FOS Bandits Roost

[rpdylan]

wow, lots of nice detail on this.... this is going to be a killer diorama when you get done!

[Opa George]

Thank you so much, Curt, Jeff and Bob.

Next up is the machine shops (or, per the instructions, apartments and machine shop). This is the multi-level structure on a hill that I plan to alter to double the height difference from bottom to top. Refer to Mark's sketch on page 2 of this thread to see what I mean. So this is where it gets interesting!

Below are the walls for this angled structure, as they come in the kit. To pull off this kitbash, all of the long non-gable walls will need to be split roughly in half vertically.


Here is what this structure is supposed to look like, along with the wall plan. Note that the machine shop portion is a rectangle and the apartments are a parallelogram.  My plan, adapted from Mark's drawing, will preserve all angles and turn the machine shop into two rectangles and the apartments into two parallelograms.


Of course wouldn't you know it, one cut has to fall on a window.  Fortunately a few of the plugs were still sticking in the walls.  One came in quite handy.


All cuts are now made, and I now have eight half-walls instead of four walls. I laid out the front (left) and back alley (right) to approximate the rise.  In the plan, the rise from top to bottom is only 1.5 inches.  The new plan doubles it to 3 inches. Surprisingly, the incline angle will not double because I can stretch it out an extra few inches, but it will still be a very steep street.


So here are my new walls, ready to start bracing.  With the extra elevations, I needed to make two additional gable end walls.  I did not have any clapboard sheet, but I did have some nice scribed siding, which I will run vertically for visual interest.  There are also four dormers, but for now I have left them on the carrier sheet.


Due to the variance in the plan, I need to study the overall new plan before starting bracing. So that is all for tonight.
--George

[Todd W.]

Wow George this build is turning out fantastic!  Love every bit of it.  The weathering on the livery is great! and all the details!

[Mark Dalrymple]

Really looking forward to this part of your build, George.  I do love to see a kit being changed up.

Cheers, Mark.

[postalkarl]

Hey George:

It's looking just great so far. Looks like lots of walls to work on.

Karl

[Opa George]

Thank you, Karl, and thank you, Mark.  Yes, this is an exciting part. I'm still not exactly sure how it will come together, but I think I have all the main points covered.
--George

[Opa George]

Wow George this build is turning out fantastic!  Love every bit of it.  The weathering on the livery is great! and all the details!

Todd, thank you. Your input means a lot. I've been following your builds on your website and in your podcasts.  In fact I was listening to the last podcast when I worked on this next step and, wouldn't you know it, had two of the snafus you talked about:  snapped one wall frame next to a window when I dug too deeply trying to lift a board, and I also had the ponce wheel "wander" on one wall.  Thanks for the re-assurance that it happens to all of us.
--George

[Opa George]

OK, the machine shop walls have had a lot of "background" prep.  As it is all pretty mundane, I haven't documented it in photos. The bracing is done and I distressed the walls with my usual variety of tools: file card, welders brush, lots of lifted boards using a razor knife, and lines of nail holes with a ponce wheel. 

I mentioned above, in my reply to Todd Wiley, how the ponce wheel wandered on one line. I'm sure you'll be able to spot it in the photo below.  Looks like an extra sign, vines or maybe an external plumbing pipe will be in order to hide it later.

Below are the main walls with an initial coat of alcohol and India Ink mixture. I may go with a second application, but will make that decision once they are completely dry.  I want them to have a nice gray look before painting.


--George

[PRR Modeler]

Looking good George.

[postalkarl]

Hey George:

The walls looks just great. Hmmm my pounce wheel does that every once in A while to. As you said you will hide it.

Karl

[Opa George]

Thank you, Curt and thank you, Karl.
Today I got a chance to paint the walls.  As noted earlier, I did add a second application of A & I, so two coats in all.  I think my solution of A&I is getting lighter with use and the black pigment is becoming more diluted. So take the two coats note with a grain of salt and apply what looks good to your eyes.

However I did very from my usual procedure by applying a third coat of A&I after I painted the walls. I stumbled on this technique by accident. I had distressed several lengths of 1/16th stock for corner trim and then sponge painted with green paint, then realized I had not given the stock an A&I application before painting, as I usually do.  I applied the A&I on top of the paint, and really liked the effect, tried it out on a rear-facing wall and liked it, so applied this third coat to all the walls.  I think it brings out even more shadow and wood graining.


Below are all the main walls (dormers and pub entrance walls not shown) with window castings installed. No glazing yet.  I used craft store paint as shown. Colors are Nicole's Light Ivory for the white, Arctic Blue for some of the lower floor shop exterior, and Folk Art Forest Moss for the main wall color.


--George

[Opa George]

Windows are glazed and window shades and etc installed. 
Time for assembly. Starting with the highest part of the building, I assembled the first rectangular portion and made sure it was square. The next portion would share the common wall and therefore would be only three-sided.


I installed guides to help locate the walls for the next lower portion, although I decided to cut them down a bit, which you will see in later photos.


Parts three and four are the angled portions, and I used the supplied foundation to get the proper angle. With regard to the supplied foundations, I decided to use them as patterns to cut out my own from some thick taskboard I have, since I was going to slice them up anyway.


The four portions assembled and propped to allow the glue to dry and cure.  So far, so good. This gives a significantly different look from the original model.  This photo does not give a good representation of what it looks like. I'll supply more photos later.


Mark--thanks for the inspiration for this. I really like how it is coming along.
--George

[Mark Dalrymple]

Exciting, George!

As an observation - you seem to have made it significantly steeper than the sketch.  This will probably require some trickery around the doors - steps down, steps up etc.  Having walked around some very steep city streets with my eyes open - anything is possible!  All you really need is a stairway width in front of the structure - about 1/2" or even a little less.

Cheers, Mark.

[Opa George]

Thanks, Mark! Good observation in noting the increased height. In fact my sense of the dramatic got the better of my common sense and I went with a 4 inch total rise. Pretty steep for any road in real life, but certainly workable in my miniature world.

In looking at it, I just realized I have been working with the town of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in the back of my mind as inspiration. I have visited that town many times and love the feel of the old town built on the side of the mountain. I do plan to set the street back just enough from the building fronts to allow for the necessary access, ramps and stairs. 

I was even thinking of adding a shallow front yard or two with some hogs and chickens--taking that cue from my small town West Virginia visit a few years back.

George

[Bruce Oberleitner]

Wow!  Looking good Opa George.