Rugg Manufacturing - SRMW Kit 170

[vinceg]

Here's a view from the north:



A couple of notes:

• You can see the cupola here. I haven't finished the tarpaper on the roof, yet. The corner strips are not yet applied and I need to come up with something to do at the top. A finial of some sort would be nice but nothing comes with the kit. Will have to give it some thought (would love suggestions!)
• You can see a gap in the shingles at the base of the north side of the cupola (facing the down sloping roof). I tried to "hide" it a bit by drawing in fake shingle divisions in pencil, but the reality is that it doesn't matter. The kit includes a dormer that attaches to the base of the cupola. This will be hidden.
• The dark coloring below the cupola is not chalk -- it's a shadow being cast because my workbench light is on the other side of the diorama.
• I decided that I wanted to go with a copper ridge cap. I mixed up what I thought would be a reasonable green patina using Microlux Signal Green and a little Reefer White
• You can see that the north roof does have a little chalk weathering on it (particularly on the left side). I'm experimenting there. More to come

[rpdylan]

Based on my experience doing things, you are right on by putting in the cupola and shingle around it. This way you can but the shingles up to the sides and work out towards the roof end.

[vinceg]

Here's a view from the northeast. From this view, you can get a glimpse of the tiered fascia on the west gable of the main (slate-shinged) roof.



You see I am also missing some tar paper on the east shed. I won't finish that until I install the chimney stack. Of course, I didn't want that in the way while I was doing the rest of the roofing.

You can also see that I threw some gray chalk on the far end of that east shed roof. Softens the stark black effect. As I mentioned a few notes back, I know I have a lot more work to do on the roof weathering.

There's also a lot of bits and pieces of roof clipping lying around from trimming shingles and such. I didn't notice that until now as I'm posting the pictures. Sorry about that.

[vinceg]

Thanks, Bob. Yes, I'm very happy with the result. You can even cheat a little bit by propping up the roofing material so that it covers the gap (as long as it's not too obvious).

I should have done the same thing with the dormer that has yet to be installed. Not sure why that didn't trigger in my mind.

[vinceg]

View from the east:



One thing I want to mention. See that tower on the far (west) side of the building? That's the elevator tower. The instructions have you glue that in fairly early in the game. I decided not to do that as I thought it would be in the way as I was applying the slate shingles to the south side of the main building. In retrospect, I am glad I did that as I believe it made the roofing job easier.

As you're looking at it here, it is now glued in. There's a gap at the bottom that will be sealed with tarpaper shortly.

It's kinda funny. As I am building this thing, I find myself actually concerned about virtual water leaks. Probably a good thing, but pretty weird when you catch yourself doing that.

[vinceg]

View from the southeast (or east/southeast):



I'm not loving the color of the corrugated roof. You can see that I also managed to get some Walther's Goo on the one panel just under the clerestory. I won't do anything with this for now but definitely want to put more thought into how to best weather this section. You will see in a couple of pics that I am experimenting with a somewhat less weathered look for the west side of the Middle Building. Need to sleep on it.

There's also a lot going on with the tar paper where the main building (slate shingles) meets the middle building (to the right of the elevator tower). Need to think about whether that is a credible application of tar paper or if I could clean it up somehow. This particular view is the view that will be facing the aisle so I want to be as meticulous as possible with the details here.

Here's a top view to give you a better look. Definitely would like suggestions from anyone following along.

[vinceg]

Here are a couple of views from the south:



And, continuing to walk around the complex:



From this perspective, you can see the other side of the corrugated roof we looked at above. this is weathered more heavily. The east side was like that before as well but at the time I thought it was too much so I lighted it up a bit. One or the other of these (or both) will need to change before I am finished. As I said, need to sleep on it for a while.

I would love to get suggestions from anyone out there.

[vinceg]

Last picture and you're up to date. This is the view from the west:



Here I wanted to try a much more moderate weathering level. On those panels, I actually used alcohol and chalk as a thin wash, not plain chalk scrubbed into the finish. I also used a single edge razor blade to erode the end of the panels a bit. My initial thinking is that I like the effect but again, I want to walk away from it all for a while and look at it again with fresh eyes.

[S&S RR]

Vince


I finally got caught up on your build thread tonight.  Great work and great thread - I will be continuing to watch your progress. I agree with your comments about build threads helping to motivate the build process. Bob sure produced  some nice kits.

[vinceg]

Thanks, John. I would appreciate any suggestions you (or anyone else) might have regarding my questions on the tarpaper and the corrugated metal roofing. I'm definitely struggling a bit to find the sweet spot on a couple of these decisions.

This kit has been significantly more challenging than the few I did before. Humbling but rewarding at the same time.

[PRR Modeler]

Really excellent modeling and how to.

[vinceg]

Thanks, Curt and John. It's good therapy to do a thread, I believe. Not only is there pressure to make progress, but I feel pushed to try to do at least a little better than I might have normally done because people that are much better at this than I am are watching. Healthy tension. Should result in some improvement....

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looking terrific, Vince!

In regards to your 'I made a lot of mistakes' with the shingling - I had to go back a second time to find them - they don't stand out.  I think the roof valley with the change of roofing materials signifying repairs where you say 'there is a lot going on here' will tone right down with weathering.  I went to the SRM page and found the pictures of the original pilot model - your roofing changes are fairly similar and those changes don't stand out on the pilot model.  I'm afraid all my corrugated iron roofs have been done with Floquil paints - so can't help much there.  I did find if I put a coat of metallic paint over the primer and then my colour over that, the metallic paint gave the effect of rust just starting to 'bubble' through the top coat.

Really enjoying your build thread.

[vinceg]

Thanks, Mark. I'll give the metallic paint thing a try on a spare panel. Sounds interesting.

The roofing doesn't really jump out at me when I'm looking at the model (same thing with the shingles). It's just when you take a picture that all those sheets pointing in so many different directions look somewhat out of place to me. I may experiment by placing, without gluing, a patch or two in that area to see if I can lessen the effect. As you said, some more weathering will help. Might need to be careful, tho -- dry brushing in that area might make it worse if it highlights the edges of all of the different pieces.

[ACL1504]

Vince,

I think you did an excellent job on the roof. I, like Mark, went back and didn't see anything that really caught my eye as a mistake.

Well done, very well done indeed.

Tom