Inter-Action Hobbies Moonshiner's Shed

[ReadingBob]

Bob, very nice of your wife to get you a kit for xmas.
I like how you're weathering the walls.
And the details look good too.

Hi Rick! Yeah, we're at the point where neither of us really need anything but it's always nice to have something under the tree so I give her a list of a few smaller kits that would make nice presents. Honestly, she could go to my stash, pull out a kit, wrap it, and give it to me. I might not even know the difference. 

[ReadingBob]

Great start Bob.  You might induce me to purchase this kit, like I need anymore kits.  Those details they provide look really nice.  Mark

Thanks, Mark! The details are awesome, and plentiful. The hardest part about this kit, for me, was painting all the details. I'm not sure what I'm going to build after this one, but it may be something that doesn't have quite as many details. 

[ReadingBob]

Back to our regularly scheduled build. 

I wanted all of the stuff that was laser cut out of that Masonite like material to look like old, weathered wood. Basically, to look like the walls. I started by painting the parts using a sponge and some Khaki colored acrylic paint. After the paint dried, I hit the parts with Hunterline Light Gray Weathering mix. I followed that up with dry brushing the same light gray I had used earlier on the walls. The end result was a close enough match to the walls.



The supports for the shelves got glued on next. The parts for the two end walls are easy to identify and orient correctly. I just applied a little Canopy Glue to one side.



Then applied the part to the wall. Even at the bottom and centered on the wall so there's an equal amount of space and each end (these aren't as wide as the walls). The gaps are for bracing. Eyeballing the position was good enough.



Then I weighed the wall down for a few minutes until the glue took hold.



Still working on the end walls. I added the shelves next. I used a small square to make sure they were level. For the end walls the lower two shelves are identical and the upper one is a bit shorter.



The rear wall is made up of two short wall sections while the supports for the shelve is one long section. Remember, there is a 'top' to each wall. They have notches at the top, Half of notch on each wall at one end. That half a notch indicates the center of the wall. When the two walls are side by side there's a full notch at that point.



More in a moment...

[ReadingBob]

I glued one half of the rear wall to the supports for the shelves keeping in mind which side was center of the wall. Again, even with the bottom of the wall. Getting it centered on the mid support will give you the right amount of spacing on the other end.



Then I glued the other half of the rear all to the shelve supports.



After adding the shelves to the rear wall, it was time to start cluttering them up with junk. It's easier to do this now, before the shed is assembled.



I jumped ahead, a little bit, to assemble the two benches. Each bench is comprised of four pieces. Two long ones that make up the top (getting glued together here) and two end pieces that are the legs.



Attaching the legs to one end. Right about this point I had one of the legs pop out of the tweezers as I was messing with the camera. I didn't see where it went. After searching the area around my workbench and the clutter on top of my workbench I finally located it. 



After adding the end posts, beam across the top and braces to the rear wall it was time glue the end walls to the rear wall. I tried to make sure they were at a 90-degree angle.





More in a moment...

[ReadingBob]

Okay, the other end wall being glued in place.



This kit really needs to be built, in place, on the layout or on a diorama given there's no floor. I'm not where, if ever, I'll use this one, so I don't want a huge diorama. I cut out small block of GatorFoam like material and sprayed one side with a Khaki color rattle can. This is just big enough to hold the shed, details and have room for a pickup truck (a Sylvan model I tried my hand at a few years ago).



My really basic scenery starts by applying some Elmers White Glue to the surface.



Then getting my finger dirty smearing the glue evenly over the surface.



I sprinkled a thin layer of dirt. I got it from a mound of dirt sitting outside a baseball field. Baked it on a charcoal grill for a few hours to dry it out and kill anything that might living in it. Sifted it with an old kitchen strainer. I didn't bother here but I might even sift it through an old nylon stocking to get just the really fine stuff.



Then I soaked it with 'wet' water. Water with a drop or two of dishwashing detergent in it.



More in a moment...

[ReadingBob]

While wet, I piped on some diluted Elmers White Glue. Roughly 50/50 but accuracy is no big deal here.



I set the shed in place, temporarily, so I could apply Woodland Scenic Weeds to the area around the shed without getting it inside the shed. I remove the shed because I didn't want it soaking up the moisture the ground was holding at this point.



Finally, at least for today, I start positioning some of the details that go inside the shed, like the still, and got them settled down into the dirt. They'll be glued in place when everything dries.



That's all for today.  Thanks for following along! 

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looking good, Bob.

Some really cool details, and, like you say, a good amount of them.

Cheers, Mark.

[Vietnam Seabee]

Looking great Bob...
Along with leaning from your builds I also enjoy trying to determine the wording/design on the various shirts you wear ;-))
terry

[PRR Modeler]

Very steady hands with those tiny flimsy parts and you did an excellent job. I look forward to seeing the final results.

[Jerry]

Bob your usual wonderful tutorial.  And outstanding work with those tiny details!!

Jerry

[Rick]

Bob, that's a good trick putting the details on the shelves while the walls are laying flat.

[ReadingBob]

Looking good, Bob.

Some really cool details, and, like you say, a good amount of them.

Cheers, Mark.

Thanks, Mark! Darryl did a really nice job with this one. It's a fun one to build once you recover from painting everything. 

[ReadingBob]

Looking great Bob...
Along with leaning from your builds I also enjoy trying to determine the wording/design on the various shirts you wear ;-))
terry

Thanks, Terry! My favorite t-shirt store, in Mt. Dora, closed. I need to find a new source for t-shirts with funny phrases on them. 

[ReadingBob]

Very steady hands with those tiny flimsy parts and you did an excellent job. I look forward to seeing the final results.

Thanks, Curt! I look forward to finishing it off and taking it down to Tom's for a show and tell one of these days. I still have the roof to assemble and some other odds and ends to take care of but it's close to being finished. 

[ReadingBob]

Bob your usual wonderful tutorial.  And outstanding work with those tiny details!!

Jerry

Thank you, Jerry! I'm glad to have you following along. The YouTube video that's out there on building this one is very useful.