Menu

Show posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Show posts Menu

Topics - ReadingBob

#161
Kit Building / FOS Radio Station WKLO
November 06, 2017, 11:20:50 AM
Time to start a new build thread.  This time I'll be building the FOS WKLO Radio Station for Tom (ACL1504).  I have one of these in my closet to build for myself (someday  ::)  ).  When I build mine I may try to figure out how to rename it to WOLD as a tribute to the late, great Harry Chapin.     




Here's the prerequisite shots of the the box and it's contents (it's always fun opening up the box for a new build).  :)



The instructions have some nice, color pictures on the front page.



Lot's of templates.  These come in handy.   ;)



Signs and details.  Normally I'd scan the signs as a back up in case I make a boo boo.  But, since I have the same kit in my stash of yet to be built kits I'll count that as my backup.



The roof pieces.



More 'stuff'.



More in a moment.... :P
#162
Okay, since Donato is anxiously awaiting my next thread here goes.   ;D  I picked this one up at the EXPO last year.  It's the Atlantic Scale Modelers - St. Martin Yard Office.  I've never built one of Hal's kits but really liked the look of this one so I bought it along with another of his kits.  I hope I do it justice!   :D


Here are the contents spread out on my workbench.


I started by cleaning removing the windows and doors from their sprues with my handy, dandy sprue cutter. 


Then I touched up the edges with an emery board.


The instructions called for removing the window section from the large door so I did that with my sprue cutter as well.

After which I touched the top of the large door up with the emery board.


More in a moment... :D
#163
Although I'm not really starting on this build quite yet I thought I'd start the thread and at least show you what I'm planning on building for the challenge.  It will be the Bar Mills Dock House at Cundy Harbor which is one of several structures included in the Cundy Harbor collection.  It's the one on the right in the picture on the box (although my flash washed out the picture a bit, sorry about that  :-[).


And here's what's hiding inside the box.


I'll have more updates when I actually start building this puppy.   ;)

I'm building this one for John (Cuse).  I hope to get the Dockhouse done by the end of the challenge.  But I may get carried away and build the remaining structures too.   :o  We'll see how it goes.   ;)  John had pulled out the parts from the boathouse and separated them from the carrier sheets.  They're in the baggie on the right. 
#164
(Apologies in advance to those who may be offended by the subject matter of this build but it does depict a seedier part of town that was typically found near the train tracks.  I understand you may not want something like this on your layout and that's certainly your prerogative.)     

The Red Light District was released by FOS Scale Models last year while we (Tom, the Judge and I) were in Scranton, PA attending the EXPO.  As soon as I saw the e-mail I knew I wanted to build this one.  There are so many different textures, roof lines, finishes, etc. all combined into one block.  The real clincher was when I saw the pilot model in the vendor room.  Holy Cow!  What a beautiful build.  I ordered one on my first visit to the vendor room.  I know Tom ordered one as well and has a good idea where it's going to be placed on the new A&S.  Now it's time for me to build mine!   :D

The kit includes 9 business in 7 connected structures.  Here's the obligatory shot of the box the kit came in (it's a pretty big box).


I love opening up a new kit and seeing what's inside.  This one certainly didn't disappoint.


There's too much stuff in too many bags to try and get capture in one photo.  Just use your imagination.   ;)


As with any build I do I start by cleaning up the castings.  For the metal castings I use files to sooth out areas that need to be touched up.


I also use an old pair of rail cutters to remove metal castings from sprues or to nip off any large imperfections (there were none of the latter in this kit).


Plastic castings, such as doors and windows, I remove from their sprues using a sprue cutter.  A very handy tool to have on the workbench.


More in a moment.   ::)
#165
I thought I'd do a spin off of my Bar Mills - Sokol's Furniture and Mattress Company Build thread and focus just on lighting the structure so here it is.  :)

Once I had the walls of the structure joined together an evil plan started to formulate in my head on how I could light this puppy up.  The roof of the structure (the white card in the picture below) drops down into place behind the cornice and rests on the bracing at the top of the walls.  So I started by replicating the roof on some black matt board I picked up at an art supply store (Sam Flak's).  I'm not sure exactly what it is, it's about 1/16" thick and very stiff.


I then trimmed 1/8" off the black matt board to account for the bracing.  The way the walls were assembled included formers at odd angled joints that were glued just underneath the 1/8" bracing.  These angled pieces gave the black matt board something to rest on at that end of the building.  On the other end I glued a couple of pieces of bracing, diagonally, in each corner to give it something to rest on at that end.  Here you can see the black matt board, in place, and how the roof will drop into place on top of it.  There's a little clearance between the two for some low profile wiring. 


And here's the roof in place.


I cut two more pieces of the black matt board to match the first and then trimmed off the corners so these two would clear the support pieces the top piece will rest on.  For the bottom piece I also trimmed off a section to clear the wiring for some exterior lights that will be added at a later date.


Now it's time to start prepping for the lights.  I start by marking the positive lead of the current limiters and LED's with a red Sharpie.  I also test the LED's prior to marking each one.


I'm working on the lower card first.  I had roughly marked where I want the LED's to be and drill holes for both them and the Current Limiters.  I had a plan in my head as to how I want the circuit to run.  More on that a little later.  This is the first time I've ever used copper tape.  I got some from our friend Slim at [img=http://microlumina.com/store/]http://Microlumina[/img].   8)  The tape is 1/8" in wide and I believe there's 55 yards on the roll.  I laid the roll down flat on my work bench and was very, very careful with it.  I've read horror stories about this stuff unspooling itself and becoming a real nasty mess.


More in a few...   :D       
#166
I waffled on whether or not to do a build thread on this build but I've taken the photo's, cropped them and uploaded them so why not?   :D  I'm building the Bar Mill's - Sokol's Furniture and Mattress Company kit for the SBG's Honory President and Chief Bottle Washer ACL1504.

The kit comes in two boxes.  I'll let Tom relay the "tale of two boxes" if he so chooses.   ;D


One box contains the laser cut components.  It's quite a collection of stuff.


The other box contains the Instructions, casting and other assorted odds and ends.


I started the build by removing the plastic casting from the sprues using a sprue cutter.  Some folks prefer to leave them on the sprue until after they're painted because they're easier to handle that way.  My preference is to remove them and clean them up prior to painting them so I don't have to worry about touching up any spots with paint after the fact.


After removing the plastic components from the sprue I touch up any rough spots with a quick swipe or two of an emery board.


There are some nice resin castings of stacks of lumber that only needed a tiny bit of smoothing on the bottom just to ensure they'd sit flat.  I ran these over the emery board as well.


More in a moment or two  :)




#167
Kit Building / Downtown Deco - Trackside Tavern
May 20, 2015, 08:26:52 AM
When I went to the EXPO earlier this year one of the things on my list of 'must haves' was to pick up another Downtown Deco kit.  I also wanted to stop by, say hello to Randy and tell him how much fun it is to build one of his kits.  So, here's the kit I picked up, "The Trackside Tavern": 



The contents of the box, unwrapped.  The castings are very well wrapped to protect them while inside the box.  Downtown Deco offers will replace any damaged castings (and I'll let Randy, if opts to comment here, expound on his very forgiving replacement policies).



More kit contents, wire, instructions, etc.



First step was to even out the back of the castings.  Just a few light swirls in a circular pattern on a sheet of sandpaper does the trick.  Normally I use a sheet of sandpaper that's been glued to a piece of handy board but I couldn't find it and I was in a bit of hurry so I just placed the sheet on my workbench and had at it.  It doesn't take much to even them out.



In one or two places there was glob of hydrocal that needed to be removed from the edge of a casting.  Using a chisel blade in my X-Acto handle I gently rocked the knife back and forth pressing down ever so slightly until the offending glob was cut away.



It only took a few seconds to remove the glob and, after a light touch up with and emery board, everything looked fine.



I removed the door and window casting from the sprue's the were attached to using a sprue cutter and touched them up with and emery board as well.



More in a moment...
#168
Louie's Lobster Shack is one of the kits available from KC's Workshop.  Kenny sent this sample to me to try out.  This is a neat little structure which can be assembled a variety of ways and used for quite a few different things.  I stuck with the original configuration because, well, I'm not very original.   :)  Here's what I received when Kenny sent me this kit, a bag full of parts and the instructions.


Inside the bag were several bags containing parts.  There was a lot of stuff included in that little bag.


As far as doors, windows, glazing, metal castings, etc. here's what I found inside.


I started by giving the stripwood a bath in some Hunterline Light Gray Weathering Mix (I love this stuff and brought back several bottles of different colors from the EXPO).


Before I start a new build I put new blades in my handles and get a new single edge razor blade ready.  I tend to use the single edge razor blade the most so that one's a definite.  The others I may not bother with if I didn't use them very much during the last build I did (in this case I did so they all got swapped out).


I braced the walls next following, for the most part, the instructions.  For this wall I had to leave enough room on the end to allow for the bracing on the wall that would be joined to it.  I glue the stripwood on, weight it down with a marble block (part of an old bowling trophy) and then trim it to fit after the glue dried with my single edge razor blade.


More in a moment (or two)...
#169
I found this Concrete Paving material at the LHS last week and thought I'd experiment with it.  I thought it might be something to use in lieu of joint compound for making concrete streets on my dioramas.



The mixing instructions are simple.  Mix a 50/50 mix of white glue with water and then add the concrete paving material a little at a time until it's about the thickness of toothpaste.  I marked a plastic bathroom cup with a Sharpie and used that to measure equal parts white glue and water.



I started adding the concrete paving material to my glue/water mix and stirring.  I kept adding more and more and more (I had mixed way too much water and glue for the little area I wanted to cover  ::) ) until the mix thickened up.



This next step wasn't in the instructions but it's something I do when I'm paving a street with joint compound and certainly can't hurt here.  I spread a thin layer of white glue over the surface to be paved with my finger.  Just to give it a little 'bite'.



More in a moment....

#170
This kit (manufactured by our own Groovy Jeff) for a neat little house arrived in the mail shortly before I went on vacation a few weeks back.  It's been distracting me from my FSM Fox Run Milling build so I figured I better do a build thread on it so you'll (Gnat) know why I  haven't made much progress on Fox Run.   ;)   I've been working on this one and taking pictures along the way and now it's time to share what I've done so far.  Here's the obligatory picture of the box and it's contents: 

A nice little house that reminds me of the type of homes common to the area I'm modeling.


Lot's of goodies inside the box...


....including doors, windows, posts, railings, lattice, etc....


....nicely done block walls for the foundation....


....clapboard walls with clapboards that are a little taller than those we normally see in a kit....


....and of course instructions!  The paints are the colors my better half selected for my little house.  The green will be used as the primary color and the yellow for the doors, windows and some of the trim.


More in a moment...
#171
Time for a new build thread.  I'm going to build the Fine Scale Miniatures Kit #295 Fox Run Milling.

Note: Bear with me on the picture size for the first few posts.  I uploaded these slightly larger than I should have which causes the scroll bar to appear.  I'll get it right sooner or later.



I suspect this puppy is going to take me quite some time to complete but that's okay.  I do this because I enjoy doing it so the longer it takes me the more bang I'm getting for my buck.   :D  My goal is to get this one finished in time to take to the Expo next year to display and, assuming I do a decent enough job of it, after which I'll trade it to Mr. Seckler for the un-built version of the very same kit.   :D

I bought this kit when it first came out in 1997.  In the ad you'll notice it was the last of the 'big' kits before FSM started the Jewel Series.  Well, we all know that some of he Jewel Series ended up being big kits as well and that's just fine by me.

We'll start by pulling the box off the shelf (and dusting it off to take this picture).



Next comes the fun part, opening the box to see what's inside.   :D



This is one of those kits that came with the instructions in a booklet form rather than in several large 'road map' type sheets.  There's bags of wood parts, plastic parts, some metal castings (that I assume didn't fit in the smaller casting box we'll get to later, a large metal wall and some large wood pieces milled to look like concrete wall.



Lot's of strip wood, signs, corrugated aluminum, signs and wire.



And, of course, that famous little box chock full of detail castings.



More in a moment...

#172
I found this in the grocery store last week.  It's perfect for cleaning up the workbench I keep in the house.   :D
#173
No action shots (yet) but the kit did arrive in the mail today (Thanks JimmyD!  :D ) so I thought I'd share some pictures of the treasures hidden inside the box.

Attachment 1: Everything laid out on the carpet.

Attachment 2: The detail parts including a Sailfish Plaque, Lobster Traps, a little open shed with cans plus the usual assortment of doors, windows, etc.   8)

Attachment 3: Some of the walls and signs including some nifty looking walls with a terrific shingle texture on them.

Attachment 4:  Some more walls and some plaster cast stone walls.  Not the ones I poured last night.   ;D

Attachment 5: Some other odds and ends including the pieces that make up the dock the structure will sit on.  Nicely done to give a board by board appearance.

This one looks like it's going to be a hoot.  I just hope a) I can get 'er done by the end of the contest deadline and b) I can do 'er justice!

Tonight's project, me thinks, will be to watch a DVD on waterfront scenery.  I think I have one that Doug did (I hope) and I know I have the Kings DVD on making realistic water.  Maybe even a little research to get a feel for the colors that I want to use.  The real construction will begin this weekend.   :D 
#174
For some reason I'm having trouble creating a new thread and posting attachments at the same time so I'm going to try creating the thread first and then posting to it with attachments.  I keep getting a response that my attachments either took too long to upload or are too big (all are under 400k).  Bear with me during these technical difficulties.
#175
FOS Engine House at Caldwell Junction

Here's my first build thread on the Modelers Forum.   :D  I'm building this for Cuse (John Mancuso).  John set aside space for it on his HO narrow gauge layout Backwoods NE in Florida.  Well, actually he set aside just enough space for the Engine House and has requested that the machine shop not be attached to the main structure so I'll be building that part as a stand alone structure.

Here are some photos of the kit contents starting with the a scan of a card included in the kit that has a great color photo of the finished model on it.  That'll be a handy reference for me during the build and a great source of motivation.  I sure hope Doug doesn't mind my scanning and posting the card.  Our mantra at work is it's better to ask forgiveness than beg permission.   :D

The instructions (see photo number 005) also have some color pictures of the finished model on them.  Personally I really like when there are color photo's included in a kit.

Continued in a moment.

 


#176
Modeling Reference Pix / Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
December 21, 2013, 04:37:19 PM
Just testing posting photos (or in this case scans of photos).  I hope this works!

Many of you have seen these before.  I took these pictures back in the late 90's when I saw a newspaper article about old time advertisements on the walls of building adjacent to the a movie theatre (which was built in 1923) was torn down.  This was in Mahanoy City, PA.
Powered by EzPortal