T. Schwarz 2019 Winter Build - FOS Scale Models Deckers Tar Soap

[Jim Donovan]

It has been a while on posting but some progress has been made. In addition I have been doing a fair amount of testing.

I primed and painted all windows with Rustoleum Gray 2x primer after removing them from their sprue and cleaning them in warm water. Afterwards they were airbrushed using filtered Antique White Ceramcoat, thinned with clear window cleaner. Finally, they were dipped in an A/I solution and allowed to dry.

The castings were cleaned of any mold marks then primed with brown primer. At this point they were set aside for future work.

I used a small stainless steel brush on the clapboard wood of all walls after they were painted and dried. I lightly brushed with the grain resulting in the 'weather' look I wanted. I then lifted some boards at random. I did not do this too much as the building is suppose to be only about 15 years old and thriving. Afterwards I used an A/I wash on all the walls. It brought out the weathered grain and the nail heads. The picture below shows all wood done and ready for next step. Lot's more to do before putting walls together.

[PRR Modeler]

Looks good so far Jim.

[Jim Donovan]

With the windows weathered I installed them. Not sure I like some of the heavier weathering on some windows but can correct as I go.

I am using real glass in place of the plastic that come with the kit.  In addition I changed out many of the Tichy windows with open windows by Tichy.

I used microscope slide cover glass. While the glass will not be in direct contact with the mullions it will be too close for anyone to be able to tell, that's theory.  I have had a couple e-mails with Bob Parrish concerning the issues with using real glass. He has been a great help. I will be practicing his ideas this weekend as I have more windows to install requiring the glass be inset into the window frame.

I use Formula 560 canopy glue if I am just covering across the plastic window and the glass will be in contact with the wood, which is most times. I will discuss the windows requiring the glass be directly glued to the window frame when done. Attached are pictures of the fronts with windows in place, back side showing glass being glued in place and finish look. I think you can see the glass really is clear (I wore latex gloves so as not to leave prints).

[SteveCuster]

Looking good so far Jim.

[ACL1504]

Jim,

The build is coming along and will be a nice addition to the layout.

Tom

[jerryrbeach]

Jim,


This is coming along nicely.  Really looking forward to seeing the walls assemble to get the full effect of the different colored walls.

[Jim Donovan]

I was talking to a long time modeler and a member of the forum. I mentioned I edited my posting to just to building the structure. He said don't change a thing, model your way, write your way. For me I love to envision the people, place and time period when I work on a structure. That is how a lot of the changes to the building happen as I make it. So here is the main part of the previous post that was removed. Going forward expect more of the happenings of Schwarz Stamping in 1910.

Next up is windows and wall signs. I'd like to take a minute to provide a little background on why I do what I do. I love history and am amazed at what was accomplished in days gone by. I always find myself wondering how a building would look and, just as important, be like to work in during the time I'm modeling, in this case 1910 small town America, NW Ohio.

In 1910 Schwarz Metal Stamping is producing primarily fancy ceiling tiles stamped out of thin iron and copper sheeting. It was two stories due to the needs of the tall belt driven stamping machines. The building is on a siding for raw materials and ships locally by horse driven carts as well as further by rail. The plant operates primarily on a steam boiler. However, electricity had recently been introduced and was beginning to be used for several operations. As part of the booming industrial revolution, times were good. Old man Tom Schwarz was a fair man to work for, unlike many in the industry, he tried hard to see that his people were paid fair and worked in reasonable conditions. When he bought the building couple of years before he had the windows nails keeping them shut removed allowing fresh air in the hot building. He had electric lights installed giving better lighting for the night shift. In expanding the building he had the stair case to the roof removed and a simple roof hatch installed. Not one to turn away an opportunity he would allow some ads on the building, at a price of course. There will be more to read about 'Stomping' Tom Schwarz and his business at the end of this build but back to construction.

[jerryrbeach]

Jim,


I noted that your post regarding the history of your structure had been removed.  I am glad to see that you have again posted this information.  Part of creating a believable model is understanding the history behind the "prototype" even when building a freelance model.  I, for one, find research is vital to modeling an era and locale believably. 

[Opa George]

Jim, it is looking great!  And I am all for including your thoughts on style, history, techniques, likes and dislikes.  I like to know the "why" and "wherefore" of how everyone does things--it gives insight and adds depth.
--George

[Jim Donovan]

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

Many buildings in 1910 used venetian blinds and I want them as part of Schwarz Stamping. My wife heard me asking someone how you make venetian blinds, she said, and I quote,'poke him in the eyes'. She would make a great forum member, she already talks like one. Instead I posted the question and received good information. If you are interested in ideas given click here:

http://www.modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=4183.0

I followed a modified method Todd Wiley shows on his website. He made a great scene that includes the 'worn' blinds. Here is a link for templates he (or his son) made:

http://hoscalecustoms.com/window-blinds-template-curtains-for-your-next-building/

The blinds for Schwarz Stamping have a used look since it has been in operation for a couple of years. By I using glass I went with decals (one reason I used glass). My plans are to light the interior allowing the blinds to look like they are 'drawn' for night scenes. Over several days I tested a lot of ideas. Here is what I settled on:

Evens Design offers a white decal paper that works well with my HP inkjet printer, here is their link:

https://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/pages/adding-white-text



At $18.99 for five sheets (8.5 inches by 11 inches) it is not cheap. Most likely there are other brands less expensive but five sheets will make a lot of HO scale decals. I used white so the blinds show completely (can't print white). I tried clear Testers decal paper (with bonder) and it just did not work.

First I tested my ideas on regular paper. Then printed just a few blinds on a sheet of decal paper in one area. I ended up reusing the same paper by printing area by area until I had exactly what I needed. Two of the Wiley blinds and one I found on Goggle ended up being used.

For the attached pictures I've put some of the wall sides together using magnets to give an idea of what I am working towards. I also have pictures showing the inside. As you see the inside is getting messy.









Some caution doing what I did:

1 - I am attempting something the makers of the paper did not expect. I transferred the printed side of the decal so it is facing the glass. This allows the printed pattern to show through the glass window and the white backing is behind it. This is opposite of what the makers of the decal paper tell you to do.

2 - The decals take a lot of care. Follow their directions exactly, especially the print settings (I did not on my first try and ruined the sheet of decal paper).

3 - Cutting and placing each decal correctly takes time, lots of time. I needed to use lighter fluid to stop some of the decals from curling so you need to watch the decals as they dry and not just walk away and assume they will dry flat.

4 - Since the decal is 'backward' (printed side directly on glass) I will be carefully applying glue to each of the decals edges to prevent future delaminating. 

That's it for the blinds.

You might notice the weathering is getting cleaned up on on the windows and doors as I go. It is a lot easier to add to an A/I wash then to remove, but it can be done. I am using a micro q-tip (used for cosmetics), dipped in water and carefully cleaning the areas or applying a wash of the paint to 'clean up the look'. Next time I will be much more careful with applying the A/I wash.

Next up  wall signs and corner trim.

[PRR Modeler]

Jim great job on the blinds and how to. They came out really nice.

[GPdemayo]

Really like the blinds Jim.....

[Dave K.]

I agree that you should write your build thread in the way that brings you pleasure. That's the point of a hobby. I really enjoy the backstories.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 I've ordered some of that decal paper to try out...thanks for the tip!

[ReadingBob]

Looks great Jim!  The blinds are a wonderful addition.

By the way I enjoy the back stories.   

[Jim Donovan]

Thanks folks. I really appreciate the comments, especially as I follow just about every kit you guys post and learn from every one of them. Dave I think you will like the Evens Design decal paper. It can do a lot more then I have used it for so far but I do plan to play with it more,

I did not think I would post again until way after our cruise starting tomorrow but new toys arrived today and I had time to play.

I am going to call this posting: Glass Revisited - Ouch!

While working on this kit I have been testing many different ideas. Previously I showed how I used glass and how it was installed. Today I had time practicing using two tools that just arrived. Working with them for just one hour I said SH**!!
This method is so much more effective I am going to put this posting before the one showing how I did my actual glass installation as well. Anyone following along later can save a lot of time and have a superior model using these tools and doing the following.

The Tools:

General Tools Scribe. It can be bought on Amazon for about $7.00

2)   Visbella UV Light Glue and UV light. This can be bought on Amazon for about $12.00. It is a knock off of another equally good tool made by Bondic that costs about $20.00.



So what they do:

Part One Cutting:
I discussed cutting glass with long time forum modeler Bob Parrish when I started this project. He said to use a scribe made by General Tools. I did not wait and used the X-Knife I have used before, big mistake, I had many mis-cuts, direction problems, fitting problems and so on. But it got done after a lot of work.

Practicing today I placed a microscope slide cover on my self-healing cutting board and measured the length and width needed to be cut so it would fit inside the frame of the back of the window. This way it would cover the window but allow the frame to slide into the opening in the wood wall. This is much tighter tolerance then what I attempted on the kit. I put a ruler along the first cut needed, the ruler has a cork back to help it not move when held in place. Using the General Tool Scribe I made a single pass along the ruler using about the same amount of pressure you use with a pencil, no more. It drew a line straight down the glass cover. I put the glass cover with the scribed line over a small dowel, making sure the line was over the dowel, slight pressure on each side and one perfect cut. Then I did the other side. Another perfect cut. Here is how it looked, this is the FIRST attempt using this scribe, it worked that well.



Part Two Gluing:
I first attempted was to use canopy glue to weld the glass to the window, difficult but I am sure I could have with enough time, a lot of time. Then I used the Visbella UV Light Glue. I learned about this from forum modeler Darryl Jacobs. He did a posting on using this glue:

http://www.modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=4096.msg110894#msg110894

First I put a little amount of glue on a post-it-note. Using a toothpick I worked around the outer edge of the backside of the window frame. Then I carefully placed the cut glass on the window using a dowel stick that had tacky clay on the tip so the slide would stick to it but easily come off with a light touch using a separate stick once in place. This resulted in very adjusting needed little so all was in alignment. Finally, I used the UV light per the containers' directions. I moved the light around the glue line using no more then 10 seconds for the entire frame. The glass was firmly, very firmly, attached to the window. Amazing! Here are the results:





Using glass has just become easy for anyone! Thanks Bob and Darryl!  Next building I will be doing this method without a doubt.