SierraWest O'Neills Fabrication

[SteveCuster]

Thanks John

[SteveCuster]

Hello Everyone.

Time for my weekly update. I made some progress gluing everything down and getting a scenic base for the main yard area.

I've been working all over the yard area each night but only for a few minutes so I'm having a hard time keeping track of what I've done since last week. Everything is glued in place and I'm just working my way around the yard area. I have a whole mess of car kits to build and a steam crane before I'll be anywhere near close to "finished".


I installed the shed to the right and covered the whole area with my dirt base. This shot gives a good overall of how everything with flow together. I was really torn with the fencing, I made a wood fence to surround the yard but it really made it feel small when I installed it. I think I will leave it open and continue the yard a bit once I install in on the layout. If I made this diorama any bigger I'd never be able to transport it. I plan on possibly bringing it to Altoona.


Took me a bit to place this building correctly. I tried it at different angles but nothing seem right except straight on.


I added this small fence to frame in the tank scene.


These tanks are another fantastic Sierra West casting, one of my favorites. Brett really did a wonderful job with both the detail in the wood and the concrete base. The main castings are resin, the upper piping is made from brass rod blackened with Jax. The small valve on the front is white metal blackened.


Another shot of the tanks.


The pit area is a work in progress, I expect it will take me some time to get to a spot where it doesn't feel too empty. In my quest for cheap and plentiful salvage yard details I ended up cannibalizing a Central Valley Pratt Truss bridge kit I started but never finished. It's loaded with good detail and way more than I will need for this area. Great I beam castings, metal plates etc...


Looking into the yard area from O'Neills. Still too empty for a working salvage operation but I'll get there..
I still need to work on the cobblestone a bit, the color is not right and I need to hide the seams better.

Thanks for checking in. I still need to add the roof to the Quincy shed drive-thru and a few other minor details. It really feels like it's coming together now. Feels good to get all this stuff off my workbench and placed in the scene.

-Steve

[fbernard65]

Steve,

Looking great.  Excellent work.

Frank

[Janbouli]

A work of art , especially the soil and ground cover , the paths look so real.

[postalkarl]

HI Steve:

Beautifully done. Your Modeling is beautifully done.

Karl

[ACL1504]

Fantastic diorama, just wonderful.

Tom

[S&S RR]

Steve


It gets better with every detail! There are no minor details when you are modeling at this level. Fantastic!

[SteveCuster]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone!

[donatode]

Outstanding Work Steve......and neat too...!!  Love the detailing.

[SteveCuster]

Thanks Donato!

I added a few more small details this past week.


I had this neat older SS Ltd chain hoist kit in my detail box for a long time. I decided to use it in the front of the O'Neills building.


Everything was just blackened and dusted with chalk. The casting was broken on the left bottom arm. I used the chain to cover the area I glued together.


I added the roof to the barn drive-thru. I'll be adding some junk to the roof I think.


I had quite a few Woodland Scenics vehicle kits on my shelf. They are inexpensive kits but the quality of the castings aren't great. I decided to make an attempt to build one of the Cat bulldozers. This is the end result of my efforts.






The rags are all Kleenex, the wrenches are laser cut from Vectorcut. The bucket casting is one of Brett's.

Here is how it will look placed in the scene.

Thanks for checking in. I'm thinking of doing a few small videos showing some of my techniques if anyone is interested. Let me know what you'd like to see.

-Steve

[fsmcollector67]

Steve,
Looking excellent.....I have to take the time to watch the build videos on the Sierra west site still. Looks like they have a wealth of skills in them...You Say you just followed the videos?
Loren...

[SteveCuster]

Thanks Loren. Brett has some really good videos on his site, definitely check them out. Most of the coloring and weathering came from the kit instructions, specifically the O'Neills Fabrication kit. I used more of the O'Neills weathering advice and applied it to the Quincy Salvage buildings. The damp-brushing video on the website really helped me pin down the technique for the main walls also.

-Steve

[Janbouli]

What a great way to hide that the Cat is not that well cast , not only do the rags hide it but they add the story of them working on the Cat to it. Haven't seen the SW video's yet , and if you think you can add video's with other tricks and trades , by all means , please do so.

[cuse]

Steve,
This diorama is spectacular in every way. I would certainly welcome the chance to watch any videos you shared regarding your techniques. The Sierra West techniques are amazing and the more angles, words, examples and images I can get would be appreciated.


Thanks, John

[S&S RR]

Steve


I would be interested in any technique videos you would care to share.  Thanks again for sharing your work on this thread. Fantastic!