Bob, got a front row seat to see what you do with this early Bar Mills kit.

I've made some more progress on the icing facility. I built the upper and lower platforms, assembled the refer walls, and made some of the upper deck supports.

The wood for the platform is all stained using leather dye and alcohol. I hadn't used leather dye in a while as I was using Prismacolor markers. The leather dye certainly goes much faster and will cost less in the long run. However I like the control of using markers.

I did the usual wire brush and knife procedure done by many of the folks on the forum. Then cut the deckboards to seven scale feet long. After cutting and staining, i laid them out on blue tape while checking for square as I went. Once the deck boards were laid out, I glued the beams to the bottom side of the deck boards. In order to assure an even overhang I made a quick guide from styrene. It is simply a scale 6x6 with a scale 3x3 attached.



The Beam is then glued flush with the guide.



The glued up decks. The faint line is caused by the masking tape. Once they are weathered, they should disappear.



The next step was to glue the walls of the refers used for ice storage together. The refers are styrene Colorado & Southern kits from San Juan Models (formerly Grandtline) I also glued the roof hatches on. Glueing the roof to the walls will come after everything is painted. Since the refers are a storage facility with an enclosed base, the under body cannot be seen. My story is that they used the trucks and underframe to make a logging car.



I wanted to get a feel for the look and size of the icing facility, so I laid the parts out. So far I am liking what is going on.



The next project is to build supports for the upper deck. Some supports have cross members, and some have an angle brace at the top. It is the angle braces I'm attacking first.

On a previous model I'd build a fixture for this. So, building a larger one for these was next. To insure that the braces are even and square, I made sure the guides are square to the edge of the styrene. That way when they are sanded flush on the NWSL True Sander, they will be square and true.



The brace guides were added next. By using a small 45 degree angle, they were perfectly aligned.



Cutting the angle brackets was easy using a miniature saw and miter box from umm-usa.com.



Then it's just a matter of gluing the brackets to the post and letting the glue set.



Once the glue is set the assembly is sanded flush on the sander. Then carefully pried out of the fixture.



Four down, five to go.

Craig. Thanks for the how to on your great window treatment. I've done drapes and I've  done shades, but never both together. Makes a great looking window, especially the way you made the shades and then scanned them.

Quote from: GPdemayo on December 29, 2020, 06:03:04 PM
Great work Larry..... love the look of the wood shake roofing. 

I really like these Builders-In-Scale shingles. They have been in my stash for years.

Quote from: dick green on December 29, 2020, 05:34:54 PM
Wow Larry

So many tips and techniques love the stair jig as I'm starting some steps tonight. Ythanmyou so much for sharing

Dick

Glad you like it. The stair jig is so easy to make. I've built 4 different ones for different spacing and number of stringers

Just found this thread. Looks good Dick. If you need to add more variety of outboards, you can look at Frenchman river. http://frenchmanriver.com/HO-187-Scale-64%E2%80%9D-long-Outboard-Motor_p_42.html

They have a good variety of nautical detail parts in HO scale.

Beautiful modeling, Greg. Your colors and attention to detail are all over that model. Makes me want to build one for myself.

Thank you Rusty and Greg. I'd like to see how your jug looks when you build it, Rusty.

I built a fixture for making stairs. For the stringers I like the ones from Northeastern Scale Lumber Company. They have an 8" rise and 8" run. https://northeasternscalelumber.com/shop/hostring.html. There are a number of ways to do stairs, here's one.

I started by laying four 3 1/2 inch long scale 1x10s alternating with pieces of the stair stringers on some blue painters tape. By keeping the 1x10s tight against the stringers, they will help hold the stringers upright when you build your stairs.



Next use a square to align a scale 12x12 that you glue across the end of the fixture.



Once the glue has set, you can trim the blue tape to the sides of the fixture. The tape should remain on the bottom of the fixture to hold the stringers in place when you are gluing the treads on



The final step to building the fixture is to attach a guide along the side. Since the guides in the fixture are a scale 10" wide and I want a 2" ovehang, I attached a scale 8x12 vertically along the length of the fixture using double sided tape. This will be used as a stop for the treads so they will perfectly align.



Glue all but the top stair tread to the stringers. The top tread will be added when the staircase is installed. That way the top tread can align perfectly with the landing or floor. After the glue is set, remove the staircase from the fixture by inserting the tips a pair of sharp tweezers under the stringers and gently pry the staircase straight out.

Between all the holiday prep, I've made a little progress. I now have a spray booth in the basement. It's a portable unit from amazon. It seems to work ok.

I shingled the roof of the machinery house. The Builders-In-Scale shingles are quite nice. They are self adhesive and easy to install in rows. The shingles are kept straight by clipping a ruler to the roof with plastic clips.



To keep the rows evenly spaced, I used a piece of stripwood and a 6" ruler to align them.




The finished roof.

Absolutely gorgeous Bob. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Glad to have you aboard, Jerry. Pete did an excellent job on his model and was gracious about giving permission to publish. The plans he published in the Gazette make it easier.

Thanks for the comments regarding the siding. It's the first time I've tried it, but it won't be the last.

I've made much progress on the machinery house. The siding is all done, the roof is built, the roof vent is done, the doors are built, and the matching outhouse is ready for roofing.

The siding is scale 1x6 lumber. It boards were primed with a light grey primer then hand painted using a white craft paint. I use a technique I call scrubbing to apply the paint. I use a stiff short bristle brush and very little paint. Once the paint is on the wood, I scrub until the primer begins to show through.



Applying the siding to the Northwestern Lumber clapboard was done one stick at a time. A thin coat of glue was applied to each clapboard and then the board is set in place.  After the board is placed I use a metal ruler to push down into position and then push it up and secure it into place.





First wall partially done:



First wall is done! Whew!!



The three doors are built. The large door is a slider, the square door hinges up so as not to interfere with the loading mechanism.  The entry door still needs to be painted as soon as I decide on the color.



I built two roof vents. I originally thought to have two vents, but decided one looked better.



The walls are assembled and the roof is built. I colored it with a Prismacolor sienna brown marker so that if there are any gaps, they won't show.



The other side. Once I decide on the height of the boiler stack, I'll straighten it and glue it in position. BTW, the stack is the plastic  handle of a cotton swab.



I built the outhouse as a test for assembly technique.  After building the walls, i used a scale 10x10 to represent the corner trim and another scale 10x10 glued inside to secure the corner. Makes for a very strong structure. It still needs hinges and a door handle of some sort.

Pete Smith who built the icing facility featured in the Gazette sent a photo of his structure and permission to post it here. I hope I can do it justice.

Mark, Dave and Jerry - Thanks for joining. The more the better.