O'Doul's Flop House Build

[Vilius]

Jeff,

Any updates on this project?

Vilius

[Zephyrus52246]

I wish.  I've been busy with getting out of the old job, starting the new job and working on The Empire.  I really should get back to this.  Thanks for the poke, Vilius.


Jeff

[MASIGMON]

Very Nice start.  Looks like the warping is now under control

Mike Sigmon

[Zephyrus52246]

Last weeks updates were lost, so here is where we stand, the front porch bases had been placed and the stairs added.


Jeff

[Zephyrus52246]

Next are the supports for the roof.  The outer posts line up inside these, so place them first.  The left one needed trimming as the bracing blocked it.  Then place the front piece over the supports so they line up when you glue the middle 3 in.  I place the front piece just slightly lower than the tops of the supports so the roof will over hang this without trimming.  I then fit the posts, as these seem to line up under the middle 3 roof supports.  In the last pic all the roof supports and posts are in place.  Yes, there's a little bit of an offset of the lowest porch.  The parts don't quite line up 100%.  I can live with this, it's an old ramshackle building, after all.   


Jeff

[martin.ojaste]

Jeff, This looks like a great one to duplicate for the backgrounds.

[Zephyrus52246]

Thanks for looking in, Marty.  The second building is similar construction to the first.  The bottom is the "storefront", basically two laser cut pieces and some "glass".  This fits between the outer walls, I glued a 1/8 inch square piece to aid in it's installation.  The top piece went on and I noticed it was taller than the sides, so my corner trim pieces are too short.  I don't recall seeing this in the instructions, in fact one of the drawings shows the top as flat, though the pictures show it taller.  Speaking of the instructions, this isn't a kit for a beginner.  The instructions aren't step by step, think "minimalist".  Fairly easy for someone who's built a few of these.  Not that my vast experience made me leave the corner trim short.    My bracing was too tall, and had to be cut back to fit the roof.  The supports for the front roof also stick out the back and will impede the roof as well.   I didn't notice this until I had glued two of them in.    Pulling one out broke the little piece of clap board to the side of the hole, it was easily fixed.  But now the back of the front wall doesn't look too cosmetically pleasing.  I think it will be hidden on my layout however.    otherwise I'll cover it with something. 


Jeff

[Zephyrus52246]

The center post doesn't go to the main floor.  It's easy to just put a piece here, put on the roof supports and trim it back as needed.  Here's two pics of where I stand today. 


Jeff

[cuse]

Looks Great Jeff! I love the colors and the complexity of the levels. Winner!


John

[postalkarl]

HI Jeff:

Great job. Love the paint and weathering.

Karl

[ReadingBob]

Looks awesome Jeff!  I've never left corner trim too short (or too long).            

[Zephyrus52246]

Thanks, guys.  Next up are the balustrades/railings.  In the first pic, you see these come as short pieces (for the sides) and long solid pieces for the fronts.  This makes it much easier to build.  You don't need to fit the front ones.  Just glue it behind the posts as in the second pic.  I used some stripwood pieces to make sure they were all at the same height.  Note that in the instructions, the pictures show that the original build had these all custom fit.  I suspect that was a real pain to do.  It's pretty well engineered, but the pieces aren't perfect fits.  Some of the railings on the sides needed slight sanding to fit, and one of the balustrades needed a shim.  I placed the railings forward on the balustrades so they stand out more between the posts so it looks more like the pieces are fitted.  The balustrades aren't symmetrical top to bottom, make sure you put them in so they all look the same (don't ask how I found this out).  I think it looks pretty good.  Now onto the second building.


Jeff

[postalkarl]

Hi Jeff:

Really looking good. Ballisters/Railings are coming out well.

Karl

[Zephyrus52246]

Thanks, Karl.  I ran into two problems while doing the railings on the second building.  First, I only have two left, and I need five.  I haven't lost any, that's all that were supplied.  Even the part diagrams only show twelve of them, and you need fifteen.  The second problem was that they didn't fit, anyway, they're too narrow for the way my first floor turned out.  As this will be at ground level, I'm going to leave them off.  There's three sheets of the roofing paper in the kit, and I didn't even use half of one for the front porch roofs.  I did the back roofs with tar/gravel.  For one it was quick and easy, and I want to save the rest of the roofing paper for use in the future.  I have no idea where the signs are, so I made my own bakery sign.  I think there was some brick paper for the foundations, and if I find it I'll use it or some other paper brick/stone.  There were chimneys in the kit, and a cool telephone pole with hanging laundry, but I'll put those on when the kit is installed on the layout. 


Jeff

[Zephyrus52246]

Anyway, I'm calling this one finished.  It's a pretty well engineered kit.  The instructions are kinda vague.  There's plenty of materials in the box (except for being short 3 balustrades).  Another winner from Bar Mills. Thanks for following along, folks.  And thanks again to Vilius for reminding me to finish this one.

Jeff