CM Roundhouse build, continued

[deemery]

Since, A Long Time Ago, this started with the old Model Masterpieces plaster kit, I figured to continue the build in this forum, rather than Scratchbuilding.


The first part of the build is over on Kitforums.com:  http://www.kitforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1007


dave

[deemery]

For a long time, the kit sat on the layout.  The walls were assembled, the track and inspection kits were assembled, and I got stuck on the floor.  I finally got the floor to look right. 

The next step is the roof.  I cut a very thin plywood roof, but this has a bit of a warp to it.  I want the roof to be removable, but I want maximum access to the locomotive bays (both to finish the interior, and in case a locomotive gets stuck.  After pondering this for a while (I do -a lot- of "pondering" these days :-) ), I decided that the roof framing and posts would be fixed in place, and the plywood subroof would be removable.  Some beams (running from front to back) would be glued to the plywood subroof, the rest of the roof would be permanently affixed to the structure.  I have some small strong magnets I got for projects like this.  I'll glue the magnets into the corners of the roof, and will glue little patches of 'magnetic calendar' cards on the subroof.  The magnetic attraction should be strong enough to keep the roof in place, but allow me to remove it when necessary.

Anyway, I laid out the roof pieces on the subroof.  I epoxied the outer pieces to the (plaster) walls (epoxy to be strong enough to resist any tear-out from the magnets.)  Then I test fit, cut and adjusted (and recut too many times :-) ) the roof pieces.  Here is the first 'ring' of interior roof pieces test fit in place. 

Also, I cut and painted the posts and the supports that go under the roof framing.  A postcard from Russ Panecki showed posts that were painted brown up to about 4', and then white up to the roof, which was unpainted.  That's an interesting detail I'll use. 

dave

[jbvb]

Good to see you back at this.  In China in 1995, the roundhouses I got into had white paint up to about 2m off the floor, then dark color (soot, or paint indistinguishable from it) above. I've seen similar in late steam era US roundhouse photos, I think it was a safety measure.

[postalkarl]

Hi Dave:

Went over the rest of the build on other forum. Looks great there. The Floor Looks Excellently done.

Karl

[Janbouli]

Yes that floor looks right, good work Dave

[ACL1504]

Yes that floor looks right, good work Dave

Dave,

I agree with the others on the floor, dirty and nasty, just like it should be. I can't get on the other forum and no longer even try.

Tom

[deemery]

The first row of posts are installed.  Second row will go in tomorrow early.

dave

[donatode]

Looking sharp Dave!!!

[deemery]

All the posts are in.  Now I'm working on the magnets for the removable roof.

dave

[deemery]

The idea for the removable roof is little magnets (http://www.kjmagnetics.com )  Here's a pair (you have to watch the polarity!!!) on the wall and roof.  Once the epoxy is thoroughly dry, I'll put the roof on, and then try to pry it back off.


dave

[Railman28]

Dave, I'm very happy to see you continuing this build. The floor looks good. I like the magnet idea.

Bob Harris

[deemery]

The magnets so far haven't worked as expected.  I think they're too far apart.  I'll add a spacer to move them closer together.  I really don't want them touching, as the magnetic grip is too strong and I'm afraid I'll pull the magnets away from the roof/structure.  Looks like 1/32 spacing should work, I had something like 3/16 between them.


But today I've been doing other things, so no updates.



dave

[rebel]

You should not need the magnets as a ply roof shoud be heavy enough to stay in place if correct keys are done. Personally I have moved to styrene for such projects as keys are easy to adjust as glue is drying and bracing is easy too being made of the same material.

[deemery]

The roof is very thin 1/64 plywood, and that's driven by the fact it's replacing thin cardboard sheets from the original kit (and there's a dado that the roof sits in, too thick and the roof would look funny.)   I've had similar problems with warping in thin styrene.    Of course, I don't want to glue the roof in place, because a loco might get stuck/derail inside the engine house.  Once the kit is fully assembled, removing the roof should be a rare occurrence.


dave

[Oldguy]

Could one add a thin plastic "spacer" on top of one of the magnets to keep them from actually touching, but provide the grip you desire?