Great Lakes Lighthouse Build

Started by carl b, January 01, 2020, 11:43:41 AM

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carl b

Carl

S&S RR

Carl


This project is coming along nicely. The craft store is a world of parts for the scratch builder.
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

carl b

Thank you John.

I never pass up a trip to those stores, never know what you may find.
Carl

Jerry

Nice work so far Carl.


Thanks for the tutorial on how this all comes together.


Jerry
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." A. Lincoln

carl b

Thank you very much Jerry.

More to come in a few days...
Carl

postalkarl

#35
Hey Carl:

Thought that lighthouse looked familiar. Check out Branchline Trains kit #695 HO Rock Point Lighthouse Kit. I think you will be surprised.

Here's A lighthouse sight all might be interested in. www.uslighthouses.com I find it to be very fun to look at and is rather complete listing.

Karl

carl b

Branchline Trains kit #695 HO Rock Point Lighthouse Kit

Right Karl, I mentioned this kit in my first post. It's very close- but they used clapboard instead of brick for the walls.



Karl, didn't you post a build for this back in 2007 on RRLine?
Carl

postalkarl

Hey Carl:

thanks for the picture.

Karl

carl b

A decagon is a 10 sided polygon. I drew it with an on-line graphics generator, available here: https://www.mathopenref.com/decagon.html The Dunkirk Lighthouse tower has 10 panes of glass around its lantern.



I printed out several sizes and glued them to thin and thick card, in anticipation of much trial and error.



Cut out a proper size thick card version decagon, which is the base for the "French" dome. Then I cut the wood ball in half. Then styrene strips for the roof "ribs". Topped off with the previously finished evaporator ball and needle..



The lantern housing begins with a thick card but smaller decagon. I used masking tape to measure around the circumference to determine the overall length of acetate for the needed windows. I measured, then LIGHTLY scored the 10 panes, and bent them ever-so-gently in shape.



Again from the craft store, a bag of cheap clear multi-faceted beads. No, I couldn't buy just one.
They don't look exactly like a proper third order Fresnel lens, but that would have been made of real crystal, and cost a fortune. Not likely....



There's already a hole in the center of these beads, so I simply slid an LED inside and glued it.



Glued the bead to a base of a short piece of styrene tube. Test fire of the light.



The hand railing around the lantern glass is .016" brass. To roughen up and clean the brass before soldering, I used 150 grit sandpaper and Isopropyl alcohol. I pre drilled the upright holes in the base according to the out points of the decagon. Inserted the deliberately long posts. It's sitting on a "holder" of 1 1/4" bathroom plastic pipe.



I glued the posts standing up in their places. I bent a long brass section around a small bottle cap, until I got the right size for the railing when it "sprung back". Then soldered all in place. It's very messy right now. Needs filing, straightening and tweaking..



I placed thin white window muntins between the panes before folding and gluing down. Much sanding, fitting, fidgeting and cursing, but finally, all the pieces painted and glued together.



Till next time...Finish the carcass.....
Carl

PRR Modeler

WOW, great scratch building and use of unconventional materials.
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

Jerry

I see your up to your old tricks of using everything under the sun to make a perfect scratchbuild.


Just love your work.


Jerry
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." A. Lincoln

GPdemayo

Gregory P. DeMayo
General Construction Superintendent Emeritus
St. Louis & Denver Railroad
Longwood, FL

Oldguy

Bob Dye
Livin large on a pond

Mark Dalrymple

Very nice, Carl!  And you've got 149 clear beads left!

Cheers, Mark.

carl b

Thank you very much for your compliments Curt, Jerry, Greg, Bob and Mark!
I appreciate your support.

Mark- Would you like some of those extra beads?  ;)
Carl

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