O'Neils Mercantile & Repair

[Jerry]

Very nice Larry.  The battens are a nice touch to those walls.

Jerry

[Larry C]

Mike thanks. Not sure about the roof yet. Maybe do more b&b only a different color in the brown family or possibly I'll just throw caution the the wind and do a real wood shingle.

Rick thank you.

Jerry thanks. I went back and forth on the battens but finally decided to go for it; I'm pleased with the results.

[Larry C]

Time for an update.



In between everything going on I have been able to grab a little bench time here and there. After spray painting the cabinet grey with a rattle can I proceeded to use various colored chalks and clear alcohol to color all the details as well as the cabinet. I also added chain by the doorway.



Here's the same cabinet looking though the doorway of the shed. I added a piece of 12 x 12 inch block in between the rails to act as a stop so cars don't end up off the end of the track.



Speaking of track here's the main track going into the shed. Since this is a private right of way I decided to have more distance between the rails. The ties are 2x10's grained, then colored with raw umber chalk and clear alcohol. I set my square on the diorama to line up the ties so they would be square to the shed. Measured from the edge of the tie to the rail in a few different places to get the rails straight. I weathered the sides of the rails before I glued them down with super glue. The second rail was a little tricky. Added some glue to the underside of the rail then grabbed my track gauges. After lining up the rail with the floor rail I quickly started laying the rail flat onto the ties using my gauges to keep....well everything in gauge. Did a test check with a set of wheels and everything was as it should be. Lastly I added the 32 spikes to further hold the rails in place and in gauge.



This photo shows the rail sides all weathered. Any raw edges on the ties will be covered with scenery dirt. I also may add another short section of track on the frontside of the first track.

Next I'll probably work on the 2 items I have from Sierra West before moving on. That's about it for now and thanks for stopping by. All comments and/or any suggestions are always greatly appreciated.

[PRR Modeler]

Very nice Larry.

[Rick]

Larry, nice job on the details.
Most shops have the railhead flush with the floor.
That reduces a major tripping hazard and makes it easier getting shop equipment from one side to the other.

[Jerry]

Looks good Larry.  Nice job on those details.

Jerry

[Larry C]

Curt and Rick thanks.

Rick thanks for the tip, I'll file it for future use.

Jerry thank you.

[Philip]

  Nice work Larry!

[friscomike]

Howdy Larry,

Nice work on the table details, cabinet, and rail sides. O'Neils has been a fun build to watch.  Good luck with the SW kits.

Have fun,
mike

[Larry C]

Philip thanks!

Mike the details are the fun part; at least for me so thanks.

[Larry C]

Tabitha O'Neil will take on just about any job as long as it makes her money. After being contacted by a logging company a little distance away she contracted with them to repair their logging disconnects whenever needed; this would provide her with consistent revenue.



Ok, the first log disconnect is finished. I was quite surprised how long it took me to do one of the two items. The detail is great with lots of "tweezer time" involved being very careful NOT to launch any little details into "a galaxy far, far away."

Nice little kit to work on and I downloaded the instructions from Brett's site. Found a new use for my iPad....added the instruction file to iCloud then was able to access them on my device while upstairs in the train room; formerly daughter's bedroom.

Brett supplied an ample amount of boards for the deck which I heavily grained before gluing them onto the resin frame BEFORE coloring so the frame and decking would look consistent. Also supplied were 2 templates to mark the areas for several of the detail items. Colored the entire model with different colored chalks and clear alcohol.



Here's another angle. Supplied were 3 different sets of couplers, each with a different look; also a 'rooster' came with the kit which I will use on the 2nd disconnect. That one will probably be on a short second track when I get it built. Weathering wise I used a darker rust on this like the couplers and the rings on the bunk and a brighter rust on the bolts. The idea was to have a very worn, heavily used disconnect in need of repair.



Here it is sitting in the Shed waiting for much needed repair work. To keep with the "repair theme" I decided to glue the bunk onto the back of the car as opposed to the swivel plate where it's meant to go. The 3D printed wheel sets are ok for a static model but you'd need to replace those with metal ones if you wanted to actually use them on a layout.

The 2nd bunk has the wood decking glued down and the areas marked with the templates so now it's time to color everything and glue down all the details; that's my next job. Thanks for stopping by and for all your great comments, tips, and suggestions so stay tuned.

[PRR Modeler]

They look great and interesting back story.