Flotation mine 2022 build challenge

[S&S RR]

Mark


This is going to be a fun build to watch, I'm looking forward to following your progress.

[PRR Modeler]

Looking forward to assembly. That is a lot of strip wood.

[Mark Dalrymple]

This is going to be a fun build to watch, I'm looking forward to following your progress.

Thanks, John.

Off to the garage with my morning coffee now.  My three friends are due to arrive in 20 minutes.  Two days of building fun!

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looking forward to assembly. That is a lot of strip wood.

Thanks, Curt.

Its the same in miniature as in 1:1.  I remember doing some boxed out windows on a show home.  I couldn't believe how much work was in them - or how much timber I burned through!  I'll see what I can do in the next two days...

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Well, we are back from our short holiday so thought I'd better update.  It was a great two days modeling, but I found the plans tricky to work from and there was a LOT of talking!  I also ran into some problems painting the siding.  The inside out sock technique simply doesn't work on board and batten siding.  All the paint is left on the the battens and there is none or very little in-between, especially along the sides of the battens.  This is the exact opposite of nature and simple looked wrong.  I tried various different things but couldn't find anything I was happy with for a peeling paint effect.  In the end I opted for a thin wash. in oxide red.  The trim and windows and doors were dry sponged with unbleached titanium.  I figure they could have put a stain on the cladding and painted the trim.  Anyway - I didn't get anywhere near as much done as I had hopped, but did have a great time!  Our next two day stint will be either at at the end of Jan or the start of Feb.  In the meantime I will keep chipping away at it.

Photo 1 - shows an overall shot of progress.  I also found this cladding more work than others.  You have to both carefully mark and cut out all your openings, but then also add your windows and doors and carefully mark (with a sharp knife) remove, and trim away the battens so the windows and doors fit flat against the cladding,  You can see I spliced some siding to a piece of 1.5mm styrene.  This is another addition - working out where to use scrap to save on material and then splicing the scrap to the visible cladding.  I also spliced some brick work to the end wall where the land will slope up against it.

photo 2 - shows the first of the three canter-levered gable-ended rooms.  I also had to consider which part of the walls would be cladding and which would be beams.  I decided to make up the decking platform.  I cut slots in the middle beam into which I inserted the 6"x2" joists.  I will add the posts after the building is assembled.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[PRR Modeler]

Great job so far Mark.

[postalkarl]

hey mark:

Looks like you are off to A good start. I'm following along with great interest on this build.

Karl

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Thanks very much Curt and Karl.  I'm pleased to have you both cheering on from the sidelines!

OK - since part of these challenges are to do a build thread in the hope of teaching something - I thought I'd do a bit of a list for tackling those windows in tiny or thin pieces of siding without breaking them - the old school way.  As I had a limited supply of board and batten cladding, and as buying replacement here in NZ is somewhat of a long winded, if not impossible, exercise at present, I needed to be rather frugal with my usage.  This resulted in my choosing to splice styrene to siding whenever possible.  Long story short - I ended up with a long narrow piece of siding that needed a row of small 6 pane windows separated by a small slither between.

1.  Take your time.
2.  Add good quality high adhesive masking tape to the back of your siding.
3.  Make a cup of coffee (or get a diet Pepsi {Tom - hoping to get a chuckle there...})
4.  Mark the window openings with a sharp pencil (I use a 0.5mm clutch pencil)  Measure twice, cut once.
5.  Using a steel rule and a sharp knife cut across the grain of the wood first.  Place your ruler so that you can see all the other markings when doing this, using a piece of scrap cladding to keep your ruler level if needed.  Make several passes, not going too deeply at the end of the opening you are cutting towards.  When you have cut through the siding, turn the piece 180 degrees and finish the cuts the other way - again with several passes.  Do the same for the other cross grain cuts.  If you have a top or bottom (or side - depending on the siding and which way the grain is running) that is bigger than the other - cut this one all the way through first.
6.  Take your time...
7.  Flip your work over and make sure the tape is also cut to the corners.
8.  Flip the piece back over.  Now you can cut with the grain.  Several passes. Cut one side fully, then the other.  Again - if you have a choice - do the thicker end first.
9.  Check the fit of your windows (doors), and trim if necessary.  Its better to get the size right first time if you can as the siding is very fragile at this stage - so measure twice, cut once.  Its also better to be slightly small than too large!
9.  You may choose (as I did) to add bracing to the back before staining/ painting.  I would recommend this.

I managed to cut all 9 of my windows with only one split - which I was pretty happy with.

Along with this wall I also cut all of the visible walls to size and cut out the openings.  For the gable end walls I first made cardboard templates.  This aided in finding the most economical way of using my limited material and made marking on the siding easier.  I will use a different cladding type for the barn over the tracks and the barn on the top level.

There are two internal elevations which are not shown on the plan.  If scratchbuilding this model I would recommend drawing these two elevations up first - I wish I had.  The smoke stack, drawn in solid black, is also right over some critical measurements.  These can be worked out - but it would have been far easier if it was drawn with dotted lines, or omitted for clarity.

Photo 1 - shows the long skinny wall after the window openings have been cut out and bracing added to the back.  I also cut around the window with a sharp knife and removed the battens so the windows sit flat against the siding.  The tools I used are shown.

Photo 2 - shows the back side of the wall with tape and bracing added. Also the tape I used and the steel rule.

Photo 3 - shows the walls ready for staining.

Photo 4 - shows an internal view of the main sub-assembly.  there is still a bit of work to do on this before I can start adding other sub-assemblies to it.  I will also need to incorporate extruded foam to change elevations.

Photo 5 - shows the front view.

Photo 6 - shows a view from the end.

More soon, cheers, Mark.

[deemery]

How often do you change your blade when doing cuts like this?  I've never really measured, but I probably should keep track of that.  But I always start a new project with a new blade :-)


dave

[carl b]

Amazing project Mark- I'll be following.

[PRR Modeler]

You've made some real progress Mark. Great how to. Beautiful modeling.

[S&S RR]

Mark


Great modeling and thread, very fine work.  Sorry to hear the sock technique didn't work on the board and batten siding.  I understand why. It sure is a good technique for clapboard - it's my go to technique for pealing paint ever since I learned how to do it from one of your build threads.

[postalkarl]

Hey Mark:

You are quite welcome. Wow you are really moving along. It looks just great so far.

Karl

[Mark Dalrymple]

How often do you change your blade when doing cuts like this?  I've never really measured, but I probably should keep track of that.  But I always start a new project with a new blade :-)

Thanks for following along, Dave.

Not often enough!  If you look in the photo above you will see a blue builders knife.  That is my go to knife.  It has a retractable blade with a series of diagonal 'snap' lines across it.  I just use pliers to snap off one of these short sections and its like a brand new blade.  I find these blades solid and you can apply a good amount of pressure without the blade bending.  I use the Tamiya blades.  I have found the cheaper ones tend to bend at the end when snapped - which makes them worse than useless.  When doing a straight cut of any length across the grain you can feel the blade working too hard if it is too dull.  It will also start to splinter the wood.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Amazing project Mark- I'll be following.

Thanks, Carl.

This one should keep me out of trouble for a while.  I have big, neat structures lined up for Shadowlands!  Years of work.  All of the timberwork should be fun on this one.

Cheers, Mark.