2020 Build Challenge - FSM kit 145 Coal Tower

Started by S&S RR, January 01, 2020, 01:32:44 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

hairball

WOW, that is looking real good, love the shingle color and the wood color.

The #145 we only saw that build in a black and white fsm advert.   Rarely did somebody build one and take digital photos of it up close and super clear. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Want to watch this come to a conclusion.   After seeing the FSM 155 and now this #145 come to life in pages on here, hopefully will encourage people to get them out of storage closet and onto the work bench.

mike lynch       MADMIKE3434.....  now............HAIRBALL

Mark Dalrymple

Looking really good, John.

I can't quite see from the photos so I will risk wasting my breath.  I agree that putting the fly rafters/ barge boards on the edge of the roof card and the roofing material on top of the barge boards yields the best results aesthetically.  My suggestion (moving forwards on upcoming builds) would be to try to obtain the same perceived thickness of timber as the rafter tails, either by swapping out the barge board material for something wider, or swapping out the rafter tail material for something narrower.   This would compensate for the thickness of the card.  For example, if 6"x2" timber is supplied for both the rafter tails and barge board, use the 6"x2" material for rafter tails and use 8"x2" for the barge boards (or maybe 10"x2", depending on the thickness of the card).  Hope that is all as clear as mud!  Its a tiny thing - but really no extra work - and tiny things make the difference.

Cheers, Mark.

PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

S&S RR

Quote from: hairball on February 27, 2020, 10:36:23 PM
WOW, that is looking real good, love the shingle color and the wood color.

The #145 we only saw that build in a black and white fsm advert.   Rarely did somebody build one and take digital photos of it up close and super clear. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Want to watch this come to a conclusion.   After seeing the FSM 155 and now this #145 come to life in pages on here, hopefully will encourage people to get them out of storage closet and onto the work bench.

mike lynch       MADMIKE3434.....  now............HAIRBALL

Mike

Thank you for following along and the kind words.  This is a fantastic kit - anyone that has one should get it off the shelf. I see another one with a different prototype CN design in my future - there is room for a number of coal towers on a steam powered railroad.
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

Opa George

Quote from: S&S RR on February 28, 2020, 08:05:25 AM
Quote from: hairball on February 27, 2020, 10:36:23 PM
WOW, that is looking real good, love the shingle color and the wood color.

The #145 we only saw that build in a black and white fsm advert.   Rarely did somebody build one and take digital photos of it up close and super clear. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Want to watch this come to a conclusion.   After seeing the FSM 155 and now this #145 come to life in pages on here, hopefully will encourage people to get them out of storage closet and onto the work bench.

mike lynch       MADMIKE3434.....  now............HAIRBALL

Mike

Thank you for following along and the kind words.  This is a fantastic kit - anyone that has one should get it off the shelf. I see another one with a different prototype CN design in my future - there is room for a number of coal towers on a steam powered railroad.

I usually follow builds for the technique, and this one is not exception--tons of good technique to use.  But it also really makes me want this kit.
Thanks for posting, John.
--Opa George

S&S RR

#185
Quote from: mark dalrymple on February 27, 2020, 10:48:33 PM
Looking really good, John.

I can't quite see from the photos so I will risk wasting my breath.  I agree that putting the fly rafters/ barge boards on the edge of the roof card and the roofing material on top of the barge boards yields the best results aesthetically.  My suggestion (moving forwards on upcoming builds) would be to try to obtain the same perceived thickness of timber as the rafter tails, either by swapping out the barge board material for something wider, or swapping out the rafter tail material for something narrower.   This would compensate for the thickness of the card.  For example, if 6"x2" timber is supplied for both the rafter tails and barge board, use the 6"x2" material for rafter tails and use 8"x2" for the barge boards (or maybe 10"x2", depending on the thickness of the card).  Hope that is all as clear as mud!  Its a tiny thing - but really no extra work - and tiny things make the difference.

Cheers, Mark.


Mark


You have an eagle eye.  I totally agree with you and the thought crossed my mind when I installed the end rafters as the instructions suggested even with the roof card. Add this to the notes for future builders, I would use a end rafter that is the thickness of the roof card wider. This is something that know one will be able to see when the model is installed on the layout because it will be three to four feet away. I have to get the high power viewer or the camera out to see it when it's right in front of my face, but details are details and this will be a lesson learned for all future builds.  As always, thank you for following along and your comments.  This is what the forum is all about - we all get to be better modelers by making these suggestions. You guys will know if this bugs me when the model is done if you see me change them out. ;)  I looked at the prototype pictures I have and even with zooming in I can't tell what they did. It may be that our roof cards are more than 3/4 on an inch thick in HO scale.


Update: I decided to take some pictures to show everyone what Mark was talking about.  In doing so, I figured out a real easy fix to the problem. I got out my HO scale skill saw and fixed the problem so I will not see it every time I look at this model. I will post pictures tonight.  Heading back to the workbench. Thank you Mark.
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

So here is my solution to the rafter end issue.  As Mark mentioned above the outside roof rafters, when aligned with the top surface of the roof card are slightly higher than the rest of the roof rafters and they don't line up when you gun site the roof line.  The roof card is 0.033 inches thick so we are dealing with a 33 thousands height difference.  I started to take a picture of the problem (see below and realized that I could easily cut off the rafter tails to make them line up. Because of the angles they are cut on from the front view there is a small triangle of material that can be removed and they all visually line up in the front view. Here is a close-up view of what Mark was pointing out you can see that the outside rafter is up 0.033 inches from the rest of them.


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

So what I did was snip each of the rafter ends horizontally removing .033 inches ( give or take a little)  of material in the side view using my HO scale skill saw (aka sprue cutters).


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

This resulted in a rafter end that looks like this. Notice the point on the rafter ends on the other side.


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

So when you gun site them from the end they are all the same length.


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

Here is a picture of the other side of the building and you can see the flat spot created by the nippers.


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

Those shingles look thick at this magnification. And those nut and bolt castings and the texturing of the wood are definitely worth the time spent.
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

A few more pictures after the fix. I feel better.  What do you think?


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

Powered by EzPortal