FOS Marshall's Boat and Gas

Started by ReadingBob, April 29, 2021, 03:55:15 PM

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ReadingBob

Time for a new build.  This one's currently on the workbench and only about half finished at this point.  It's the FOS Marshall's Boat and Gas.  For some reason I have had penchant for acquiring waterfront kits that wouldn't be found anywhere near the Reading Railroad.  The Reading did run down the port in Philadelphia and unload coal into cargo ships but I doubt any of the waterfront kits I've acquired fit the theme.  Oh well.  To bad.  When I get to build my little world things will be different for the Reading.   ;)

Here's the bag the kit came in.


Some of the walls, strip wood and corrugated roofing material.


More walls and laser cut kit components.


Signs, instructions, plastic castings.  The usual suspects.   ;D


As always I started off by removing the plastic parts from the sprues that hold them using a sprue cutter.  On of the best little tools I ever bought.


Any rough edges at the cuts are quickly dispensed with a swipe or two of an emery board.  There was no flash to clean up in the mullions or elsewhere.


More in a moment.... ;)
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

ReadingBob

The sprue cutter can't quite handle where the sprue connects to the drums.  For that I break out an old pair of flush cut rail nippers.


I also cut out and cleaned up most of the laser cut components.  Basically everything I wanted to prime and paint with the airbrush.  The only thing I didn't cut out were the parts that make up the two row boats.  Those I left on their carrier sheet for painting.


Metal castings I cleaned up with a flat file.  The rail cutters can also come in handy here if there happens to be a big chunk of the sprue still attached but I didn't need them this time around.


Contrary to what the instructions say, to paint/weather the corrugated roofing material first and then cut it into roughly 2' panels, I opted to cut it into 2' panels and then paint/weather them.  :o


At this point I had everything I wanted to paint with the airbrush laid out on painters tape (taped down sticky side up) and ready to be primed.  I primed them with Floquil Mud because I'm out of Floquil Primer.  I still have some Floquil Earth left.  I need to find something else I can airbrush with.


So, while the tray of parts is out in the garage primed and curing I removed the walls from their carrier sheets with a single edged razor blade.


More in a moment... :D
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

ReadingBob

I squared up the edge of the walls using an emery board.  The laser cut leaves a very slight angle to edge of the walls so this step helps keep the corners tight when adding the trim and gluing the walls together.


I want this build to be appear very weather beaten and worn looking.  I hit the walls and strip wood with a wire welders brush I picked up at Home Depot.


Time to brace the walls.  Following the diagram on the templates I applied a thin bead of glue (Canopy Glue) to one side of the strip wood.  Just long enough to cover what was needed to attach to the wall.


Then I spread the glue out with my finger tip to cover the surface.  I immediately wipe off my fingertip so I don't transfer any of the glue to the surface of the wall when handling it.


I apply the bracing to the wall and, for the pieces that go to the edge of the wall, make sure they don't overhang using a small metal square.


After wards I weigh the wall down until the glue has had a chance to set.  Not long, just a few minutes.


More in a moment.... :D
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

ReadingBob

I trim the bracing to fit using a single edged razor blade.  It's easier to glue it on too long and then trim it rather than trying to cut it to the correct length before gluing it on.  But either way works just fine.


A while back I built myself this little bath tub out of PVC.  I poured a little Hunterline Weather Mix (Driftwood) into the tub.


Then it was time for the strip wood (sans the bracing material) to take a quick dip in the tub.


I pull them out with some tweezers and lean them in an old cardboard box until they've had a chance to dry.


Next I stained the walls with the same Hunterline Weathering Mix.  This time using a brush.


Back to the corrugated roofing.  I've never been happy with the colors I selected for the base color but one day I saw this bottle of Anita's All Purpose Metallic Craft Paint - Galvanized Tin in Hobby Lobby and bingo!  I found a color I'm happy with!  ;D  ;D  ;D


More in a moment.... :D
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

ReadingBob

Wanting an old, weather beaten waterfront structure the roof had to have some rust on it.  I didn't want to completely cover the Galvanized Tin paint though so I added some specs of oil paint (Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber, etc.) here and there and then dabbed them with a brush dipped in odorless Mineral Spirits to give the illusion of rusty patches here and there.  Later on, when the panels are on the roof, I may hit them with some rust color powders too.


After priming the parts I sorted some of them by the final color I wanted to give them and then had another airbrush session.  The windows and doors I sprayed with Floquil Antique White, some of the 'metal' components got hit with Floquil Old Silver, the gas pump faces and row boats with Floquil Dark Green and the barrels (I had a few extras) and handrails with a mix of Floquil Grimy Back and Floquil Rust.  I did cover the ones I wasn't actively painting with a paper towel so the overspray wouldn't get them.


I painted the walls with PollyScale Pacemaker Red.  Right now this is much brighter than the finished walls will actually look.  I should mention the instructions note that Doug painted every with Floquil Concrete.


Now it's time to start beating up the finish.  A lot.  First I 'dry sponged' some Dove Gray craft paint onto the walls and trim (the trim was painted with Floquil Antique White) and doors and windows.  I dipped the sponge in the paint and then worked most of the paint out of it on a piece of scrap paper before attacking the walls.


I repeated the 'dry sponging' technique with Kahiki craft store acrylic.  Yeah, they look bad now but I'm hopeful they'll look better when everything is finished.   ::)


I added nail holes using a ponce wheel and a steel ruler.  On two foot increments and around the door and window openings.


Continued in a bit....(got tired of saying more in a moment  :D ).... ;D
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

ReadingBob

Since I'll be adding lights (thank you very much for getting me hooked on that Slim) I painted the inside of the walls with a cheap craft store acrylic black paint to prevent the walls from 'glowing' when the lights are on.


To add some more weathering to the walls I lifted a few boards here and there with a chisel blade in an X-Acto handle.  I even tore a piece off here and there.


I gave the walls, trim, doors and windows a coat of Hunterline Light Gray Weathering Mix using a brush.


Next up I dry brushed every thing with a craft store Ivory White acrylic.  This highlights the edges and makes a big difference but it's a technique that takes some practice.  Thankfully the craft store acrylics are very forgiving and boo boos and be cleaned up with a q-tip and some rubbing alcohol.


I then applied glazing to the windows and doors using MicroScale Industries Micro Kristal Klear.  Just take a little drop on a pointy thing (technical term) and draw it across the opening to create a film.  It'll dry clear.


I added the corner trim to the walls per the templates.  Like the bracing I added longer than needed.


More in a moment.... ;D
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

ReadingBob

#6
Them trimmed the bracing to fit using a single edge razor blade.  I break out new blades for each build and sometimes, if the build is larger, replace them as needed during the build.


I applied a fine bead of glue to the inside of the door and window openings.


I was almost done gluing the doors and windows in place and on the last two walls I ran into an issue.  I inventoried the windows before I started the build but I failed to test fit them.  Two of the windows included are too large for the openings in the wall.  They don't match the windows shown on the pilot model either.  :'(


Time to reach for my handy, dandy 290 piece window assortment from Tichy.


I found the right windows in the assortment.  But now I have to prime, paint, weather and glaze them before I can install them. 


Oh well....while I'm painting those two windows I'll paint the parts for a small FOS freebie.  A gas station.  I had to pull that out to copy the sign sheet because it had a face for the gas pump.  I couldn't find one for the gas pump in this kit even thought the instructions mention it should be on the sheet containing the signs. 

And that's exactly where I'm at with this one.  I hope to get more done sometime soon.

Thanks for following along!   :)
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

postalkarl

Hey Bob:

Looks just great so far.

Karl

cuse

Looks great Bob...what an amazing transformation the sponge painting makes from the original wall color.


Good seeing you today...John

ReadingBob

Quote from: postalkarl on April 29, 2021, 05:01:56 PM
Hey Bob:

Looks just great so far.

Karl

Thanks Karl!  Glad to have you following along!  :)
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

ACL1504

Bob,

I think this one will fit nicely on your water front. Those Tichy door and window assortment sets sure have come in handy for me. Great job on the wall weathering, looks good.

Tom  ;D
"If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."
Thomas Jefferson

Tom Langford
telsr1@aol.com

ReadingBob

Quote from: cuse on April 29, 2021, 05:21:43 PM
Looks great Bob...what an amazing transformation the sponge painting makes from the original wall color.


Good seeing you today...John

Thanks John!  I almost went with the method that Steve posted in his current build thread where you apply mineral spirits to the wall first and, while still damp, then brush on the acrylic paint which is incompatible with the mineral spirits.  It can them be scraped off with a wire brush to get that peeling paint effect.  But I chickened out and went with my usual sponge method.   :D  I still need to so some more weathering.  Most notably applying a little moss green to the base of the structure and letting it bleed upwards just a tad.

It was great to see you yesterday. 
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

ReadingBob

Quote from: ACL1504 on April 30, 2021, 07:42:20 AM
Bob,

I think this one will fit nicely on your water front. Those Tichy door and window assortment sets sure have come in handy for me. Great job on the wall weathering, looks good.

Tom  ;D

Thanks Tom!  Given the limited space I have I'm going to have to crowd a lot of structures on the waterfront when I do get around to building one.   ;D  See ya' tomorrow! 
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

Jerry

There must be a creek along the Reading somewhere!


Your usual great tutorial and fine workmanship.


Jerry
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." A. Lincoln

GPdemayo

Another Bob Build.....I'll be looking in.  :)
Gregory P. DeMayo
General Construction Superintendent Emeritus
St. Louis & Denver Railroad
Longwood, FL

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