Junction Farm (BESTTrains kits)

[jbvb]

Wish I'd done a better job of documenting how I split the Colonial Georgian House into two.  Here's the previously unphotographed back side of the "big house":



IIRC I cut the RH (facing front door) wall down and used it for the hidden end, putting the LH wall in its place. I guess I also made a new rear wall from Northeastern clapboard and put a door in it too.  In your case, a back door in the 1-story "little house" part would face your barn and make pretty much a mirror image of my full size house.

[deemery]

Wish I'd done a better job of documenting how I split the Colonial Georgian House into two.  Here's the previously unphotographed back side of the "big house":



IIRC I cut the RH (facing front door) wall down and used it for the hidden end, putting the LH wall in its place. I guess I also made a new rear wall from Northeastern clapboard and put a door in it too.  In your case, a back door in the 1-story "little house" part would face your barn and make pretty much a mirror image of my full size house.

I freely admit to being inspired by your house!

dave

[deemery]

I found a Tichy masonry door casting that's wide enough to fill the window space.  So I cut out below one window, then trimmed the transom off the casting frame and added the trim:


And a test fit.  That's .020 x .060 for the frame, and .015 x .030 for the door sill.


I'll prime these white.  I haven't decided if I'll paint the new door itself red to match the other doors, or leave it white.

I did lightly repaint the main doors a lighter shade of red, pictures once the paint is dry.

dave

[jbvb]

That'll do the job.

[deemery]

Well, less done today than I hoped.  The taskboard/laserboard door pieces had one segment that warped with the moisture in the paint.  When I tried to straighten that out, it broke.  So I dug into my Evergreen stash, pulled out .020 x .030, cut and CA'd a replacement.  Then I repainted the piece to blend everything together.  That went well.  I also tried painting the styrene door casting after I primed it white.  That did not go so well, so I think that door will remain white.  (And I had to take one dog to the vet, she had a couple accidents and I wanted them to check for an infection.)

So I should be able to complete the kit doors tomorrow.  I also should have dug out the kit windows and painted them when I had the airbrush out, but I'll do that tomorrow, too.

dave

[Michael Hohn]

Dave, your plan to add a door makes a lot of sense. Good job.

Mike

[KentuckySouthern]

Terrific looking barn roof....

[friscomike]

Howdy Dave,

The shingle job is outstanding. Aligning that many small shingles is a real challenge, and you met it masterfully.  

Have fun,
mike

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looking good, Dave.

Shingles have come out well.

Cheers, Mark.

[Rick]

Dave, roof turned out well and it's shaping up to be a good looking scene.

[ACL1504]

Dave,

I agree with all the others, shingles and roof turned out fantastic looking.

Tom

[deemery]

Yesterday, since the windows were glazed, I added window treatments:


Then I started test-fitting the windows to the walls.  One thing I've noticed consistently with BESTTrains kits, the window openings are a bit too small.  I guess that's better than too big, but it results in a lot of filing and test fitting.  On this kit, the double thickness walls are a lot sturdier than traditional walls with the openings laser-cut into clapboard siding.  

To make it easier/quicker to widen the window opening, I ripped a tongue depressor slightly smaller than the window sides.  Then I glued sandpaper to that custom sanding paddle:


Once that was done, I started assembling the walls themselves.  As usual, I assembled opposing corners.


Then when that was dry, I glued the two L assemblies together.  I used the laser cut tab roof to help ensure squareness:


All of the walls are now assembled (I did the annex after taking the assembly photos, but you can see the roof on the annex in the 2nd photo above), and the glue is drying.  I think I'll go back and add corner bracing along each inside corner.  This'll make the structure pretty much bombproof, although it's already very sturdy with the tab-and-slot assembly and double walls.

Next step, wall trim (1/16" square corners and the eave trim pieces.)

dave

[Jerry]

Very nice!!

Jerry

[deemery]

OK, I couldn't resist a quick test position:


dave

[PRR Modeler]

The house and barn looks very good Dave.