Sierra West Scale Models - Logging and Tractor Repair Shed

[donatode]

Donato,

  Thanks for the kind words. Are you building anything right now...or built something recently? If so, please post a link to your build thread...I'd like to see your work.

Thanks again!
Alan

Hey Alan,


I have not built anything in many, many years.  I never had the room and space for a layout.  Back in the early 70's I built a few dioramas.  We have recently moved to a new home and my gracious wife is letting me have a room in the basement.  As soon as we can unpack the moving boxes presently in the train room, It will be full steam ahead.  I have been scouring Ebay and alienating the good offices of my mailman with all the packages he is delivering. 


I have been itching to start a build thread of something small and easy, but was sort of embarrassed as to the subject .... a Walthers plastic kit, "River Road Mercantile".  I have decided that I will do a thread on it regardless of the outcome as I haven't touched glue since the last century.


Best,
Donato 

[nextceo]

I finished up the detachable roof by using chalk and alcohol to weather the metal panels. I'm going to use some of the "Evil Etchant" on some other panels and apply them to many of the holes you currently see on the roof to add some variation. The only thing left on the inside of the shed is to add a few chains and hoses (Painted Solder) and a 1920 Fordson Farm Tractor. I did this little shed first so I could figure out how I was going to run the lights. Now that I solved that issue, I'm now going to move onto the Main Tractor Shed.

Alan

[ollevon]

That's looking great  Alan,  The weathering is spot on.
  Saml

[nextceo]

Thanks Sam.

See you next week!

Alan

[ollevon]

Thanks Sam.

See you next week!

Alan

Looking forward to it.  See you then.
  Sam

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looks fantastic, Alan!

I especially like the holey roof, and the way you have kept all the corrugated iron around the right way.  I wonder about some water damage - staining and the like?  You could indicate prevailing driven rain direction by offsetting watermarks from the holes in the roof and walls.  Of course if your shed is in a very dry climate...

Cheers, Mark.

[nextceo]

Thanks Mark. Yeah, right now it has too many holes in that roof. It should look better...and more believable once I add those other panels that I weather with the "Evil" Etchant.

Alan

[barrymk]

I have been itching to start a build thread of something small and easy, but was sort of embarrassed as to the subject .... a Walthers plastic kit, "River Road Mercantile".  I have decided that I will do a thread on it regardless of the outcome as I haven't touched glue since the last century.

Best, Donato

No wish to hijack this excellent thread but Donato, it's a kit and just because it's plastic no-one here would look down on your contribution.  Personally I love taking plastic kits and turning them into the best quality model I can, it's almost an art form in itself for those who get it right. Stick your build in the Kitbuiding section and have at it sir!

[donatode]

I have been itching to start a build thread of something small and easy, but was sort of embarrassed as to the subject .... a Walthers plastic kit, "River Road Mercantile".  I have decided that I will do a thread on it regardless of the outcome as I haven't touched glue since the last century.

Best, Donato

Will Do .....

No wish to hijack this excellent thread but Donato, it's a kit and just because it's plastic no-one here would look down on your contribution.  Personally I love taking plastic kits and turning them into the best quality model I can, it's almost an art form in itself for those who get it right. Stick your build in the Kitbuiding section and have at it sir!

[nextceo]

Added oil stains and tire marks to the floor and built a 1920s Fordson Tractor by Jordan. I'm now in the process of painting/weathering all the castings for the Main Building.

Alan

[ollevon]

That is awesome Alan, will you have it done in time to bring it to the Expo? Sure would like to see it all together in person.  WOW.
   Sam

[nextceo]

Ha! Thanks Sam. Yeah, I've got about another month left on this build.

Thanks for the comments...can't wait to see your diorama next week!

Alan

[nextceo]

After having a chance to talk with Ken Karns and Joel Freedman at this weekends Expo, I decided to take a run at using Etchant to weather my roofing panels.

Here are the steps I followed:
Put on Rubber Gloves and Shop glasses. I did this process in my basement.

1 - Poured about an inch of Etchant into a plastic container.

2 - I filled up 2 plastic bowls of water about 6 inches deep.

3 - I cut my panels to size.

4 - I dropped about 4 of them at a time into the bowl of Etchant

5 - You will need to take your tweezers and stir them up a bit and periodically push them into the Etchant as they like to float to the surface.

6 - The time can vary based on each panel but after 2-10 minutes, the panels will begin to "sizzle" as a chemical reaction has taken place and the panel will begin turning black. Some panels will react right away..other will take a little while to react.

7 - At this point, you have about 5-10 seconds to fish that panel out of the solution and to drop it into the first bowl of water. The longer you leave the panel in the solution as its "sizzling", the more it will turn the panel blacker...to the point where it starts to disintegrate. I let a few of the panels reach the disintegration point which I show in the pictures. Once you've fished a sizzling panel out of the Etchant with your tweezers, continue to hold some of the panels in your tweezers above the bowl of water until the sizzling has stopped...then drop it in the water. By doing this, it will give you a different weathering effect then if you drop a panel in the bowl of water while it is still sizzling.

*Note you need to wait for that sizzle to occur in order to get the weathering effect. I've read people's comments that have done this process and say the panels don't show weathering. The reason is they didn't wait for that chemical reaction to occur. Again, it can take up to 10 minutes for some of the panels to under go this reaction. You also need to keep stirring solution with your tweezers and or pushing the panels into the solution as they float to the surface. I promise, your tweezers wont melt.

8 - Once I fish out the 4 panels from the Etchant and have them soaking in a bowl of water, I add 4 new panels to the etchant. Once all the panels have been weather and have been in the water for at least 5 minutes, I pull them all out and place them on a paper towel to dry.

9 - The first picture shows the weathered panels on a paper towel after they dried for 10 minutes or so. This is the part which many folks complain that their panels are only black and that this process doesn't work.

10 - This next step is the most important step. You will notice that some of the panels drying on the paper towel have left a light orange stain..that means that the Etchant hasn't been completely washed off the panels. You need to take every single panel on the paper towel and put them back into that second bowl of water. This water should be clear and should be the first time you are putting anything into this second bowl of water. Let the panels soak for another 5-10 minutes. You are doing this second soaking process for 2 reasons. 1 - You need to make sure to wash off all the Etchant otherwise your panels will continue to be eaten by the acids and 2- The introduction of the water the second time is where we get the rusting effect.

11 - Here I have pulled the panels out of the 2nd bowl of water and let them dry on a new piece of paper towel. After 20-30 minutes, the rusting effects will begin to appear as seen in pictures 2 and 3. No chalks or paints have been added to the panels at this point.

12 - Add chalks or paint to the panels as desired. I will probably had some chalk to some of the panels to help mute the shine.

Recap: Don't be afraid of this process. Use Rubber Gloves and Eye Protection and you'll be fine. I originally was doing this outside but the weather was 38 degrees which was effecting the chemical reaction process so I moved it down into my basement.

If you need any further clarification, please let me know...
Alan

[donatode]

Love the roofing panel weathering.  Nicely explained and detailed.  One question; what was the etchant that you used?

[martin.ojaste]

Danto, look here for pictures on how to do it.


https://www.facebook.com/MKRailway/photos/a.1471091059782689.1073741843.1406375389587590/1471092526449209/?type=3&theater