Since the Highline goes through the bible belt, I felt I needed a backwoods church or two. I already had a Blair Line Church which looks a lot like my Walthers Cottage Grove Church, which resembles my Timberline Church at Fairplay. I was perusing FOS's site and noticed the chaple and cemetary kit. Voila! I added the cemetery extension kit as well.
So the typical box contents. It took me a while to realize that the bracing diagram was from the front, kinda like an xray. And yes, this is my first and only FOS kit. I messed up and didn't get a freebie with it, but oh well.
The bracing diagram has the stained glass windows and what is shown is a scanned copy. That is why there is a ruler on the bottom.
IN the next to last photo, the thick brown laser cut board also doubles as the foundation sections. Remove the laser cut parts and the three rectangular remaining pieces form the foundation, Very clever.
The last section shows the tombstones. Some with names, some not. But luckily any dates fit well within my era.
Considering that just about every wood piece gets hit with A&I wash.
In the meantime, I started building the cemetery posts. The carrier sheet is about 1/8" thick, so the typical xacto blade wasn't going to easily cut it. But the Micro saw worked like a charm. The carrier sheet shown is from the cemetery extension kit and it has extra posts. A post consists of a square thick piece that holds the upright post. Then one adds a thin trim piece at the bottom, followed by a small trim piece at the top. I elected to keep the top piece flush.
These should be painted a granite color. One a down note, the extension kit had a bunch of the posts and thin trim pieces, but no thick bottom square. I 'll just have to use some strip wood here.
With the A&I wash dry, I used cut down packing foam slabs for my weathered painting. And just about everything gets white paint.
The kit includes these cool windows and precut acetate glass. Here, a fine tipped glue applicator comes in real handy. Once the frame was placed, I used the flat end of my tweezers to ensure that the frame was centered.
Once the frames have been installed, it was time to paint the window frame interiors. The actual installation of the window looks interesting. Not sure of exactly where it should placed in the opening. I'll figure it out tomorrow.
You're doing a great job on a interesting looking kit.
Great timing Bob. I was perusing this one on the FOS site a little while ago debating whether to pull the trigger or not so I could get the freebie. Not like I need anymore kits but I'm sorely tempted on this one. Still on the fence though. Guess I'd better make up my mind quick. :D
Oh, yeah, I'll be following along. ;)
Bob,
I agree with Reading Bob on this one. I did in fact pull the trigger and actually have a spot on the second level for the church. Mine will be abandoned though. Maybe I can satisfy Bob's itch by having him build this one. Not sure when Doug will send it but it's paid for.
I'll be following along on this one.
Tom ;D
I will be along for the ride. Also like to mention, that my 3rd build will be a FOS kit, so I will be interested in seeing how this all comes together, and any issues you run in to (If Any). Appreciate you sharing this build.
-Steven
I'll be looking in too Bob..... :)
HI Bob,
Looks like a fun kit. The laser cut fencing is really n ice. I'll be watching, too.
--Opa George
Wow, welcome. Glad to have you all along for the ride.
My main concern today was how to place the doors and windows. The instructions say to just follow the photos. Not many of them though. So I decided to recess them a bit. But how to get there with bracing installed. Considering the bracing is 1/8" and so is the thick parts board, that makes it easy to make a stop. So I did. Just cut off the extra bits.
Speaking of the large parts board, my #11 blade didn't work all that well in cutting off the connecting bit. So I tried to just pop them loose from the back. Bad idea and several had some de-lamination. So I dug out an old #16 blade, and it worked a lot better.
Back to doors and windows. I glued the two doors together to make it easier for them to be installed. Figuring that the windows would be inset a bit, the door also be inset. But how far. About the only thing I had at hand was the cut off piece from the door frame. Okay, set the 1/8" spacer, add the frame cut off and glue the doors on. Not all sure just fixed these would be, I decided that gluing in the insert would actually strengthen the doors. I could have just as easily glued to doors to it and mounted the entire assembly. Live and learn. I added the door knobs by a little dab of metallic zinc. It might need another dab for more relief.
But what about the windows? How to space them in the frame? In time I'll figure it out. But first I need to add all the acetate to the frames. Canopy glue was recommended and I had some handy; once I cleaned out the solidified glue build up in the metal applicator tip. I added just the slightest amount around the edges and on the mullions and cleaned up the resulting mess with a damp flat paint brush.
TBC
Once the 11 smaller arched windows were done, it was one to the two larger ones. The largest window was a surprise as it's acetate was bigger that the frame. The only one. I considered cutting it down, until I thought it most likely was intentional. Several of the smaller windows had curled a bit, even after they were weighed down while the glue dried. That would make installation an issue.
So, I looked at the stained glass print. Hmmmm, they are bigger that the frame. I could cut them to size, but why do so? Just glue the window to each stained bit and use the paper to hold it in place!
But first, the glue mu set up.
Oh , nice , will be following , those windows sure look good.
Very nice windows.
Jan and Curt I appreciate the comments. So of course, I messed the windows. The main stained glass window had two smaller ones that all go together. So of course while I was installing the stained glass windows, I forgot about those two. By the time I realized the mess up, it was too late to make changes. So now, they are all done. And if anyone was wondering how they would look backlit, I took a couple of photos. I have no idea of What that dark splotch is on one of the windows.
While waiting for the windows to dry I worked on the witches hat roof. Can I say witches hat for a church? Well, I guess I just did. It is the typical fold along the provided lines type of construction. Although, I started the bend and used a metal ruler to ensure it stayed along the line. I added some blue tape along the mating corner and glued it together. I braced it until the glue was set to keep it square. Later I added a 1/8" piece of bacing along the seam and added glued along the folded joints.
Now it was time to actually assemble the chapel. And that's where I ran into some diffugalties. The tower section labeled W5 has a brace added on one edge. Well, it can't work as the other two pieces also have braces. So I just cut it off. With that taken care of, I decided that I'd assemble the tower section first, as opposed to last.
So while that was drying the little addition was added and the main chapel was assembled and left to dry. Then it on to assemble the main building. I hit another snag. I added bracing as shown and normally I eyeball the interior ones as they are just bracing. Well, big mistake as the interior bracing for the front wall also locates one exterior wall. As built, this wall has a bend in it so the basic building isn't square. It also looks like the 1/16" trim on the tower is in the way. So a trim of the bracing and removal of the offending corner trim, voila. Square building.
To make some sense of the above, here is what I would change on the plans. And of course, I forgot to note the change in the corner trim on W6 where it meets with W1. I would also match the bracing on W2 to match the interior bracing on W4 since they both set adjacent wall panels W1 and W3.
As I previously mentioned, the foundation is made up of carrier sheets. I decided to used the paper brick pattern as it was just too thin to use plastic brick overlays. And with that done, I used the foundation to aid in gluing the building together with a foot print that would match with the provided foundation.
You're doing a great job on this kit Bob. Keep those progress pics coming!
Hey Bob:
It's coming along quite nicely.
Karl
Looking good Bob.
Very nice on this, Bob. Thanks for sharing the bracing corrections. I like the weathering, too. The pastor needs to urge the congregation to put together a painting picnic.
This one will look fantastic with some interior lighting if you're into that.
--Opa George
Thanks guys. And yes, Opa, it would be a good model to light up. I'm not going there. The dearth of paint will be minimized after I give it a brushing of white weathering powder.
I spent most of this afternoon working on the tower. The instructions state to run the corner trim long. This is a must. What I also did was to flatten the siding edges to allow a triangular trim piece to sit flat. A quick series of turns on my Ultimation Sander made quick work of it.
There are two decks, each a sandwich of two parts. The larger of the two has registration marks for alignment. To center the little cupola, I did some quick math and drew my own registration marks. This lower deck gets a rolled roofing cover. The witches hat, the triangular trim pieces, and edges of the upper and lower decking all get a verdigris or weathered copper finish. Some some judicious prepainting is in order. I had some Vallejo brass paint, so I used it as a base. Then went over it with a Holley Green craft paint.
But before I can paint the hat, I needed to add it to the upper deck piece and when set, add some wire in the corners. Kinda nice detail. Pay close attention to keep the wires short, as there is a 1/8" square piece that goes on top. And on top of that, a cross.
Then it was back to the main building and adding some trim along the upper side wall edges. Yes, one has to be cut to fit around the turret.
As I just can't leave well enough alone, I decided that the main roof is going to be a dark green, the side addition roof a lighter green and the little shed addition will stay with rolled roofing.
My RSLaserkit dark green 3-tab shingle shows up almost blue. Trust me it's a dark green. But then, I also have a light green set. Not sure yet, which way to go.
Quote from: ACL1504 on July 22, 2020, 07:06:24 AM
Bob,
I agree with Reading Bob on this one. I did in fact pull the trigger and actually have a spot on the second level for the church. Mine will be abandoned though. Maybe I can satisfy Bob's itch by having him build this one. Not sure when Doug will send it but it's paid for.
I'll be following along on this one.
Tom ;D
I still haven't pulled the trigger on this one but it's nice to know I'll still have to option to build it. ;) If/when I do I'll certainly be referring back to Bob's build thread for tips and pointers. She's looking really good so far Bob! As always, thanks for taking the time to share the journey with us. :)
No problem Bob. It's my first FOS kit so there is a bit of learning curve as to instructions.
Well, here I am on to the roofing. They make a comment on using transfer tape and doing it on the flat. Which is my preferred method anyway. But, when one has a roof intersecting another roof, there must be a valley or two. And this valley has to be flashed first, then add the roofing. Sooooo, I need to add the addition before the roof cards can be added. And before I do that, I need to add the main building to the foundation. I need to buy a more small Irwin clamps.
While that was setting up, I figured I need to add some end wall bracing on the addition's long walls where it would attach to the main building. More for gluing surface.
Then it was a matter of adding the addition. While that was setting up, I realized I could use a ridge beam for the main building. It was an easy matter of measuring the needed length at the eave ad then glue in place.
I managed to put tar paper on the lower tower flat and painted the witches hat, first with brass paint and then with Holley Green. I then glued all the bits together. The green looks too green and not enough blue tinge. I might see what I can do with some powders.
I managed to darken the verdigris a bit by hitting with blue weathering powder. The tower trim pieces went on a lot easier than I has expected. Next is a shot of the witches hat, sitting on the tower. It won't be affixed until after the main roofs have been shingled.
While looking at the fit of the addition roof, it became apparent that the end wall needed a brace.
So here is my recommended changes in bracing. Add some here and remove others there. Use it with caution.
I did get the roof glued down and started playing with coloring for the gravestones and rock pillars. No photos of either.
Coming together nicely Bob! Appreciate you sharing the additional bracing that is needed.
-Steven
hey Bob:
Walls look just great. I really like your weathering.
Karl
Great work so far.
Reminds me of some of the small country churches I attended while a student in western Kentucky in the early 1960's. Any plans to pitch a revival tent in the yard?
Quote from: BandOGuy on July 28, 2020, 05:38:46 PM
Great work so far.
Reminds me of some of the small country churches I attended while a student in western Kentucky in the early 1960's. Any plans to pitch a revival tent in the yard?
Thanks. And no, this isn't an evangelical denomination.
Quote from: Oldguy on July 29, 2020, 11:02:49 AM
Quote from: BandOGuy on July 28, 2020, 05:38:46 PM
Great work so far.
Reminds me of some of the small country churches I attended while a student in western Kentucky in the early 1960's. Any plans to pitch a revival tent in the yard?
Thanks. And no, this isn't an evangelical denomination.
The tent could be for a church social event :)
dave
Quote from: deemery on July 29, 2020, 12:31:25 PM
Quote from: Oldguy on July 29, 2020, 11:02:49 AM
Quote from: BandOGuy on July 28, 2020, 05:38:46 PM
Great work so far.
Reminds me of some of the small country churches I attended while a student in western Kentucky in the early 1960's. Any plans to pitch a revival tent in the yard?
Thanks. And no, this isn't an evangelical denomination.
The tent could be for a church social event :)
dave
Ice cream social? Possible. Very possible..
I managed to get the roof cards glued down. First step in roofing is installing any valley flashing. I just used the material included in the kit, painted a zinc/aluminum color (or close thereto).
The tower present another problem, To cricket or not to cricket, that is the question. I have a bit of OCD when comes to building details and this is like a poke in the eye. So cricket it is. I'll make up one using some handy scrap material. I will most likely use the cut of angles instead of the intended piece above the cut offs.
I will use 3 tab shingles from both Rslaser and Motrak Models. Why? Well these folk would be lucky to have and addition roof that matches the original. And the green is just enough off to work.
Originally, I wanted to use the Motrak Models for the main building, but I noticed that these shingles are not as wide as those from Rslaser. The tabs width are the same, and I drew out 1/8" spacing and these will need 1/16". So I'll use the Rslaser shingles for the main building as it is a little more complicated. Hopefully I'll have enough.
The Rslaser shingles are shorter, but if I cut them off lengthwise, I can just scrap by with having some longer ones and some short ones, that will just fit the roof card.
Everything was going fine until I had a little over a third of one side done and noticed the roof card starting to warp from the use of the Elmers. So, I needed to do a bit of late term roof card bracing. I'll find out tomorrow if it'll stop the warp.
Of course I learn things here. I had to look up "cricket" as a roofing term. OK, got it. I know it as a "saddle."
--Opa George
Yeah George, same thing just called a different names in different places.
So, I got one side done and it'll give you an idea of ho it will look when finished. At least the main section.
Of course the other side is a bugger, given the two valleys. I was going to shingle the cricket, but then thought, nah. I'll just leave it a rolled roofing covered piece. Better part of valor ans such.
One item missing that I have noticed in my area was a board listing service times. So I made one in Excel, printed it, scanned it as a .jpg, inserted into Word and then made a bunch of different sizes.
Looks great Bob.
Quote from: Opa George on July 30, 2020, 06:31:51 AM
Of course I learn things here. I had to look up "cricket" as a roofing term. OK, got it. I know it as a "saddle."
--Opa George
That's too funny. ;D I had to do the exact same thing. I didn't, however, know it was also called a saddle. That's a great detail to add to the tower. It never would have occurred to me to add one.
Your build is coming along great Bob! Thanks for all of the photos and descriptions. I'll be using them as a guide when I build (have to buy it first!) this one.
ONce I got the paper flashing in and painted, I used a scrap piece of wood, about 3" thick to draw in lines to denote the edge of the shingles into flashing. It also denoted where to stop with the angling.
Of course, it is all a matter of luck when one gets to the first full shingle strip of where the shingles overlap. It's just a matter of adjusting for looks. And no, I didn't get all that lucky.
I got the main roof done. Up to the ridge caps. The upper tower is just sitting there for looks. And then it struck me that I royally messed up.
Looks great.
Mess up? What mess up?
Sometime during my getting the addition roof glued and weighted down, it slipped out of place and now runs down hill about 1/8". I didn't notice it until I saw the photo closely. I have to live with it.
Some more shoulda's - That addition, besides adding the extra glue blocks and end bracing, I should have added some horizontal bracing on the open end. I depended upon the base for placement and square. Shouldn't have. That and I wanted to add a ridge brace, but didn't. I got in a hurry. It would have helped brace the roof and kept it in place during glue up.
Back to roofing. I add extra shingle strips at the top and remove all the extra paper, leaving just the shingles. Then, I razor cut the upper shingles to form a flat to add the ridge caps. Again, the main roof used RSlaser kit three tab shingles.
The addition shingles are Motrak three tabs. These are on thinner paper (about 2 mils thinner) and not as high. Whereas on the Rslaser, I make my own ridge cap shingles from scrap material, Motrak has designated ridge caps that need to be cut apart. Once cut apart, these need to be folded lengthwise. I found that using my angled tweezers and a Mark 1 eyeball, I was able to put a fold in at about half the width. That is that is need, just as basic fold to start. Cover the previous piece about half way, pull down on both sides for a bit, and move on to the next piece. To be prototypical, one installs the ridge caps with the prevailing winds. That is the wind would blow over the tops, not into the exposed ends.
Now both roofs are done. I believe I prefer Rslaser's.
Nice work on the ridge shingles and valley flashing Bob..... 8)
Quote from: GPdemayo on August 04, 2020, 08:31:58 AM
Nice work on the ridge shingles and valley flashing Bob..... 8)
Thanks.
Now that the roof was done, the front appeared a bit flat, so I added a main door canopy. Just made from scrap wood pieces.
Next up, the cemetery. I used a piece of 3/8 gator board as I want the chapel to sit on a slight hill. I marked out the chapel location and how the plots could look like. I am using a 4x8 cemetery plot (extremely generous) and found things would work out for 18 graves. Hmm, not very big at all. Then I realized that there is a need for space for rear details and a road out. So I moved everything forward and glued the building down. This gave me some time to play with the fence configuration some more. A three fence panel deep arrangement put the cemetery past the chapel front. That's not good. So I can add panels to widen it, and just make it two panels deep.
Attaching the fence panels (which are gorgeous) to the posts is going to be interesting.
hey Bob:
That's coming along just great. The white paint on the walls looks just perfect.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on August 05, 2020, 12:09:34 PM
hey Bob:
That's coming along just great. The white paint on the walls looks just perfect.
Karl
Glad you liked it.
Great modeling and wall coloring.
Since the Chapel is firmly attached, I got a start on the cemetery. First up was attaching all the upright posts. I made two jigs to aid in their placement. One for the fence sections and one for the gate. With some posts having a bottom piece. I needed something to raise the jig. I used whatever was handy, but worked.
A little bit of time is needed or a post glue to grab and hod, so while waiting, I dd other little side projects. Like give a bit of a rusting to the fence and gate sections. Or installing the brick chimney and a metal smoke jack. Then there was a board with the power meter and electrical box. The board fell right after I took the photo and was reattached. The waste pipe on the back was made out of scrap brass rod.
At the end of the work session I managed to get all the stone posts installed and was only off one section in one corner. I will need to add some landscape foam after I plant what headstones I want. Then, I can add the fence and gates.
Slow progress day. Got the headstones planted and some weathering. Then it was on to adding the base layer of the ground foam. My ground foam is mixed with dirt powder by a happy accident.
Hey Oldguy:
Looks great but I do have a question. Why is the rear roof slanted like that. I would think that the peak should be level from one end to the other.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on August 06, 2020, 06:56:49 PM
Hey Oldguy:
Looks great but I do have a question. Why is the rear roof slanted like that. I would think that the peak should be level from one end to the other.
Karl
It should. Like I previously mentioned, that roof card slipped down overnight with it being weighted down and all, as the glue was drying. I didn't catch the mistake until I already had added extra glue on the inside and started shingling. There was just no way to remove it without destroying most of the building. I'm going to try to disguise it a bit with a tree or two. It is really noticeable from the back, not so much from the front.
There are times when I think that I should have scrapped both roofs and started over.
I managed to get the fencing and gates installed. I fabricobbled a jig to old both fence and gates vertical while they were being glued and give the appropriate height from the ground foam. Even though I used a jig to space out the posts, several were too short and a couple too long. One section broke towards the end, which was not an issue as I used this section to add some wire to attach to the posts and glue the section back together.
Now that had dried, I added the original base to the 1/2" foam board.
Now it was time to see if I can use dryer sheets for small land forms. Here I cut a sheet into 1 1/2" strips and used matter medium to affix the upper level edges. I'll find out tomorrow if it holds and if so, then attach the lower edges.
I also made up a short section of sidewalk and some steps to the front door from the soon to be parking lot.
The fabric softener sheet experiment looks good so far. With the upper section dry, it was time to attach the lower section. While that was drying, I added a railroad tie retaining wall on the right hand section, including a set of RR tie steps.
Then it was time to give the white base a coat of ground color.
Bob,
Nice job on the church, er, chapel. Looks good.
I'm starting to build mine and will start the thread in a few minutes or so. I've followed this thread with much interest and have enjoyed the journey. I have a few ides for mine so it won't be a total stock kit build.
I'll be checking back on this build as my reference.
Tom ;D
Quote from: ACL1504 on September 06, 2020, 05:49:21 PM
Bob,
Nice job on the church, er, chapel. Looks good.
I'm starting to build mine and will start the thread in a few minutes or so. I've followed this thread with much interest and have enjoyed the journey. I have a few ides for mine so it won't be a total stock kit build.
I'll be checking back on this build as my reference.
Tom ;D
Glad to be of service.
Great build Bob! Neat idea using dryer sheets for landforms.
Hey Bob:
All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what A beautiful job you did on this. I assume the open yard will be the grave yard??
Karl
Hey Bob:
Opps I loked at pics again and I see the gravestones.
Karl
Thanks Karl. I stil have a bit more scenery to do. I will give static grass a shot and see what happens.
Very Nice!
Bob
Your build is really looking great - I'm following along on your journey.
Bob nice job!!
Jerry
Well done. Thank you for sharing your build.
Jaime
A quick revisit.
I finally got some new static grass and different applicator. So time to try it out. I first added the small crosses on the gates and on the spire (didn't make it in the shot). I didn't like all the gravel out front, so, I covered it in ground foam and then added the static grass. Al least this time, the grass stood up. But not all that sure if I like it or not. In any case. I can put this on the layout.
very nice.
Static grass looks nice. Overall nice looking diorama to be installed on your layout.
Jeff
Grass looks great.....sure beats the old green sawdust from Life-Like. 8)
Bob, That's a Beautiful job Sir....Dennis