Fountain Brewery kitbash #2 - 2021 winter build challenge

[Mark Dalrymple]

I know I have this kit somewhere; so I too will be following along on your build...if only I could remember what I did with my kit...

Thanks, John.

Maybe I will get you motivated to do your own bash.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looking forward to seeing how this develops Mark.....

Thanks, Greg.

It should be a fun build.  I'm expecting the kitbash without the scratchbuilt additions or details to take a number of modeling days to get done.  I expect there will be a bit of head scratching and problem solving moving forwards.

Cheers, Mark.

[deemery]

...
Its good that its not just me who likes to play around with kit walls and then not put them back in their box!

Cheers, Mark.

I -really want to be rich enough- to hire someone to follow me and put stuff away, do filing and other stuff like that :-)  Guess I should go buy some lottery tickets.


dave

[Opa George]

I'm in with a seat in the balcony (better view of the action).  I always enjoy your builds, Mark.  Can't wait to see how your ideas take shape. 

--Opa George

[Oldguy]

Interesting.  Is the SSLtd version the bigger of the two?  Going to be fun to watch.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

You and me, both, Dave!

OK.  Firstly, the base.  I put my mock-up over a sheet of 1.5mm styrene and cut a piece off big enough.  When building a kitbash I always have my mock-up beside me to refer back to.  I then run a piece of 120 grit sand paper over the plastic to give it some tooth for marking.  I started by getting things nice and square.  I then went about measuring as accurately as possible the walls to be used.  I like to glue my walls to the edge of the styrene rather than on top.  By doing it this way there is something to clamp against when gluing walls together and I can run the epoxy down the seam of the walls and use CA glue to attach the bottom of the wall to the base.  I hold the base down nice and level and the wall in the correct place and in 30 seconds or so the CA has gone off.  I then still have plenty of time to line up the wall edges and clamp, as the epoxy has around a 5 minute working time.  Because of this I have to cut my base smaller than the finished structure by the thickness of the walls.  I also sand the back side of the bottom and edges of the resin walls to try to get this wall thickness consistent.  Typically the walls are 4mm thick, but at the back of the kit where I intend to use City Classics side and back walls they are 3mm thick.  Things can be tweaked as the build comes together.

Once I have the base cut out I sand another piece of styrene and mark the base on it.  This will be an inner floor near the top of the kit and will be imperative in keeping the structure square and true.  I always find with these taller structures that no matter how much care you take, they always get a little out towards the top of the structure.  By running stripwood around the top of the walls and gluing and clamping the inner floor in place, this should fix any problem areas.

Photo 1 - shows the base cut out.

Photo 2 - shows the inner floor marked out ready for cutting.  In this way I can start gluing the walls to the base without worrying about having to replicate the base later when all the walls are in the way.

Photo 3 - shows the Scale structures back wall with its sides cut of.  I used a builders knife to start and then a scriber to remove these pieces, followed by sanding.  In the original the gable walls sit against these two strips, creating a small quirk.  As my two gable walls will be opposite each other, and at 90 degrees to the back wall, these needed to be removed.

Now it was on the the first instance of what to do about the different sized (particularly height) walls.  Of course, its not just that the walls are different heights, the windows are at different heights too.  Ideally, I would have added a strip of bricks between each floor, but I didn't like my chances of pulling this off.  I decided my best solution was to add three rows of brick between floors one and two.  I worked out where the veranda roof will sit against the wall and allowed a little extra for a flashing, and cut the wall horizontally at this point.  I then trimmed the bottom three rows of bricks off one of my cast walls.  I must say, my poured resin walls are much nicer to work with.

Photo 4 - shows the two walls with the cuts having been made.

Photo 5 - shows the pieces ready for gluing.

Photo 6 - shows the repaired Magnuson wall, now the same height as the Scale Structures wall.  The windows are much closer than they were, and I'm happy that with the distance back to the Magnuson wall, and the covered stairwell covering several of the windows and grabbing the eye, one should never notice that they don't quite line up.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[ReadingBob]

This should be very interesting.  It's great being able to see how you visualize and think through what you're going to with the structures.

[tom.boyd.125]

Mark,
Like those old Magnuson kits !
Will check this one out...
Tommy

[Keep It Rusty]

You reminded me I've been hankering after this kit for a while.

I just went to eBay and found one for $35! Bought it immediately.

Great progress so far, Mark!

[Mark Dalrymple]

I'm in with a seat in the balcony (better view of the action).  I always enjoy your builds, Mark.  Can't wait to see how your ideas take shape.

Thanks, George.

Should be a lot of fun - although I think there might be a bit of frustration in there, too.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Interesting.  Is the SSLtd version the bigger of the two?  Going to be fun to watch.

Thanks, Bob.

Yep - the Scale Structure is the bigger of the two.  It is also seems to be slightly nicer casting and resin.  The resin of the Magnuson kit is very sticky and very hard and brittle.  The Magnuson kit arrived with quite a bit of damage.  One wall broken into several pieces and lots of chips out of the barge boards.  Each wall came in its own plastic bag, so I was able to locate and assemble the many chips.  What a dog of a job that was!  I did email the guy I bought off on ebay.  He was adamant that the box had been opened by customs and then repackaged badly.  No sure I believe him, but not much I could do.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

This should be very interesting.  It's great being able to see how you visualize and think through what you're going to with the structures.

Thanks, Bob.

I enjoy that part of the hobby immensely.  I do tend to spend a lot of the time leading myself down the garden path, but usually end up with something I'm happy with.  There are some spots on the layout that have had multiple iterations designed for them, and a few still to go.  There's usually a moment when I go 'thats it!'.  I couldn't build a kitbash this complex without a mock-up.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Like those old Magnuson kits !
Will check this one out...

Hi Tommy. 

Looks like Craig might have beaten you to it!  This kit has been discontinued so you will only find it second hand.  You might have to wait for a decent price.  Scale Structures still sell a good amount of these kits.  I found them good to deal with and their shipping sale was terrific!  $19 flat rate to New Zealand on orders over $75.  I spent $76.99.  It hasn't arrived yet, but then I didn't expect it to have.  Hopefully some time this month.  I bought Tickners watchworks along with a few metal castings.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

You reminded me I've been hankering after this kit for a while.

I just went to eBay and found one for $35! Bought it immediately.

Great progress so far, Mark!

Thanks, Craig.

Nice price!  I think that is what I paid too, but there was one kit (and only one kit) listed for weeks previously at over $300.  Shipping is often a big issue for me too.  Many people do not offer international shipping, and then many people that do, offer it at outrageously expensive shipping!  It wouldn't be out of the norm to find a kit like this for $35 and a shipping cost of $95.  We also get stung with 15% tax when we buy from any company that does more than $60,000 annual trade with New Zealand.  That means when you reach the checkout of ebay the 15% will have been automatically added on.  When I bought through Scale Structures there was no tax.  Just another thing that has to be weighed up.

Cheers, Mark.

[postalkarl]

Hey Mark:

Looking good so far.

Karl