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Forum Boards => Kit Building => Topic started by: MartyO on April 01, 2021, 02:02:19 PM

Title: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 01, 2021, 02:02:19 PM
Hi folks,

I am finally starting the Engine Shed (Engine House) after buying it used a couple FineScale Expos ago. (Hmm, the good old days.)

The kit is a plaster based kit that came with lots of parts and instructions. The kit was fit produced in 1993 so its building technique are a bit dated. As I usually do is modify the kit to todays standards and give it that bit of extra kick to make it shine. This thread will take you through the highlights of the journey avoiding all the mundane work. It is going to be fun.

Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: GPdemayo on April 01, 2021, 02:38:29 PM
Good looking engine house Marty.....I'll be looking in on this one.  :)
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: deemery on April 01, 2021, 02:43:08 PM
Micro-Scale kits have a pretty good reputation, it'll be fun to see how this comes along.


dave
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: ReadingBob on April 01, 2021, 03:32:51 PM
I'm on board for this one too Marty.  Looking forward to it.  ;)
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: postalkarl on April 01, 2021, 05:24:29 PM
Hey Marty:

I shall be watching. I know the manufacturer very well.

Karl
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: tom.boyd.125 on April 02, 2021, 10:49:42 AM
Marty,
Will follow along on your engine house build.
Several kits we ordered from Don Reed a while back from his website...and when the box was received he added a large package of free shingles !
Great customer service...
Tommy
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 02, 2021, 12:56:58 PM
Morning,

I spent a bit of time looking for other examples of the two stall engine house and did not find any to compare mine to. So I think I will be going just from the instructions (below) an my imagination of how it would look on my diorama.

Marty
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: nycjeff on April 02, 2021, 09:31:32 PM
Hey Marty, I love small engine houses and am looking forward to how yours turns out.    Jeff
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 03, 2021, 09:19:41 PM
Hi all.

Here is my first pass at colouring the side walls of the Engine House. I am going for the "sandstone" look of the structure just to be a bit different on the diorama. The normal greys, browns and reds tend to get over used.

The colours are the Ochre tones of colours to give the brickwork a "orangish" tone. The foundation wall is coloured more with the dark brown and India ink washes. I suspect the colours will drift over time as I work on the gable end walls.

Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: GPdemayo on April 04, 2021, 09:17:42 AM
Excellent choice for the brick color Marty..... 8)
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: postalkarl on April 04, 2021, 07:56:05 PM
Hey Marty:

Your first wall looks great. Can't wait to see more.

Karl
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: ACL1504 on April 04, 2021, 08:25:31 PM
Marty,

I like the color for the wall. I'll be watching this one come together.

Tom  ;D
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 04, 2021, 10:20:26 PM
Thanks guys for the comments.

It took a while for me to get used to the colour and I like it.

As you or may not know me by now; I have this urge to do the interiors of structures and add lighting to add to the realism of the scene. This Engine House kit assumed there would not be an interior, except a couple small details. The interior of the wall are just flat plaster (a result of the casting process) without any detailing. So I took on the effort of carving the foundation rocks and the block walls with sandstone size blocks.

I first scored in the wall blocks and then started with the foundation rocks ...

I first sketched the rocks with a pencil and used various tools to carve the rocks.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 04, 2021, 10:25:33 PM
You can see from the photo that the upper wall is not carved and is quite bland while the bottom wall has some interest.

In the first photo the closeup gives a better view of how it turned out.

I think the windows will be next on the agenda.

Bye for now
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: Oldguy on April 05, 2021, 09:46:13 AM
Very well done.  Very well done.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: postalkarl on April 05, 2021, 09:54:27 AM
Hey Marty:

Looking good my friend. Keep up the good work .

Karl
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 06, 2021, 11:56:50 AM
It is now the time to get the windows in place.

Since the windows are going to be seen from the inside, so I did my trick of gluing two identical window together back to back with dirty'd acetate in the middle. The windows are CA'd in place after cleaning up all flash from the walls and window frames.

From the first photo below you can see them in place. The one thing that stands out in the photo is how bad the foundation rocks are carved. There are too many scratches on each block and tend to stand out too much.

In the second photo I sanded down the foundation (outer wall side only) to reduce the scratches/groves on the rocks and carved in the mortar lines a bit deeper and chipped each rock to give it more depth. The colours are sightly drifting at this time but I am sure it will all come together in the end.

I think it is time that I tackled the gable-end walls.

Until the next post.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: nycjeff on April 06, 2021, 03:42:29 PM
Hello Marty, great job on the interior walls and I like your idea of using back to back windows for a more realistic look.   Jeff
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 06, 2021, 07:33:02 PM
Quote from: nycjeff on April 06, 2021, 03:42:29 PM
Hello Marty, great job on the interior walls and I like your idea of using back to back windows for a more realistic look.   Jeff

If you do this trick make sure you sand flat the back of each window frame. This will allow it to lie flat and avoid shadow lines in the window.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 08, 2021, 12:19:21 PM
I have been experimenting with the colour of the inside of the walls to see what it could look like. The photo give a look at what I got so far.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: deemery on April 08, 2021, 02:28:17 PM
I wonder if they'd whitewash those walls on the inside.  Roundhouses would be pretty dark places, and dark walls would definitely not help visibility...


dave
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 10, 2021, 02:00:21 PM
Quote from: deemery on April 08, 2021, 02:28:17 PM
I wonder if they'd whitewash those walls on the inside.  Roundhouses would be pretty dark places, and dark walls would definitely not help visibility...


dave

I think you have a point, I will eventually mock it up and see how it looks, then make colour adjustments as needed.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 10, 2021, 02:11:05 PM
Now that the walls is a reasonable shape, it is time to work on the end walls. These were challenging to get right and I think there is much more work to be done to get them "perfect".

So here is the picture story of my trials and struggles.



First I just removed a bit of flash and coloured them with Gold Ochre chalks as a starting point. So of getting the feel of what the structure should look like.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135635-487672053.jpeg)


I then turn the end wall over and began to investigate how to handle the back of each wall. It was flat and it would not look right that way.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135635-4876812.jpeg)



I sketched and carved out the door opening blocks first, then sanded lower all the rest of the wall to reveal the block I carved. Then I filled in the remaining parts of the wall with that "sandstone" blocks.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135635-48769149.jpeg)



I then experimented with colouring the rear of the walls. Base of Gold Ochre, brown stain, Black ink and some darker chalk. It is not too bad, but ...
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135635-4877052.jpeg)

That is enough for this post. More to come ...
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 10, 2021, 02:21:39 PM
I continue ...

The front end wall looks too boring, don't you think?
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135635-48771356.jpeg)


There is too little going on in the upper wall, and those blocks have too many scratches in them. Hmm, I wonder what to do?
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135711-48772781.jpeg)


Yup! Sand down the stone ridges, cut in a round window and fill in the gaps around the window with HydroCal (more on this later.)
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135711-487731056.jpeg)


Drilling, carving and fitting the round window is not something you ever want to do and if you do there will be chipped and broken areas in the back of the wall. So guess what? I filled it back up with HydroCal. The round window is still temporarily installed, but has masking tape on the back (green stuff). When the HydroCal cured I could have a mulligan and re-do the back part of the window.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135712-4877439.jpeg)


The front is looking better. The window is install, but the masons would have put blocks around the window like they did for the door openings.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135712-487752099.jpeg)


Here is a closer look to see how it just does not look right yet.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135712-48776424.jpeg)


You will have wait for the next post to see what it looks like.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 10, 2021, 02:35:35 PM
I then started to play around with the colours of the walls to see what could be done.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135742-487771681.jpeg)


I re-carved the blocks for the back wall also.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135742-48778953.jpeg)


This is where my small little mind began to explode!!! It has to do with the interior of the building. I particle how the roof would be designed and made considering the work that would be done in the Engine House. Things like would they have cranes to remove parts, what kind, Gantry, beam? would there be water to fill the engines, machine shop tools. This is a small engine house. And remember I want to be able to remove the roof and have a roof that has style.

So what have I done in the photo below? I changes the kit roof design by having NOT sit on the concrete looking strip on the edge of the end walls, but fit behind the end wall, This way you will not see the edge of the roof and add some variation in the roof line. To make this realistic, I had to fill in the mortar line to buildup the concrete cap to look like a concrete cap.  You will get a better picture when I build the roof. (yes, the plaster is brittle, but can easily by re-glued with CA and some HydroCal filler.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135742-487791779.jpeg)


There I go again carving the back of the end wall to form out the concrete cap. And some of the tools I used to make it all happen.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135742-487801906.jpeg)


Opps, I still have to show you what I did with the window. That is in the next post --- really!

Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 10, 2021, 02:47:09 PM
So as promised,

Yes, I just built up the window edges with HydroCal and waited for it to cure. (and the concrete cap fill-in trick)
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135742-48781265.jpeg)


The front gets the same HydroCal fill in trick.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135806-48782855.jpeg)


After a bit of carving this is how the back of the front wall looks like. (Notice the lightness of the window surround, this is because the HydroCall I have is a different type that was used in 1993 to cat this kit. Wouldn't you know things change. eheh.)
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135806-48783570.jpeg)



Here is a good example of the effect of the new HydroCal not absorbing the stains the same way.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135806-487842228.jpeg)



Ok, back to the back end wall. the Concrete cap is completed and adds that little bit of age and interest to the wall.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135806-487851158.jpeg)



So here is how the exterior of the end walls turned out. Pretty F*&^^ amazing! That light coloured open chalk (Burnt Sienna 411.9) gave the wall that "Orangish" tones of the side walls to help blend the exterior colours together
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-100421135806-48786345.jpeg)


Now I can start woking on the Engine House base, oh what fun that will be. See you on the next post.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: ACL1504 on April 10, 2021, 03:08:43 PM
Marty,

Great job on "kit bashing" the end wall, very interesting. Well done.

Tom  ;D
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: Mark Dalrymple on April 10, 2021, 03:11:15 PM
Great work you are doing there, Marty.

Its really coming together nicely.

Cheers, Mark.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: postalkarl on April 10, 2021, 04:42:26 PM
Hey Marty:

Looking good. Can't wait for more.

Karl
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: nycjeff on April 10, 2021, 09:34:48 PM
Hello Marty, great work on the interior walls, can't wait to see what's next.    Jeff
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 11, 2021, 12:29:31 PM
Morning,

It is great to see that you like what I have done so far. I hope the rest of the build will go as well.

Next posts will outline how the structure base is going. I hope you like it.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 11, 2021, 01:03:01 PM
The base is also plaster about 1/2" thick to look like concrete. It has two inspection pits surrounded by walkways made from cast wood planking. Based on this assumption, this is a few photos of how I have handled it so far.


The base was stained with a coat of India ink stain, then burnt umber chalks and blended with a stiff brush. This set the tone of a well used old Engine House.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-110421124324-48800670.jpeg)


I then cut in expansion joints for the main walking areas of the base. Very fine cracks were then lightly scratched in and brushed in to match the colours of the rest of the concrete.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-110421124325-48803611.jpeg)



The inspection pits were made a bit more dirty than the floor level as stuff would have been kicked in the pits.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-110421124325-488021854.jpeg)



The next part was a bit of a bother for me. I wanted to add conduit for lights in the pit, but the pre-wired SMC 603 Warm LEDs were too thick for HO scale 1" conduit. So I decided to carve a grove into the sidewall of the inspection pits to embed the AWG 30 wire from the LEDs. A hole was drilled through the base to run the wires under the bas to the NCE Light-it modules.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-110421124325-488041696.jpeg)


There is no easy way to fasten the SMC 603 LEDs to the plaster base. I tried to epoxy them, but it looked terrible so I reverted to using quick drying CA. It does stain/cover the chalked walls , but scraping the excess glue down to the plaster and re-staining make the LED fixing near invisible.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-110421124325-488051099.jpeg)


More in the next post.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 11, 2021, 01:13:23 PM
How to deal with those LED wires was a bit of worry for me. 

So out came the epoxy and the LED wires were laid flat and dressed together by inspection pit and sent toward where I will be putting the multiple NCE Light-it models.

Speaking of the Light-it modules they can handle a maximum of 30 mA over three LED connections. The Warm light SMC 603 LEDS take 10-20 mA each. Since a inspection pit has four (4) LEDs that is I will need two (2) Light-it modules to control that lights. This may overload each Light-it, but I have done this in the past and it has worked. Time will tell.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-110421124353-488061811.jpeg)
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 11, 2021, 01:25:23 PM
I will worry about the LEDs use later, but I still need to add some timbers on top of the posts you can see in each of the inspection pits. This timbers will be holding the rails of the track in place otherwise the track falls into the pits. Plus it give me options where I use Peco flex track or hand laid track; I have not decided yet.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-110421124353-48807991.jpeg)


Since those timbers would be holding the full weight of a loco it would have al been bolted to the side walls of the inspection pits as well has benign supported by the vertical 8x8 posts win the pit. This detail most likely not be obvious to a viewer, but since the roof will be removable, a keen modeller will see it. So I must do this detail.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-110421124353-48808640.jpeg)


The timbers (8"x12") are then CA'd to the sidewalls and the vertical posts.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-110421124353-488091062.jpeg)


The timbers are given a quick wash of dark brown stain, and black India ink for now. Notice the LEDs are not at all visible so me adding conduit would have never been seen.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-110421124353-488101989.jpeg)


Over the next few days I will try to figure the Light-it issues and how I can accommodate adding more lights to the front end wall and eventually in the Engine House itself. Then figure out to work in the rafters, hanging lights and workbench lighting, Gosh, I am glad I have bought more Pre-wired LEDs.

So long for now.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: postalkarl on April 11, 2021, 05:40:29 PM
Hey Marty:

A little more progress. Looks great.

Karl
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 18, 2021, 12:52:55 PM
Progress is a bit at a time for this Engine House.

I managed to figure out what I wanted to do with the NCE Light-It models. Each inspection pit has a total of four (4) lights with two (2) on each side of the inspection pit. I connected one side (Light-it address 208)of the pit to be controlled by one CV in the Light-It then the opposite side each LED is controlled by individual CVs. This is replicated (Light-it address 209) to the second inspection pit.

By having this configuration I can control the LEDs reasonable well without having to incur the extra cost of double the number of Light-It modules. So for example, I can has one LED flicker on one side with another looking like there is a welder in the pit.

The third Light-it will be used to control the ceiling lights and the two (2) front door lights. I could go crazy and have another Light-it to control the ceiling and front lights independently from the opposite side.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-180421124056-48948705.jpeg)


This is what it looks like for now until the Engine House is placed on the diorama.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-180421124056-489471005.jpeg)


More in the next post.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on April 18, 2021, 01:05:21 PM
Welcome back,

To see how the Engine House will look, a mock-up is in order to get a feel how it all works together.

This is the three-quarter view from the front left of the engine house. I immediately notice that the colours need to be adjusted and the end walls are a bit to tight. Sanding those edges will solve that.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-180421124056-489492044.jpeg)


I wondered how the engine house would look from the front and it looks ok. But where did the back wall go?
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-180421124140-48951343.jpeg)


OPPS! and many other words that did not pass my lips and got stock in my throat.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-180421124141-48955814.jpeg)


I buy the cheap CA glue I can find at the dollar store. It is the thin fast setting type and I get 5 small tubes for $2 CDN or less. This is the most cost effective CA and it works amazing re-gluing HydroCal plaster pieces together. When I got the kit there were multiple broken pieces that I repaired and you can not tell that was done. Epoxy does work, but you can see the glue seam, while with thin CA you see nothing.
(http://modelersforum.com/gallery/1297-180421124141-489562101.jpeg)


That is all for now. I will be trying to build the front gooseneck lamp fixtures. I suspect that my throat will be clogged while doing it.

Bye for now.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: tom.boyd.125 on April 18, 2021, 01:24:32 PM
Marty,
Like those lighted service pits.
Good repair on the plaster walls too.
Tommy
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on December 02, 2023, 09:58:46 PM
Wow, this thread is still here.

I will be working on it soon, after the back scene is done.

Sigh!
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: GPdemayo on December 03, 2023, 11:55:39 AM
Looking forward to the updates Marty.....that is a neat stone structure.  :)
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: Mark Dalrymple on December 03, 2023, 03:03:02 PM
Looking great, Marty.

I love the lights down the pit.

Cheers, Mark.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: deemery on December 03, 2023, 04:04:29 PM
When I was working on the old Model Masterpieces CM Roundhouse (plaster) kit, I lived in fear of parts breaking, or dropping the whole thing.  When we moved, I carefully packed that up, but haven't unpacked it in the new house to see if it survived the journey.  

Your slab joints look good, but I wonder if you should make them darker, maybe to represent tar as well as accumulated oil/dirt.

dave
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: Lynnb on December 18, 2023, 01:57:01 PM
 :) Yep,time to get back at it.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: PRR Modeler on December 19, 2023, 04:50:12 PM
Very well done.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on February 26, 2024, 02:53:48 PM
Gosh time flys by when you are hunkered down avoiding COVID and all the supply issues it had brought. I finally got the time to begin actually doing some work on this kit.

First, let me explain something about this kit - the instructions are not for the weak of heart and should only be attacked by an experienced modeller. Not to say that I am that experienced modeller, but love the challenge; until the challenge gets to confusing. I wanted to take this kit to the next level of realism and detail which presents so many options. Taking time to evaluate the options I began to clarify the options, or procrastination as it is known by others, has given me the motivation to finish this build.

This kit will not be in any layout that I plan on, so it will continue to be worked on when I have the time. Read this an updates to the thread will be at the whim of my progress.

So I quick recap...

- Kit contents have been laying on my workbench getting dusty and ripe without any care for it
- Our cat(s) decided it was a good idea to jump on the workbench and step on everything
- I had to re-attach the windows from the cat damage
- Re-inventory the kit parts
- Actually read the instructions for the first time, or better understand them
- Do the final fit up of the four walls and super glue them together

Next is to re-read the next steps, ignore them and do something else as far as detailing the interior of the building. 

That's all for now.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on March 13, 2024, 06:02:56 PM
I finally got the motivation and guts to glue all the walls together and onto the engine house base. It was kinda scary considering I have broken sections in the past.

I tried to get the gaps between sections matching perfectly, but I failed in that so I had to plaster the gaps and carve them out to make them look better.

Another round of colouring the walls to give it some harmony was well accepted. Oil, etc that will be under the tracks.
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: deemery on March 14, 2024, 08:21:03 AM
A trick I learned on one of the forums is to put masking tape on either side of the gap, smear the plaster into the gap, then after a few minutes when the plaster has start to set (but before it's hard), remove the tape and carve.

dave
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on March 15, 2024, 08:53:51 AM
Dave, good idea! And wish I had a 🧠 
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: MartyO on March 17, 2024, 12:39:37 PM
I am starting to think how this Engine House will turn into a Diorama that will be 18" x 18".

Here is my first stab at it. I have a half built FSM Sand House kit that I would like to get merged into this diorama.

Any thoughts?
Title: Re: Micro-Scale Models Two Stall Engine House
Post by: PRR Modeler on March 18, 2024, 10:45:42 AM
Very nice progress on the build.