.  The second photo in particular shows exactly where the paint remains in a very weathered and in need of a paint weatherboard structure.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Looks awesome Mark.

Hi guys.

Thanks Curt!  Much appreciated.

I decided to move on to the main roof.  Rolled roofing seemed like the easiest and most logical choice, although I think I will go for grey this time to change things up a bit.

I prepared some roof details and built an extension to add to the back of the sloped roof protrusion towards the front center of the complex.  I kept the rake of the roof-line the same as the protrusion to keep the roof simpler.  I added a small door to the left side.  There is a staircase to go from the blue addition with the fish sign on it up to the roof, and I wanted a good reason for this.  A door leading back down to the floor below will suffice.  I have also stained some 8x1 for a rooftop walkway which will lead to this door, and also to the rooftop shed.

Photo 1 - shows me preparing my high tack tape.  I mark the center of the tape and then run a pencil around using my finger as a spacer to keep the distance constant.  I then undo the tape as shown and cut down the pencil-line with a sharp knife.  I then use scissors to cut the roofing to length.  I ruled lines on the rooftop as guides.

Photo 2 - shows the roof half done.  There is a bit of fussing with tweezers, a ruler and a knife to try and fold up the flashings and poke/ prod pieces into the corners.

Photo 3 - shows the roof completed.

Photo 4 - shows the small shed.

Photo 5 - shows the back and one side (without the door) of the new addition and a close up of the flashing detail.

Next up is to paint and weather the roof, and then add the details including the rooftop walkway, connecting exterior stairway and the wall capping.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Looks good Mark.  I never tried that high tack tape.  If I see some I may have to pick up a roll to try it out.  Thanks for the tip!  ;)

Very impressive! I really appreciate you sharing your paint techniques, it's truly valuable to us just starting out, and it's great that you are sharing your process.


-Steven

Hey Mark:

It's looking really great. Can't wait to see what you do with the paint.

Karl

Hi guys.

Thanks very much Bob, Steven and Karl.

Bob - it would be good if you could find it in an appropriate rolled roofing colour in high tack tape!  You might have more choice than I have.

Steven - I'm pleased it was useful for you.
 
Karl - the paint I used had not a lot of pigment so I had to give the roof three coats!

The grey was slate grey and I dry brushed with unbleached titanium.  Photo 3 shows the door which gives access to a set of stairs to the floor below.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Very nice coloring.

Mark


The roof looks great. I have been using construction paper for my roofing material - I think I'm going to look for the tape and give it a try.

Hi guys.

Thanks Curt and John. 

John - the texture of the tape I use works very well for dry brushing.

I've been working on the set of steps which goes from the blue extension with the fish on it up to the roof top.  Lots of fiddly stuff but its nearly there.  I spliced together 3 Campbell plastic stringers for this step to make things a bit easier and then painted them grey.  Hand rails are next on the list.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

What John said!  I'm pondering a roofing paper approach for my 2 stall KC roundhouse, looking at your coloring "vs" PostalKarl's coloring.  It's great to have multiple inspirations to deal with.


dave

Hi guys.

Thanks, Dave.  Its good to try some different techniques.  So much of what I do now is from watch others build on line.

Well, I've managed to get a bit more done.

Photos 1 and 2 - show the stairway finished.  I put a couple of supports bolted to the wall.  I also had to cut a piece out of the parapet wall for access to the roof.  This was a tricky little sub assembly to get right.

Photos 3, 4 and 5 - show the roof completed except for a few touch ups.  I have put capping on the walls, added some roof top detail and some walkways for maintenance.  I have also made a new roof for the extended rooftop addition.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Really like the roof details! Nice variations of shading.

Agreed! The detail work is really making this come alive, Mark. 
--Opa George

Beautiful modeling Mark.

Hi guys.

Thanks for your comments Wig Wag, George and Curt - they are much appreciated.

Next on my list were the walls for the suspended deck area.  I cut 4x4 posts to length on my chopper and then cut the bottom half down to 4x2's.  These were glued to the front of two green wall sections.  I added a bearer to the back of the front wall and a joist to the back of the side wall.  I cut out 4x4 sections from a piece of 6x2 stripwood to fit around the posts and glued these pieces to the top of the walls.  I then added pieces of 4x2 as rails, using a piece of 4x2 as a spacer.

The deck was made up from 10x2's.  I glued a bearer to the front of the main wall section and a joist to the right side wall to get things at the right height.  I then fitted the deck, trimming around wall protrusions such as the corner trim.  I left off the back decking so I could see what I was doing when gluing into position.  I glued this main deck into position, but left it floating at the front.  I then glued on the left side wall, but didn't attach this to the front post.  Finally I glued on the front wall and glued this and the side wall to the two posts at the front.  It seems the further on I get with this project the fiddlier it gets!

Next up is to finish the decking, add a support post under the central bearer at the left end, and make a roof.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Excellent modeling Mark.

Truly a work of art in progress Mark.  A masterpiece actually.  I love the colors and the weathering.   :D

All I can say is WOW!
Spicing three Campbell stair stringers together?  I didn't even like a three to four step stringer that I had.

Great work Mark! It is really turning out nice.

Hey Mark:

Looks great. Love all the colors you used.

Karl

Thanks so much Curt, Bob, Bob John and Karl!

I'm so pleased to have you all along for the journey.

Bob - I made a jig for the stairs - just two pieces of plastic laminated together with slots for the stringers in the top piece.  I had to improvise a little with the spliced stringers as they were double width at the splice.  You might want to check out BIS for their selection of laser cut stringers, treads and jig.  I plan on getting some products off them soon - although shipping internationally is a bit of an issue at the moment.

http://www.builders-in-scale.com/bis/parts-laserwood.html

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Quote from: ReadingBob on August 04, 2020, 07:25:53 PM
Truly a work of art in progress Mark.  A masterpiece actually.  I love the colors and the weathering.   :D

Cheers mark,

I agree whole heartedly. Just fantastic quality and craftsmanship.

Tom  ;D

Really beautiful, Mark. I love the complex lines. Fantastic.

I really like the stones and distressed wood.

Hi guys.

Thanks so much Tom, Vince and Curt.  I'm pleased you are all enjoying watching as this project s-l-o-w-l-y comes to life!

Below are a couple of photos of progress, including some more of my painted figures.

This weekend was to be our Trainz weekend, but after 102 days of COVID19 being confined to our boarders, we now (this week) have new community transfer and so the country is back in level 2, and Auckland (where the virus has reared its ugly head) is in level 3, and so our weekend of modelling has been cancelled.  Bummer!  I still hope to get a bit done!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

I really like the deck! This build is giving me a lot of ideas and inspiration. I am looking closely at the color choices and weathering.


-Steven

Beautiful modeling.

QuoteI really like the deck! This build is giving me a lot of ideas and inspiration. I am looking closely at the color choices and weathering.

Thanks so much, Steven! 

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Thanks for your compliment and for following along, Curt.

Well - the sun is shining (after a heavy frost) so its time to get out in the garden.  I got a bit of very fiddly work done this morning.  The last porch roof is just sitting in position so I can add some details.  I painted up some nut-bolt-washer castings in brass and drilled holes in the doors and added these as door handles.  Most of the rest of the morning was spent battling with the railings.  The more I get done, the less room there is!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

This is a pretty awesome Mark!

Mark


Fantastic work - I'm really enjoying watching this take shape with layer after layer of details.

Wow, Mark!  I'm running out of superlatives to describe this project.  Every area is loaded with interest.  Exquisite!
--Opa George

Great work Mike.....I especially like the look of the form joints in the poured concrete wall.  8)

Thanks so much Steve, John, George and Gregory!

I got a little more done yesterday (and then a little less, as I accidentally put my fat finger through a piece of railing!), but the day was so nice here that the outside was calling.

Gregory - I made my own mold for the retaining walls.  I cut plastic strips of 1"x10" into pieces about 20' long.  I then cut up tiny pieces of the same material and randomly super glued them to a thin plastic backing.  I then attached my boards like boxing.  When I got to the end of a run, I cut the 20' board and started the next row with the off-cut.  I deliberately cut ends slightly off 90 degrees and left gaps between joins and horizontal boards.  I super glued these boards on and pressed them over my random 'bits' so the glue took on each side and caused a bulge.  The idea was to give the look of rough boxing and a few snapped pegs causing the weight of the concrete to bulge out the boxing.  I then made a two part frame and poured hydrocal into my mold.

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

I little more progress.

Photo 1 - shows the hole I carefully cut into the side of the structure.

Photo 2 - shows the new scratch-built doors framed and in positions.  Again I used nut-bolt-washer castings painted brass as door handles.  These doors will connect the open walk-over to the main structure.

Photo 3 - shows the base of the cupola assembled and a small plastic roof piece.  You can see I filed a bevel on to the roof.  There is a small gable topnotch to go in the center.

Photo 4 - shows the walls of the topnotch.  I had to very carefully cut out timber for the louvers.  None of my chisel blades were small enough so I used a number 11 blade.  The side walls are 8mm high

Photo 5 - shows the double doors attached and hanging in their tracks.  I drilled holes in the ends of the pelmets and added nut-bolt-washer castings to attach them to the wall.  You can also see the finger hole in the railings (I managed to trim the 4x2's back to half on a post, so repair shouldn't be too bad.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Very nice Mark.

Hi guys.

Thanks for the compliment, Curt.

I got the copula built this afternoon.  There was a lot of work in this little addition.  I have a couple of touch ups to do.  I put the tape on the beveled roof, mitering the corners, cut a square slightly smaller than the top notch, and then peeled back the edges.  After the top notch was glued in position I used a toothpick to push the tape into the bottom edges of the top notch as a flashing.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

The copula looks awesome! I believe I said it before, but I really like your color choice and weathering on this build, it looks so realistic.


-Steven

Hey Mark:

This is looking just great. Love all the colors you are using.

Karl

This looks awesome.

Hi guys.
 
Thanks so much Steve, Karl and Curt!  I really appreciate you stopping by and leaving your words of encouragement. It helps keep me motivated.

Well - a bit more progress - along with my first ebay purchase since COVID19 hit.  My wife has been asking me what I want for my birthday.  I've been looking at Sheepscot's Arcadia granite on ebay and talking myself out of it (the price, such a big kit it might overpower my mountain scenery, I already have the lime works to build, etc).  Today a saw FSM's rock bunker for a good price and decent international shipping so I thought 'why not'.  This kit has always been one of my favourites, and one of the few FSM kits I think I could find room for now.  It will also be able to be tucked into the mountain side as a bit of a surprise without dominating the scene.

Onto the cannery progress.

I went with grey tar paper for the second story roof, and will do black for the first story.  I had to add some 8"x8" in white to the bottom of the cupola to get things to sit right.  My flashings hid most of this, but it looks intentional anyway.  I chiseled the side wall where the cupola fits up against to get a nice fit and glued it into place.  I had put the roofing material on first, trimmed it around where the cupola sits, and peeled the edges up.  When the glue was set I pushed it into the edges with a toothpick.  Three coals of slate grey were applied followed by a dry-brushing with unbleached titanium.  Weathering with chalks is still to be done.  I made a stack from some styrene pipe.  I wrapped a piece of thin strip styrene around it to simulate a join.  I cut a small slither of larger diameter pipe, glued this to some thin styrene, trimmed the excess away and sanded the edges to make a cap.  I painted these in grey followed by unbleached titanium using the dry sock method.   I cut a circle of high tack painters tape about 4mm larger in diameter than the stack, cut a smaller circle in the center, and cut a bunch of nicks heading for the center of the circle.  I cut one all the way through and using tweezers and a toothpick was able to maneuver this around the stack to form a flashing with the flaps folded up the side.  I then cut a thin strip of painters tape and wrapped this around to hide the nicks.  This was then painted grey.  I have also started work on the elevated water tank and support tower (photo 4) which will sit against the structure.  I have heightened the stand slightly from my original plans so that the tower decking will hide the seem of the first and second story meeting.  It will also give me slightly more head room for pedestrian traffic below.  There is a change in level here and a set of stairs between them - hence the two shorter legs.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark, That is Beautiful piece of work....Dennis

Mark


Wonderful work.  Great detailing.


Jerry

Hi guys.

Thanks so much Dennis and Jerry!

I got a bit more done on the water tank and support tower.  So after grovelling around in the garage looking for a suitable former for my tank I settled on a spare broom handle.   I cut a piece to length in my mitre saw.  I cut lengths of 6"x1" a little longer than the tank former and gave them a stain bath.  I marked vertical center lines and a center line down the tank former top and glued the pieces on the end.  I went half way, trimmed them off, and then used the off-cuts for the other half.  When the glue was dry I used a single edged razor blade to trim them flush with the edge of the former.

Photo 1 - shows the first end glued onto the former.

Once I had done both ends I glued the strips of 6"x2" around the circumference of the former.  The last piece was ripped to fit.

Photo 2 - shows the 6"x2" glued around the outside of the former.

I then carried on with the stand.  I put in horizontal bracing to line up the legs, inside and outside the posts on the front and one side.  I then added diagonal bracing.

Photo 3 - shows the bracing attached and the tank sitting in position.

I cut 4"x4" posts and cut rebates in the ends of the ones for the long wall, down to 4"x2"s to fit over the outside joist.  The posts were glued into position.  I then cut decking from 12"x2" and glued this on, checking the decking around the posts where necessary.

Photos 4 and 5 - show where I am at.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark, Cheers,

This build just gets better with each update. Beautiful modeling and wonderful craftsmanship. Extremely well done.

Tom  ;D

Hey Mark, really enjoying the updates, wanter tank looks incredible.


-Steven

Great work mark! The water tank is a real gem. 

Awesome job on the water tank.

Mark;

All  I can say is ditto to what has been said. Thanks for sharing.

Jim D

Well done.  Very well done.

Hey Mark:

Beautiful job on the tanks.

Karl

Thanks so much for your lovely comments and for following along Tom, Steven, Jim, Curt, Jim D, Bob and Karl! 

They were absolutely delightful to wake up to on a frosty Thursday morning.  I have a couple of friends coming over for our Thursday afternoon modeling slot today, so hope to make a bit more progress then.  I'll keep you posted.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

I tiny bit more.

I cut a piece of high tack painters tape to slightly longer than the circumference of the tank and taped it to my cutting board.  I marked and cut strips to represent tank bands.  I painted the tape a rust colour, marked five positions on the tank at four equal spacing's around the circumference, carefully peeled the strips off (when dry) and attached them around the tank.  I put the joins at the bottom.  For the ends of the tank I used 3 pieces of stripwood.

I also put the 4"x2" railings around the tank platform.  I then cut a circle of thin styrene the same diameter as the tank, removed the center, and drew a square around the circle about 3mm bigger than the circle.  I then cut these into four equal arcs with a flat bottom and sandwiched two pairs together with a piece of square strip in the middle to create tank cradles.  These I painted cool grey and glued to the bottom of the tank.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Looks awesome.

Thanks Curt.

I remembered seeing tank bands like this on Greg Shinnie's build of the Troels Kirk Cannery.  I just used high tack tape instead of paper/ card and glue.  I had to touch up some of the edges once installed with rust coloured paint.  When I do this next time I will remove every second band before I paint.  In that way I will be able to get paint on the edges as well.  Its also always fun revisiting some of those great builds like the one mentioned above.  I recently revisited Troels steam tramper scratch-build, and have left the page open.  It looks like it would be a blast to build!  Got to give one a go!

Cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

A quick update.  I had a tiny amount of time for modelling today, so had a go at some dry transfers on the water tank.  I basically found the half way board join on the water tank and started from there working left and right and tried to keep the letters straight.  I did actually measure the tank, convert to scale feet, do the  2 x pi x r squared x l to get cubic feet and then used my unit converter to get imperial gallons, so the number should be fairly accurate.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

Well - I've drawn up some plans for the fish elevator tower.  Thanks again for all the photos and information provided earlier in this thread.  I've kind of spliced ideas together to make something that works for my project.  It was hard to make out some of the finer details of the towers, but there appears to be a shaft, which typically seems not central.  I assume the fish are ladled through an open hatch at the bottom of this shaft and a belt system something like water wheel transports the fish vertically up the shaft where I guess they could be sorted and put onto horizontal belts to transport them to the canneries.  My design calls for two such horizontal belts, one transporting fish along the open walkway to the cannery being modeled at present, and one at right angles which will transverse the four yard tracks to a cannery towards the back of the layout.  This second belt system will be in an enclosed walkway which will double as a disguise for a mirror doubling the appearance of the yard - much like Great Divide on the G&D.  There also appears to be a small shed at the bottom of some of the shafts, which I will also model.

I was intending to build the model from weathered wood, unpainted, but as I used both sugar pine and basswood for stripwood (due to not having the sizes I needed in one or the other) I found they took the stain very differently.  So I changed my mind and will paint them.  Colours will be unbleached titanium for the trim, mud for the tower, oxide red for the covered walkway (and perhaps the shaft - otherwise mud) and big sky blue for the doors.

Photo 1 - shows two elevations of the tower.

Photo 2 - shows where I am with the tower build.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Really enjoying this thread Mark.....excellent work.  8)

Hey Mark:

the water tank is just beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

Karl

Hi guys.

Thanks Greg and Karl - much appreciated.

Well the tower is well underway.

Photo 1 - shows an unlikely place to find a small door.

Photo 2 - shows the slot chiseled into the front shaft door.

Photo 3 - shows the door glued into position and painted unbleached titanium.  I added 4x2" trim to the outside of the shaft as bracing.

Photo 4 - shows the new scratch-built doors for the open aerial walkway. Door handles and a plastic flap door within the door where the conveyor belts carrying the fish will pass are still to be added.

Photos 5 and 6 show the tower from the front and on the angle.

I decided to do away with the small shed (although I may build it and use it elsewhere).  I still have two diagonal braces to add, as well as roofing material and a few other details.  There is also a bit of work to do re the siting, which will probably involve taking the model out to the barn, putting it in position on the layout and taking some measurements.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hi guys.

A bit more progress to report.

Photos 1 and 2 - show the cannery in position on the layout while I check dimensions.

Photo 3 - shows the raised area (ground level) and the new retaining wall.

Photo 4 - shows the structural framework for the open walkover, and the jig I made up to hold things true while I built the sub floor and added decking.  I cut out squares in the outside decking pieces for the posts.  The structural framework is made from a bridge kit.

Photo 5 - shows the walkway in the jig.

Photo 6 - shows the front wall coming together.  Its a little tricky as it is on a grade.  All the posts will be vertical and the angle braces are at 45 degrees to the posts.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Mark


It looks great there.  I love all the elevation change. The mockups really help with the visualization of the scene.

Looks top notch Mark.

Mark,
YOU started this project 9 months ago and it's really turning out to be something special .
Making those dreams come true is what makes this hobby great.
Thank You for sharing your journey with us on this build.
It will be a fantastic addition on your railroad !
Tommy

QuoteIt looks great there.  I love all the elevation change. The mockups really help with the visualization of the scene.

Thanks, John.

I took some more shots the other day, but missed them when I was resizing my photos.  Here they are:

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteLooks top notch Mark.

Thanks very much, Curt.  I really appreciate it.

Cheers, Mark.

QuoteMark,
YOU started this project 9 months ago and it's really turning out to be something special .
Making those dreams come true is what makes this hobby great.
Thank You for sharing your journey with us on this build.
It will be a fantastic addition on your railroad !

Thanks so much, Tommy!

We actually had a modelling weekend here this weekend just passed.  So much has been cancelled this year - our Easter modelling convention, our winter Trainz weekend - and so when our little big train show was canned I said 'lets do something at my house'.  So 6 of us spent the weekend modelling in my garage.  It was great fun, lots of laughs, good music, good food, good company, and some solid modelling time to boot!  Looking forward to the next one!

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Pretty impressive!!
You're giving me so many ideas.
Thx.
--Rich

Hey Mark:

Beautiful job on that kit. Love all the different colors you used.

Karl

Hi guys.

Thanks very muck Rich and Karl.  Karl - its all scratch-built.

Well - I was able to make good use of my light board.  I flipped my plan of the open walkway horizontally, attached it to my lightboard with baking paper over the top, turned the light on, and I could see the plan perfectly.  I built the second wall, checking the posts to fit into the subfloor as I went, and when finished glued them to the walkover floor.  I cut two sections out of the cannery roof to fit the beams and test fitted.

I then had a go at making a conveyer system to transport the fish out of styrene.  Its a first attempt, but I think I can get something that will work.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Beautiful modelling Mark IMO.
Mike :)

Mark this is some fine scratch building.  Great talent there!


Jerry

I agree with Mike, beautiful modeling.

Cheers Mark,

Beautiful modeling and top notch scratch building. Most perfect.

Tom  ;D

Hi guys.

Thanks so much Mike, Jerry, Curt and Tom.  Your comments are always most appreciated.

I took a couple of photos of the cannery in position on the layout with the tower and walk-over in position.  You can see it is nice and tight.  I think the framed shot through/ under the open walkway of the structures behind will look great when all is finished. There is still quite a bit of design work to do on the large structure based on the Kibri factory to do.

While the cannery is in position for display (two weeks), I have started another project.  I'll be back at this one soon.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

Hey Mark:

What can I say But WOWWIE!!!!!! Beautifully done.

Karl

Excellent modeling Mark.