Back to work while the snow continues to fall outside.

Here are the front and side walls, fully braced, with a coat of Hunterline Light Gray. The door and window castings were given a primer coat of Rustoleum camo sand, then a sponged-on coat of medium green acrylic craft paint.



While the front walls dried, I began work on the rear wall.  Below is the rear wall, cut from some scrap strathmore board, along with the unused sheet of Master Creations battens, all ready to go.  The battens have adhesive backing, so application should zoom along quickly.



Below is the rear wall, fully covered with the battens, which are in random widths. I have found that a good random pattern is best achieved by NOT trying to make them look random.  In other words, blindly pick up and apply whatever piece is next.  I gave it a bit of a rest for the adhesive to set, then sanded the top and bottom sides smooth.



And here is the resulting rear wall with trim installed.



This is where I am at the moment.  Front and side walls have been given a sponge-painted coat of acrylic craft white.  After completing the rear wall, I decided it will remain unpainted.  That meant the small window needed to be re-painted in white.



More coffee, then back to work.

--Opa George

Quote from: PRR Modeler on January 16, 2022, 03:52:50 PM
Nice progress George. What a good idea using clothes pins.

Thank, Curt.  I've been using clothes pins since--I can't remember when.  For quite some time I was sneaking a few at a time from the laundry room, but finally got wise and bought a bag for modeling use, thus maintaining harmony within the household.

George

Quote from: Judge on January 17, 2022, 07:00:52 AM
Yesterday, I ran through the horn sequences on a new TCS WOW Sound decoder and discovered three new Baldwin horns.  TCS upgrades their decoders for a minimal charge if you send the old one back to them.  I will probably send the decoders for our Sharks, Centipedes, and an S-12 back to TCS.

Meanwhile, I have been waiting for delivery of Rapido's PAs for nearly two years and I am told they are "in transit."  That means they are in a container somewhere off the California coast.  As the followers of the adventures of the Atlantic & Southern will remember, we acquired an 11-car passenger train of California Zephyr vintage several years ago and added A-B-A lash-ups of D&RGW F3s and CB&Q F2s.  We justified this extravagant purchase to create a leased Gulf Breeze section of the Pensacola Zephyr.   I know, it was a stretch, but the cars and the western diesels look good speeding through Sanlando.  Anyway, I decided that a set of D&RGW PAs would round out the train so they were ordered. It may be 2023 before they are delivered. Here are a couple of "run-bys" for illustrative purposes.

                                                                       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm8IfC5KGaU

                                                                       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn-rD2rJWNA

Just watched the videos--agreed, they DO look good on the run throughs.  That sound is exciting!
--Opa George

Good morning to all,

Second cup of coffee after shoveling heavy snow from the driveway (I am counting that as my exercise for today) so my wife can get to work. Our school is closed today for the MLK Jr holiday, so now can devote as much time as I want to working on my 2022 challenge build.

Our snow is not bad, albeit heavy from rain.  Ralphie is getting a bit more:  https://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/liveshot/

Have a great day, everyone.

--Opa George

Excellent job, John.  Coming along beautifully.  My wife was looking over my shoulder as I read over new posts and she commented on how realistic it looks.

--Opa George

Glad to have you all along, Karl, Curt, Greg and Dave!

I cut holes to accept the tichy windows and doors. Cuts aren't as neat as a laser, but will do the job.  Of course I broke one of the narrow bits on the front wall, but frankly would have been really surprised had it remained entirely intact.  Tiny dabs of wood glue repaired it well.


The black wall, by the way, came from sheets of picture frame matting. We had purchased several vintage photos years ago at a craft show and the vendor used entire sheets of the matting as envelope stiffeners behind the photos.  I can't imagine that stuff is cheap, and I recognized right away that it would make fantastic modeling material. I've been using it ever since.

I added rows of nail holes with a ponce wheel, then bracing. Below, everything is braced, clamped and drying.


Tomorrow I'll add a base A&I wash, then sponge paint.  I'm thinking white walls with green trim.

--Opa George

Quote from: GPdemayo on January 16, 2022, 09:26:20 AM
I am not sure I have heard of Mario, but I just looked up his work. He was scary good.....that level of modeling will be greatly missed.

Here's a link to his website.  He had many interests, with miniatures a notable feature:

http://modvid.com.au/body_index.html

--Opa George

Good morning and happy Sunday to all,

Jaime, thanks for the info on Mario.  Although he is gone, his webpages and work continue to challenge and inspire me to better modeling.

Snow expected here this evening. What was originally forecast as a long and intense snowstorm for us is now downgraded to just a few inches.  I don't really mind that.  Now just dealing with the cold.  This morning it's only six degrees. That's way cold for central PA.

Take care!
--Opa George

Well let's get started on a winter challenge build. Earlier I posted my intent to scratch build something to fill one of the last vacant lots on Summit Street. The lot is triangular and small. After lots of useful input from forum members, I settled on a pawn shop to fill the space.

As an extra challenge, I'm building it from mostly leftover parts. My pack rat tendencies have resulted in boxes of leftover kit pieces, this and that. Below is a portion of my horde, dumped out in order to find pieces large enough for the main walls. The shop will have a frontage of twenty scale feet with a side alley wall of the same length. The other side wall will be only a few feet wide to fit the triangular shape of the lot, and the rear wall will be twenty-nine feet long.



Having found some likely scrap, I cut out the main walls and scrounged up some spare doors and windows.  Below are the walls with doors and windows lying on top to check placement.  At top is the rear wall.  I'm considering different options for a wall covering. I have plenty of shingles to use up, as well as some corrugated metal panels.  Could even do tarpaper, but I'm leaning toward a sheet of die cut battens from Master Creations that I did not use on the barn in the Waxworks kit.  Below that, from left to right: the alley wall, front wall and short side wall:



As assembled, it will be a right triangle shaped shop with one point slightly truncated. The back wall will be the hypotenuse wall and will face the aisle, so I am planning some interesting signage.

I'm thinking about a gabled roof that extends out over the front sidewalk, to add interest, but I haven't quite worked that out yet.

All for now.

--Opa George

Quote from: ReadingBob on January 15, 2022, 11:24:16 AM

How much do you usually tip a cow?  10%?  20%?  Just curious. 

I tend to tip higher if service is udderly fantastic.

--Opa George

Tommy, I love that image.

Happy Friday to all!

Covid and other sickness has more than a dozen teachers out at our school, and we're small! Everyone is covering classes for everyone else.  Thank goodness we're looking at a three-day weekend.

Stay safe, watch out for the winter weather if you're in the northeast this weekend.

--Opa George

I used to have a chip on my shoulder thinking I would never fall for a scam, until it got knocked off when I ALMOST did.  It was a few years ago-- the one where the boss emails you to go buy some gift cards and email him the numbers so he can send a gift.  Something didn't seem right, but it was a busy day and I walked out to my car to do it.  Once I sat in my car and thought about it, realization, fortunately, crashed into my brain at once: WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

My first clue was that the email sender (who had forged my boss's email) was rude and in a hurry, and my boss at the time was actually a really nice guy with manners. 

--Opa George

So good to have continued positive news of Tom's recovery. Thanks, Bill!
--Opa George

Good morning to all,

I am saddened to hear of the loss of your dear friend, Jan.

Sincerely,
--Opa George