FSM Kit #295 Fox Run Milling Build by ReadingBob

[Bntrainmaster]

Nice looking job [wall] Bob. Experimental accidents can sometime work out for the better.

[ReadingBob]

Thanks for the responses Greg, Jeff, Dave, Bob, Bob, Mark, John, BandOGuy (yeah, I hate seeing the Phillies in the basement too), Mike (Jamie did it), Jamie and (last but not least) Bart!

Like Bart said, "Experimental accidents can sometime work out for the better."  Now I want to go cast some stone walls just to see if I can repeat the process.      I'll have to resist the urge though, I want to stay focused on this build for a while. 

[ACL1504]

Morning Bob,

Just let me repeat myself here, FANTASTIC JOB ON ALL OF IT!

There, I feel better.

Tom

[postalkarl]

Hi Bob:

Looks like you are having fun painting all those cool castings.

Karl

[ReadingBob]

Morning Bob,

Just let me repeat myself here, FANTASTIC JOB ON ALL OF IT!

There, I feel better.

Tom

Thanks Tom!  I'm anxious to getting anxious to get beyond the castings and back into the cutting and gluing stuff together.   

[ReadingBob]

Hi Bob:

Looks like you are having fun painting all those cool castings.

Karl

Hi Karl,

I always enjoy examining the detail in George's castings as I paint them.  They're amazing.      I'm going to paint the concrete retaining walls next so I can get back to work on the base for the diorama.  Then I need to settle on the overall colors of the structures.  Should be fun. 

[postalkarl]

Hi Bob:

Sounds good. I'll be watching. You're like me and like to change to colors around.

Karl

[ReadingBob]

Hi Bob:

Sounds good. I'll be watching. You're like me and like to change to colors around.

Karl

Thanks Karl.  This time around I think I'll stick (for the most part anyway) with the colors George used - Earth for the main structure (everything - walls, doors, trim) and Boxcar Red for the shed.  Instead of an undercoat of Floquil Driftwood I'm going to use Hunterline Light Gray.

Okay, back to the build.      I painted the concrete retaining walls using a method that I think was mentioned in the instructions as something that George doesn't like to do.  These walls are wood and they're milled with a board pattern on them that represents the boards put up to form the mold, so to speak, to hold concrete when it was poured.  After cutting notches in two of them for the trestle (per the instructions and templates) I sprayed them many times with a flat white primer.  All sides.  Many, many times.  Everytime I walked past them.  I wanted a good seal on them for the next step.

I took brown and black acrylics from the craft store and a lot of water to make a wash and started brushing the wash on the walls from the top down.  I'm not painting the walls, merely tinting the white paint that was previously applied.  I tried to keep the coats very thin.  I didn't want the wood to warp.  I let each coat dry and then applied another alternating between the colors.


I kept going until the I got a color on the walls that I was happy with.   


There's a cardboard template in the kit that needs to be cut out and used to cut out two 'ramps' out of plywood that will be used to run the road from the upper level to the lower level.  I cut the pieces out and hot glued them into place (without burning myself Tom).   


Next I cut the road out of the cardstock template making sure it was wide enough for my base.  You can see I had to cut it smidge wider than the printed outline.  That's covered in the instructions.  I hot glued that in place.  Caution - Hot glue is very unforgiving.  You need to get it postioned where you want it on the first shot.  You won't be moving it around if you get it wrong.      


Next I glued the concrete retaining walls and stone wall in place (still using hot glue).


I took all the wood that makes up the trestle and the ties and roughed it up with my favorite wire brush I picked up from the welding section at Home Depot.


More in a few...

[ReadingBob]

15 of the ties have to be cut into 30 short ties for on the trestle.  I did this using my handy dandy NWSL Chopper.  That is a razor blade and use I have cut myself on it in the past so I try to be very, very careful when i reach in there to remove the pieces I just cut.   


I dipped all the trestle parts in Hunterline Creosote Black stain and laid them out to dry.  Afterwards I drybushed them with an off white to bring out the grain.


I build two beams that make up the trestle.  Each consiste of three larger pieces glued together with some small spacers between them.  I put them in place over the span and a checked to see if they were too high or too low (All of this depends on how well the base was build and the notches in the concrete retaining walls were cut out.  I was close but mine were just a tick too tall.


Here's a top down view of the two beams in place.  I used a razor blade and removed paper thin chunks of wood from the bottom end of each until the tops sat flush with the upper level of the base.


Here's what the notches looked like.


And for some reason I took two pictures from the top and uploaded both so what the heck.  Here's another view of the same thing.   


More in a moment...

[ReadingBob]

The beams have Nut, Bolt, Washer (NBW) castings that go on them.  Your choice whether you cut them off the sprue flush with the washer and simply glue them in place or drill a hole and glue them in the hole.  I prefer to drill a hole glue them into the hole.


With the beams glued in place so the center beam on each will be directly beneath a rail the next thing up is to glue the supports in place.  They're supposed to be 7/8" in from the retaining wall and I didn't have a ruler short enough to fit in their so I cut some pieces of blue painters tape to 7/8" and used them as a guide.


Time to start bracing the walls!  Well, in my mind it is.  I'm going out of order from the instructions which would have you paint the walls next.  I prefer to brace them before I paint them.  I glue the bracing on longer than needed.


I weigh the bracing down until the glue sets.  I have some marble blocks (parts of old trophies) on my bench that I use for this.


The bracing is cut to fit after the glue sets using a single edge razor blade (or a chisel blade in an X-Acto handle).


Next I stained all the stripwood in my little bathtub.  I used Hunterline Light Gray for the stain.


That's it for now.  More soon I hope.   

[ACL1504]

Bob,

Looking fantastic my friend. I need to make one of those AI tubes. Many thumbs up here.

Tom

[PennsyJ1]

Mr. Bob
Lot of work on this one. Ditto on the AI tube, that comes in handy I bet. Carry on my friend, looking very good!!

Bill

[cuse]

Very nice work. Very interesting steps too...Nothing I've seen


John

[S&S RR]

Bob

The build is going great - stopping by every day to see your progress.  Thanks,

[PaulS]

Bob, Great work thus far on one of my favorite FSM kits.  Also really appreciate all the detail and tips/techniques that you include in your build threads.  Between George's instructions and your insights and pictures, you are providing a master's class in how to build craftsman kits !!!
Like the others I really like your "A&I Bathtub".  Can you provide a little more detail on this, mostly, how are the ends attached (just dry fit or epoxied on?) and how do you drain/save the remaining A&I after use ??
Thanks Bob, and I'll be following along with your build ...
Happy Modeling,
--Paul