As I never completed last year's build ( :-[ ), I will build something much smaller for this challenger. I have a need for a couple of interlocking towers on the layout. The first could be across the CB&Q/Rock Island diamonds. Orientation depends on which RR the tower belongs to. I'm using this CB&Q tower as a stand in.
Jeff
The other site is here. I have an F&SM station I built forty years ago that may or may not go at this site. However, I'm going to paint the tower to match the station (I can always use it at the other site as well).
Jeff
The kit is a Laserkit from American Model Builders. It has the usual laser cut walls and parts. Pre cut windows (hurray!). Only one detail part, a chimney stack. I'll use the kit instructions. It hopefully will be a pretty straight forward build. (I think I've thought that before ;D).
Jeff
I read through the instructions twice so as not to have "surprises" later, though I'm sure they will show up. First, I lightly sand the edges of the walls to true them up. Just enough to remove the burn mark.
Jeff
Next I cut three foot marks on the walls for future nail holes and board edges. I'll add the nail holes and more cuts after the paint is on (so it doesn't fill in the holes). Paint wise, the station is Floquil Depot Buff and Roof Brown, so I'll use the same colors. the originals were solvent Floquil and this will have Polly scale, if the bottles are still good.
Jeff
The kit has no (and no instructions for) bracing. !!!!! I know the walls will Warp Factor 9 when they are stained, so I aggressively braced them. There is an internal floor which will help square the building, but interrupts the bracing. I first drew lines where the floor would go so I didn't brace into the floor. Then the roof sits on top of the structure, with attachment piece just inside the building, so I marked that as well. For wall bracing above the floor, the large windows meant I needed smaller corner braces.
Jeff
After all the bracing, I used Hunterline Light Gray stain on the walls. Vetero Dark Rust was used for the floor. The building won't be very weathered as the station isn't. As the layout represents approx 1950, railroads (even the Rock Island) took some pride in their structures appearance. After drying, there wasn't a lot of warping, so all the bracing helped.
Jeff
I forgot, I did do a test fitting of the walls before staining. everything fit (the lower right corner is just loose, it does fit).
Jeff
Jeff, have fun with the build and good luck in the contest.
I don't plan an interior (again, keeping it simple), and roof is meant to be removable, so I could add one in the future if desired, but needed some type of painting. Looking on line, tans, light greens and whites seemed to be typical colors, so I used Vallejo Buff. I also wanted to see how close it was to the Floquil Depot Buff. Similar, but no really close.
The detail pieces are "peel and stick", which I'm not a huge fan of. we'll see how it goes. I'm going to pre build the windows and airbrush them as they look fragile and I want to make sure the visible edges get painted (versus painting them on their sheet). That's up next.
Jeff
Thanks, Rick. I'm not looking to win anything, I just need to get some inertia moving to get back to working on the layout.
Jeff
I'm following along as well, Jeff!
It's always a sad day when we run out of a favored Floquil color and have to flip over to PollyScale (hoping the contents of that bottle are still good).
I need to catch up on all the other builds that are going on.
Jeff you're off to a great start. I really like the buildings and detailing on the 2nd photo, top left.
Good start, Jeff.
Momentum is always good - free 3D castings is even better!
Cheers, Mark.
Jeff your off to a good start.
I'll be watching as you go along.
Jerry
Jeff,
Great start and the roof being removable is a good idea.
This is the structure I chose for my challenge build as well and have also made the roof removable. I have started the kit and loaded the photos but haven't posted it yet.
I'll be following along on this.
Tom
Hi, Bob. Yes, over the years I've slowly been losing the Floquils, but I do like the Vallejo colors as well.
Jeff
Thanks for looking in, Larry. Some of the structures are slated for spots on the one area I'm finishing on the layout. The others are shelf orphans for now.
Jeff
Yea, Mark. Free stuff is always good. Glad to have you along for the ride.
Jeff
Hi, Jerry. Yeah, it's a start. Hopefully I can keep it moving and compete this on time.
Jeff
Tom, I'm sure your work will be far superior to mine. You'll probably have working levers/interlocking. Maybe we should combine the builds and make a book about it.
Jeff
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on January 21, 2026, 03:45:26 PMTom, I'm sure your work will be far superior to mine. You'll probably have working levers/interlocking. Maybe we should combine the builds and make a book about it.
Jeff
Well you sure picked a great book! For the project!!
Jerry
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on January 21, 2026, 03:45:26 PMTom, I'm sure your work will be far superior to mine. You'll probably have working levers/interlocking. Maybe we should combine the builds and make a book about it.
Jeff
Jeff,
Thanks, but don't sell yourself short. Your FSM Jefferies build was wonderful. Very well done.
I'll follow you and you can follow me, if I ever get the thread going. 8) I've read the Lord of the Rings books four times over the past 40 years. We can call our book,
Lords of the Build Challenge!Tom
Great looking progress Jeff.
Howdy Jeff, the two towers are going to be a fun project. Good luck and have fun, mike
Jeff,
I hear your pain about not completing a build. ;D
I will be following you on this. God speed.
Rich
Jeff,
You are off to a great start, I'm looking forward to this build.
Thanks for looking in, guys.
Again the windows/trim are peel and stick, and I'm not a fan, but we'll see how it goes. I have a grain elevator I built 20 years ago that I think was from this company and it's still together, so maybe it'll be OK. My main problem is peeling the paper off the glue side. I can't seem to do it with a finger or fingernail, so I use an xacto knife to try to get between the layers. Sometimes this makes the paper get half torn off, and sometimes the glue comes off.
I peel the paper off the first piece. Just lift a corner on the next piece (otherwise it sticks to me), and then attach it. Peel that piece off to place the final piece. I leave the paper on that as I'm going to put it on painter's tape to airbrush it and it would then be too stuck to the tape.
Managed to get all the windows put together.
Jeff
It helps to use a roller or even paint bottle to roll over the back of the press-and-stick stuff while the backer sheet is still on. But yeah, I know what you mean about the adhesive peeling off instead of the backer sheet.
dave
Thanks, Dave. I'll try that next time. Here are the parts that need the roof brown paint. I hope I haven't missed any. Another issue with the peel and stick is the "sticky side" of the steps will need painting. I'm not sure how that will go. The stairs need to be "built in place". I may just have brush paint the bottoms after they're assembled. I'll see how the paint works on the back of the carrier sheet. Both the colors are usable, so off to the airbrush booth.
Jeff
Mixed the Polly Scale with water, 50/50 or so with a couple of drops of airbrush Flo Aid. did two coats. Forgot to mention, I didn't leave on the carrier sheet so I could paint all the edges. Only spilled a little paint on myself.
I have a new Grex Airbrush which the sales guy at the Narrow Gauge Convention stated didn't really need a "total break down cleaning" very often. We'll see if it works.
They came out OK.
Jeff
I also put a coat of the Depot Buff on the siding. Used a wide brush and occasionally dipped the tip of the brush in water to more evenly spread the paint. They look a little rougher than the picture shows and may need a second coat. I'll compare them to the station and see.
Unfortunately, I was worried the Roof Brown wasn't dark enough and the trim piece shows this to be the case. I'll see if I have a darker brown in the Vallejo set. I must have used a different brown on the station, or maybe this brown is lighter than the original Floquil solvent paint.
Jeff
Jeff looks like you're off to a good start. Hope the railing aren't as fragile as they look.
Jeff,
Very nice spray job and window construction.
Tom
Jeff, glad you were able to get the windows together.
How do you like the airbrush?
Hope you find a darker brown.
Howdy Jeff,
I concur with the peel-n-stick stuff. It's always a challenge. Hope you like the airbrush. You might be able to darken the paint with pigments.
Have fun,
mike
Jeff chocolate brown is a good trim color with buff. Good progress so far.
Larry, they do look very fragile, I'm sure I'll manage to break one somewhere along the line.
Jeff
Thanks, Tom. The airbrushing went well, except for the color issue. I'm more concerned with the window installation in the siding. There's not a lot of contact point for attaching them. We'll see how it goes.
Jeff
Rick, the airbrush worked great. It's a GREX model. it has a pistol grip trigger instead of one on top like my Iwata. It's much easier to control the paint flow. We'll see how it works today as I didn't do a "tear down" cleaning after using it yesterday.
Jeff
Howdy, Mike.
I think I'll just overpaint the trim instead of trying to use pigments. I may not have a good color match and usually end up making a mess with them, though I could try the pigment/alcohol "painting" method.
Jeff
Thanks for watching, Curt. I have several dark browns here with the Vallejo paints. Chocolate brown is one of them, hopefully a closer match.
Jeff
Jeff,
I never had much luck with the "peel & stick" over time so I always add a bit of thin ACC to reinforce the glue joint. The build is coming along nicely, hope you get the colour issue figured out easily.
I put this one together about 16 years ago Jeff and was happy with the results.
Have fun and i'll be looking in..... :)
Nice progress, Jeff.
I'm watching with interest.
Cheers, Mark.
Thanks for looking in, Greg and Mark.
Ron, thanks. I think I got the color figured out. Tried five different Vallejo colors and a Delta Ceramcoat as well. Of course the Delta was the closest match. It's the one on the stringer next to the cigar sign. I did a second coat of the Depot Buff on the sides and will add a third to more closely match the station.
Also a picture of the Grex airbrush. I will brush paint the Delta paint. I have airbrushed some of these in the past, but they have to be so thin they get kinda watery for me and don't cover well.
Jeff
Jeff,
You're using a classic pair of colors. They always look historically-appropriate and railroady.
Mike
Jeff picking color combinations is almost an art form trying to get the correct match with what you have in mind. Nice looking airbrush.
Thanks, Mike. The station is painted per George Sellios' instructions, it's an FSM kit. The first I bought way back when.
Jeff
Larry, when I build a structure, I always overthink the color scheme. I usually go with what the manufacturer used, unless it's a CB&Q structure, then I use appropriate company colors. I tried to find Rock Island colors, and they used a buff and brown/maroon color scheme, which is similar to this. I did want to make it match the station if they end up being "paired" on the layout.
Jeff
Jeff,
What are the CB&Q colors. Are they the same as the challenge build?
Tom
They are "Bronze Green" and "Indian Red", like on the tower I used as a placeholder example.
Jeff
Jeff nice looking little build; should look great on your layout.
Jeff very nice modeling.
Jeff great job!
Jerry
Nice!
Thanks, guys. I built that tower a few years ago. I have another kit for it to use in another spot on the layout.
I'm doing things in a different order than the instructions note. They have you assemble the tower first. I wanted to do most of the work with the sides flat on the work bench. First I added some board cuts and nail holes. I have a tool I think from England to make the nail holes. they are finer than the usual pounce wheels. I then use the "Monster Nailer" to make two holes on each side of the board cuts. I didn't lift or remove any boards as the tower is well maintained.
Jeff
I then added the window frames. I will then use an oil paint/thinner dark wash over everything. Doing this before putting in the window glass will make sure I don't stain the glass by accident. It will then be easier to add the glass when the pieces are flat on the bench, versus the sides being together. I did use a small amount of Elmer's glue (the Titebond sets up too fast) inside the window frames as some of the sticky side stuff came off on the tape when I removed them.
Jeff
Great looking progress Jeff. It's a smart idea to do the glass before assembling the walls.
Nice colours, Jeff.
Looking good.
Cheers, Mark.
Jeff I agree with the others; nice color combo.
Howdy Jeff,
The kit is looking great. Those colors really go well together.
I love the nail hole tool and wish I had one just like it for O scale.
Have fun,
mike
Thanks for the compliments, gentlemen.
I no longer use A&I wash as I've had it lift some of the acrylics when applied. I now use oil paint with mineral spirits. I used a black wash on the walls and trim. A very light wash as I just wanted a bit of aging and to tone down the walls, along with showing the nail holes/board breaks. It worked great on the depot buff, but the brown trim still looked very stark and monotone. It shows better in person than the pictures.
Jeff
I sprayed dullcoat before using the wash, again not to lift the paint (though I have less issue with the mineral spirits doing this than the alcohol). I used a light gray wash and, well, it didn't go well. I thought I'd applied a light coat, but it was too much and trying to remove it with just thinner, didn't seem to help. I wonder if the dullcoat and spirits interacted. At any rate, I'll be repainting the brown today.
I'll try a thin "wash" to see if it gets to what I want, if not just repaint them all. Maybe some light powder weathering afterwards.
Jeff
Hi Jeff;
Glad I was finally able to hop in and catch up with your project. As always great work!. I am intrigued by the oil based wash as I've only done the India Black Alcohol as well as Hunter stains. I am going to have to try it out. I like airbrushing and will have to look into the one you are using now. Thanks for the great ideas.
Jim
Good to see you, Jim.
I did repaint (more a wash) of the brown trim. It still has a hint of the gray, closer to what I originally wanted. Looking at it against the station, it's a little more weathered, but OK.
Started putting in the windows. They are pre cut, which I really like, but getting the paper off them is a bit of a pain. Here's a pic of the tools needed.
I cut out the desired window (only a couple of tabs) with the Xacto knife, which is then CAREFULLY used to lift a corner of the paper. The window is then cleaned with glasses cleaner and a microfiber cloth. Then attached to a suction device to hold it for placement. I then remove the paper from the back of the window frame, apply a TINY amount of Micro Kristal Klear with a pointed stick (I don't trust the window adhesive to hold). Then using the suction device, place it, release the suction and put some weights on the window until it cures. Don't add too much weight, you don't want the window to fall out.
Did half of them and need a break.
Jeff
I decided to add shades inside the windows. This was common on several towers I saw online. I thought green or a tan color might work. I have these color sheets to test. I wish I'd indicated what colors the unmarked greens were on the sheet. The ivory was too white and the buff (the same color I painted the interior) seemed too light as well. I used the German Uniform green.
Jeff
Originally I used some heavy paper and painted it, but it curled. Trying to flatten it out made marks, so I went back to using a manila folder and painting the edge. I cut the shades for two of the walls individually for each window. As they are all lined up, I cut the other two walls as a single piece, using the window carrier sheet as a guide to size.
Jeff
Of course this led to the edges possibly being seen and so I needed to paint them as well. Used this dandy clip set to hold them. My phone gave me a warning I hadn't seen before. "Clean the camera lens". I tried. I even took it out of it's case. The case covers the lens and over the 2.5 years I've had the phone, it's getting a bit beat up. I thought some of the recent pictures were a little fuzzy. I've ordered a new case.
Jeff
Glued them from the back with a slight amount of weight on them.
Jeff
Finally , it was time to glue the walls together. started with two and thought I could add the other two, but one didn't seem to fit, so after the three of them dried, I scraped off any residual glue on the fourth piece and tried it again, and it fit. The center floor and the top piece made it square easily. The top piece isn't glued in place.
Jeff
Taking off the clamps came the moment of truth. It looks like a building! Placing it on the layout, you can kinda see inside, but as it's dark, I think skipping detailing the interior won't make any difference. It wouldn't end up looking as nice as Tom's anyway. :)
Jeff
Cool. I'm on board with this one. Looks great so far.
Jeff that is coming along nicely.
Jerry
The tower looks very good Jeff. Is the coloring for a specific RR or generic?
Jeff, nice to see all the progress you're making.
It's looking very good.
Howdy Jeff,
The tower is looking very good. You can never have too many clamps.
Have fun,
mike
Thanks, guys.
Curt, it is painted to match an FSM station that I built many years ago. One of my interchange railroads, the Rock Island, had some in buff with brown/maroon trim, so it could be used for that as well.
True about the clamps, Mike.
Jeff
Jeff good looking building; should be a nice addition to your layout.
Jeff,
Very nicely done and looks great.
Tom
Jeff great looking tower and really like the paint colors and weathering.
Jeff,
Great progress on the tower build.
Nice work and the color is great!
Thanks for the kind words, gentlemen.
It's been 2 1/2 weeks (I was out of town for eight of them), and some progress has been made. The trim pieces were added. Very slowly. The "Peel and stick" mostly just peeled from them, the glue stuck to the paper, not the wood. So each piece was glued on and weighted 'til it set up.
Jeff
The stairs were next. The pieces had to have some paint removed by gentle sanding so they'd fit together. Test fitted the pieces together and then glued them on.
Jeff
While this dried, the roof was put together. As Tom noted on his build the hole for the stack needs some work.
Jeff
Today, I put on the steps. I decided not to do the peel and stick and just painted over the paper. There are some "notched" stairs where the railings will go. A couple of the stairs needed shortening where they came up against the trim. On one of these, the paint wrinkled and came off. I'll paint this one and touch up a few other places after this cures.
Jeff
On Peel-and-stick: Before you cut the pieces out, run a small roller over the back to press the 'stick' more firmly into the piece. A wallpaper seam roller works great for this.
dave
Jeff nice work on those stairs.
Jerry
Nice work on the trim and stairs.
Jeff,
Stairs are not easy to do. You've done a fine job.
Mike
Dave, that's an interesting thought. I will try it next time. I do fear it may make the paper even harder to remove as it's difficult to get a "raised edge" to peel the paper off.
Jeff
Thanks, Jerry, Rick, and Mike. The stairs were slightly finicky.
Jeff
Hurray! The kit is finished. Here's the final steps.
I broke two of the railings when removing them from the painter's tape. The one repaired easily, the one that goes on the platform did not. It was impossible to get it to fit as it broke twice again. I decided to make a new railing. I used scale 3x3 lumber and it's very slightly larger than the original. As the piece is shaped like an "F", I first glued the vertical post in place. I needed to enlarge the opening slightly.
Jeff
To do the top horizonal post, I found a piece of wood that was the size needed to balance it in place.
Jeff
Jeff,
This is coming together nicely.
Tom
The lower post was more of a challenge, I sanded down a stripwood piece to just fit under the other railing's lower bar. I'm surprised I didn't break the railing doing this.
Jeff
Then glued a small cross member on it so I could guide the remaining bar into place. It wasn't easy, but it worked. I've slid the guide back out.
Jeff
It ain't perfect, but it'll do.
Jeff
I didn't want to use the roof paper as again, it was tough getting it to come off the backing. I used some tarpaper I had on hand, I don't know who the manufacturer was, and used the given pieces as a template to cut them. They were installed over 3M adhesive tape product.
Jeff
Thanks, Tom, you managed to sneak in there. I should have attached the railings before gluing the platform on like you did, but I thought I'd break them (which I did anyway).
Jeff
Painted the stack and inserted it. Did a light brushing of pastels over the roof, most of which disappeared with some Dullcoat, but that's OK. This will be handled a lot before it's put in it's final destination on the layout.
As it has no permanent home yet, i didn't want to build/scenic a base, so I used a base from when I was experimenting with materials. It has some scenic express, woodland scenics, and other company scenery materials. It's "floating" as it's not attached.
I can't believe I actually completed this in a little over a month. And I was out of town for eight days. A fun little kit, would be better with stronger railings and without the peel and stick stuff.
Jeff
Nice job, Jeff! That's going to look good on the empire.
You're finishing up and I'm just getting started on my challenge build. ::)
Thats a fine looking structure.
Thanks, Bob. You work much faster than I do, so you'll finish in plenty of time.
Jeff
Thank you, Karl.
Jeff
Jeff, congratulations on finishing an outstanding looking model.
Thanks, Rick. It's not perfect, but it did turn out well.
Jeff
8) Good en!
Great work Jeff.....well done..... 8)
Thank you, Philip and Greg.
Jeff
Nice work Jeff. I remember when this kit came out. It was my first build of a wood kit. Mark
Howdy Jeff, nice work with the tower. You gotta love transfer adhesive for roofing. Have fun, mike
Jeff that turned out to be a wonderful looking model. Great work.
Jerry
Thanks, Mark. I should go find my first wood kit. A Campbell kit. Hope my work and techniques are better now than 40 years ago.
Jeff
Thanks, Mike. Yes, the transfer tape works great for roofing. It's the only way I even try to put on Campbell shingles.
Jeff
Thanks for the kind words, Jerry.
Jeff
Jeff,
Great job on the build, It was great to see how you and Tom takes on the tower.
Thank you, Ron. Tom's has the cool interior. I'm too lazy (and have too much else to do) for that extra work.
Jeff