Sierra West Scale Models - Logging and Tractor Repair Shed

[nextceo]

Alright...had so much fun building the Sierra West Work Train, I figured I'd pick another one of Brett's kits that included a Freight Car. I went with the Logging and Tractor Repair Shed. As I wait for all the strip wood to get stained, I went and put a base coat of paint on all the Resin Castings. I also chose to go ahead and complete the Flat Car that comes with this kit. I used the frame that came with the kit but I decided to build my own deck instead of using the Resin Casting as nothing beats real wood. 

Things I added that do not come with this kit:
- Rivets from Tichy Train Group
- Chain, Crow Bar, Grease Can and C-Clamp from Scale-Structures
- Rags - Kleenex painted Green

The reason I post these builds is to receive feedback...so please don't be shy to provide constructive criticism.

That's all for now...
Alan

[martin.ojaste]

Alan, you own the railcar gene!


marty

[coors2u]

Alan, the real wood deck really makes it stand out.

[nextceo]

Ha...thanks Marty and Dustin.

Alan

[UP Fan]

Alan, your talent for detailing and realism is amazing.  Really enjoy seeing the fruits of your labor.  Thanks for sharing with all of us here on the forum.

Bob

[nextceo]

Thanks Bob!!

Alan

[nextceo]

I had a couple of critiques on my build on another forum and thought I would share them here as well:

1 - I feel like I'm missing some of the crucial steps..can you please show/tell us how to get the effects you achieved:

2 - To me personally the trucks appear overly rusted and too heavy and don't match the quality of the car above. Also the 'treads' would not be rusted at all.

Great comments...these are what I'm looking for...


In regards to the flat car, here is how it was created:

The Frame: It was make from resin and came with the kit. I painted it Roof Brown. I then used Rembrandt Chalks to weather it. They can be found at: http://www.dickblick.com/products/rembrandt-soft-pastels/

The process is to scape off a pile of powder from each Chalk using a razor blade onto Wax Paper. I buy a pack of razor blades from Home Depot and can be found in the paint aisle. I picked 4 different shades of Brown Chalks and 2 shades of Gray Chalks. The numbers on those chalk sticks are:

Browns:
Raw Sienna - 234.2
Raw Sienna - 234.3
Raw Sienna - 234.5
Raw Sienna - 234.7

Grey:
Grey - 274.5
Grey - 274.8

I then dip my brush into a bottle of 90% Rubbing Alcohol (we will call this Bottle A) and then into a pile of chalk and then onto the frame. Just create splotch marks all over the frame of each color. I usually apply the dark colors first and then the lighter colors last. Once the alcohol evaporates (takes about 30 secs), the chalk is left behind and sticks to the frame. Don't worry about the colors getting into your bottle of Alcohol or the piles of powder mixing together. When this part is done, your going to think it doesn't look so great...don't worry.

After all 6 colors have been applied, he is where the magic happens: I take a new brush...one that has dry bristles and I dab it into a bottle of dirt and then onto the frame. Dirt can be found at: (http://www.sceneryexpress.com/FINE-NATURAL-SOIL-DIRT-QUART/productinfo/SE0403/)
I then blend together the various colors of chalk with the dirt. The process of adding dry dirt with a dry brush to the frame goes on until you think it looks right. If too much gets applied, use your dry brush to "sweep away" the layers of dirt and powder until it looks right to you.

The wood deck is simply stained with Indian Ink wash - 15-20 drops of Indian Ink into a pint of 90% Alcohol (we will call this Bottle B). I also will dry brush on some of the brown chalks with a dry brush. For this part of the process, there is no right or wrong answer...its whatever you think looks good. Remember, you can always "sweep away" the chalk to get back to your base color. If you find you've stained the wood too dark with the Indian Ink wash or with your chalks, you can dip your brush into the bottle of 90% Alcohol (Bottle A) and wash out the colors you've applied to the wood. There is typically always a way to undo your weathering so don't be afraid to experiment. I've actually gotten some of my best weathering results by accident from the experiment process.

The Trucks are done the same way as the deck. Pick some browns, oranges, yellows and grays from the chalk list and apply them the same way. The Magic happens after you switch to that dry brush and blend all the colors together with the dirt.

It was pointed out to me from Karl...aka UKGUY...that the truck is over weathered and that the treads probably wouldn't have much (if any) rust on them. I agree with that assessment and plan to do two things to correct that situation. As stated above, if I want to knock off some of the weathering, I'll use my dry brush to "sweep away" some of the weathering effects on the side of the trucks. To fix the treads , I will dip my brush...or in this case probably a Q-Tip so I don't disturb the rest of the weathering...on the truck into a bottle of 90% Alcohol (Bottle A), to wipe away the weathering completely getting back to my base which is the color of the trucks...black. Once I make this adjustment, I'll post a new picture or two.

Thanks again for the comments!
Alan

[nextceo]

Here is an updated version of the Flat Cars with the toned down weather affects...this was accomplished as I explained above.

I believe it looks much better...thanks Karl for the suggestion!
Alan

Before:




After:

[bparrish]

Alan.....

I'm prepared to come to your defense on the various criticisms..

This is narrow gauge logging..........   

Trucks came from where ever they could be found and in usually questionable condition.  Arch bar trucks were largely outlawed on mainline / interchange railroads by the 1920' so they were pulled out of service by those larger companies and many were sold to any buyer that might come along.  Some had sat out for a very long time with little or no thought to preservation.  So rust was going to be common.

In addition to rusting conditions....... depending on where the line ran.......... more rust might come along. Coastal Oregon with its salt air would be a contributing factor.  Similarly in a mining area in Nevada where the alkali is high enough to dissolve most anything is going to add to the rusting of the trucks and wheels.

Regarding the dirt build up..............  Many logging and mining railroads used no ballast as the tracks were routinely moved from staging area to staging area. The rails were in the dirt along with the wheels.

Sorry however......... I can't solve the weathering on the tread area of the wheels.  In a national contest about 15 years ago I took a hit on some wheels that I had not burnished through the blacking to bring up a silver color on the treads.

But.......... after all of that..................

Alan......... these are really cool models.

Thanx
Bob

[nextceo]

Ha!..Yeah Bob...you're a good dude! Thanks for trying to defend my work. I had no idea about all those facts you spewed out. Thanks for the education as well.

Alan

[bparrish]

Alan..........

Where in Chicago are you.........................   

I grew up in North Austin where Chicago turns into Oak Park.

There was a great little mom and pops hobby shop on North Avenue near Central but all that is gone now.

If you have been following my Falk locomotive build....... I did all of that on a Unimat Lathe that I bought from Stanton Hobby on north Milwaukee Avenue in 1961.  They closed that shop in about 2004 I think.

When I was in Chicago last in 2010 I looked and found no hobby shops left in the loop either.  I've been away from there since 1966 with my all expense paid trip to Viet Nam.  I stayed in the west after that.

see ya
Bob

[nextceo]

Hey Bob,

   Yep..I'm in a suburb of Chicago called Sugar Grove...just west of Naperville. There are only a handful of hobby shops left in this area...everything has basically gone to online purchases direct from the manufacturer. Oh yeah, I've been following your build. I've never dissected an engine like that before so I have no valuable input to add...but I did find it amazing when you took the engines apart into what seemed like a million pieces when you painted it...I'm not sure how you kept track of how everything went back together...

Alan

PS Good move on staying west...the weather sucks here. If I hadn't built my financial advisor business here, I'd be in California by now.

[nextceo]

Alright...the walls are finally finished. Here are a few pictures of the walls after they have all been glued together. The life size floor plan acts as a guide to make sure everything is square. The only 2 things I've done different up to this point: 1- I added some extra boards to the outside of the walls to create a 3D effect. I saw this look on the O-Scale version of this kit and thought it made the building look more interesting. 2 - After soaking the boards in the stain and pulling some out at 12 hours, some at 18 hours and some at 24 hours, they still all had about the same shade of stain on them. Therefore, I used 3 different Hunterline Stains - Brown, Gray and Blue/Gray to "helpout" in creating some variation to the boards. I must say the footprint of this building is bigger than I expected...which is great because that means it can fit more details inside...

Alan

[Zephyrus52246]

Nice job on the staining and weathering the boards.

Jeff

[coors2u]

Looks great Alan. The board variations do stand out well.