For the 2021 build challenge I have chosen the SRMW Tucker & Cook Cotton Mill. I plan to build it as a Crew Quarter's for my Superior & Seattle Railroad. Let the fun begin - the box is coming down off the shelf.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-010121100545-472322478.jpeg)
Nice one, John!
Nothing like a South River Modelworks kit to get us all salivating.
Cheers, Mark.
Subscribed!
Looks like a great kit to kick off 2021's challenge. I'm along for this ride.
--Opa George
I will follow too
Eric
Should be another classic. Great choice for the build challenge John!
I'm following....I elbowed my way to a front row seat and I have a big box of popcorn
Terry
Nice one John. I have this kit in my stash. Once I have finished my current build I am planning on building the mill down the road from yours - the SRMW Delabarre Woolens. If you are using it as your crew's quarters are you planning on a kit bash or building it as per the instructions?
Mike
John,
Will see how you change up this SRMW kit for the S&S crew...
Joined this Forum because of Jaime Zepeda's kit build of this structure 5 years ago.
Tommy
Hey John:
I will be following along with great interest.
Karl
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on January 01, 2021, 01:08:46 PM
John,
Will see how you change up this SRMW kit for the S&S crew...
Joined this Forum because of Jaime Zepeda's kit build of this structure 5 years ago.
Tommy
That was a fun build. I still have the diorama and I stare at it every day.
John, you'll have great fun with this one.
Jaime
Looking forward to see how this one comes out!
I'll be following along!
I'll be following.
Thank you to all of that are following along, I appreciate the words of encouragement. The cover is coming off the box.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-010121100545-472522230.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020121090510-472611838.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020121090510-472661428.jpeg)
The first step on any build for me is to get the pictures provided by the kit manufacturer on my iPad so I can play with sketching possible changes. Since I will be building this as a Crew Quarters, rather than a cotton mill I have some playing around to do.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-010121100546-472531810.jpeg)
I should have cropped the picture better - the instructions you see behind the picture is for G. Wilikers which is currently being detailed on my workbench.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-010121100546-472541630.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-010121100546-472551156.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-010121100727-472561631.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-010121100727-472571591.jpeg)
The big question is... Will you use the "puke green" trim color everyone gave me a hard time about when I built it lol?
VanGelder does make a fantastic kit and the whole package makes it so much fun to work on the kits. Makes me wish South River was still making kits.
Jaime
I'm in the camp of, "Love that kit, hate that color".
BUT ... it is different. So I'll give it to Bob for producing it so boldly :)
John, those are some lovely scans. Was it your regular flatbed? It's like you were given the originals!
Quote from: NEMMRRC on January 02, 2021, 09:23:30 AM
The big question is... Will you use the "puke green" trim color everyone gave me a hard time about when I built it lol?
VanGelder does make a fantastic kit and the whole package makes it so much fun to work on the kits. Makes me wish South River was still making kits.
Jaime
Jaime
Thank you for following along. As for the famous color, it is not my favorite and it will be one of the things that will be changed. I'm thinking right now of a light yellow with maroon trim for the main building. It was a suggestion from Mark Dalrymple which matches the trim of the Roundhouse and Locomotive Works that will be beside it. We had a discussion on this topic on my S&S RR build thread a few weeks ago.
This is the link to Jaime's famous Tucker & Cook build thread from a few years ago, for reference. Jaime did a great job and I would encourage him to post a few finished pictures here. ;) ;D I know where Jaime is storing his diorama and it is not completed. ::) We need to encourage him to finish his build and thread. We can call it in Jaime Challenge 2.0.
http://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=944.msg19446#msg19446
Moving on and diving deeper into that wonderful red box.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-010121100727-472581006.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-010121100727-472591768.jpeg)
Is it just me, I always look through the box of castings first.
What a neat looking building.
Quote from: Rusty Robot on January 02, 2021, 09:37:53 AM
I'm in the camp of, "Love that kit, hate that color".
BUT ... it is different. So I'll give it to Bob for producing it so boldly :)
John, those are some lovely scans. Was it your regular flatbed? It's like you were given the originals!
Craig
Sorry, I missed your post. I went back to look at what I just posted and it slipped in there. Anyway, your worries about the color are shared. I will not be going in that direction. The pictures are just photographs of photographs with my iPhone. I just set the originals on my drafting board and shot the pictures. You can see in a couple of them you have to be careful with the overhead lights reflecting in the glossy photographs.
Quote from: S&S RR on January 02, 2021, 10:13:28 AM
Is it just me, I always look through the box of castings first.
It's all in the details ;)
And it's not just you. I do the same. Love those little buggers
Quote from: PRR Modeler on January 02, 2021, 10:15:57 AM
What a neat looking building.
Curt
I agree, very unique design. Thank you for following along.
Quote from: S&S RR on January 02, 2021, 10:10:51 AM
This is the link to Jaime's famous Tucker & Cook build thread from a few years ago, for reference. Jaime did a great job and I would encourage him to post a few finished pictures here. ;) ;D I know where Jaime is storing his diorama and it is not completed. ::) We need to encourage him to finish his build and thread. We can call it in Jaime Challenge 2.0.
http://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=944.msg19446#msg19446 (http://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=944.msg19446#msg19446)
And here I've always thought of it as "Jaime's
infamous build thread" ;D
Jaime
p/s If I were to build this kit again, I'd stick with the original colors yet again. I always found them striking.
Good Morning John et all,
Happy New Year to you my friend. I like the choice of your next structure. I have this on the end of one of my islands and it always get comments. May I suggest a couple of additions to the kit. Lightening rods are commonly found on these older structures since they are wood and are from an area where lightening is a common occurrence. I use small pieces of .010 phosphor bronze wire with a touch of Folk Art Greenscape acrylic paint to imply oxidization. A note of caution. Too many people don't see the rods and have a habit of pointing at the building and sometimes come in touch with the rods and boink, they are gone.
The other item I added were fire escapes. While not originally added to the building, depending on the time period you are modeling, fire departments made many of these structures add them for safety. Wooden buildings burn real fast. I can't recall who the manufacturer of the fire escapes is or was. I'll take some pics of my building so you can seen all the details.
This is another of Bob Van Gelder's fine work. I am currently building the SRMW Car Shop - Diesel Shop. Currently installing lights in the trusses. As always, keep up the fine work. Look forward to seeing your build.
Frank / Eieman
Quote from: Erieman on January 02, 2021, 11:11:22 AM
Good Morning John et all,
Happy New Year to you my friend. I like the choice of your next structure. I have this on the end of one of my islands and it always get comments. May I suggest a couple of additions to the kit. Lightening rods are commonly found on these older structures since they are wood and are from an area where lightening is a common occurrence. I use small pieces of .010 phosphor bronze wire with a touch of Folk Art Greenscape acrylic paint to imply oxidization. A note of caution. Too many people don't see the rods and have a habit of pointing at the building and sometimes come in touch with the rods and boink, they are gone.
The other item I added were fire escapes. While not originally added to the building, depending on the time period you are modeling, fire departments made many of these structures add them for safety. Wooden buildings burn real fast. I can't recall who the manufacturer of the fire escapes is or was. I'll take some pics of my building so you can seen all the details.
This is another of Bob Van Gelder's fine work. I am currently building the SRMW Car Shop - Diesel Shop. Currently installing lights in the trusses. As always, keep up the fine work. Look forward to seeing your build.
Frank / Eieman
Frank
Great to see you on the forum and following this thread. I like your suggestions for additions. The lighting rods are a go but I need to find those fire escapes you used. I don't like the plastic ones Walthers sells - just not to scale IMO. If I remember right the ones you have are brass. Can you give the long term memory another try and see if you can remember who made them? Also, can you post a picture of them here or send it to me? Can anyone else give me a lead on fire escapes? I know George Sellios has a ton of them on the F&SM.
So I made some progress on the build today and got the photographs download. It's getting too late to get them posted tonight, so I will have a update, tomorrow. I did paint a couple pieces of wood the colors I'm thinking of for the main building. The light yellow for the clapboard and the Mahogany - really a dark maroon for the windows and trim. The Mahogany is the color I used for the trim on the Roundhouse and Locomotive Works.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020121221440.jpeg)
I also should report on my experience with trying to buy paint today. I have one full bottle and about 25% left in a second bottle of the Vallejo Mahogany paint. I thought I would get another bottle on the way just in case. The last bottle I paid $3.79. On Amazon this afternoon they wanted $15.99. We had a discussion here on the forum earlier in the week about the stores being out of craft paints. I think I will wait until the shortage is over and take my chances with running out on this project.
Note on the picture above. On my screen in the post the yellow is more yellow and the Mahogany more dark brown than it is to my eyes in my workshop.
John,
Gold Medal Models offers etched brass fire escapes. FWIW, I believe Walthers handles their brass fire escapes, too. Link below:
http://www.goldmm.com/
Tichy Train Group offer plastic fire escapes. From memory they are finer and more in scale (and cheaper) than the Walthers ones. They might not be the shape you are after for this project, but might be worth checking out for the price. I have kitbashed some. Fiddly work, but you can get a quite different look.
https://www.tichytraingroup.com/Shop/tabid/91/p/8060-fire-escapes/Default.aspx
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: S&S RR on January 02, 2021, 10:10:15 PM
Quote from: Erieman on January 02, 2021, 11:11:22 AM
Good Morning John et all,
Happy New Year to you my friend. I like the choice of your next structure. I have this on the end of one of my islands and it always get comments. May I suggest a couple of additions to the kit. Lightening rods are commonly found on these older structures since they are wood and are from an area where lightening is a common occurrence. I use small pieces of .010 phosphor bronze wire with a touch of Folk Art Greenscape acrylic paint to imply oxidization. A note of caution. Too many people don't see the rods and have a habit of pointing at the building and sometimes come in touch with the rods and boink, they are gone.
The other item I added were fire escapes. While not originally added to the building, depending on the time period you are modeling, fire departments made many of these structures add them for safety. Wooden buildings burn real fast. I can't recall who the manufacturer of the fire escapes is or was. I'll take some pics of my building so you can seen all the details.
This is another of Bob Van Gelder's fine work. I am currently building the SRMW Car Shop - Diesel Shop. Currently installing lights in the trusses. As always, keep up the fine work. Look forward to seeing your build.
Frank / Eieman
Frank
Great to see you on the forum and following this thread. I like your suggestions for additions. The lighting rods are a go but I need to find those fire escapes you used. I don't like the plastic ones Walthers sells - just not to scale IMO. If I remember right the ones you have are brass. Can you give the long term memory another try and see if you can remember who made them? Also, can you post a picture of them here or send it to me? Can anyone else give me a lead on fire escapes? I know George Sellios has a ton of them on the F&SM.
The kit comes with one fire escape. It is a photo etched brass kit in itself. VanGelder offered it in a prior kit as well. Perhaps you can procure extras from South River if you give them a ring. When I built my fire escape I used CA glue to put it together. I suggest you solder yours.
Keep the updates coming.
Jaime
Impressive kit.....this will be a great addition to the S&S. :)
Quote from: NEMMRRC on January 03, 2021, 07:09:59 AM
Quote from: S&S RR on January 02, 2021, 10:10:15 PM
Quote from: Erieman on January 02, 2021, 11:11:22 AM
Good Morning John et all,
Happy New Year to you my friend. I like the choice of your next structure. I have this on the end of one of my islands and it always get comments. May I suggest a couple of additions to the kit. Lightening rods are commonly found on these older structures since they are wood and are from an area where lightening is a common occurrence. I use small pieces of .010 phosphor bronze wire with a touch of Folk Art Greenscape acrylic paint to imply oxidization. A note of caution. Too many people don't see the rods and have a habit of pointing at the building and sometimes come in touch with the rods and boink, they are gone.
The other item I added were fire escapes. While not originally added to the building, depending on the time period you are modeling, fire departments made many of these structures add them for safety. Wooden buildings burn real fast. I can't recall who the manufacturer of the fire escapes is or was. I'll take some pics of my building so you can seen all the details.
This is another of Bob Van Gelder's fine work. I am currently building the SRMW Car Shop - Diesel Shop. Currently installing lights in the trusses. As always, keep up the fine work. Look forward to seeing your build.
Frank / Eieman
Frank
Great to see you on the forum and following this thread. I like your suggestions for additions. The lighting rods are a go but I need to find those fire escapes you used. I don't like the plastic ones Walthers sells - just not to scale IMO. If I remember right the ones you have are brass. Can you give the long term memory another try and see if you can remember who made them? Also, can you post a picture of them here or send it to me? Can anyone else give me a lead on fire escapes? I know George Sellios has a ton of them on the F&SM.
The kit comes with one fire escape. It is a photo etched brass kit in itself. VanGelder offered it in a prior kit as well. Perhaps you can procure extras from South River if you give them a ring. When I built my fire escape I used CA glue to put it together. I suggest you solder yours.
Keep the updates coming.
Jaime
Jaime,
Thank you for reminding me where the brass fire escape came from. I have built so many kits since them, i guess i forgot that it was in the kit. I guess I should have looked back at the build manual to see that detail. Now that I recall, i think I asked Bob for another fire escape and he graciously sent me one. As I mentioned, i really like building his kits.
I have several more fire escapes in my "to build" drawer. Don't recall where they came from, but they are the same caliber as the SRMW product. I have been adding them to some of my scratchbuilt structures. Fire escapes make a nice addition.
Frank / erieman
John,
Very nice kit for the 2021 Challenge. I'll build it with you. You build and I'll watch. 8)
Looking forward to this one.
Tom ;D
Thank you all for the help with the fire escapes and for following along on this journey - I'm in the process of finding some more fire escapes - I know they will get used so I need to get some in inventory. Jaime I went back into the box and dug deeper into the template cards and found the fire escape that Bob provides. Very nice - and I may test my solder skills to build it. How I will use it is still under consideration because of the changes I'm considering for the building renovations.
It's time for some background on this build - the story line is that this is mill was converted by the S&S RR into a crew quarters. The top floor is the railroad presidents suite and office for when he is in town. I'm playing with some changes to the structure, that may include an observation deck off the loading door on the upper level, a walkway and observation deck off the upper level of the tower, an open door into the upper level that replaces the loading door with interior detail of the presidents desk and office etc. etc. We are in the what if stage at this point. The pictures are now loaded into my iPad where I can sketch, and play with options. I will post some pictures when I get something to consider.
Quote from: ACL1504 on January 03, 2021, 12:08:29 PM
John,
Very nice kit for the 2021 Challenge. I'll build it with you. You build and I'll watch. 8)
Looking forward to this one.
Tom ;D
I better do a good job on this build - I have some pretty good modelers watching. :o Thank you for following along.
Quote from: jerryrbeach on January 02, 2021, 11:12:19 PM
John,
Gold Medal Models offers etched brass fire escapes. FWIW, I believe Walthers handles their brass fire escapes, too. Link below:
http://www.goldmm.com/ (http://www.goldmm.com/)
Jerry
Have you ever bought direct from these guys? Walthers lists them but they are out of stock, imagine that. I usually get about 25% of an order from them these days.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on January 03, 2021, 01:08:14 AM
Tichy Train Group offer plastic fire escapes. From memory they are finer and more in scale (and cheaper) than the Walthers ones. They might not be the shape you are after for this project, but might be worth checking out for the price. I have kitbashed some. Fiddly work, but you can get a quite different look.
https://www.tichytraingroup.com/Shop/tabid/91/p/8060-fire-escapes/Default.aspx (https://www.tichytraingroup.com/Shop/tabid/91/p/8060-fire-escapes/Default.aspx)
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
I was not aware of these and will order them for inventory, if I don't use them on this project. I have the build of the town of Vansel coming which will require some fire escapes. Has anyone used them for a build?
Wow - page four and I haven't got all the parts out of the box and there is no glue or paint drying, yet. Amazing interest.
It's time to get back to what's in the red box.
After I removed the pictures, the instruction book, the box of castings and the window castings the box looked like this.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020121213525-473411825.jpeg)
Before I cracked open the red book I took a look at the pile of window castings and door castings and started getting them ready for priming in the paint booth.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020121090719-472731599.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020121090816-47275468.jpeg)
A couple hours later, the first batch of parts that required a kaki primer were on the tray waiting for the finish coat of paint.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020121090816-47276896.jpeg)
I keep the window castings on part of the spur until I'm done with the window glazing, I will be using canopy glue for the glass on this build. When I cut them loose from the spur I will have a brush ready with the final paint color ready for the touchup.
Note to self: Keep an eye on the spell checker - it thinks I want to say something completely different and adds words I don't use. :-[ :-[
Digging deeper into the box.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020121213525-473421005.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020121213525-473431422.jpeg)
Resin being resin, two of Bob's beautiful big castings had taken a set packed away in the box. So I set them on the back of the workbench with some weights on top to let the creep work them back to straight. Creep is a Engineering term which describes how the material changes shape under stress. It works faster if you warm the castings so some people put the castings in warm water before they add the weights. I don't think that will be necessary in this case. Bob's castings are works of art, as usual.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-030121143732-473591454.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020121213724-473471810.jpeg)
Good start John.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on January 03, 2021, 02:45:39 PM
Good start John.
Curt
Thank you for following along. Update to the castings: I took the weights off them this evening and they stay nearly flat on the workbench.
I did some more research on the paint colors for this build, today. I decided that the Mahogany trim color that I used on my Locomotive Works, and Stone Roundhouse was too dark brown for this. I thought it needs more red. So I painted a sample with some barn red craft paint that I had on my workbench for another project. Here is a picture of both test samples on the photographs of the build provided by Bob.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-030121212817-47414211.jpeg)
The next stop was at the Roundhouse and the Locomotive Works on my layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-030121212817-47413771.jpeg)
Here are the paint samples on the locomotive works (I used bottle number two of Vallejo Mahogany paint on this build). The dark brown sample from my first test is from bottle three of Vallejo Mahogany paint.
Now for the roundhouse that was painted with bottle one of Vallejo Mahogany paint.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-030121212816-474102034.jpeg)
To my eye each bottle of paint with the same color name and number got less red or more brown.
I don't think I will be replacing the Vallejo paints as I use them up. And for any project that may require more than the little bottles I will be moving to craft paints which will be purchased in the larger bottles where I don't have to worry about running out.
I made some more progress on the build, today. Nothing picture worthy at this point - painting castings and adding bracing to the clapboard walls of the main building. I'm adding more bracing than what Bob recommends as the minimum so I'll post some pictures when they are complete.
Hey John:
Can't wait to se what you do with this. I never built or owned one of his kits.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on January 05, 2021, 07:55:09 AM
Hey John:
Can't wait to se what you do with this. I never built or owned one of his kits.
Karl
Karl
Thank you for following along. Bob produced some very nice kits, you should build one.
Hello John, I recently got caught up on your layout build thread and I am looking forward to seeing this addition join the other buildings on your beautiful layout. Jeff
Quote from: nycjeff on January 05, 2021, 06:15:24 PM
Hello John, I recently got caught up on your layout build thread and I am looking forward to seeing this addition join the other buildings on your beautiful layout. Jeff
Jeff
Thank you for following along and the kind words.
I made some progress on this build, today. The bracing is going on the back of the clapboard walls. In the picture you can see the recommended minimum bracing that Bob recommends. I believe in making sure things don't warp so I added some bracing running the length of the walls on the top and bottom along with the cross bracing that Bob recommended.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-050121205052-47457191.jpeg)
I also made some progress on painting the window castings and trim pieces the final dark red that I have chosen for the main structure. I will post some pictures when I get that step farther along.
I did an inventory of the clapboard castings and continued with the bracing, today. So far, it looks like I have 2 B6 walls and I think I only need one. Everything seems to be there for the clapboard walls. I will be reading ahead in the instruction tonight see if I need two B6 walls.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-060121193721-474662098.jpeg)
Here is a picture of the tray of walls ready for painting. Oh wait, I need to add some cross bracing to the wall on the left.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-060121193720-474652292.jpeg)
You will notice that I go back and add a bead of glue along the braces after the initial glue dries. George Sellios got me started doing that - his F&SM layout sees large temperature changes and he recommended it. He also goes back on the underside of the walls and puts a bead across the corners of the window castings before the walls go together.
Hey John:
Looks like you are off to a good start. Will be following along with great interest. I never built or owned one of his kits.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on January 07, 2021, 02:43:43 AM
Hey John:
Looks like you are off to a good start. Will be following along with great interest. I never built or owned one of his kits.
Karl
Thank you for following along, Karl.
Today's progress consisted of more clapboard wall bracing. I have two more wall sections and then it will be time to get out some paint. I also need to figure out what modifications I plan to make so I can paint all the pieces at once.
Update: The clapboard wall sections have been braced and are ready for painting. Also, in preparation for painting the laser burned edges have been sanded and squared up using the sanding block you see on the workbench. Next up is the resin walls.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-090121142913-475272271.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-090121142913-475281404.jpeg)
I have also painted about half of the window castings, which prompted me to start a thread on air brushing with acrylic paints. Here is the link.
http://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=5602.msg153044;topicseen#new (http://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=5602.msg153044;topicseen#new)
80 windows is a lot of painting. I hope you took several breaks during all that painting.
Jaime
Quote from: NEMMRRC on January 09, 2021, 07:26:17 PM
80 windows is a lot of painting. I hope you took several breaks during all that painting.
Jaime
Jaime
Yes it is - I'm doing them in four batches. I'm about half way there. Thank you for following along.
Hey John
Just curious - why the switch to acrylics
Doug
Nice progress, John.
Looking good.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: NKP768 on January 11, 2021, 12:05:51 PM
Hey John
Just curious - why the switch to acrylics
Doug
Doug
I made the switch when it got difficult to buy floquil paints. I decided to switch and then gave away - to a very good modeler - all of my floquil paints. I wanted to make a clean break and not have issues with mix and match.
Now that I am learning to airbrush with the acrylics I really like them better. And the smell is gone.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on January 11, 2021, 12:12:49 PM
Nice progress, John.
Looking good.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Thank you for following along and the words of encouragement.
Today, I successful got my airbrush out of moth balls and painted the window and door casts, the large cap castings for the main building, and the strip wood that I will need for the corners of the main building.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-110121211922-47572583.jpeg)
I have been doing all my spray painting with rattle cans for the past few years and finally started using my airbrush again with acrylic paints. See the thread on airbrushing with acrylics that I linked above.
You can also see that the wood detail castings got their first bath of A&I. I will now do some detail painting on them and then get out the chalks.
Work continues on this build, I waited a day for the paint to cure and I'm now adding the window glass to the castings. Also, getting the clapboard walls ready for painting. The brick wall castings need just a little more prep work and they will be heading to the paint booth. I will take another set of progress pictures as these steps are completed.
Nice progress so far John.
Big question is who is going to wash all those windows????? :)
Jerry
Very nice so far, John. Quite a significant build in progress. I'm enjoying watching your work.
--Opa George
Quote from: Jerry on January 15, 2021, 11:08:31 AM
Nice progress so far John.
Big question is who is going to wash all those windows? ??? ? :)
Jerry
Jerry
Thank you for following along - as for washing the windows I think it would be a full time job with the crew quarters in the back of a yard full of steam locomotives.
Quote from: Opa George on January 15, 2021, 12:31:12 PM
Very nice so far, John. Quite a significant build in progress. I'm enjoying watching your work.
--Opa George
George
Thank you for following along and the encouraging comments. I have some more progress to report, tonight.
Today, I made some more progress. The back side of all the wall castings got a coat of black paint, so the windows will not show an unfinished building interior. I should mention that I have decided that the build will be located too far back on my layout to make any interior detail visible. So I have scraped the plans to detail the upper level as the Presidents office. I will be adding and observation deck to the tower so the RR President can view his investments.
I also added the canopy glue to the window castings and used my new drying rack for the first time. It worked really well. I think this build has the highest window count of my builds to-date, so it was a good test of the rack. The rack is made of alligator clips mounted on plastic sticks that fit into the plastic base. I found it on Amazon for a few bucks and decided to give it a try.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-150121202741-47648274.jpeg)
The outside of the clapboard walls has been painted light yellow. I popped a couple windows in for the picture to do a color check.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-160121115530.jpeg)
Nice progress, John.
Sure looks like a lot of windows!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on January 16, 2021, 02:06:22 PM
Nice progress, John.
Sure looks like a lot of windows!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Thank you for following along and yes there are a lot of windows in this build.
The window castings are all ready to be installed in the wall castings.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-180121193442-47681916.jpeg)
I completed four more steps on the clapboard wall castings. First I added the trim pieces that match the window castings.
Then, I added the nail heads with a pounce wheel. To make the nail heads pop and dull down the yellow I added a light A&I stain. This is my extra light mix with 10 drops of inch in a pint of Alcohol. On this light yellow color even this was a little to dark so I gave the walls a brush of light yellow chalk. I'm finding that I want to do this final step to every structure on the layout. It dulls the colors down a bit and gives the walls some texture that really looks good under the layout lights. Here is a series of pictures that show these steps.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-180121210649-476941004.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-180121210649-476931405.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-180121210649-476921386.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-180121205335-476892362.jpeg)
In this final picture for tonight - the window castings are starting to go into the clapboard walls.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-180121212947.jpeg)
Very Very Very Impressive my friend....Dennis
Hello John, yellow is never an easy color to pull off in a structure build, but you are doing your usual great job. I'm enjoying your build thread very much and picking up some useful tips as well. Thanks. Jeff
Dennis
Thank you for the encouraging words and for following along. Today, is window installation day. I'm at about 90 percent complete when I took a break to respond to your post.
Quote from: nycjeff on January 19, 2021, 10:36:54 AM
Hello John, yellow is never an easy color to pull off in a structure build, but you are doing your usual great job. I'm enjoying your build thread very much and picking up some useful tips as well. Thanks. Jeff
Jeff
I glad you are enjoying following along on my journey. Yellow is a tough color, especially with the new phones that like to crank the intensity of the colors. I like the nail heads but when I added the chalk to dull things down a little they filled with chalk. I don't want to hit the walls with the A&I again so I will probably just live with it.
Looks great so far. That's going to be another large structure.
Hey John:
Nice progress so far. I'll be following along.
Karl
Quote from: PRR Modeler on January 19, 2021, 04:22:07 PM
Looks great so far. That's going to be another large structure.
Curt
Thank you for the kind words and for following along - yes it is another large structure. With the boiler house and the two satellite buildings it's gong to fill the available space on my layout.
Quote from: postalkarl on January 19, 2021, 05:18:25 PM
Hey John:
Nice progress so far. I'll be following along.
Karl
Karl
Thank you - I'm not traveling at Karl speed but we are moving along.
Update: Today, I installed all the window castings in the clapboard walls. I have the main doors in the front to install and I will be ready for progress pictures before starting the assembly process.
Good Morning John;
Enjoyed a cup of coffee while catching up on this great build project. I love the way you explain each step and the modeling is amazing. Looking forward to following along.
Jim D
Quote from: Jim Donovan on January 21, 2021, 09:43:47 AM
Good Morning John;
Enjoyed a cup of coffee while catching up on this great build project. I love the way you explain each step and the modeling is amazing. Looking forward to following along.
Jim D
Jim
Thank you for following along and sharing your coffee break and encouraging words. Please ask if I skip something of interest.
Today, I completed the assembly of the clapboard walls. After adding all of the window castings, I turned the walls over and added extra glue to the corners of each window and door. The window shades were also added, I used craft paint for the shades. I used it heavy, like I would have with floquil and got some cracking as it dried. I ended up adding two more coats to get rid of the cracks. Three light coats of paint with acrylics next time.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-210121201749.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-210121201722-477161694.jpeg)
If everything goes according to the plan, tomorrow, I will start assembling the clapboard walls together.
I made progress on one other front with this build, today. The brick walls made it to the paint booth for a coat of brick red paint.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-210121201722-477171011.jpeg)
The red paint will serve only as a primer on the stone at the base of the walls.
Looking good, John.
I'm ready to watch the glory day tomorrow.
Cheers, Mark.
Everything looks great John.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on January 21, 2021, 10:42:42 PM
Looking good, John.
I'm ready to watch the glory day tomorrow.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Thank you, I should put the first walls together this afternoon. I just completed another batch of aspen trees that are hanging to dry over my layout table. I will be able to clean up that project in a couple hours and then the area will be dedicated to this build.
Hey John:
It's looking just great so far.
Karl
Hello John, boy that's a lot of windows. Looking forward to the build coming together and then seeing it on your layout. Great job and a very informative build thread. Thank you, Jeff
Getting caught up again John.
Great job on this build, enjoying the thread.
Tom ;D
Karl, Jeff, and Tom
Thank you for following along and the words of encouragement. Today, the main building started to go together. I decided to take a picture of each gluing setup to show how I held things in place while the glue dried.
First, I have a confession to make. I usually don't read the instructions during this part of the build, but put things together using the pictures. This is a complex build - so I read the instructions and look Bob likes this part of the build best, too.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-230121192110-477611199.jpeg)
Here is the first two walls going together. I do a dry fit to make sure I have a good joint. I did do some sanding and filling before I added the glue. I use lots of weights and angle plates to hold everything square while the glue dries. Once it is dry. I take all the weights and holding fixtures away and check the squareness. Only then is it time to go on to add the next wall.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-230121192110-477621806.jpeg)
Next wall, yes I use a lot of clamps and weights. I know what happens when you don't. :-[
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-230121192110-477632296.jpeg)
And finally for today, setup three.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-230121192110-47764968.jpeg)
In the morning, I will do a complete check of the assembly so far with all the weights and clamps removed. We have lots of walls to add.
I'm going to have to decide when I get this assembled if I want to hit it agin with A&I. The nail heads are there but the chalk really filled them in to the point that they are barely visible. Especially since this build will be 3 to 4 feet from the viewer on the layout. I think a test on the back side of the main building is in order.
More walls going together, today. I also added some cross bracing to make the structure more rigid while I'm handling it through the build process.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-240121134853.jpeg)
Nice demonstration of the Rockler T-Track table for set-up and gluing. (Mine has s**t piled on it right now :-) :-) )
dave
Looks great John.
Quote from: deemery on January 24, 2021, 02:19:49 PM
Nice demonstration of the Rockler T-Track table for set-up and gluing. (Mine has s**t piled on it right now :-) :-) )
dave
Dave
If you look over on my build thread you will find that mine gets used in many ways, too. I do like it and recommend it for model building. Things move as the glue dries if you don't have them clamped.
John,
Another very nice build.
Tom ;D
Quote from: ACL1504 on January 25, 2021, 03:33:43 PM
John,
Another very nice build.
Tom ;D
Thank you for following along, Tom. It's getting interesting now. I had to get out the instruction book for the top of this structure.
Today, the tower was assembled.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-260121203559-478211675.jpeg)
Then added to the main building.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-260121203559-478222134.jpeg)
I then got started on adding the entry door beside the tower. Bob is giving me an opportunity to use every clamp I own in the construction of this kit. So far I'm really enjoying the build.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-260121203559-478242105.jpeg)
If you look close you can see that the nail heads are there. The yellow chalk that I added really covered them up. As I said earlier I have to decide if I want to hit this with another A&I wash to make the nail heads pop.
Lovely work John.
That color scheme is heads above the original.
Hey Jon:
You are moving right along. Love the color combo.
Karl
Looking good, John.
When the doors and windows are in such good condition, I wonder whether weathering the clapboard further to bring the nailholes out would cause a conflict?
Cheers, Mark.
Looks great John. It almost looks like Pennsy building colors!
Quote from: Rusty Robot on January 27, 2021, 10:56:34 AM
Lovely work John.
That color scheme is heads above the original.
Craig
Thank you for the encouraging words. I'm happy with the colors - Tommy sent me an email with a similar building with these colors after a discussion about the colors here on the forum. Mark suggested this color scheme and now that I see it on a building I like it. My problem with colors is picking which ones to try. Once I see something painted I usually can say like, dislike, very quickly.
Quote from: postalkarl on January 27, 2021, 12:10:51 PM
Hey Jon:
You are moving right along. Love the color combo.
Karl
Karl
Thank you - I haven't reached Karl speed yet, but we are getting faster. Good music helps.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on January 27, 2021, 01:01:33 PM
Looking good, John.
When the doors and windows are in such good condition, I wonder whether weathering the clapboard further to bring the nailholes out would cause a conflict?
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
I'm leaning your way on this issue. This is supposed to be a recently repurposed and remodeled building so heavy weathering is not appropriate. You will notice that I didn't lift clapboards on this one, either. I believe that verity makes the layout more interesting and I have a number of very weathered buildings in this area of the layout. I keep to my practice of having a story behind each structure. So that is my story and I'm sticking to it. Thank you for your comments and for following along.
Today, the foundation was installed on the main building. It is so nice that Bob included this often overlooked detail in this kit. You attached to casting together to make the base and then glued the main clapboard assembly on top. Mine fit great with just a little overhang as it should be.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-270121193247-478291184.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-270121193247-47830873.jpeg)
John great coloring!
Jerry
Quote from: Jerry on January 27, 2021, 08:39:13 PM
John great coloring!
Jerry
Jerry
Thank you, I'm glad so many like this color scheme.
Moving on to the next step, the top casting was added which provides a foundation for the mansard roof and the moldings that trim out the top of the main building. As predicted in the instructions, it took a little work with a file to get this casting to fit.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-270121205103.jpeg)
We will let the glue dry over night and this should be ready to start the framing of the roof in the morning.
I almost forgot, I added a couple LED lights to the interior before I closed this part up. With the foundation casting and the roof casting there would be no way of doing it later, without some fancy drill work that I like to avoid on a finished model. ::)
I started the assembly of the roof structure, today. First step, cutting out all the pieces from the laser cut hardboard sheet. I also started adding some bracing to the pieces. I'm, like always, adding more than Bob recommends so I will take some photographs when I have this step complete.
Hey John:
Comming along great. Colors and foundation look great. Can't wait for more.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on January 29, 2021, 04:31:19 PM
Hey John:
Comming along great. Colors and foundation look great. Can't wait for more.
Karl
Karl
Thank you for following along and the kind words. I'm currently building the structure for the roof and will post a batch of pictures when this process is complete.
Very nice modelling John.
Mike :)
Quote from: madharry on January 30, 2021, 01:00:19 PM
Very nice modelling John.
Mike :)
Mike
Thank you for following along and the encouraging words. I made some progress today.
The roof structure started to go together, today. The pieces are laser cut out of what I call hard board, which is a composite of sawdust and glue pressed under high pressure. This material requires lots of bracing to have it keep it shape. So 1/8 inch square strip wood is glue to it to make it more rigid.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-300121221446-4783420.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-300121221446-478421949.jpeg)
I glued the strip wood to the main cross pieces. I then started gluing the pieces together and adding the strip wood bracing as I went. The following sequence of pictures shows the process I used.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-300121221447-478432250.jpeg)
I started in the front corner as Bob suggested in the instructions.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-300121221447-478441275.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-300121221447-478451185.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-300121221538-478461490.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-300121221538-478471804.jpeg)
I got this far today and decided to let the glue dry and moved on to another project. I will continue with the process tomorrow.
Hey John:
Looking just great. Keep the pics coming.
Karl
Great job so far John.
Thank you, Karl and Curt. We are moving along on this one - it's starting to look like a building.
I'm very interested to see how Bob designed the mansard construction. Thanks for the great photos.
dave
Looking great John! Are you thinking of dressing each window, out of curiosity?
Quote from: deemery on January 31, 2021, 09:14:20 AM
I'm very interested to see how Bob designed the mansard construction. Thanks for the great photos.
dave
Dave
I'll keep taking photos, I'm adding additional bracing but everything else is to the instructions.
Quote from: Rusty Robot on January 31, 2021, 09:17:29 AM
Looking great John! Are you thinking of dressing each window, out of curiosity?
Craig
I decided not to dress each window - this build will be too far back on the layout for the effort to be worth it. I did do window shades and added some LED lighting to make them visible.
Here are a few more progress photographs from todays construction.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-310121192015-47897153.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-310121192015-478961593.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-310121192015-47869503.jpeg)
Neat looking roof.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on February 01, 2021, 08:45:36 AM
Neat looking roof.
Curt
Thank you for following along - yes it is a neat looking roof. This kit is a completely different construction from anything I have built before. I'm enjoying the build.
John,
Very nice build my friend.
Tom ;D
Quote from: ACL1504 on February 01, 2021, 01:00:16 PM
John,
Very nice build my friend.
Tom ;D
Tom
Thank you for the encouraging words. I have some roof cards to install and then the dormers. At that point I will be waiting for the markers I ordered for coloring the slate shingle roof. I'm going to use the slate shingles Bob provides in the kit for this build. The plan is to color them with the markers as he describes in the instructions.
Update: The last couple of days my progress on this build has been adding bracing to the roof cards and getting all the pieces loose from the laser cut sheets. I should have something to take a picture of tomorrow as I start adding the roof cards and dormers. I plan on using the tile roof material Bob supplies with the kit. I may hit a hold when I get to the point where I want to add the shingles. I ordered the special markers Bob suggests to color the tile roof from Dick Blick and I got an email that they have been shipped. The big question is how long it will take for them to get here with shipping the way it is today. In the past if I ordered something before noon from them it came the next day, two days at the most. Hopefully those days will return.
Hi John.
When you get those markers, would you be so kind as to tell me what they are? My only SRM kit is Thorndikes, and it just suggests shades. I went into the art supply store to get two or three yesterday and they had 40 different shades of grey! The ones they had were 'Copic' and they came in cool (0-9), natural (0-9), warm (0-9) and tone (0-9). At least that's what I think the letters (c,n,w & t) stood for. At $11.95 each (for the old stock - the new ones are $17.99) I don't want to get too many!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark, I have built several SRMW kits and I have 5 Derwent coloured pencils that I use to colour the shingles. They cost £2 each. I have French Grey 70, Raw Sienna 58, Silver Grey 71, Peat TC18 and Green Moss TC15. They are far cheaper than the ones you are quoting and do the job for me. I used them on my Thorndikes.
Mike
Hey Mike:
Looks great so far.
Karl
Quote from: mark dalrymple on February 06, 2021, 01:41:27 AM
Hi John.
When you get those markers, would you be so kind as to tell me what they are? My only SRM kit is Thorndikes, and it just suggests shades. I went into the art supply store to get two or three yesterday and they had 40 different shades of grey! The ones they had were 'Copic' and they came in cool (0-9), natural (0-9), warm (0-9) and tone (0-9). At least that's what I think the letters (c,n,w & t) stood for. At $11.95 each (for the old stock - the new ones are $17.99) I don't want to get too many!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Will do. The markers that I ordered were $3.05 each from Dick Blick here in the states. They were the ones recommended by Bob in the instructions. I will take a picture of the page in the instructions and post it. This is a new process for me so I will post my tests and results.
Quote from: madharry on February 06, 2021, 04:52:56 AM
Mark, I have built several SRMW kits and I have 5 Derwent coloured pencils that I use to colour the shingles. They cost £2 each. I have French Grey 70, Raw Sienna 58, Silver Grey 71, Peat TC18 and Green Moss TC15. They are far cheaper than the ones you are quoting and do the job for me. I used them on my Thorndikes.
Mike
Mike
Thank you for the tip - I have a set of the colored pencils and will give them a try. I'm searching for a build thread on your Thorndikes, now.
Mark
Here is what I ordered from Dick Blick.
http://dickblick.com
ItemItem DetailPriceQty[/size]19901-2761 PRSMCLR BRUSH MARKER - 104 WRM GRY 60
In stock and reserved[/size][/size][/font][/color]$3.051$3.0519901-2751 [/size]
PRSMCLR BRUSH MARKER - 103 WRM GRY 50
In stock and reserved[/size]
$3.051$3.0519901-2741 PRSMCLR BRUSH MARKER - 102 WRM GRY 40
[/color]In stock and reserved$3.051$3.0519901-2731 PRSMCLR BRUSH MARKER - 101 WRM GRY 30
[/color]In stock and reserved$3.051$3.0519901-1191 PRSMCLR BRUSH MARKER - 210 OATMEAL
[/color]In stock and reserved$3.051$3.0519901-2601 PRSMCLR BRUSH MARKER - 113 COOL GRY 60
[/color]In stock and reserved$3.051$3.0519901-2501 PRSMCLR BRUSH MARKER - 112 COOL GRY 50
[/color]In stock and reserved$3.051$3.0519901-2401 PRSMCLR BRUSH MARKER - 111 COOL GRY 40
[/color]In stock and reserved$3.051$3.0519901-2201 PRSMCLR BRUSH MARKER - 109 COOL GRY 20
[/color]In stock and reserved$3.051$3.0519901-2301 PRSMCLR BRUSH MARKER - 110 COOL GRY 30
[/color]In stock and reserved$3.051$3.05
Sorry about that post - it didn't look like that in the editor before I posted it. Below are the pages from the instructions on coloring and installing the slate shingles. I hope this helps.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-060221104019-479942135.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-060221104019-479822318.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-060221104019-479961261.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-060221104019-4799581.jpeg)
This kit was near the end of Bob's kit making career and I suspect the coloring process may have evolved.
Quote from: madharry on February 06, 2021, 04:52:56 AM
Mark, I have built several SRMW kits and I have 5 Derwent coloured pencils that I use to colour the shingles. They cost £2 each. I have French Grey 70, Raw Sienna 58, Silver Grey 71, Peat TC18 and Green Moss TC15. They are far cheaper than the ones you are quoting and do the job for me. I used them on my Thorndikes.
Mike
Mike
I did a search and could not come up with a thread on your Thorndikes build. Would it be possible to get a picture of the roof you did using the colored pencils?
Sorry John I did not do a build on it as it was much before my time on the forum. Unfortunately at the moment I cannot even photograph the model as it is on my Mill Falls layout which is at my second home in Watchet. Due to total lockdown in the UK at present I am banned from travelling any distance. My new car which I bought in June has travelled just 700 miles before total lockdown just after Christmas. Once again my apologies.
Mike :(
Hi John,
I found these of the Creamery and Thorndikes. I did the weathering of the shingles lightly on Thorndikes. I was not concentrating on photographing the roofs. The Creamery was better as there were two roofs to colour. I think the main creamery roof was actually resin while the roof to the left are paper shingles. I hope this helps. I have a Prismacolor PM-70 Sand which is similar to the brand you have ordered.
Mike
Quote from: madharry on February 06, 2021, 12:56:37 PM
Hi John,
I found these of the Creamery and Thorndikes. I did the weathering of the shingles lightly on Thorndikes. I was not concentrating on photographing the roofs. The Creamery was better as there were two roofs to colour. I think the main creamery roof was actually resin while the roof to the left are paper shingles. I hope this helps. I have a Prismacolor PM-70 Sand which is similar to the brand you have ordered.
Mike
Mike
Thank you, and I understand about the problems all these lockdowns are causing. I need to do some searching on the internet for some prototype slate roof pictures. I don't think I've ever seen a slate roof in Michigan. I know they have them in the East, and in the snow country so I think it's availability of material here. Like I said, some research is required.
How about this one John? :)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-300618103323-324411393.jpeg)
Thank you very much for the information John and Mike.
John - yes - there is a lot more information about shingling here. It will be a good source of information for anyone doing some. I was interested to see how many techniques I have developed over the years the Bob has also developed. I did some slate shingling just yesterday and cut my high tack tape into strips, painted it grey, and used it for valley flashings and flashings around the elevator shaft. I've spent a fair amount of time working on houses at the same time as roofers and seeing how things are done, and so when modeling I try to emulate the process. It makes sense that others will come up with the same methods but its good to know great minds think alike! I've also been using double sided tape for Campbell shingles for some time, although I add a bead of glue as well.
I figured you would be able to get those markers at a much cheaper price than me. This is the sort of thing that you would only find in an art supply store here in NZ. I always shake my head when you guys talk about 99 cent cans of spray paint - the cheapest I have ever seen them here is $9.99! Storing the markers in an air tight snap lock bag sounds like a great tip. I was wondering how long they would last before drying up.
I'll be interested to see your roof come together, especially with the pattern.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: ReadingBob on February 06, 2021, 01:38:03 PM
How about this one John? :)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-300618103323-324411393.jpeg)
Bob
Great picture - thanks that is just what I need to see. Do you know where this picture was taken? I'm curious about a tile roof being prototypical for a mountain area? Freeze and though affects etc.
John, I took that picture in my hometown of Schuylkill Haven, PA. We stayed in the Stone House Bed and Breakfast (https://www.thestonehousebnb.com/) a couple of times while visiting family prior to the pandemic. It's an old mansion in the center of town that at one time was a Doctor's house/office. The picture I posted was from a small structure in a garden next to it but the roof is the same on the main structure.
Back in the 70's I had a cousin who rented a room in the top floor. We used to crawl out the window onto the roof in the evening. Had a great view of the town from up there. ;D
Quote from: ReadingBob on February 06, 2021, 02:02:59 PM
John, I took that picture in my hometown of Schuylkill Haven, PA. We stayed in the Stone House Bed and Breakfast (https://www.thestonehousebnb.com/) a couple of times while visiting family prior to the pandemic. It's an old mansion in the center of town that at one time was a Doctor's house/office. The picture I posted was from a small structure in a garden next to it but the roof is the same on the main structure.
Back in the 70's I had a cousin who rented a room in the top floor. We used to crawl out the window onto the roof in the evening. Had a great view of the town from up there. ;D
Bob
Thank you for the followup - it sounds like a very cool place to visit. I need to do some research while I'm waiting for my markers to arrive from Dick Blick. The tracking from Fed Express says they will arrive tomorrow. We will see. Thanks again for the information.
I added the roof cards to the build, today. Here are a few progress pictures that describe the process.
I started with adding some LED lights to the dormer level of the building.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-060221215226-479982479.jpeg)
I then did a dry fit of all the roof and trim pieces. I will need to brush paint the trim all around the roof at this level.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-060221220216.jpeg)
I then added the flat trim pieces - it is a two piece assembly. I added some extra bracing.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-060221215226-48000420.jpeg)
Then the main roof card was glued in. This took an impressive stack up to keep it in place while the glue dried.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-060221215349-480031807.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-060221215349-48002217.jpeg)
That's it for now. I will take a picture of the roof after the clamps are off in the morning. I will then be on hold with this project until I get the markers to color the roof.
John,
When I built up my Tucker and Cook I followed VanGelder's instructions faithfully when doing the shingles. The effect was fantastic. It was fairly easy to do. My set of Prisma Color grey pens is till going strong after all these years. I store them in ziplock bag. They are well worth the money.
Jaime
Quote from: NEMMRRC on February 07, 2021, 08:16:02 AM
John,
When I built up my Tucker and Cook I followed VanGelder's instructions faithfully when doing the shingles. The effect was fantastic. It was fairly easy to do. My set of Prisma Color grey pens is till going strong after all these years. I store them in ziplock bag. They are well worth the money.
Jaime
Jaime
Thank you for the comments and for following along with my build. My plan is to also go with the instructions.
I took a look at your build thread last night and your roof did turnout fantastic. I'm hoping to get my shipment of markers, today. At least that is what the tracking says. I have a few SRMW builds on the list so I know the markers will get used. I hope that like cold temperatures - I have to make sure they don't sit outside on the porch very long.
Great looking roof. It is perfect for the building.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on February 07, 2021, 08:34:37 AM
Great looking roof. It is perfect for the building.
Curt
Thank you,
That roof is sublime. Amazing it can take that weight too! Great work John.
Quote from: Rusty Robot on February 07, 2021, 02:13:22 PM
That roof is sublime. Amazing it can take that weight too! Great work John.
Craig
The sand bags are the only weight on the roof - I need them to hold the corners down while the glue dried.
Do you apply the shingles directly on these roof panels, or is there another layer between the shingles and the roof panels?
dave
Quote from: deemery on February 07, 2021, 08:45:21 PM
Do you apply the shingles directly on these roof panels, or is there another layer between the shingles and the roof panels?
dave
Dave
The shingles go right on the roof panels - in a few areas Bob modeled the roof with the tiles off and had tar paper underneath. I don't plan on modeling any of the builds with leaky roofs. This is the crew quarters of a very respectable RR. I have a number of structures that are modeled in the run down look so I want to make this facility look like a fairly recent rehab of an old mill into a crew quarters.
Followup: I see that some modelers glue the slate shingles to the template and then to the roof cards. Stay tuned on this one - I have to do some experimenting. First I have to get my markers. The tracking has said tomorrow on the delivery date for 4 days now.
Update: My markers arrived this afternoon - it's time to get back to work on this build.
Particularly with pre-cut roof panels, I would think it's better to do the shingling before gluing the panels together. Trimming the shingles is a pain in either case :(
On my switcher shed, I printed shingle guidelines onto paper, and glued that paper to the subroof. It would have been Much Better to use transfer tape, i got some bubbles and loose sections. And I should have cut the white paper guidelines short, so I didn't have to worry about white lines showing through the bottom row of shingles.
dave
John,
I prefer to use the narrow side of the markers...get less color bleed over to the next slate shingle on the roof.
Did use transfer tape on the template form in the kit to apply them...also cut a small card to get the spacing right even between the dormers...used several fresh single edge razor blades on that kit...
If you use the cool grey markers 20-30-40-50 percent...the slate will look more easy to the eye
Did that for the OV Hooker build here since the building is dark red...see photo with those 6 dormers.
If you use the warm markers 20-30-40-50 percent etc,...the slate will look darker.
Did that for the Tucker and Cook here because the clapboards were white and needed the roof to pop a little more....compare photos
Also since I am in the process of putting on the roof caps shingle strips for the peaks and valleys for both builds...I cut them much narrower then others do.
Use the same material on the ends of the slate shingles,save that stuff, cut them into narrow pieces, score them with a razor blade on the back side and bend them into a V.
The model looks much better with the narrow strips ... the wide ones just look wrong on the roofs....
Hope this information helps your decision...Tommy
John,
This build is coming along nicely. I've enjoyed following along.
My Prismacolor markers are still working nicely but I do like the idea of placing them in zip lock bags, just in case of course. 8)
Tom ;D
Quote from: deemery on February 09, 2021, 03:58:31 PM
Particularly with pre-cut roof panels, I would think it's better to do the shingling before gluing the panels together. Trimming the shingles is a pain in either case :(
On my switcher shed, I printed shingle guidelines onto paper, and glued that paper to the subroof. It would have been Much Better to use transfer tape, i got some bubbles and loose sections. And I should have cut the white paper guidelines short, so I didn't have to worry about white lines showing through the bottom row of shingles.
dave
Dave
Thank you for following along and the advice on the shingling. I'm in the process of deciding how I'm going to proceed. I have a couple tests that I want to do but I think I will be using the process Bob recommends in the instructions. I have been studying Jaime's build thread - it is a great reference. I will take pictures and we will see where this takes us.
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on February 09, 2021, 04:42:06 PM
John,
I prefer to use the narrow side of the markers...get less color bleed over to the next slate shingle on the roof.
Did use transfer tape on the template form in the kit to apply them...also cut a small card to get the spacing right even between the dormers...used several fresh single edge razor blades on that kit...
If you use the cool grey markers 20-30-40-50 percent...the slate will look more easy to the eye
Did that for the OV Hooker build here since the building is dark red...see photo with those 6 dormers.
If you use the warm markers 20-30-40-50 percent etc,...the slate will look darker.
Did that for the Tucker and Cook here because the clapboards were white and needed the roof to pop a little more....compare photos
Also since I am in the process of putting on the roof caps shingle strips for the peaks and valleys for both builds...I cut them much narrower then others do.
Use the same material on the ends of the slate shingles,save that stuff, cut them into narrow pieces, score them with a razor blade on the back side and bend them into a V.
The model looks much better with the narrow strips ... the wide ones just look wrong on the roofs....
Hope this information helps your decision...Tommy
Tommy
Thank you so much for the helpful hints on the slate roof. Your roofs look great so I will be incorporating your advice into my build. I think the markers are going to see some action, tomorrow morning.
Quote from: ACL1504 on February 09, 2021, 05:27:22 PM
John,
This build is coming along nicely. I've enjoyed following along.
My Prismacolor markers are still working nicely but I do like the idea of placing them in zip lock bags, just in case of course. 8)
Tom ;D
Tom
Thank you for following along and the encouraging comments. I already have a zip lock bag to store my new investment. I have a number of Bob's kits to build and I'm sure they will get used.
Speaking of my investment. Here is the selection of markers that arrived in todays mail.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-090221203341-48009243.jpeg)
The last step before the shingles is the addition of the dormers which is pictured in these three photographs.
If you take a look at Jaimie's build thread you will notice that he commented on how difficult it was to paint the laser cut chipboard. I had the same problem - I used a primer and then proceeded to paint the finish color using the same acrylic craft paint that I used on the clapboard. The first coat just disappeared and it took an additional 4 coats to get the color to match the clapboard siding. The material just soaks up the paint. You will notice that I did some experimenting on the roof cards for future builds. It does look like a messy paint job on the upper trim until I cover up my tests with the shingles.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-090221203341-480362272.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-090221203341-48037276.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-090221203341-480381309.jpeg)
I got off to a good start on the slate shingles, today. First, I would like to thank everyone that sent me emails and posted tips on applying these shingles. I started to list the names and though - I'm going to forget some so - you guys know who you are and thank you - this is what the forum is all about.
I took this picture of my workbench at the start of the day. Tommy's emails and all the other tips printed out and ready for reference.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221211227-4805558.jpeg)
This picture shows the first few steps.
First, I cut the edge material from the sheet with my new ruler that has a slit for the razor blade. It really worked well. The scrap material has been stored away for use on the corners and in the valleys of the roof.
Second, I used the warm 50 percent marker and colored about 1/3 of the sheet. Like Tommy I used two coats about an hour apart. The marker did lighten as it dried and it looks better with two coats.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221211227-48056171.jpeg)
I then separated the strips of tile shingles into the light and dark ones.
Transfer tape was added to the template card and the shingles were applied directly to the template.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221211034-48054763.jpeg)
A little farther along in the process.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221211034-48053722.jpeg)
I then cut out the section of roofing material - at this point I felt more comfortable using scissors - so that's what I did to cut the roofing into the size need for each section.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221211033-480512369.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221211033-480501268.jpeg)
Once I add the roof section cut to just the right size. I added glue to the roof card using a frog hair applicator just like I would for and roofing material. Frog hair is what we called the plastic head on the applicator in the auto industry. It is used to transfer sheet metal panels in dies and in automation equipment so you don't damage it. And it works great for applying glue to roof cards. Much better than your finger - used by some modelers. Some of us can resist using our fingers for other things when we have glue on them. ;) The glue I'm using is my go to glue, know, Titebond III. I think Elliot should get a credit here - I believe he is the one that got a lot of us using it. I saw that Jaime gave him credit for it in his thread.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221210856-48046748.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221210856-48047872.jpeg)
Close-up of the Frog hair. It is made of silicone rubber and as soon as the glue dries on it you can just pop it off and the applicator is as good as new. Doesn't work that way with your fingers. Once the glue dries you can't get into your stupid smart phone without typing in the code.
The gluing process.
1) Mark and cut the roof section to size.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221210856-48049266.jpeg)
2) A dry fit check.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221210856-48048128.jpeg)
3) Glue it down and add a weight.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221210725-4804429.jpeg)
Work your way across the structure until you run out of roof material, weights, or roof sections.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221210725-48043214.jpeg)
Here is what it looked like after side one.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100221210725-480421206.jpeg)
I should have more to show tomorrow. In looking at these pictures I should mention that I haven't cleaned off the brick faces on the foundation, yet.
Hey John:
That is really looking just beautiful. The colors look just great.
Karl
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on February 11, 2021, 01:10:28 AM
Hey John:
That is really looking just beautiful. The colors look just great.
Karl
Karl
Karl
Thank you for the encouraging words.
That looks top notch John.
John,
Looks like the S&S RR will have a fine looking HQ building...
Tommy
Looking really good, John.
Nice to have a freshly painted structure on the layout.
Do the instructions ask for the valley flashings to be put on before the roof tiles?
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on February 11, 2021, 08:59:17 AM
That looks top notch John.
Curt
Thank you, it's great to have you following along.
John,
Fantastic looking roof shingles. I love the two toned pattern. It really changes the building appearance.
Tom ;D
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on February 11, 2021, 11:35:57 AM
John,
Looks like the S&S RR will have a fine looking HQ building...
Tommy
Tommy
Thank you for your help, your slate shingle process is working great. I added more today, along with starting the upper tower construction.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on February 11, 2021, 01:26:41 PM
Looking really good, John.
Nice to have a freshly painted structure on the layout.
Do the instructions ask for the valley flashings to be put on before the roof tiles?
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
I agree about the fresh paint, variety makes a big difference.
As for the valley flashings, there are only a couple valleys but lot of corners, and Bob recommends using masking tape painted grey in the instructions. I think I'm going to use some of the scraps from the single sheets glued in place before I add the slate shingles. Some time ago I stocked up on Bob's slate shingles because I knew I had these projects coming, so I'm not concerned about running out of material.
Here is a picture of the two valleys on each side of the dormer roof.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-110221210255.jpeg)
Quote from: ACL1504 on February 11, 2021, 04:38:07 PM
John,
Fantastic looking roof shingles. I love the two toned pattern. It really changes the building appearance.
Tom ;D
Tom
Thank you for the complement. I'm thinking about adding a light brown random tile to the main roof. At least I'm gong to try it and see if I like it. The picture that Bob posted a few pages back inspired me to do something a little different. We will see.
From a modeling perspective, I think too much contrast on the slates starts to look funny. I've looked at a lot of slate roofs, some are very uniform, others are widely variable. I try to keep my variation 'simple', it's kinda like scaling down bright primary colors on structures. (Like the little store I painted Caboose Red, and then didn't like the result...)
dave
Quote from: deemery on February 12, 2021, 11:06:31 AM
From a modeling perspective, I think too much contrast on the slates starts to look funny. I've looked at a lot of slate roofs, some are very uniform, others are widely variable. I try to keep my variation 'simple', it's kinda like scaling down bright primary colors on structures. (Like the little store I painted Caboose Red, and then didn't like the result...)
dave
Dave
I've been playing with the markers and the shingles the last few days and finally found something I'm going to go with for this build. Will see what you think. You sure can come up with a lot of different patterns with the markers that I bought. The one thing I have learned is that you need to let the colors dry over night to see just what you have - they lighten up a lot with time. I'm wondering if they continue to lighten with time under the layout lighting. I guess we will see - can anyone share their experiments with the fading of the colors over time?
The pattern for the lower roof is the same as Bob suggested in the kit and can bee seen in the pictures above.
Here is my workbench and the strips that I have prepared for the main upper roof.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-140221212306-4817115.jpeg)
This is a closer view of the roof card. I have about 2/3 of the shingles required for one side of the roof. I'm coloring the shingle strips in batches - this is my first time using this material and I'm having a hard time telling how many sheets will be required to cover the roof card.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-140221212307-48173505.jpeg)
Those slates look great!!
dave
Really nice, John.
Cheers, Mark.
The slate roof looks really nice John! :)
Quote from: deemery on February 14, 2021, 09:47:30 PM
Those slates look great!!
dave
Dave
Thank you for the encouraging words. This is one of those techniques that doesn't really come together until you apply them to the roof card.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on February 14, 2021, 11:18:29 PM
Really nice, John.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Thank you for the kind words. A new technique for me and I like how it is coming out.
Quote from: ReadingBob on February 15, 2021, 06:42:16 AM
The slate roof looks really nice John! :)
Thank you, my friend.
Looks great.
Quote from: PRR Modeler on February 15, 2021, 12:05:24 PM
Looks great.
Thank you, Curt. I made some more progress, today. I'm taking this slow and easy but so far I'm happy with the results.
Here are a few progress pictures of the tile roof installation. At the end of the day, today, I was building the upper tower.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-170221213810-48194201.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-170221213810-481952102.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-170221213810-48193297.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-170221213810-48183420.jpeg)
Beautiful roofing John.
Hey John:
It's getting there. Looks just great.
Karl
Looking really good, John.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: postalkarl on February 18, 2021, 11:03:16 AM
Hey John:
It's getting there. Looks just great.
Karl
Karl
Thank you for the encouragement - I'm making a little progress every day. I should have some more progress pictures to post, tomorrow.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on February 18, 2021, 01:02:38 PM
Looking really good, John.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Thank you. I hit a little snag this evening. I'm short three window castings for the upper level. I don't have any in my stash so I'm going to look through a few kits to see if Bob might have used the same windows in another kit. At the same time I will order some to replace the ones I'm missing. There is still a chance that I miss placed them but I gave up the search this evening.
Update: I found four of the windows I need in my SWMW Hilltown kit so we are off and running again. I also put a note in the box and ordered the replacement windows from Tichy. I learned a lesson on this build - from now on it's not good enough to just count window holes and castings. I'm going to do a dry fit of the window and door castings before I start painting or assembling anything. ;)
Follow-up: Apparently, when this kit was released there were a few of the boxes that got out with the wrong windows and Bob made it right with those that contacted him. Thank you for the emails guys. My kit had 3 extra tall windows so the count was right just three that were the wrong size. I love your kits Bob and sometimes (S**T) happens. Enjoy your retirement!
I got the windows painted and the window glass in, today. I also started assembling the tower. Here is a progress picture from the end of the day.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-190221203120.jpeg)
John beautiful job on that roof!!
Jerry
Quote from: Jerry on February 20, 2021, 08:25:55 AM
John beautiful job on that roof!!
Jerry
Jerry
Thank you for the kind words - I will be adding the roofing to the peaks hopefully, today. I'm waiting for the paint to come for the copper dome on the tower. It appears to be lost in transit according to my tracking information. It was supposed to be delivered a week ago.
Looking top notch, John.
Cheers, Mark.
John,
I agree, it is all well done. Looks great.
Tom ;D
Quote from: mark dalrymple on February 20, 2021, 01:43:29 PM
Looking top notch, John.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Thank you for the kind words, I got over my little snag with the window castings today so I should have some more progress pictures tomorrow.
Quote from: ACL1504 on February 20, 2021, 03:14:58 PM
John,
I agree, it is all well done. Looks great.
Tom ;D
Tom
Thank you for the encouraging words. The main building is getting close - next up some roof details.
Here are a couple progress photographs from the end of the day, today. I started assembling the auxiliary buildings.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-210221210919-481971994.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-210221210919-482251315.jpeg)
hey John:
Wowwie!!!! just gorgeous. The roof came out very nicely.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on February 21, 2021, 11:42:10 PM
hey John:
Wowwie!!!! just gorgeous. The roof came out very nicely.
Karl
Karl
Thank you, my friend. I think there will be some more tile roof buildings show up on the S&S RR.
John,
As I have come to expect, simply beautiful modeling of a large and complex structure. I was wondering if you have given any thought to subtly coloring some of the shingles on the mansard roof? They look too uniform to me, especially compared to the beautiful shades of the shingles on the main roof.
And now a contrary opinion. I think the slate colors on the mansard are just fine. I have seen those color patterns on many prototype buildings.
dave
Quote from: jerryrbeach on February 22, 2021, 09:30:06 AM
John,
As I have come to expect, simply beautiful modeling of a large and complex structure. I was wondering if you have given any thought to subtly coloring some of the shingles on the mansard roof? They look too uniform to me, especially compared to the beautiful shades of the shingles on the main roof.
Jerry
Thank you for the kind words. I did make a sample with some of the brown color random in the areas that are not dark on the mansard roof. I didn't like it, so I decided to keep the original pattern from Bob's prototype. I think the only way I could pull it off is to remove the shingles and start over with the same pattern on the mansard roof as on the main roof.
After further review - I may try a sample with both a brown and medium gray breakup to the lighter parts of the mansard roof. Stay tuned.
Quote from: deemery on February 22, 2021, 10:33:05 AM
And now a contrary opinion. I think the slate colors on the mansard are just fine. I have seen those color patterns on many prototype buildings.
dave
Dave
You got this post in while I as typing my response to Jerry. I'm going to do a test on sample block but for now it's only a test.
Impressive roof, John. Really makes that building go *pop*.
I'm in the camp of liking the mansard roof. I think it offsets the main roof quite nicely. If anything, maybe just some additional light weathering?
Great work.
John, try stippling pigments/chalks with a stiff brush on the slates. Even a bit of green or blue...
dave
Quote from: Rusty Robot on February 22, 2021, 05:44:13 PM
Impressive roof, John. Really makes that building go *pop*.
I'm in the camp of liking the mansard roof. I think it offsets the main roof quite nicely. If anything, maybe just some additional light weathering?
Great work.
Craig
Thank you for the encouraging words. I'm leaning toward keeping the pattern on the mansard roof and adding some weathering like I always do. I added the ridge caps and will start the process by adding all the details to the roof. Then we will see how far I decide to go with weathering. It's a recently repurposed and refreshed building so the weathering is going to be light.
Here are a couple pictures with the ridge caps. They really look light in the pictures - much more than they do to my eyes on the workbench. I think that is where I will start with the chalks.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-220221205946-48229753.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-220221205946-482411939.jpeg)
Hip and ridge caps look good, John. Finishes it off nicely.
Cheers, Mark.
Beautiful job John. Where are all those lights inside? I thought that kit was open interior ? Love the way it came out.....Dennis
Quote from: mark dalrymple on February 22, 2021, 10:23:12 PM
Hip and ridge caps look good, John. Finishes it off nicely.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Thank you for the kind words.
Quote from: Dennis Bourey on February 23, 2021, 08:29:35 AM
Beautiful job John. Where are all those lights inside? I thought that kit was open interior ? Love the way it came out.....Dennis
Dennis
Thank you for following along and the kind words.
I added LED lights inside so the light will shine through the windows. This kit does not come with interior detail - I gave some thought to adding some but decided it was going to be to far back on my layout to be able to see it.
John,
Always love your structure builds. Always learning something new on how to do something.
That is one beautiful looking building.
Bernd
Looking mighty good
Quote from: Bernd on February 23, 2021, 12:38:48 PM
John,
Always love your structure builds. Always learning something new on how to do something.
That is one beautiful looking building.
Bernd
Bernd
Thank you for following along and the kind words.
Quote from: Oldguy on February 23, 2021, 08:21:19 PM
Looking mighty good
Bob
Thank you for the encouraging words.
Hey John:
You are quite welcome. The last two pics looks great.
Karl
I'm in the process of building all the little buildings that attach to the main build. The boiler house is currently going together.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-250221202803-482681202.jpeg)
Update: I continued with the assembly of the attached buildings. As soon as I have them all together I will be cutting a baseboard and starting to layout the scene. I want to arrange things in location on the layout before gluing any of the structures down.
I'm still waiting for the paint for the tower. I ordered it on February 2 and it was shipped on February 3rd. The USPS tracking shows it in transit. It came out of Florida and it was supposed to be delivered on Feb 6th. I'm giving them until next Wednesday (1 month) and I will reorder and ask for UPS or Fed Express shipping.
Hey john:
Looking just great.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on February 28, 2021, 10:22:43 AM
Hey john:
Looking just great.
Karl
Karl
Thank you, my friend.
Update: Well my Arbor Green paint arrived yesterday, it took 4 weeks for it to get from Florida to Michigan. That's the good news. The paint was one big rubbery blob in the container. I either got old stock or it froze and kicked sitting in a cold truck for a month. So I learned an important lesson - no more paint will be purchased by mail. The days of going to the store for craft paint are coming back and I will work around with the paint I have on hand until then.
So, I got out the chalks and painted the roof for the tower. I like it and will be taking some pictures and posting them later in the day.
Right there with you John - once had an issue with Scalecoat (Minute Man) paint that arrived in the same condition. Notified the company and they over nighted a replacement. Sadly that type of customer service is becoming rare.
Doug
Sounds like your package was frozen, you probably have a claim against the carrier. What a pain-in-the-ass.
dave
Quote from: NKP768 on March 04, 2021, 09:10:51 AM
Right there with you John - once had an issue with Scalecoat (Minute Man) paint that arrived in the same condition. Notified the company and they over nighted a replacement. Sadly that type of customer service is becoming rare.
Doug
Doug
I think this happens a lot with acrylic paints. I bought it through Amazon but their return it to their drop off site policy defeats the whole purpose of mail delivery. It would cost me more to return it. I have a feeling that I'm going to be doing a lot less mail order purchasing when this virus thing is over.
Quote from: deemery on March 04, 2021, 09:11:05 AM
Sounds like your package was frozen, you probably have a claim against the carrier. What a pain-in-the-ass.
dave
Dave
Yes it is, and filling a claim cost me more than I through away on the paint. Lesson learned - moving on.
Today, I cut the baseboard for this build and did a rough fit for the structures in location on the layout.
Here are a few photographs of this process. At this point the baseboard will be brought back to my workbench and the structures will be glued on.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-040321193957-48319844.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-040321193957-48318942.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-040321193956-48317226.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-040321193957-483211086.jpeg)
Nice
Doug
John, That Structure coming out perfect!! Dennis
Quote from: Dennis Bourey on March 05, 2021, 10:12:55 AM
John, That Structure coming out perfect!! Dennis
Dennis
Thank you for the kind words and for following along on this adventure.
Very nice, John. Can't wait to see it all stitched in.
Quote from: Rusty Robot on March 05, 2021, 11:11:08 AM
Very nice, John. Can't wait to see it all stitched in.
Craig
Thank you for the encouraging words - this one has a lot of stitching to do, yet. This afternoon, I got the main building glued down to the baseboard and started adding the adjacent buildings.
Hey John:
Looking just beautiful.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on March 05, 2021, 05:16:07 PM
Hey John:
Looking just beautiful.
Karl
Karl
Thank you for the encouraging words. I will be working on coloring the brick and stone foundations, today.
Hey John:
Sounds good. Can't wait to see what you do with them.
Karl
A couple more progress photographs. The add-on buildings have been glued down and the roof cards added. The glue is still drying on the right side addition. The stonework has been colored - I used 6 different colors of chalk and applied it with Alcohol. I started with individual stones and then came in an blended it with my soft brush.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100321103737-48340992.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100321103737-483592416.jpeg)
Next up: Roofing on the additional buildings and rafter tails. The rest of the detail castings have been primed and need the detail paint.
Amazing work John. Dennis
John,
Looking good !
Tommy
Hey John:
The brick foundations came out just great. Keep them thar pic A commin.
Karl
John,
All of it is just very well done. Great stuff my friend.
Tom ;D
Quote from: postalkarl on March 11, 2021, 12:29:08 PM
Hey John:
The brick foundations came out just great. Keep them thar pic A commin.
Karl
Thank you Karl - pictures will be coming as fast as I get something done. ;) I think I'm building faster than I once did, but not at Karl speed. Yet! ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: ACL1504 on March 11, 2021, 02:08:28 PM
John,
All of it is just very well done. Great stuff my friend.
Tom ;D
Tom
Thank you, my friend. It's always great to hear your words of encouragement.
Hey John:
You are quite welcome.
Karl
Today, I assembled the fire escape for the crew quarters. After a test fit and some cleanup it was ready for the paint booth.
Next up, the roofing, and rafter tails on the addition buildings.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-130321213720.jpeg)
Hey John:
beautiful job on the fire escape. That is quite the kit. Keep up the great work. Can't wait to see this one finished.
Karl
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on March 14, 2021, 01:03:16 AM
Hey John:
beautiful job on the fire escape. That is quite the kit. Keep up the great work. Can't wait to see this one finished.
Karl
Karl
Karl
Thank you, yes it is a very nice kit - Bob did a great job with this one.
John:
You are quite welcome:
Karl S
A couple more progress pictures, tonight. I added the rafter tails and started the roofing. Also, added a few signs.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-170321200557-484081714.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-170321200557-484221024.jpeg)
Hey John:
It just keep getting better. The brick addition looks great.
Karl S.
Quote from: postalkarl on March 18, 2021, 03:16:47 AM
Hey John:
It just keep getting better. The brick addition looks great.
Karl S.
Thank you Karl.
That looks really, really good.
Really like the Photo-Etch fire escape, where are they from? I have done a lot of 1/35th scale Photo-Etch, I find them fun to build.
-Steven
Quote from: Oldguy on March 18, 2021, 09:44:47 AM
That looks really, really good.
Bob
Thank you for following along and the encouraging words.
Quote from: WigWag Workshop on March 18, 2021, 11:08:40 AM
Really like the Photo-Etch fire escape, where are they from? I have done a lot of 1/35th scale Photo-Etch, I find them fun to build.
-Steven
Steven
This one came with the SWMW kit but I believe Bob got them from Sheepscot. I don't know if they are still available. Can anyone help with that question?
I know that Dario at Rail Scale Miniatures picked up SWMW's castings, but not sure if he happened to get anything that came along with it passed through to Sheepscot. You could ask Dario
Rail Scale Miniatures (https://www.railscaleminiatures.com/)
Quote from: S&S RR on March 18, 2021, 01:00:15 PM
Quote from: WigWag Workshop on March 18, 2021, 11:08:40 AM
Really like the Photo-Etch fire escape, where are they from? I have done a lot of 1/35th scale Photo-Etch, I find them fun to build.
-Steven
Steven
This one came with the SWMW kit but I believe Bob got them from Sheepscot. I don't know if they are still available. Can anyone help with that question?
Quote from: Rail and Tie on March 18, 2021, 05:09:36 PM
I know that Dario at Rail Scale Miniatures picked up SWMW's castings, but not sure if he happened to get anything that came along with it passed through to Sheepscot. You could ask Dario
Rail Scale Miniatures (https://www.railscaleminiatures.com/)
Quote from: S&S RR on March 18, 2021, 01:00:15 PM
Quote from: WigWag Workshop on March 18, 2021, 11:08:40 AM
Really like the Photo-Etch fire escape, where are they from? I have done a lot of 1/35th scale Photo-Etch, I find them fun to build.
-Steven
Steven
This one came with the SWMW kit but I believe Bob got them from Sheepscot. I don't know if they are still available. Can anyone help with that question?
Darryl
Good point, and worth a try.
Coming on a treat, John!
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on March 19, 2021, 11:52:05 AM
Coming on a treat, John!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Thank you, I'm getting back on this build today after my two weeks away from the workbench. I need the therapy.
Here is a process photograph. I completed the rafter tails and have the front half of the roofing on the axillary buildings.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020421195021.jpeg)
The question of the day, can I finish this by the 15th of April. Uncle Sam gave us an extension on our taxes do we get the same extension for our build challenges??? :-[
Looking good John..... 8)
Hey John:
Looks just beautiful.
Karl
Today, I got back on this project and made some progress. I completed the roof materials on the axillary buildings and got started on the weathering process for the roofing.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100421205215-48798148.jpeg)
I also made the final adjustments and dry fit the fire escape before sending it to the paint booth. It has a fresh coat of black paint and will be ready for installation, tomorrow.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-100421205215-48799674.jpeg)
Back and at it again , great John, can't wait to see this on your layout
John a fine job your doing with this one.
Jerry
Hey John:
Still look just beautiful. I' sure the fire escape will look just great.
Karl
Jan, Jerry, and Karl
Thank you for stopping by this thread. Life got in the way of me finishing this years challenge build on time, but I got back at it the last couple of days and here are a couple of progress pictures. I finished the roofs and started adding the roof details. You will also notice that the fire escape made it's way back from the paint booth and has been installed.
I have posted about the bench cookies I have in constant use on my workbenches, you will see another great use for them in these pictures.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-220421202210-489871699.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-220421202210-490242356.jpeg)
I have not used the eraser on the chimney, yet. You are seeing it just after I applied the chalk for the grout.
You're making me nervous, John...
...I hope there are no earthquakes over night!
Cheers, Mark.
Love the Rube Goldberg solution to keeping the rod and stack vertical till the glue dries..... 8)
Hey John:
The roof looks just great.
Karl
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on April 23, 2021, 03:04:06 AM
You're making me nervous, John...
...I hope there are no earthquakes over night!
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Earthquakes in Michigan are pretty rare. I probably shouldn't say that ::) . I have experience three of them in my life time and they were pretty tame. The worst one I thought the wheel fell off my chair until the computer monitor was rocking. Nothing like what you have experienced. The gripping material on the bench cookies does a good job of holding things in place - I will give you that the square looks unstable in the picture. :-[
Quote from: GPdemayo on April 23, 2021, 08:04:55 AM
Love the Rube Goldberg solution to keeping the rod and stack vertical till the glue dries..... 8)
Greg
Thank you for stopping by the thread - I do like to find a way to hold things in place until the glue dries.
Quote from: postalkarl on April 23, 2021, 01:34:08 PM
Hey John:
The roof looks just great.
Karl
Karl
Thank you for the compliment - I'm pretty happy with it - this is the first time I have used Bob's tile roofing with the markers. I have the Sayles mill coming up next so I will get to use the technique again, soon.
Hello John, I don't know, your dirty railroad crew members will never want to leave such a nice place. Great job. Jeff
Quote from: nycjeff on April 23, 2021, 04:34:24 PM
Hello John, I don't know, your dirty railroad crew members will never want to leave such a nice place. Great job. Jeff
Jeff
Interesting comment - I have been doing a lot of research on the copper mines in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I went to college up there at Michigan Tech. Univ. and Yes the research is for a future modeling project on the S&S RR. Anyway, the mines all had a shower locker facility where the miners could clean up before heading home. I'm making the dye house from the mill into a bath house for the railroad workers before they head into the Crew Quarters for some R and R.
I managed to make a little more progress on the build so I thought I would post a couple progress pictures.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-010521204343-491391077.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-010521204343-49140793.jpeg)
I need to decide how far I want to take this before I move it to the layout for final detailing. I think I'm going to add some of the scenery and details close to the buildings. The front loading dock needs to be added once it's on the layout because it spans two different baseboards. I will be deviating from usual mill yard clutter because this is a crew quarters, now.
I decided to mount the gator board base to the plywood Benchwork base before moving on with the detailing of this build. It will share the same plywood base as my 2020 Challenge build of the FSM 145 Coaling tower. Here is a picture of the dry fit on my workbench.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020621192354-493612202.jpeg)
A nit :-) Seems to me the 'crew quarters' would get a lot more dirt and dust from locos fueling at the coal tower. That's both coal dust and smoke residue as the loco sits and smokes while being fueled.
dave
Here are a few pictures to describe the mounting process. I have been using a 3/16 inch gator board for the structure build on this section of my layout and then mounting it to the 3/4 inch plywood benchwork base. The process has worked well for this area of my layout, but I should note that for my future sections of the layout, I will be mounting the structures directly to the 3/4 inch plywood baseboard. The advantage of the gator board is that it is light weight and makes it easy to move from workbench to workbench through the build process. It was also easier to take a build to a show. I found that the light weight came at a cost in dollars, durability and stability. I broke a corner off my 1/2 inch gator board base on my Beach Farms build lifting it in to place. And I have had to clamp out some warping of the models when mounting the gator board to the plywood. I don't want to start a "Nail hole" debate on this - I just prefer to work with wood and will be completing each section of the layout on a piece of manageable weight 3/4 inch plywood from this point forward. I really like the 3/4 inch exterior grade plywood that Mernards sells. I stocked up last year thankfully before all the inflation kicked in. Most of the landform stack up will be accomplished with wood stack - ups for the structure baseboards. I will still use the 1 inch foam for landforms that are glue in place.
Here is the plywood base with the FSM 145 Coal tower already mounted.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020621192201-49360780.jpeg)
Quote from: deemery on June 03, 2021, 11:12:41 AM
A nit :-) Seems to me the 'crew quarters' would get a lot more dirt and dust from locos fueling at the coal tower. That's both coal dust and smoke residue as the loco sits and smokes while being fueled.
dave
Dave
I remember asking a guy that worked in a paper mill how he could stand the smell. His response was "what smell".
I'm sure the employees of the S&S RR that made a living running steam trains fired by coal would say "what dust and smoke". Reference the pictures of the high line running through NYC. ;) ;D I can't imagine what it was like in these yards with all the locomotives fired up. Oh wait a minute - I have seen it in China. Actually, a good point Dave but I don't think it was a design criteria in the 1949 timeframe.
Step One: Drill the clearance holes for the LED wires.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020621192201-49359656.jpeg)
Step Two: Glue down the gator board to the plywood. This plywood base serves as an access hatch so all of the track connections will be gaps requiring all of the track attached to the plywood base to have separate power connections. All of the wires will be soldered on while it is on the workbench. A connection block will be attached underneath so all of the wire connections can be made once the hatch is mounted on the layout (screw connections for hatch removal). There will be screws that hold it down from underneath for easy removal.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020621192354-493612202.jpeg)
Step Three: Weight the gator board down until the glue dries, completely.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020621192354-493621076.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-020621192354-49364144.jpeg)
I'm enjoying the discussion of alternatives for structure bases. On a related note, there was an actually interesting article in MR this month, on structure foundations.
Now I'm sure the workers won't mind the smoke and dust, I was thinking more about the weathering of the model :-)
dave
John,
Very nice structures and very well done also. I'm enjoying the updates.
Tom ;D
Looking good, John.
That's a nice selection of weights you have there. I haven't managed to find any 'cookies' here in NZ yet. They do look handy.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: deemery on June 03, 2021, 12:54:38 PM
I'm enjoying the discussion of alternatives for structure bases. On a related note, there was an actually interesting article in MR this month, on structure foundations.
Now I'm sure the workers won't mind the smoke and dust, I was thinking more about the weathering of the model :-)
dave
Dave
As always thank you for following along and your comments.
All that coal dust definitely needs to be taken into considerations as I do the final weathering. I have gone full circle with baseboards for my structures. I always like to see proper foundations on models - I need to take a look at the MR article.
Quote from: ACL1504 on June 03, 2021, 02:31:13 PM
John,
Very nice structures and very well done also. I'm enjoying the updates.
Tom ;D
Tom
Thank you for following along and the kind words. I can't wait to surround these structures with scenery.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on June 03, 2021, 04:13:07 PM
Looking good, John.
That's a nice selection of weights you have there. I haven't managed to find any 'cookies' here in NZ yet. They do look handy.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark
Thank you - I never seem to have enough weights - there are many days when I have them all in service. Most of mine are scrap parts from Automotive dies from my working days. The bench cookies are extremely useful. They are much better than using weights to hold things because they have a rubber surface that keeps them in place. I buy them from a company called Rockler here in the USA. They are mail order but I don't know how long it would take or how much it would cost to get a set shipped to NZ. If you do decide to order, get a bunch of them. Like weights mine all seem to be in use.
I'm back on this build and plan to finish it up this next week. Here are a few progress pictures of the detailing. I added some loading docks, made an adjustment to the track location, and added the base dirt. Next up, will be the scenery materials and the detail castings and then it will be time for the final weathering and touchup. Please stay tuned.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-090721200425.jpeg)
The dirt is wet in this picture so it look very dark.
Hey John:
that is goona look just great when it's installed on the layout. Can't wait for the pics of that.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on July 11, 2021, 09:40:34 AM
Hey John:
that is goona look just great when it's installed on the layout. Can't wait for the pics of that.
Karl
Karl
Thank you, I'm starting to work on the scenery on the layout that surrounds the site in preparation for the move from workbench to layout.
Here is what the dirt looked like after the glue dried. I like to start dark and lighten with lighter dirt, paint and chalk in the areas that need it.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-110721192926-49789967.jpeg)
hey John:
Still looking just beautiful. Can't wait to see what you do with the dirt.
Karl
Update: Here is a photograph of the build after the detailing and scenery work on the workbench. The build will now be moved to my layout for final detailing and scenery work.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-170721091150-498281898.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/18-170721091150-498261371.jpeg)
Great scene, John. I just noticed the conifers. Did you talk about how you made those somewhere in the past?
Quote from: vinceg on July 26, 2021, 10:29:21 PM
Great scene, John. I just noticed the conifers. Did you talk about how you made those somewhere in the past?
Vince
Thank you, the conifers are made with rope fibers and where discussed in my S&S RR Build Thread.
Great scene John, well done.....nice addition to the empire. 8)
Quote from: GPdemayo on July 27, 2021, 07:45:23 AM
Great scene John, well done.....nice addition to the empire. 8)
Greg
Thank you for the kind words.
Absolutely fantastic, John. Really wonderful.
Quote from: Keep it Rusty on July 28, 2021, 10:09:19 AM
Absolutely fantastic, John. Really wonderful.
Craig
Thank you for following along and the very kind words.
Wow! Looks great John!
Quote from: MAP on July 30, 2021, 05:59:45 PM
Wow! Looks great John!
Mark
Thank you for the kind words.
Hey John:
The diorama looks just fantastic.
Karl
Quote from: postalkarl on July 31, 2021, 12:53:36 AM
Hey John:
The diorama looks just fantastic.
Karl
Karl
Thank you, my friend.
Well John your trying to out do yourself!! Just beautiful work!!
Jerry
Quote from: Jerry on July 31, 2021, 08:07:56 PM
Well John your trying to out do yourself!! Just beautiful work!!
Jerry
Jerry
Thank you for the complements. I hope every build gets a little better.
Hey John:
You are quite welcome.
Karl