I think I'll try the South River Model Works Lamson & Goodnow project that I've been pondering for several years. This will be a bash, both to make the main mill larger (kit looks too compressed to me) and to fit in the available space.
Here's the hole:
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You can see, I still need to do rough scenery to the left side. The green tape marks the main line. There's a spur into the property, you can see its location on my template as the pink chalk running roughly in the middle of this photo:
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I cut some rosin paper to the approximate shape of the hole. I used pink sidewalk chalk to run over the location of the siding and the main line.
Then I put the template on a workbench (specially cleared off for the occasion ;D ) and started to ponder the structures:
IMG_0382.jpeg
My thought is to use the back wall sections, which are about an inch longer, instead of the front wall sections for the front of the mill. This will add about 2", making the total length of the main mill about 11 1/2". Note the end of the black ruler on the left of the white foundation template, that's the new end of the mill. I can put that small (2") annex shown on the right of the mill on either side, or omit it all together. I'll create a blank rear wall, which won't be visible. The office building will fit to the left, and I'll construct a woodshed or something on the right side where there's some space to fill. I could do a boiler house and make the end of the spur coal delivery...
I'll probably do some vertical arrangement, too, i.e. putting the mill or the office or both higher than track level.
The next step will be to scan the actual wall sections and do a full-size mock-up on foamcore.
At least this is my current thinking...
dave
Quote from: deemery on November 28, 2024, 03:28:19 PMI think I'll try the South River Model Works Lamson & Goodnow project that I've been pondering for several years. This will be a bash, both to make the main mill larger (kit looks too compressed to me) and to fit in the available space.
Larger? Holy cow! ;D
I'm following along. I gave this one up, much to my chagrin, because it takes up way more space than I figured I'd ever have available. But I sure did want to build it. It's a great looking kit.
The finished mills (2 different locations) are generally 11-14" long. Anything less and they just don't look right to me. That's what I get for living in a NE mill town... These are scratchbuilt
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And these are RDA kits with both walls on the visible side to double the length.
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(That stretch in front of the stone mill down towards the cobblestone is where I started scenery today.)
dave
Looking forward to this one, Dave.
Cheers, Mark.
I scanned the plaster parts, printed out the scans, and then cut the plaster pieces. I calculated the size of the proposed mill, and measured the length using the actual plaster pieces.
IMG_0383.jpeg
Then I cut pieces of foam core to the correct size, making sure I accommodated the thickness of the foam core (which is just about the same as the thickness of the plaster pieces.) I did a double-check to make sure I got that right (doesn't have to be 100%, but should be pretty close.)
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Then I assembled the main mill building onto self-stick foamcore. I cut wood bracing and used a thin coat of a solvent glue to attach to the foam core, I figure I'll reuse those as bracing for the plaster pieces. Then I did a test fit of the main mill on location.
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Tomorrow I'll assemble the other boxes, and do another check. I need to decide if I'll do this as a diorama on a base on the workbench. If so, I'll have to figure out a material for the base that will hold the 12x18 footprint, be strong enough to hold the plaster structures, but not be too thick when it's set on the layout.
dave
Dave I can't see the latest photos you posted. Is anyone else having this issue or just me?
Jim
I see them fine. Looks like an ambitious kitbash.
Jeff
Quote from: Jim Donovan on November 29, 2024, 07:20:50 PMDave I can't see the latest photos you posted. Is anyone else having this issue or just me?
Jim
I've noticed that sometimes various forums have delays where photos aren't visible after posting, but they usually show up a couple hours later. I'm not sure why that is, it does feel strange to me as a software property.
dave
Hi Dave;
I am able to see the pictures if I click on the white area where they should be, very odd I will have Craig look at it if he can. Anyhow I did see them and what a build this is, great job.
Jim
A question for those of you who have built SRMW kits: Is it worth digging out/opening the windows? Or did you paint the window well black and install the window castings (with glazing)? How did that come out?
dave
Quote from: deemery on November 30, 2024, 09:55:51 AMA question for those of you who have built SRMW kits: Is it worth digging out/opening the windows? Or did you paint the window well black and install the window castings (with glazing)? How did that come out?
dave
Dave,
I've done it both ways. However, I think if you aren't going to light the structure you can blacken the windows and then install the windows.
Tom
Dave,
I like what you are doing with the bash! Interesting design and I'm looking forward to the finished model.
Tom
Dave,
I'm a big fan of South River kits, as well as New England mill buildings. I'm really looking forward to watching you build this one.
Over the weekend, I completed the mock-ups. Today I played with various arrangements of the buildings:
IMG_0388.jpg
I like the 'close spacing, buildings added to fit' look. The office building is definitely going on the left. The questions are the annex to the main mill and the L shaped wood shop.
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This is the winner. I'll use that 2-story with gable annex as a freestanding boilerhouse, and a smokestack behind it. Like the main mill, I'll have to fabricate a blank rear wall. The tracks will run the full length of the siding, with a coal dump at the right end for the boiler.
IMG_0395.jpg
I think I'll add a loading dock that connects to the structure running parallel to the tracks. Or I could add a wood warehouse that extends to the right from that structure.
So I'll let this sit overnight, and come back tomorrow to see if I still like this arrangement.
dave
Dave,
The configuration of the mill parts look fantastic. Looking forward to this build. Great start for sure.
Tom
Impressive mill Dave, great progress..... 8)
I mocked up a different 'warehouse/loading area':
image_36645.jpg
I think that looks pretty good, but I'll probably adjust the height to keep it a bit shorter.
Also I cut the footprint from (black) foam core, including gluing a piece of junky 1/4" thick styrofoam underneath to raise this to the right level.
image_36644.jpg
I do need to add a bit on the left side. This will be removable to build the diorama on the workbench. BUT it will probably be too big for the contest. The contest footprint is 12x24, or 288 sq in. Looks like this will be about 300 sq in. That's OK. I'll continue the build, even if it's ultimately not eligible.
dave
Looking good Dave.
I find adding roofs with black card makes a huge difference in being able to visualise the finished product.
Cheers, Mark.
I tried scoring and removing the window fill, comparing that to just painting the interior black:
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It's a bit easier to see without the casting, but overall it's not enough difference with a black (construction paper) view block to justify the minimal effort to open and clean out the window wells. (cleaned out window is on the right...)
The other change I'm considering is for the office on the left side of the compound. As designed, the gable end is on the left, which protrudes from the wall. But I think it would look better if I swapped this, putting the protruding gable end on the right. That will require a bit more kitbashing since the front and back of the flat (not gable) ends are not identical. But I think I can make it work.
dave
Dave,
You did cut out the flash very smoothly. Can't even tell it was there. Great job!
Tom
Today's project was working the new inside corner to flip the layout of the office. I studied the existing parts, then lined up the new inside corner pieces and marked the notch for the frieze/cornice. I filed that down, test-fit, then glued (epoxy) a styrene spacer to extend the length of the short piece to provide a better gluing surface for that inside corner.
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Looks good...
IMG_0408.jpg
Next step, I think, will be to prime and paint the brick walls.
dave
I primed the wall pieces, but the airbrush/paint was giving me problems. I had to stop half-way through and thoroughly clean the airbrush. Probably some overly thick paint/paint goop got stuck inside the brush. So I'll need to go back and touch up some places.
IMG_0416.jpg
dave
Love the detail in the castings Dave, looking forward to seeing it come together..... 8)
Dave,
Very well done.
Tom
I did go back and respray the top left group. Next step is to start painting the window wells black. I'll start that today, but the Stillers are on TV so that will take up the afternoon. I think I'll paint the window castings white, and I'll take a look at a white casting in the frame to see if I need to also paint the plaster cast window trim white. That'll be work...
dave
I got the window wells painted. To do this, I found a cheap new brush slightly less than the width of the window. I loaded paint on the tip of the brush, held it nearly vertical in the window well, and then pushed the paint into the corners. This is hard on the brush, and when it got a bit 'fuzzy', I moved the brush at an angle into the window hole then twisted it to align to the top/bottom of the window.
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I need to test-fit the windows and decide if I need to paint the (plaster cast) frames white. I do need to paint the doors white.
add: One thing I'll need to do is trim back the rear piece that has the extension for the interior corner that I'm not using (piece at top of the first photo, that section that does not have any bricks carved into it.) That piece needs to be flush with the rear wall of the gable piece. I'll do that when I start assembly.
dave
This came out nicely, Dave.
Its such a big structure when you see all those walls together.
Cheers, Mark.
That's a lot of wall panels!
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I need to do red touch-up, work on the foundations, and decide if I'll do mortar. I'll also probably need a bit more grey lintel/sill touch-ups too. Next big project: priming/painting the window castings (white).
dave
So many pieces! It will be quite an impressive structure.
Jeff
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on December 14, 2024, 05:59:24 PMSo many pieces! It will be quite an impressive structure.
Jeff
What he said! :o This is going to be something else. As I recall, there are a ton of detail castings included in this kit as well. You'll be busy for quite some time on this one but it's coming along wonderfully.
A bit of work today, but some touchy stuff. First, I touched up the black, including the one set of window wells I forgot to do. Then I carefully traced around the half-circle window casting onto thin clear styrene. I cut that out and carefully sanded it down to fit inside the casting. When I got that right, I used it as a template to cut and sand the other two window glazing. Finally, I filled in the small window wells in the one cast-in door, using Testors Canopy Cement. Hopefully that'll dry clear and look like glass.
IMG_0433.jpg
add: 24 hours later, the little drops of Testors clear part cement look like glazing
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dave
Dave
Great looking build! I love building these kits and always end up changing the size or shape to fit my space on the layout. It sure is nice to see a build thread on this build.
Hey Dave you're din some great work on this building.
Jerry
Small project, big impact:
IMG_0436.jpeg
I mixed 1/3 black, 1/3 neutral grey, 1/3 water (Liquitex Acrylic Gouache), and brushed it over the stonework. I went back over a couple of times, which cleaned off the top of the stones but put the wash into the mortar lines.
I'm still contemplating the brick mortar, I'm thinking a mix of neutral grey and red, so the mortar lines do not pop out. I want the stone mortar to pop, but the brick mortar to be more subtle.
dave
Brick mortar washes. Most pieces got grey/red/white. The two on the bottom right got grey/red, and the two above that got just gray. The idea is make the buildings look slightly different as if they were built at different times. I'll check back tomorrow and see if I like the net result.
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Add: a test fit of one structure:
IMG_0444.jpeg
dave
Dave,
The wall coloring is great, this is coming along nicely. Like you said, "small project - large impact."
Tom
I could start on window glazing. Or I could do some wall assembly. Hard choice (not!)
I sanded the back of the gable piece using sandpaper glued to a stone tile, and the ends of the other piece (and the bottoms of both pieces) using my sandpaper paint paddles. When I was OK with the fit, I set up the assembly shown. I used the Micro-Mark thin beam square (one of their best products!) and a 1-2-3 block to align the inner corner.
IMG_0445.jpeg
The wrinkle here is the gable end needs to slightly overhang the side wall (see the bottom right corner here.) So I had to touch up that exposed bit of gable end before gluing. After the glue sets, I'll go back and over-paint the red with the stone grey color.
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Once this glue is dry, I'll epoxy 1/4" square strip (styrene or wood) to reinforce the corner joint.
Add: More glue set-up:
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As a reminder, the two back panels meet more-or-less flush. Because they're in the back, that joint won't really be visible, but I do need to get the two parts as tight as possible for gluing/overall strength of the model.
dave
More assembly. First a test-fit of the two building halves:
IMG_0451.jpeg
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I'm happy with the fit. The top view will not be visible if I go with the current layout of the structures. But this fit is good enough I could change my mind :-)
Now because I have a couple of butt joints, I wanted more reinforcement. I copied the SRMW template (which is for the mirror original arrangement), cut it out of plain paper, and then used that as a template to cut out a floor from styrene. (Top photos show that as a roof, but I decided to use it as a floor, instead.) Then I cut some bracing from .250 x .312 styrene, laid those on the styrene floor, butted them against the plaster walls, and used Testors Liquid to position those into position. That gives me maximum contact surface against the plaster walls with zero clearance.
IMG_0452.jpeg[/font][/size]
Then I cut some styrene pieces to cover the butt joints on either side, and epoxied those to the plaster. Later, once that epoxy is dry, I'll lift the structure off the floor, mix more epoxy onto the floor and bracing, and reset the building to glue it to the floor. That should result in a sturdy assembly.
IMG_0454.jpeg
Note the wood piece at the bottom between the two splices, that serves as a clamp and further bracing.
dave
Some more accomplishments today...
I assembled the boilerhouse (including cutting a blank rear wall from styrene.) And I cut the smokestack down to size. For that, I figured out where a 1/8 piece of wood would sit along the chimney to make it sit parallel to the ground when on its side. I cut the chimney to the desired height, and then squared it off, using the (laser) inscribed bricks to guide. Then I carefully drilled out about 1/16 deep hole in the top. I used a Forstner bit in my drill press, the drill press clamp, and a bit of hand-holding finagling to get a roughly centered hole. When painted black, that looks pretty good as "down the chimney."
IMG_0457.jpg
But I really do need to start on glazing for the two buildings I have finished, and then do roofs on them.
dave
Windows on one wall are done.
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3 more walls to do on this building. I'll tackle its roof next, before moving onto windows on the next building.
dave
Beautiful masonry structure, great work Dave..... 8)
Dave,
Well done, looks great. Love the weathering on the brick.
Tom
A challenge: Look at my picture and figure out how I screwed up :P It's not obvious (thankfully), so I probably won't fix it.
dave
I scanned and printed the roof templates to cardstock, then laminated that to .020 styrene. That adds stiffness that the kit's cardstock roof doesn't have. I also cut styrene gables, to use to reinforce the middle of the two pitched roofs.
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There's very little overhang on these roofs, typical mill architecture. Next step is to attach the shingles. I'll have to be careful on one roof, the guidelines are slightly skewed to the roof. (ugh)
dave
Today's project was the roof for the first building. Here's the bracing for the styrene subroofs:
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Now this roof has valleys. So I dug out some self-stick copper foil to use as flashing.
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I cut strips and attached them to the roof parts. This also helps hold the two parts of the roof together:
IMG_0472.jpg
For shingles, I'm using my stash of Northeastern Scale MODELS shingles. (NESM was spun off from Northeastern Scale Lumber to sell kits. NESM went out of business, NESL took back the shingle material, and the kit line went to Motrak Models.) Normally they sold them assembled into sheets about 4x6. But for my long mill buildings, it's really hard to splice two pre-assembled sheets together, so they let me bulk order unassembled 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of the shingle material.
IMG_0473.jpg
I'm using a Glue Stick to attach these to the paper templates previously glued to the styrene subroof. I run a line of Deluxe Materials Card Stock glue along the underside of the shingles to attach the edges to the subroof.
IMG_0474.jpg
Tomorrow when everything is dry, I'll trim the roof.
dave
Hey Dave
I must have missed it what color did you use for the brick???
It's looking really good with thw wash.
Jerry
Quote from: deemery on December 28, 2024, 02:40:39 PMA challenge: Look at my picture and figure out how I screwed up :P It's not obvious (thankfully), so I probably won't fix it.
dave
Dave,
I've looked and like you said, "It's not obvious". I don't see anything that looks to me out of order.
Tom
My default brick color is Vallejo German Red Brown primer. Using that across the layout will add to the idea that everyone bought their bricks from the J. Tull Brickworks on the layout. https://acrylicosvallejo.com/en/product/hobby/primers-en/german-red-brown-70605/ And of course, as a primer it covers and adheres well to plaster, styrene, etc.
And a couple of the double-hung windows on the first wall are upside-down >:( But it really is not noticeable, so I won't fix it.
dave
Roof trimmed. I have a bit more touch-up to do, plus paint the eaves underneath the shingles.
IMG_0477.jpg
dave
Dave, your version of the Lamson & Sons complex is coming together nicely. Take your time and it will turn out to be something special as all the Southriver Modelworks kits are that get built...Tommy
Excellent work Dave, I especially like the copper valleys..... 8)
I did a bit of work today, laying out the front of the large mill structure:
IMG_0489.jpg
This allowed me to measure and cut a .050 styrene piece as the backer for the parts that make up the front. I'll probably have to trim the two tower sides to fit flush against the styrene. This includes taking into consideration the 1/4" corner posts I'm using to reinforce/brace the corners.
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Finally, having finished the boiler house, I did a quick test on the layout:
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The smoke stack I reworked is behind the boiler house.
dave
Today's project was the main wall of the large mill building. This consists of 2 side panels and 3 piece that make up the tower (left, right, and front), and the styrene sheet that will hold them all together.. The styrene backer has space for the bracing, but I need to center the side panels on that to leave room for the bracing. There's a spacer piece of styrene between the reinforcing panel and the two angle blocks. This leaves room for the floor that I will install later.
IMG_0491.jpeg
Then I installed all the windows, and mixed up a bunch of 5 minute epoxy. I applied glue to where the side pieces go, laid down one side piece, and then added the tower pieces to leave the space. I mixed up more epoxy, installed the other side piece, pushed them together flush against the tower pieces. Then I added weights on the two sides, and removed the tower pieces.
IMG_0495.jpeg
]It's time for Saturday Scotch Club, I'll let the epoxy dry overnight.
add: Over on MRHs forum, there was a discussion on how to cut/saw plaster. Someone mentioned pull saws, and after a bit of investigation, I ended up with an Irwin Saw: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001GLEZI I think this is usually used for dovetails. It's a relatively thin blade with finer teeth than the others I looked at. It also comes with a piece of plastic as a blade protector. I needed to trim the two tower side pieces, so I tried the Irwin saw, using a square to keep the cut square against the bottom of the plaster casting. Putting the blade protector on the -back- of the sawblade added some needed stiffness. Overall, this tool worked very well.
another add: Now that the epoxy has cured, I can show the inside with the heavy central brace:
IMG_0496.jpeg
Tomorrow I'll construct the back piece, from the same heavy styrene and bracing. It has to be the same size as the white piece (end-to-end.)
dave
Coming on nicely, Dave.
Cheers, Mark.
Gluing the ends to the front of the long mill. The challenge is to get the two ends square against the front with identical slight offsets (the ends stick out slightly from the front.) So lots of set-up to arrange and hold things square and plumb:
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Then I use the back wall to help keep things aligned.
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It turns out the length of the front+2 ends was longer than my brass bar clamps, so I had to find some longer wood clamps:
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There's one more clamp not shown along the top of the front. Once this glue sets, I'll go back and add the square corner bracing (epoxied to the plaster inside corners.)
dave
Main mill on location:
IMG_0504.jpg
Looking at this, the main mill looks a bit small. I think if I raise it up (small rise in topography), that will make it look bigger.
Today I glued the tower brickwork into position and then added the floor. When the epoxy dries, that should be very sturdy.
dave
A bit of progress today. I measured the SRMW templates, and then drew roof templates for my longer mill pieces. For some reason, I couldn't get the full length to print out on legal size paper, it kept on trying to align flush-left.
IMG_0507.jpg]
But that's OK. The question is whether the hole for the tower is the right size:
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Yup.
dave
The main building subroof is done. I had to glue 2 pieces of the roof template together, and mounted that onto styrene with transfer tape. THEN I cut the subroof out of the sheet of styrene, scribed it down the middle, and bent (being careful to not separate the pieces.)
Next I took a piece of styrene, held it up to a gable end, and traced the gable lines onto that. I did that for both end gables, being careful to label the styrene as to which gable (left or right) and which orientation (front or back) was represented.
IMG_0509.jpeg
Then I cut out the triangles, and test-fit each against its respective gable. These -should be- symmetric, but I didn't want to bet on that....) I added 1/8 x 3/16 styrene pieces to the two roof sides of the triangles, and then glued them into the subroof.
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As insurance, I added more 1/8 x 3/16 strip lengthwise along the roof.
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I checked the subroof for clearance and fit all around.
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And of course a test-fit on the layout.
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I still need to add a ridgepole along the outside joint between the two roof panels and then I have to do the shingles.
dave
Looking good, Dave.
I think adding a decent stone foundation to the main mill building is necessary to scale well. I actually think a scratchbuilt stone first floor (making the main mill 3 stories) would also look great. A lot more work, but...
If I was to find room for one more SRM kit on my layout - this would be it. Craig Rusty had one for sale recently in the UK and I figured his postage to New Zealand would be quite reasonable. I was very tempted!
Enjoying watching this one come together very much.
Cheers, Mark.
I think I can do a bit better than the laser-cut (but kinda boring) parts for the wood top of the main mill tower. So I dug into the styrene scrap box for clapboards, into the stash of windows for double windows, and the essential stash of Evergreen styrene strips of various sizes. The parts are primed white, next step install the window glazing (pre-cut, thank you Don Tichy!!!)
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Then I'll assemble and test-fit on the tower. There's nothing special about the black styrene for the back of the tower (a part that isn't in the original kit, but I think makes for a stronger assembly.) It's just the styrene I pulled from my scrap bin...
add: Tower test-fit:
IMG_0517.jpeg
Although I used the SRMW parts for my tower, they're still a bit short on the sides. I thought about that, I'll just add .040 plain to extend the sides all the way into the roof.
More: I added the extenders (and a floor, which makes the assembly MUCH more sturdy), cut out the roof template, and did a test-fit on location:
IMG_0519-2.jpg
Note this is sitting on a 1/4" piece of foamcore to add a bit more height. I think that does look better raised a bit.
dave
Me to wife, "Here, drink this tea." "Why, is it poison?" "No, I want the tea bag." (It's one of those bags that looks like window screens [/size]
I think I can construct an elevator cage on that top floor of the mill tower that will be visible through the windows. After some research on industrial elevators, they were more common earlier than I thought.
dave
Quick update. I did some stuff that will kinda look like a freight elevator through the windows. But more importantly, I figured out how to connect the gable roof to the main roof and then do the shingles with the assembled roof on the workbench. (The trick: construct a temporary support to hold the gable into position when shingling.) The plan is to do the back side of the roof first, then add the gable and do the front side and gable.
dave
Hello Dave, I've been enjoying your work on this build and am looking forward to the completion of the mill tower/ elevator. It sounds interesting.
I started shingling today. I colored the shingle material more-or-less the way Bob Van Gelder suggests, with an assortment of markers. First I 'painted' each color on the side of the shingle sheet, to see how the colors looked. In general, they come out darker than you'd expect, which is why Bob emphasizes using the lighter colors more frequently. Then I randomly painted shingles on a sheet of material in about the recommended proportions. The pens are above the painted areas in the same order.
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Here's a painted sheet:
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This looks a little too random colored to me, but maybe when installed it won't look quite so speckled.
I propped the roof onto some 1-2-3 blocks which holds it close to level, and started attaching shingles. As Bob recommended, I'm using a glue stick. This seems to work well, but you have to make sure you get good coverage before attaching the shingle strip. I have a piece of wax paper underneath the roof that I put the shingles on before applying glue stick. I tried glue-sticking the entire roof, but that seemed to not work as well as doing individual strips. This is how much I got covered with that first sheet of shingles. I'll do some more sheets and more shingling tomorrow.
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And when I'm done, I will probably apply some chalks to generally tone everything down. One thing I wish is that the shingles were cut a little deeper into the strips, there are some places where I don't have perfect overhang and the connecting material shows.
dave
Back side roof is almost installed. It needs the final row of shingles, and trimming on left and right edges. I'll go back over this with Pan Pastels to tone down the 'spots'.
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Also the 'simulacrum' of the freight elevator. With the roof on, this won't be very visible, it's enough to suggest there's an elevator there, which is what I need.
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dave
Looking good, Dave
The freight elevator will look great through those windows. I'm thinking once the chalk goes on those shingles it should pull things back enough. I'm thinking next time maybe leave off the darkest copic?
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: Mark Dalrymple on January 21, 2025, 05:34:20 PMLooking good, Dave
The freight elevator will look great through those windows. I'm thinking once the chalk goes on those shingles it should pull things back enough. I'm thinking next time maybe leave off the darkest copic?
Cheers, Mark.
The "hole" for the elevator shaft is a piece of black construction paper painted a flat black. That worked pretty well.
My plan for tomorrow is to apply the Pan Pastels on the back side (which won't be very visible where this structure will go.) The local slate here is pretty dark, so I'm guessing the net result will fade out the lighter colors, and the darker colors will just look 'a bit darker'. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
dave
Nice work Dave.
Sometimes you try something, look at the result and say "WOW!"
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Pan Pastel Neutral Grey Shade applied over top of my 'splotchy' shingles...
dave
Dave,
Coming along nicely, looks great.
Tom
The grey overcoat really toned 'em down. They look far more homogenous, now.
Is there a name for those gusseted 90° steel blocks in your picture, by the way? Because I want to try to find some. I see them in a lot of posts, and they look useful.
Those are (steel) angle plates. They come in various sizes, those are 2". I have a bunch of 1", too. They come in various price points, depending on how precisely ground they are. I buy the cheap ones from tool sellers at train shows. Mostly I'm using them for weights (as here) or for aligning building walls, etc.
The critters with holes in them are 1-2-3 blocks. Same story, I buy the cheap ones. Shop around for good prices.
dave
Merci! Aligning walls as the glue sets is precisely how I see myself using them. To my knowledge, there hasn't been a proper train show here since Montreal Locomotive Works closed its doors, so it's off to the internet I go. Armed with terminology, now, by your good graces.
Nice to know the name of the 1-2-3 blocks, as well. Lagniappe. I work with a factory full of machinists, but I've never seen (or maybe, never noticed) either of those contrivances in the Toolroom.
Another chunk of roofing done. Tomorrow I'll finish the 2 sides of the gable, then lock down all the edges with a line of Testor's Canopy Glue.
IMG_0543.jpg
dave
Quote from: deemery on January 26, 2025, 04:24:56 PMAnother chunk of roofing done. Tomorrow I'll finish the 2 sides of the gable, then lock down all the edges with a line of Testor's Canopy Glue.
IMG_0543.jpg
dave
Staring at that roof makes the eyes go a little goofy after a while. Building looks great.
Bernd
Front roof trimmed and Pan-Pastelled. I still need to add the top row of shingles and the ridgepole, and then figure out how I'll blacken the gaps between slates.
IMG_0544.jpeg
dave
Quote from: deemery on January 28, 2025, 03:42:11 PM...and then figure out how I'll blacken the gaps between slates.
Why am I thinking a succession of
very light black washes, surface tension reduced with Kodak wetting agent, left to dry between applications until the desired 'depth of shadow' is achieved, mightn't work?
Quote from: Mr. Critter on January 28, 2025, 06:08:45 PMQuote from: deemery on January 28, 2025, 03:42:11 PM...and then figure out how I'll blacken the gaps between slates.
Why am I thinking a succession of very light black washes, surface tension reduced with Kodak wetting agent, left to dry between applications until the desired 'depth of shadow' is achieved, mightn't work?
The big risk is whatever medium (water, alcohol, etc) I use for the wash will loosen the shingles. I think tomorrow I'll do a roof for the smaller boiler shop, and use that to test various washes. That way, if the shingles come loose, I haven't destroyed the entire main roof.
dave
Ah. Roger.
I await the results of your diabolical experiments.
Follow-up: Thinking out loud, here. You wrote that you used glue stick as your adhesive. Instead of risking ruining your boiler house roof, why not try putting some of the same glue stick on a piece of styrene, attacking it with your various wash options, and fingertip-feeling if it turns to non-adhesive slime or not?
Could also be attempted with any scrap bits of that pre-cut shingle sheet, if there was any dunnage.
The challenge for shingle (slate or wood) roofs is handling the top row. Here's what I'm doing:
IMG_0548.jpeg
I painted the top of the roof with Deluxe Card glue. Then I laid a single strip, pressed down to seal against the Card Glue. When that was dry, I used those slightly curved embroidery scissors to cut along the gap for the ridgepole. You can see where I stopped about 1/3 from the right to take the photo. The result should be shingles that are tight against the (to be installed) square ridgepole, with grey paint hiding any gaps.
Now what I should have done was painted that gap grey first. I did that on the main roof.
Here's the result:
IMG_0549.jpeg
dave
Dave just caught up on your build. Those are some very nice looking buildings
and should be a nice addition to your layout. Keep at it and have fun.
Nice job Dave.
Jerry
Dave,
Great job on the roof shingles, they look perfect.
Tom
Howdy Dave,
I agree with Tom, you did an exceptional job applying the shingles and coloring them. They look real! The roofs match the wonderful structures beneath them.
Have fun,
mike
Great work Dave, good roofing work..... 8)
You did a fabulous job on the buildings and roofs Dave.
Great looking roof, Dave. The grey pastel really tones it down nicely. I'm stealing that. 8)
Jeff
Nice work Dave!
Great job Dave
Those shingles have come up nicely, Dave.
You managed to tone them down well. Its looking great.
Cheers, Mark.
Well, I'm not going to finish this in time for the contest, but I did start work on the 4th building today:
IMG_0681.jpg
The roof is just sitting loose on the structure. The epoxy is setting up, and I'll start work on the shingles.
add Shingles need to be trimmed, plus ridgepole:
IMG_0682.jpeg
dave
Nice looking building Dave.
Indeed. Do I recall correctly that this is a plaster building?
Quote from: jbvb on March 23, 2025, 05:22:47 PMIndeed. Do I recall correctly that this is a plaster building?
Yes. The quality of the castings is outstanding. The (Grandt) windows fit perfectly (occasionally there's a little drip of plaster to remove) and the pieces are of an uniform thickness and square.
In the kit, this structure has a single story brick annex. Instead, I'll build a wood (clapboard) warehouse/storage building along the tracks. But first I'll do a bit more test arrangement and think about the connecting walkways. The model (and prototype) had an unique 2nd story curved walkway, and I'll try to fit something like that into the arrangement.
dave
Here's the hole where Lamson will go:
IMG_0683.jpg
I covered the cardboard lattice with plaster wrap today. I also trimmed Building #4's roof shingles. I'll add the roof ridge tomorrow, and that building will be done. And then I'll do some more rough scenery on the 'hole'. The expectation is that most of the ridge behind the structure will be forest. I also need to add the track for the spur in front of the buildings
dave
Good work on the brick structure Dave..... 8)
Howdy Dave,
Nice work on the structure. The shingles look terrific. Good luck with the "hole".
Have fun,
mike
I've been working on the layout location where Lamsons will end up. Earlier I put plaster wrap over the cardboard lattice. Today I added "stratigraphy".
IMG_0688.jpeg
IMG_0689.jpeg
IMG_0690.jpeg
IMG_0691.jpeg
This is the Heki "Slate foil rock plastic sheets" from Scenic Express: https://www.sceneryexpress.com/SHALE-CLIFF-FOIL-STONE-33-x-14-1_2/productinfo/HK3138/ I use a hot glue gun to attach this to the plaster wrap. They don't have the same level of detail as Cripplebush Valley Rubber Rocks, but they're also a lot cheaper. The next step will be to fill in around the cliff pieces with plaster or Sculptamold filler, then add some more texture to the rock faces. You do need to pay a bit of attention to these, there's an "up" and a "down" to the rock faces. And you want the strata to align. I added a dip from right to left, which should add a bit of interest and keep this from looking too "plopped down."
The plan is to cover this with a fair amount of foilage, so they're not particularly stark cliffs, but rather weathered cliffs peeking out behind trees, bushes, etc.
dave
Your molds look great to me Dave.
Dave, got any pics posted of your layout overall. I see snippets here and there. I'd love to see some wider angles of progress pics!
Quote from: Dave Buchholz on March 27, 2025, 02:56:17 PMDave, got any pics posted of your layout overall. I see snippets here and there. I'd love to see some wider angles of progress pics!
That assumes there's "progress" to show... :-X Mostly the room is a catastrophe. But I'll do some clean-up and take some wide angle shots of the train room in a week or so.
dave
Dave, good job getting plastered and stoned. ;) ;D
Quote from: Rick on March 27, 2025, 07:12:13 PMDave, good job getting plastered and stoned. ;) ;D
:) I was at a geology talk at UNH, and beforehand showed one of the professors those photos. "I was doing stratigraphy today. See, I added these strata." And then we talked a bit about strata and how to portray it. He said, "Some of those gaps between the plastic 'rocks' would make good faults, particularly if you dig them into the hillside a bit and added extra plants." He always gets a kick out of seeing my model geology.
dave
Looks like your off to a good start.
Jerry
Dave,
The shingles look great and the scenery is coming along nicely. I like the idea of the hills behind the area of Lamsons.
Tom
Following along here as you get into the scenery to see what tips I can pick up. Looks like our scenery up here in the Northeast is about the same, you being in New Hampshire and me New York. I've got a bucket of real rocks I'd like to incorporate into my scenery.
Bernd
Quote from: Bernd on March 28, 2025, 09:13:56 AMFollowing along here as you get into the scenery to see what tips I can pick up. Looks like our scenery up here in the Northeast is about the same, you being in New Hampshire and me New York. I've got a bucket of real rocks I'd like to incorporate into my scenery.
Bernd
Well, it depends which part of New York. ;D Once you're west of the Adirondacks, the geology changes a lot from the folded rocks in the mountains to the flatter sedimentary rocks that stretch pretty much from the Appalachians to the Rockies... There's almost no sedimentary rock in NH. It's either granites or similar (hence 'the Granite State') or metamorphic rocks. A lot of that is modified and folded sedimentary rock, so you can see some strata left over, but not those nice long bands of rocks.
But I'm doing more sedimentary rocks on my layout, it's more fun to me to model and it represents the western Pennsylvania side of my notional railroad's geography. There are some other parts where I've done more typical New England rocks (particularly the mill valley with the stone arch bridge.)
dave
Very interesting Dave. We're in the clay here south of Rochester, NY.
Bernd
Quote from: Bernd on March 28, 2025, 06:39:21 PMVery interesting Dave. We're in the clay here south of Rochester, NY.
Bernd
That clay is the remnants of the mountains to the east, weathered and washed out onto the plains.... :-[
dave
Much of the soil cover in Western NY was deposited by glaciers or glacial lakes. It tends to be rich in lime and excellent for agriculture. The sediments are a mix of material brought down from the Canadian shield by the glaciers and that brought over from mountains to the east, as Dave describes. I assume the lime comes from sedimentary formations like the extensive Onondaga (Devonian) and Lockport (Silurian) that underly and crop out across the region south of Lake Ontario, and quarried by Bernd.
Mike
Quote from: Michael Hohn on March 29, 2025, 09:40:19 AMMuch of the soil cover in Western NY was deposited by glaciers or glacial lakes. It tends to be rich in lime and excellent for agriculture. The sediments are a mix of material brought down from the Canadian shield by the glaciers and that brought over from mountains to the east, as Dave describes. I assume the lime comes from sedimentary formations like the extensive Onondaga (Devonian) and Lockport (Silurian) that underly and crop out across the region south of Lake Ontario, and quarried by Bernd.
Mike
Yeah, I forgot about the glacial weathering... (The difference between duffers and people who know what they're actually doing...)
dave
Here's the plaster cloth covered with a layer of tinted wallboard mud. I'm experimenting with dry wallboard mud colored with a combination of concrete tints and regular pigments.
IMG_0693.jpg
The color is really too red-brown, but I'll be painting over this. The important thing is that, if it chips, there won't be white showing through. Next step, after this dries, is to fill in around the plastic "rock castings" with Sculptamold, and then to go over and paint the entire area my actual scenery color. The primary goal for this layer is to seal and hide the seams i the plaster wrap. The 'wallboard mud' is applied mostly with a chip paintbrush, but on occasion I also use a putty knife to work it into some areas where the paintbrush doesn't get the right effect.
I did a bit of an experiment, putting some water on the dried wallboard compound. It does soften, but not as much as the pre-mixed stuff softens. But I'll report on how this works as I apply more water-based scenery. Part of the thing I'm pondering now is "how to make good looking foreground forest canopies."
dave
I mixed up some Celluclay with thinned paint & water, so this is closer to the beige that is my scenery base color. I filled in around the rock sheet edges
IMG_0694.jpg
Now I need to do something else for an hour or so, until the Celluclay reaches that magic starting-to-set state where it's easy to smooth out with your finger....
dave
Nice, Dave. The rock has that metamorphic look.
Mike
Tomorrow I'll prime the rock black. That way the subsequent coats always work on top a layer of shadows.
dave
Howdy Dave,
The 3D effect of the hills looks good. It's a technique I'll remember. Good luck base coating the rocks and hillsides.
Have fun,
mike
Dave, that's starting to look very good.
The area is starting to look good Dave.
Dave.
Great idea to protect your backdrop.
Tom
The rocks are painted black. On the left, the paint has mostly dried. You want absolutely -flat- black for this, and it's important to cover the entire surface. Cheap craft paint works fine.
IMG_0697.jpeg
As the paint dried, I saw a couple spots I'll need to touch up. Then I'll start coloring the rocks.
dave
Interesting. I know you study geology so it's going to be very educational to follow your process on the scenery.
Great build/subject, by the way.
One of the things the geology prof I showed a picture to said, "you can work those slots between the rock faces as faults. Maybe dig in if necessary, add more foilage, and continue strata lines with an offset." I'll try for that "offset strata" effect when I start painting the rock tomorrow.
I'm thinking various shades of brownish grey for the strata colors.
dave
First day with the rocks. The first layer is that Bridgeport Grey, which has a bit (too much) blue in it. I apply that using the 1" nylon brush, moving from left to right. The goal there is to get most of the rock covered, except for the shadows that remain black. Then (while the paint is still wet), I go with the other colors, mixing them into the ice cream cup palette. The 2" bristle brush cut down is my "stratagraphic brush". Before the paint dries, I run that brush parallel to the strata direction (slightly sloped in the rocks behind the paint, leveling out in the other rocks to the right.) This adds texture and grain to the rocks.
IMG_0698.jpeg
And here's the result for today:
IMG_0699.jpeg
I'll do more colors tomorrow, once this has dried. In particular, I'll paint some individual beds of a slightly contrasting color. Right now this looks more granite-y than shale-y, but that should change as I add strata tomorrow.
dave
Excellent job on the "rocks" Dave.
Today I added strata. Now each bed should be parallel and evenly spaced. But frankly that's hard to do. I'm using a 1/4" long bristle nylon brush, which works pretty well for this. I brace the brush on top of my other wrist, to try to draw the brush uniformly along the rock face. Then I'll go back and fill in where the bristles didn't lay down paint in the rock relief. Note I'm trying to simulate faults by having patterns of strata that are offset in the gaps (showing the rock moved along the fault.)
IMG_0702.jpg
Tomorrow, I'll go back, look at the strata and add more if necessary. Then I'll start conventional weathering, mostly brushing downward to catch highlights.
In the meantime, I've ordered some scenery stuff (Scenic Express spring sale :-) ) and I'm pondering how to do the trees along the backdrop and over the deep cut. If you look carefully at the background, you can see a deep cut that goes directly (perpendicular) into the backdrop. And you'll see another valley that goes off to the right towards the other backdrop. What I want is the effect of the track (HOn30 up to the quarry) following the path to the right. I want to construct a 'tree tunnel' over the deep cut so from the viewing angle it doesn't look like a cut, but rather a solid mountain. So I need to figure out how to hold the forest material over the cut, but in a way that I can still get access in case of a derailment.
dave
The magic of dry-brushing!
IMG_0703.jpg
The left side has off-white drybrushing, and shows a lot more relief. It also changes the entire tone of the rock, so it looks less dark.
I'm using a bristle fan brush and "Tapioca" colored paint.
IMG_0705.jpg
I put some paint into an ice cream cup, dip the fan brush lightly into the paint, and then brush off most of the paint (onto the styrofoam in front of the rock...) Then I lightly go over the rock from top to bottom (always in that uniform direction). The challenge is keeping a uniform treatment across the entire rock face. Practice helps... Make sure the brush has very little paint on it, it's easier to add more drybrushing than to remove a blob of white.
dave
Dave,
Looks like Mother Nature has been at work on your rock strata. Well done, looks great.
Tom
The rocks are really coming together Dave.
I like the looks of your strata. Appears more sedimentary now.
Mike
I set the structures in place for a test photo:
IMG_0709.jpg
This might not be the final locations, but it's the general arrangement. Now imagine the hills behind with 'shrubbery'.
dave
Very nice Dave. I like the placement.
Jerry
Neat..... 8)
That placement looks great Dave.
Lookin' good! Impressive structure.
Jeff
The big accomplishment this weekend was finally finishing the dust collection system:
IMG_0715.jpg
(L to R) bandsaw, drill press, mitre saw, dust collector bag.
And I needed this to cut and shape the plug over the hidden track that will have forest canopy on top:
IMG_0714.jpg
I have a bit of fill to do on the plug, then I'll put chicken wire over it so it's sturdy for when I start working the tree canopy.
add: Here's the plug with the cardboard profile on the back and a pair of tree trunks that will eventually be the handles for removing it.
IMG_0716.jpg
I have a bit more work on the front of the plug to set up another profile board, before attaching the chicken wire.
dave
Your workshop is impressive Dave.
Howdy Dave,
Congrats on the completion of your collection system. That's a nice system.
Have fun,
mike
Quote from: PRR Modeler on April 07, 2025, 05:56:42 PMYour workshop is impressive Dave.
That photo is carefully staged so you can't see the REST OF THE MESS in that room! ;D I still need to install the anti-static discharge wire.
dave
After trimming the wood 'plug' over top of the hidden tracks, I glued a profile piece along the back, and then hot-glued some chicken wire over top of the entire plug, overlapping the terrain on either side.
IMG_0718.jpg
The paper balls are mock-ups for the tree canopy, to get a sense of how they'll fill the space. The expectation is that I should be able to glue tree-tops onto the chicken wire, and then fill in on the terrain side with more tree-tops. I still have to figure out how to handle the tree line on the right side.
dave
8) Nice shop!
Hello Dave, the mill scene for your layout is really taking shape. Nice work! And thank you for a look behind the scenes with the view of your shop. Very impressive.
Well, I've been in a bit of a modeling drought. Today, though, I did get some stuff done. In the shop, I mounted 2 pieces of pegboard behind the drill press on either side. Those will hold squares, pencils, drill bits, clamps, etc.
More importantly, I've been reading about and ordering some supplies for tree making. Today I balled up newspaper and spray glued fiber netting to the newspaper balls. Tomorrow I'll glue flocking to that. I'm following this approach: https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/nw-pocahontas-district-making-appalachian-forests-12210896 I also clipped some hydrangea blooms to see if I can make those into trees. I need to spray prime some of the Woodland Scenic pine armatures a more appropriate bark color. Plus I saw yet another mid-detail tree approach from MRH's Jun 2014 issue (gluing twine clippings to armatures) that I might try tomorrow. (Sunday is out, we have another concert in Boston.)
dave
Dave, the structure looks great in that spot.
Nice start on the landscape.
Impressive shop and dust collection.
Quote from: deemery on April 05, 2025, 11:13:54 AMI set the structures in place for a test photo:
IMG_0709.jpg
This might not be the final locations, but it's the general arrangement. Now imagine the hills behind with 'shrubbery'.
dave
Dave,
Lamson fits like a glove in that location. Well done for a large complex.
Tom
Looking like a natural fit, well done.
Jim
Here's a first pass with 'canopy balls':
IMG_0732.jpeg
I like the individual tree sense of each ball. But I need to do a better job covering the newspaper. Now the original approach has the newspaper balls installed on location, and then covered. But I'm not quite thrilled with doing spray glue in the basement here, particularly in a hard-to-reach corner. Also, I think this canopy is too low, it needs to come up an inch or two. Plus I went too far overboard with the light green highlights. I need to tone these overall darker, to match the backdrop better.
Still, it's a reasonable start, and I'm sure I'll work out my technique.
add I'm thinking, "Could I cut the shape of that canopy from my chicken wire, glue the balls to the chicken wire, and then do the canopy that way?"
dave
Hello Dave, I'm sure that you will figure out your tree canopy issues. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished scene.
Well, the contest is over, but work continues. I didn't feel like forestry today, so I worked on the warehouse. This will be a wood clapboard structure, with door spacing for 2 boxcar spots:
IMG_0744.jpg
This is about 75' long, 20' wide and 14.5' tall to the top of the wall (so add about 5' or so for the roof height.)
One thing to complain about in this space: The boiler house at the far right really doesn't have enough space for coal unloading. I'll still plan to spot hoppers there, but will apply Rule 1 about how the coal gets out of the hopper to the boiler house. The laborers will have to shovel it out the far end of the hopper. ;)
add One more thing I started:. Someone (Bill Gill?) suggested the main mill would look better with a taller foundation. After some experiments, I agree. (The main mill is actually sitting on a 3/16" piece of foamcore here.) So I started work on styrene strips to raise the foundation level. I think I can get away with just painting those the foundation grey, rather than carving stonework into them. But I do need to match the profile of the walls, including the slight offset that the ends have.
dave
I was going to start on the warehouse, but I realized that the spur down to the warehouse has a slope. It would look 'funky' if the cars weren't aligned/plumb with the warehouse doors. So I shimmed and built up the track so it's now level with the base of the warehouse.
Pictures tomorrow after I cut and fit the track for that spur.
add Track test-fit.
IMG_0746.jpg
I'll put a couple boxcars in place tomorrow, I might make the warehouse longer.
dave
Dave, those trees look more like the moss covered rocks I see here in Oregon.
The HO club I belonged to used cotton balls spray painted green and then flocking sprinkled on.
Quote from: Rick on April 20, 2025, 05:40:54 PMDave, those trees look more like the moss covered rocks I see here in Oregon.
The HO club I belonged to used cotton balls spray painted green and then flocking sprinkled on.
Part of it is I used WAY too much 'highlight' green. I have some Woodland Scenics "canopy" kits on order, I'll see what they look like. I suspect generically that a mixture of techniques will work out, I just have to find the right mix. :)
dave
This is interesting: I'm considering how long to make the warehouse. So I spotted a pair of cars at the freight doors on the 75' structure. The left boxcar overhangs the end of the structure by a couple of (scale) feet.
IMG_0748.jpeg
OK. But what if I added 10' to the structure so it's past the end of the boxcar? (I slid the structure mock-up to the left, ignoring the right side.)
IMG_0749.jpeg
The building looks substantially more substantial. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
So I'll make that structure probably 80' or 85' long. Now the main factory building looks a bit small by comparison, but there's not much I can do about that. My thought is the brick structures as a whole outweigh the frame warehouse.
But I thought it was worth showing the difference between the two mock-up sizes.
dave
Dave,
I think the addition of the track helps to bring it all together. Looking very good. I really love those structures.
Tom
So, the time in making the warehouse mock up is paying off.
Quote from: Michael Hohn on April 21, 2025, 11:05:58 PMSo, the time in making the warehouse mock up is paying off.
Yeah, I draw the building outline, etc. in a very old version of PowerPoint :P . Those pieces are stuck to the chunk of styrofoam with double-sided tape. A really quick way to mock things up. For the mill area itself (seen back at the beginning of the thread), I scanned the kit's plaster wall pieces and attached the scans to foam core, so I could see how the plaster wall chunks composed as I kit-bashed them.
I think that extra 10' makes the warehouse look substantially bigger.
dave
Good choice extending the building Dave. The scene is really coming together.
Lots of progress on the warehouse. First I measured 2 distances, the length of 2 cars, and most importantly the distance between the door centers across 2 cars. (Don't forget I model 1890s, when 36' was pretty much the standard car length. 34' and 28' were also common in this period, but I wanted to support a pair of 36' cars.)
IMG_0750.jpeg
So 80 scale feet will cover the length of 2 cars, and the center-to-center distance for my cars is 5.5" (actual).
Next I selected doors and windows from my stash of Tichy parts:
IMG_0753.jpeg
I worked out how tall to make the foundation (.020/18"), then calculated the loading door height appropriately. (Loading door height and spacing are the 2 critical dimensions for this project.)
I cut a long piece of scribed siding to 80' scale, used that to cut a piece of blank 1/16 wood to the same length, then ripped them to 14' 6" tall (slightly over 2"). I cut 2 pieces of scribed siding for the ends, taped them together back-to-back, and cut the gables.
On the scribed piece, i worked out window and door spacing:
IMG_0756.jpeg
I put some masking tape on the scribed siding face, flipped this over (remembering that I was working from the REVERSE of the front of the structure. Fortunately this building is basically symmetric, but I've made that mistake on other projects!) Then I cut out the window and door openings, and started doing the sanding and adjustment to get a good fit:
IMG_0758.jpeg
That's where I stopped today. Tomorrow I'll be away for the day, but on Thursday I'll finish the scribed siding part, then start work on the back (which will also get window openings) and the two gable ends.
dave
Nice looking progress Dave.
Howdy Dave, that's a nice structure you are building. The design looks realistic and will complement the scene. Have you decided on a color yet? Have fun, mike
Quote from: friscomike on April 23, 2025, 01:31:19 PMHowdy Dave, that's a nice structure you are building. The design looks realistic and will complement the scene. Have you decided on a color yet? Have fun, mike
Mebbe white on white? I've used that on another warehouse elsewhere on the layout. And I used 2 different brands of white to get some differences between the white siding and the white trim.
White trim on boxcar red would be another prototype choice, but I think that might look funky against the red brick. A third choice might be light grey walls, white windows/trim.
I'll have to decide tomorrow, once I'm done cutting out the windows. Next step would be to paint the walls, and the trim stripwood (corner posts) and window/door castings.
One more thought: I might reverse the location of the door in the frame, so the doors open inside and are located on the inside of the frame wall. The casting sitting on the wall looks kinda funky to me right now, with the door opening inwards but on the outside of the wall.
dave
I finished cutting window/door openings:
IMG_0763.jpg
Then I decided to do a technique I've done before. I treated the clapboard with HunterLine Greige stain. You can see the difference here, raw wood on the right before staining:
IMG_0764.jpg
Now this is sitting under weight overnight. Tomorrow, I'll put white paint (slightly thinned) over this. That should get me a well weathered "whitewash" look. I'll also prep and paint (airbrush) the styrene window/door castings, some styrene strip for framing, and wood corner trim (1/16 x 1/16) pieces.
dave
Howdy Dave,
Nice work keeping all those windows straight. That's a good point about the doors opening outward. I think your approach with frame on the outside with doors opening inward might look more prototypical. White will look great on the structure.
Have fun,
mike
Dave, nice job cutting out all those windows and doors.
I'm using the Micro-Mark thin beam square. That's my favorite Micro-Mark exclusive tool, I have 2 of them (sometimes I use both, mostly it's so I can find one when the other has disappeared... 8) ) I do the cuts across the grain first, then do the with-grain cuts. I put masking tape on the finish side (the clapboards) to help prevent chip-out, that's a trick I learned from the old Campbell kit I built more than 50 years ago!
dave
Looking great Dave!
Progress from the last couple of days....
IMG_0768.jpeg
Walls are painted. Top pieces is thinned white over stain. Bottom piece is thinned paint over raw wood.
Next step is the doors & windows. I also cut trim pieces from strip styrene. These were all soaked in 10% SuperClean, left to dry overnight. I arranged them on double-stick paint on cardboard.
IMG_0769.jpeg
And then I sprayed with Badger white primer. When that dried, I went back over the pieces with Golden fluid Titanium White, my 'default' white paint. I also painted some 1/4" corner pieces to use as bracing. The corner pieces won't be quite as noticeable in the interior as 1/4" square stripwood, but will provide most of the same strength.
IMG_0770.jpeg
I also added bracing to the gable ends (a center post) and the bracing/support for the floor to the long walls.
Next step is to add the painted corner posts to the gable end pieces and then trim along the roofline. I'll add the corner bracing to the 2 long walls. Then I can start to assemble the walls, along with the floor.
IMG_0771.jpeg
You can see those 1/4" corner pieces on the bottom wall, since I moved the weights off for the photo. I need to touch up the paint on the center brace wood, that's the back wall so it would be visible through the windows.
add 4 walls glued together. You can see the different 'white tone' between the walls and the corner trim.
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dave
Dave, your SRMW Lamson build and the new wooden addition looks great ! Tommy
Great looking progress Dave.
Test-fit on location:
IMG_0774.jpeg
And test-fit with the windows. The castings stand out nicely.
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I have trim to add for the outside of the freight doors, but that stuff wouldn't stay in position for the photo. ;D
dave
Howdy Dave,
The warehouse looks perfectly placed to provide more switching on the layout. The structure looks great, too.
Have fun,
mike
Quote from: friscomike on April 28, 2025, 05:19:46 PMHowdy Dave,
The warehouse looks perfectly placed to provide more switching on the layout. The structure looks great, too.
Have fun,
mike
Now I'm no ops expert, but there's 3 concurrent car spots. Left to right: forthcoming raw materials (lumber, etc) loading dock, left loading door, right loading door OR a hopper spotted farther right for coal unloading.
(Of course, this isn't a big enough facility to justify 3 car spots every operating session. Rule 1 is applied to traffic generation.)
I showed the top photo to a geology prof today. He said, "clearly your sediment beds have been subject to some tectonic deformation, which is why the lines aren't perfectly even." :-)
dave
Dave,
You've put some thought into this building and it shows. Having three places to spot cars is a plus for operations.
Mike
Dave are you going to put an viewable interior in the warehouse?
Quote from: PRR Modeler on April 29, 2025, 09:58:04 AMDave are you going to put an viewable interior in the warehouse?
Plan is to leave the loading doors open and put crates inside.
But last night (as I was laying awake in the middle of the night, unfortunately my usual sleep pattern these days), I realized there's no door to put stuff -into- the warehouse from the factory area. So as I work through the final layout of the buildings, I'll have to think about how to fix that. (Where's the "Headbang" emoji???)
dave
Yesterday I did the glazing for the windows. Newer Tichy sets come with glazing, the older sets from my stash of window castings pre-dates that feature. After trying a bunch of ways to produce glazing, here's what I've come up with.
- measure the window opening/glazing size (digital calipers)
- in a program that can draw rectangles and let you set the size (I'm ashamed I'm using an old version of PowerPoint), draw the glazing rectangle. Then add more rectangles, so they share the long edge. I did 20 windows for this project.
- print that out, then tape a piece of clear styrene (I'm using .010), aligning to the top left corner of the row of windows.
- scribe/cut along the long edges of the set of window castings.
- Cut along the bottom of the set of window rectangles. The result is a bunch of hopefully correctly sized rectangles held at the top by the tape. I usually have to do a bit of sanding to get a tight fit. That's OK (although on a large mill building that gets tedious!)
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Now the lack of the doors to move cargo into the warehouse bothered me enough that I 'fixed it'. I started with a pair of the 5-panel (Tichy) doors I used elsewhere. I trimmed the top of the framing (in part because the door frame is slightly shorter than the top of the window opening, a layout mistake) and cut left and right side from the framing. Then I carefully glued a new .020 x .080 styrene header to the top of the pair of frames and touched some glue along the bottom.
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Finally, I marked and cut the opening for the door. I worked from the inside so the wall would lie flat on the workbench.
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Then after some trimming and sanding, a test fit (from the outside, but the door frame will actually be on the inside.)
IMG_0781.jpeg
So I'll paint the frame and doors, and then glue them into position, along with the other windows and doors.
add A look at the new door opening. A key attraction of the Lamson & Goodnow prototype was the covered walkways. I'll do one from the main mill (covering those 2 windows) to the new door opening in the warehouse.
IMG_0782.jpeg
dave
Windows, some doors added, and roof temporarily set in place:
IMG_0783.jpeg
And a look at the whole complex:
IMG_0784.jpeg
The warehouse will actually sit up a bit higher, I need to add the brick foundation.
dave
Looking good Dave..... 8)
A quick foundation. I measured the depth I needed to add to the building (about .250). Then I dug out some wider styrene strip (.125 x .375) and placed that wider strip on the floor bracing. I cut pieces to length, glued them together to form the foundation box. Then I measured how much more I needed to add to get to the .250 exposure for the foundation. I glued styrene strips on top of the box to achieve the correct exposure.
IMG_0788.jpeg
Next I cut some N Scale Architect (HO) brick sheets a bit wider than the .250 exposure. I glued those into position with the foundation box resting on the model, so the brick was snug against the bottom edge of the clapboard siding. I trimmed that, producing a brick foundation.
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Finally I painted that my standard brick color (Vallejo German Red-Brown primer).
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So now the building has its foundation. Next step will be the roof shingles.
dave
Howdy Dave,
The foundation looks perfect. It adds even more realism to the warehouse. The freight door framing sets off the doors. Nice inclusion of the flat car next to a door.
Have fun,
mike
Quote from: friscomike on May 02, 2025, 08:53:13 PMHowdy Dave,
The foundation looks perfect. It adds even more realism to the warehouse. The freight door framing sets off the doors. Nice inclusion of the flat car next to a door.
Have fun,
mike
I used the flat car to check the door height. Obviously, I can't see through a boxcar :o First, though, I verified that flat car's floor height matched my boxcars. (That flat is definitely a 'foobie', it's too wide among other things. But that makes it a good clearance car. )
dave
Perfect fit Dave.
Nice work.
Roofing day:
IMG_0792.jpeg
It's just set into position. I need to glue the roof support bracing (gable-shaped) and add the ridgepole.
dave
Great work Dave, neat addition to the scene..... 8)
I assembled the roof (adding the interior gable braces), added the open doors, the ridgepole, and a bit of light grey mortar wash on the brick foundation.
IMG_0797.jpeg
I'll dig out some crates and cartons to add inside, but the warehouse is basically done.
There's still stuff to add to the scene, including covered walkways, the coal bin in front of the boilerhouse, the loading dock for raw materials (lumber, etc), and of course scenery. Another month or two, this would be ready for the winter challenge...
dave
Howdy Dave,
The waterhouse looks great and complements the scene. Nice work on the shingles. The doors and brick wash add a lot to the structure.
What's next?
Have fun,
mike
Dave, nice work on designing and building the warehouse.
Save nice work. With the details added this will be a great looking scene.
Jerry
Dave,
Coming along nicely.
Tom
Everything looks great Dave.
Quote from: friscomike on May 04, 2025, 05:51:15 PMHowdy Dave,
The waterhouse looks great and complements the scene. Nice work on the shingles. The doors and brick wash add a lot to the structure.
What's next?
Have fun,
mike
Besides the details I mentioned above, I need to actually install the track. Right now that's just floating in place. I also need to install the switch machine underneath the turnout just off the photo to the left connecting this spur to the main line.
dave