I've been wanting to build the Graves since the announcement just like many other kits. When I get new kit I open it, look at the content, imagine building it, and the put it away with the rest of them. Initially I did the same thing with the Graves too but then it got a sponsor and that elevated its status. This is when I cracked and had classic case of lack of self discipline. I pulled some parts out of the box and started working on it. After a little while I decided that I should finish the other projects first so I put the parts back in the box. Then I repeated the sequence again several times. About a month ago I dedicated two or so evenings just to Graves and built the shell for the stucco part of the building. I was going to apply the stucco next day but then this high pitch voice said: "What if the upper clapboard wall sections don't fit? After you apply stucco there will be no good way to make the adjustments". While I don't always listen to my other bosses I have to obey this one 8). I put the shell aside until I have the upper wall sections ready. It may be awhile before I have them done but since I had my camera out yesterday I took couple of pictures.
Vilius
Wow! What a great kit. Amazing looking structure! That will look fantastic when finished! What an unusual and neat building!
There Villius - add those to the other voices in your head and this kit might get higher priority!
Cheers, Mark.
I have not opened mine yet, it is a cool structure- I was able to see what Jack Ellis did with it: he cut it in half and made a longer, narrower structure, pretty cool. I will be watching your build with great interest!
Hey Villius! Nice start so far. I'll be watching your build since I have one of them in the closet as well. Hope you post lots of pictures and any commentary (good & bad) would be helpful when I try tackling mine.
Quote from: TheUkranian on August 04, 2016, 11:06:11 AM
I've been wanting to build the Graves since the announcement just like many other kits. When I get new kit I open it, look at the content, imagine building it, and the put it away with the rest of them.
You open them ??? ??? ???
Thank you, everyone, for stopping by.
I should be able to kick it into higher gear soon. The CCK kits are relatively small, the bunch of castings I am painting is almost finished. The Olympics may get in the way over the next couple of weeks but I am more Winter Olympics fan. Nothing beats cross country skiing or biathlon.
I open all of the boxes. I love the smell of burnt wood. It is just like the smell of the new car. And in case of one manufacturer I go through the parts list to make sure all of them are accounted. I understand that unopened box potentially has higher resell value but I am going to build them all ;D.
Now I want to ask for a favor. If you have open box as well would you mind placing the big roof part on top of the base (sidewalk/foundation part to see if they match). I checked my construction several times and I couldn't find any errors. My suspicion is that some of the roof angles may be wrong. If not then I have to find where did I make the mistake.
Vilius
Count me in as one of the followers of this thread. This one certainly looks different and it should be fun to follow along. I know what you mean about opening boxes and then putting them on the shelf. I have at least two (FOS Magic Shop and CCK Shoppes on Concord Street) that I primed the castings for but put back on the shelf afterwards. ::)
Villius,
I've heard that there may be errors in the cutting of the kit. Someone else that is building it for a friend of mine had issues.
This is one of the most unique, distinctive kits to come out in a while. I'm excited to see what such a talented modeler does with it!
John
Vilius,
Since this was a very small product run of 125 kits, did some research tonight and found Bar Mills made a 4 part You Tube video series to help on the construction of this limited run kit, which is almost 1 hour long....listened to a little of it, and if you don't follow their suggestions, you may have issues. Lots of tips, don't know if the instructions mention all the info in the videos....Some walls were made longer since they had to be beveled, etc. the video tells you what side of the kit wall to bevel / shorten, to get the fit right, or where to put tape so walls don't get stucco material, etc.....Bar Mills even suggests to do this step before that step in the kit assembly, etc....Hope this helps !
Here is the link to the first video, and after it's over part 2 should start up ! :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXoT1-i9Z0o
Also on your question on the roof template, they show that near the end of the part 2 video, how it was used to square up all the walls and check for correct angles of the structure as the assembly takes place. 8) 8) 8)
Tommy
Thank you for the comments, everyone. I didn't realize how long it has been sitting on the back burner until I opened this thread and looked at the date. I had couple of lunch break projects I wanted finish first before getting back to the Graves. I am actively working on it now but there are not so many lunch breaks left this year so I may take it home and work on it over the holidays.
Vilius
Hi Vilius:
Walls look great. Just the right amount of weathering. Will be following along.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on December 05, 2016, 12:10:33 PM
Hi Vilius:
Walls look great. Just the right amount of weathering. Will be following along.
Karl
Vilius,
I agree with Karl, the walls are just perfect in color and weathering. I'm following also.
Tom ;D
Really nice work. I picked this kit up at Springfield and thinking of jumping into it next year....Please keep posting as your build yhread will be an awesome reference!
Looking good Vilius. Did watching the video help you out with figuring out what was going on with the roof angles not matching? Keep the photos coming.
Thank you for stopping by, guys. The videos are great but I didn't see any difference between the pilot model and my build. I had put upper clapboard walls where they are supposed to be and didn't have any gaps or issues. I will know for sure when I start gluing them for real.
Vilius
Vilius,
Great start on building this large limited run kit. You have been really busy this fall ! The coloring looks perfect ! What material will you use for the stucco areas ?
Tommy
Sorry for late reply, Tom. I need to turn reply notifications on so I don't miss any next time. I used Sandstones for this version of stucco. It is a paint mixed with sand and was made by DecoArt. I don't have the container in front of me so I might be wrong about the manufacturer. The paint is OOP now.
Here is the new look of the stucco walls.
Vilius
Great stucco , did i just say that on an other build of yours too ;D
Quote from: Janbouli on December 22, 2016, 04:24:59 PM
Great stucco , did i just say that on an other build of yours too ;D
Like I said, we're stuck on the stucco...!!
Thank you, Jan and Donato.
I have made some progress over the holidays. This is where I am at.
Vilius
Looking fantastic Vilius!
Your stenciled 'Graves' came out beautifully. Are there any tricks to getting it that crisp on stucco?
I love the look of those matching chimneys. I do, however, question their placement. I see you have put them pretty much where the Bar Mills model has - but it seems to me that the one on the left will be right smack bang in front of both the upper story door and the main freight door below. Even if the chimneys were to 'wiggle' their way down there are so many doors and windows in the structure that it seems there is nowhere they could go that would not be right in front of a door or window. Maybe there is a chimney expert out there who could explain to me how they might work?
Cheers, Mark.
Good catch, Mark. I should have paid attention to the chimney placement. I am just hoping that side will be facing the back of the layout and no one else notices it :)
The secret for getting crisp sign is stencil brush. My first attempt using a sponge failed miserably. I painted the sign over and was thinking about airbrushing. Then I was going over FOS Moscone Bonds instructions and there Doug suggests using a stiff paintbrush. It so happened that few years back in search of perfect paint brush I bought few stencil brushes. They weren't good for my intended purpose but they are good at what they are made for.
Vilius
Thanks Vilius.
I bought Moscone Bonds from Doug at the expo in Scranton in 2015. I'll read through those instructions. I'll get myself a stencil brush as well. I had to cut my own stencil. I painted it on in a dabbing fashion and got it ok. I tidied it up with a fine brush and black and my stucco colour paints and got it acceptable - but nowhere near as good as yours.
Enjoying watching your build come together.
Cheers, Mark.
Your build looks fantastic! Please keep posting pics and tips as I will refer to your thread when I tackle my kit. The chimney issue is something that I see every once in a while with some kits....I always try and look out for that sort of thing when I build a kit. I've had good luck in stencilling by slowly going around the stencil, holding down the edge as I move along, and putting on the paint slowly, in layers, so as not to have too wet a brush. I agree, your stencil work looks great!
Hi Vilius:
Wow well don sir. Love the colors and weathering.
Karl
Keep it going Vilius....you are on a roll!!!
Thank you, everyone. I have no patience like Bob to explain every step beforehand but I am ready to answer any questions you might have. Keep asking.
Vilius
The life got busy over the past few months and I even didn't get promoted like Jaime. I still have my workbench time and follow the forums somewhat, but posting is a luxury I can't always afford.
I finished the Graves nearly a month ago. Here are the final photos.
Vilius
The second building.
Great work, Vilius. The colors and weathering are wonderful.
Jeff
Really nice build and great looking structure Vilius..... 8)
Great work, Vilius!
Your Graves came out beautifully. Its a real one of a kind structure too.
Cheers, Mark.
Superb Vilius , what a nice unique building .
Hi Vilius:
What can I say but WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So very nicely done so far.
Karl
Vilius,
Great modeling!
Thank you, guys.
Vilius
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotel-r.net%2Fim%2Fhotel%2Ffr%2Fexcelsior-9.jpg&hash=fb028acfd5b25d553b425294756ad21b116cd546)