Felt like building an FSM kit while I continue adding landforms/sidings to The Empire. Splitting my time will make this build even slower than my normal ones. ::) Here's the kit with a picture from the kit, we'll see how close I come to this.
Jeff
Picture of the usual suspects. I've never seen the castings so neatly placed before. I'll bet Mr. Sellios was bored out of his mind doing it to all the kits.
Jeff
Bracing time! A little tedious, but always exciting in a way as it's the start of a kit! Using one of the 1/8 inch pieces of wood as a guide as the real brace is placed 1/8 inch in from the side. Better remove it quickly if any glue oozed out!
Jeff
The castings didn't require much filing/cleanup. They then all get a detergent bath, scrub and rinse. Then set out to dry.
Jeff
They are separated into the "wood group" which will be sprayed with tan camo spray paint as a primer/base coat, and "other" which were sprayed flat black. I attach them to cards to maneuver them in the airbrush booth. After drying, some have to be flipped over to spray the other side. The second side coat is presently drying.
Jeff
The insides of the walls with the bracing were sprayed with dark brown (my can of black spray paint crapped out, but I went to Lowe's yesterday for a new one). The main structure is stucco, so the instructions call to assemble the walls before starting the stucco. It's soon going back into the spray booth for an exterior spray to seal both sides before stucco is applied.
Jeff
The plastic doors/windows have been removed from their sprues and the cut off areas smoothed off. They've been bathed, scrubbed and rinsed as well. They're ready for the airbrush booth. Maybe tomorrow...
Jeff
Good stuff, Jeff. This is the next kit I am going to build. Definitely following along.
Ooooh...looking forward to your thread!
This was a very fun kit to build. Enjoy. Looking forward to your progress.
Frank
I will follow your effort too.
Eric
Sweet! Can't wait to see what you do with it.
Jeff, Cant wait. I have this kit and wanna see how this goes :)...........Dennis
Jeff
Great to see the lid off one of those yellow boxes! It looks like you are off to a great start. I will be following along.
Looking good, Jeff.
I'm watching on from the sideline.
Cheers, Mark.
Nice start. I'll enjoy following along as well. This is one I don't have so it'll be interesting to see how it comes together. :D
Thanks for looking in, gentlemen. Bob, this won't be as detailed as your excellent builds. :) There are additions to the main structure front and back, so there's no need to stucco those areas. Plus, the stairs would look odd with gaps caused by the stucco. So these areas were lined off, first the front addition (it's slightly off in the pic, realigned for the marking), and then the stair area.
Jeff
I have two types of stucco here, and was going to experiment with them, but I went back to the kitforums group build of Bailey's produce and found the page where I'd discussed that. So I'm using the Liquitex stucco. Though it's been a long time, the technique came back to me relatively quickly. I use a brush which is a "deerfoot" or "stippler". spread a thin coat of the stucco on the wall and then tap the brush against the wall, moving the brush around and twisting it back and forth before tapping. This varies the pattern. Use a thin coat first, let it dry and then go over it again. The stucco tends to stick to itself and the brush more than the wall, so the first coat gives it something more to stick to. First coat on two sides to start, putting the structure together first enables you to stucco the corners as well to hide the seams.
Jeff
Two coats finished. I think the "backside" of the structure stucco is a little too thick.
Jeff
I sand the roughness down with a 180 grit emery board. You don't want to leave scratch marks, just smooth all the raised spots down. The window/door openings need cleaning out as well as the tops/bottoms of the walls if any stucco gets there. The backside of an xacto blade is good for this. The very edges of some of the window areas will need filing as well, if the windows jut out too far due to the stucco. After finishing, I though I should have placed a window in each slot when the stucco was wet to do this. ::)
Jeff
Looks good Jeff.
The stucco looks pretty good so far. Was that suggested in the kit instructions, or did you just decide to put your own spin on the detailing?
Your doing a great job Jeff!!! Dennis
Hey Jeff:
Frank B and I built this kit for George before it was issued. It's a great kit. My favorite part is the roof repair scene.
Karl
The entire kit was fun to build. Karl and I had a blast with building them in parallel. My favorite scene is the small barn structure and all of the details around it.
Frank
Thanks for the encouragement, gentlemen. Paintrain, the kit has a small amount of Durham's water putty to mix and use for the stucco. I've tried it in the past and it didn't seem to work well for me, though others here on the forum make great looking stucco with it. I painted the building with Floquil's aged concrete per the instructions. The windows/doors/trim are instructed to be Boxcar red and I had a new bottle of Pollyscale for this, though the bottle was a pain to open. ::) I put a couple of the windows in to see how the colors looked, pretty good I think, though the stucco is still a little too rough, but it'll do.
Jeff
Jeff,
I think stucco is one of the most challenging things to model effectively in HO and smaller scales. IMO your stucco looks great. Westside is coming along nicely. I think it looks much better than "pretty good". I'm enjoying following along.
Wow Jeff, This is a really cool looking model. The Antique concrete color looks like a dead ringer for stucco.
;D ;D ;D
Thanks Jerry and Bruce. Next step was staining all the stripwood. The pieces are short, so I used a metal instrument tray. Used the light grey Hunterline weathering mix. This took several days as I only had so much room to dry them.
Jeff
They were placed in some test tubes with the wood sizes printed on the side. George's instructions for finishing the stucco are a wash of A&I, dab it off if you've go too much in one spot, then a fine dry brushing of the aged concrete again. I used the Vallejo black wash (water based) as I've had acrylics lift off with the A&I at times. Looks better in person than the picture. Next up is drybrushing the doors/windows. Then window glass/shades.
Jeff
Hey Jeff:
It's looking good. Will be following along.
Karl
Thanks, Karl. The windows were "glassed" with Gallery Glass. I prefer to use acetate, but the arches would be impossible to cut. Shades were added (as well as a wood "blank" to replace a broken front window). Trim for the doors added as well. Next up is adding the doors, which I'll do with five minute epoxy. I think on the large ones the Aleen's Tacky glue may not hold them.
Jeff
That color combo is excellent, Jeff. The finish on the stucco looks great and I love to see the little extra details like the wood panel covering the broken window.
--George
Very nice Jeff. The color reminds me of old stucco buildings you see in the southwest.
Thanks for the kind words, gentlemen. As I said, the doors are large and heavy, so I glued wood supports for them, as they fit behind and in front of the wall. I put on the small back door with epoxy, but some of the shiny epoxy showed, and I had to use some Vallejo flat finish to cover it up. I used Aileen's Super Thick tacky glue on the two large doors, and they seemed to hold OK. I then put on a large amount over the edges, being careful not to ooze any out of the gaps. You folks who like to light up the interiors will have a chore covering all the gaps so there's no light leaks.
Jeff
Next up was the front entry door. This was a real pain. I couldn't figure out a good way to do this except fit the pieces, glue the main door in and then the sides. The opening isn't centered on the back of the wall, so you have to center the door and then place the edge pieces on .
Jeff
Again, I put a piece of stripwood on the bottom of the door so it would stay upright after gluing in place, I placed one of the pieces in front of it so it would be set back the right amount, centered it (you can see the door is centered but the "center" of the step is off a bit, as the interior walls are different widths.
Jeff
It's not perfect, but it'll do. I noticed afterward that George made his side walls the stucco color. I'm not changing it. :D I cleaned the windows with some windex on a swab. Next up some black paper in each section as a view block, then it's on to the roof. Also the electric meter was added. I still need to add two more details to the front and some wires from the electric weatherhead. The wood colored stripe in front of the door on the step is light showing from overhead lights.
Jeff
That is looking very good, Jeff. Very ingenious way to brace the doors until dry.
--Opa George
Thanks, Opa. The roof is interesting. There's a sub roof which George calls the "Ceiling" or lower roof. This confused me at first as there is a "lower roof" on the card as well. It fits on the top of the structure, and the hip roof sits on top of this. Some of the edge is exposed (on top and bottom) so it's painted the trim color. I wish I'd thought of using a styrene piece for this as after painting and brushing with A&I it kinda warped on the edges, the center piece is braced inside.
Jeff
The hip roof is an irregular shaped item. George notes to make sure it's even when put together (before it's glued). I had to trim a tiny bit off one lower side to make the edges even. The tarpaper guide lines are a real plus to get them all even. I use the tool in the foreground to put nailholes along the edge of the roofing and the Sharpie to color the edges so the brown paper color doesn't show. Transfer tape makes the attachment of the roof paper a breeze. I colored the roof strips with spray paint, flat black, grey and a very small amount of earth color.
Jeff
Well, after three months of other chores/stuff, I'm back at this. The roof bracing done and the roofing on.
Jeff
The instructions have you put the roof on, then do the cornices. I did them first as it's easier (for me) without the roof on.
Jeff
Next were the corner signs. These are meant to cover the gaps in the walls (the instructions have you stucco each wall and then glue them together). I stuccoed the walls after they were together, eliminating the gaps. As the walls are bumpy, there are some very small gaps in places, so the back of the sign needs blackening to hide this. I made sure they were straight with a 90 degree tool
Jeff
The lower roof is on as well.
Jeff
Looks great.
Late to the party on your build Jeff.....good progress and I'll be looking in. :)
Looks good Jeff.
Looks like you have the same angle plates I use....
Thanks, guys. Here's the building with the roof on. Need to touch up the trim edges and get that dried glue glob off the roof. :o
Jeff
Next up are the dormers. You know they're futzy when they take up more than a whole column on the instructions. :P The bottom edge of the front piece needs to be sanded to match the roof angle. Then the side pieces put on to match, and then their tops sanded to match the dormer roof. Only two of them came apart while sanding. Put in the windows. Glue on roof.
Jeff
The instructions then say to paint the roof, to match the main roof and add a tarpaper strip on the stop. I just used tarpaper on the dormer roofs. Here's the angle irons helping hold the roofs on the dormers. I should get some small baggies to put the ballast I use for smaller roof weights. ::)
Jeff
Remember to leave the roof strips slightly long on the back, or they won't touch the roof (I did this on a previous build and actually remembered to do it here. I added black paper behind the windows so they can't be seen through. Her's one installed/roofed dormer. Three to go. Then they need some trim put on...
Jeff
Jeff
I just got caught up with your build, looks great.
This looks really good, Jeff. I like the textured look of the roof paper. Looks real.
--Opa George
Looks great, Jeff.
Cheers, mark.
Hey Jeff:
Looks great. really like your stucco.
Karl
What Karl said.....the stucco looks great. 8)
Very nice looking build.
Thanks for looking in, guys. The roof is finished. Trim around the bases of the dormers. The instructions note just using tar around the front of the dormer, and trim on the sides. I thought it would look better with trim all around.
Jeff
A cover over the back door and a small one over the phone area on the front.
Jeff
Next up are some roof details. Ladders and a scaffolding. Items built over the template on temporary double sided tape. I use the bottle cap to hold glue which is put on with a toothpick or Q tip, depending on how much glue is needed.
Jeff
Looking good, Jeff.
I like the trim around the dormers instead of tar.
Cheers, mark.
Hey Jeff:
Looking just beautiful. Your finished stucco looks great. The roof came out well also.
Karl
Jeff,
I agree with the others, very nicely done.
Tom ;D
The detail parts are for a scene of a workman fixing the roof. The workman needed some repainting. When I applied an acrylic wash to the face, most of the paint came off. :o The white areas on the workman are glare, not the paint being missing. ::) The instructions call for a piece of wire to be used as a roof pipe, but I did my own with some plastic cylinder.
Jeff
Jeff,
Could you say a few more words about how you paint the tar paper? I love the look. Looks like maybe you paint it solid black and then spritz on some gray and earth from a distance so that it looks very spattered? Or maybe that's sponged? How do you do it?
Vince
Great looking roof.
You are correct, Vince. I use spray cans of black/grey/tan. Black to start, then the other colors lightly from a distance. If I overdo it, I repeat the colors until I get what I like. I've used the SAC Bomber green (a Karl tar paper color suggestion) similarly for a green roof, and red primer for a red roof.
Jeff
Looks wonderful Dr. Jeff! :D Keep up the great work! ;)
More slow progress. The staircase addition is built. It has complex bracing, but it didn't help much as the front piece really warped. Unfortunately, I don't think extending the 1/16 inch bracing under the door would have helped much. Stuck it under weight for a few days and it improved, but until the stairs were glued on, really stayed curved. I had sprayed the back with flat black (missed a spot as something shifted), but I don't think it would have helped if that area was painted. All the metal pieces (including the stairs), were attached with 5 minute epoxy. The stairs were first superglued on and then epoxy added along the bottom edge. Some shiny spots appeared from epoxy oozing under/around the doors. Flat finish brushed on solved this. Added the top and bottom braces on the back to make sure the sides squared. Next up are signs for this. I cut the whole sheet out yesterday in four sittings. :o
Jeff
As I mentioned, I cut out all the signs at once. Easier than trying to pick out the ones George used. One issue, there are some license plates to hang around the doorways, but they're a little oversized. They scale out at 15" x 7 ". Our present plates are 12x5. Here's a picture (I had started cutting them when I suddenly thought they were too big) of them with some smaller scale ones I got out of an old modeling magazine. I'm not sure if I'll use them. I could copy/shrink them/reprint them, I guess.
Jeff
I finished the staircase area. One problem on a stucco building is adding stuff over it, it has a problem not leaving gaps. I chisled/filed off every thing that interfered with the fit. Unfortunately, when I originally put on the stucco, my measurement for the stairs was a bit off, so there's no stucco near the stairs. Probably better than trying to remove it later to fit (there is a small gap at the top of the stairs, don't look too carefully. ::) ). Now to work on the rear shed.
Jeff
Jeff,
Just getting caught up on this build. Glad you managed to overcome the issue with warping. Looks great!
Another excellent looking build Jeff.
Jeff,
Wow, the building came out looking mighty fine.
Tom ;D
Hey Jeff:
This is coming out just great keep the pics flowing.
Karl
Thanks for the positive comments, gentlemen. The rear shed roof is made up of "metal roofing". Pieces cut from paper and attached to the roof. Used the rotary "nail hole" maker on the edges before putting them on with transfer tape. Painted with SAC bomber green spray paint (instructions use Floquil Depot Olive, close enough match).
Jeff
I forgot to put on the d*#ned rafter tails until I had attached the shed (and the side walkway). Which lead to this scary scenario to glue them on.
Jeff
The rear shed was cardboard sides, painted like the roof (black/tan/grey spray paint). Wooden battens applied. Some minimal weathering done. The side "walkway" was stick built using templates. The building itself is finished, except for a back loading dock which is three castings and a wooden top. Unfortunately, my paint shaker managed to shake it's way off the counter and managed to break itself. So until the new one gets here tomorrow, that's on hold. It's really great for mixing the paints, especially the Vallejo bottles.
Jeff
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Sidewalks are to be carved/sanded/finished from these pieces of wood. That will be an ongoing project as I proceed to the next structure of the diorama.
Jeff
Jeff,
Your FSM Westside Auto looks like the best place to go for auto parts in Iowa.
Keep building those yellow boxes !
Tommy
Jeff:
Great job so far. You did A great job on my favorite part. The roof repair.
Karl
I like how the wooden covered stairs look against the stucco. Lots of interesting features on this one.
--Opa George
Thanks, guys. The next structure is an open shed. It's stick framework over a wood plank base. I've diverged from the instructions here. The building and sidewalks are supposed to be attached to a plywood base at this point. Mine will be on gatorfoam, but I'm not sure of the overall "fit" on the layout, so I want all the structure done first before attaching them to a base. The planks were to be directly glued to the base, but I used a sheet of black posterboard. It glued fine, but warped when a couple of coats of thin A&I were applied. I put it under weight for awhile and even sprayed the back lightly with water and put it under the weight again. It's nearly flat again.
Jeff
Since the superstructure for the roof is so fragile, George suggests detailing the interior before putting the pieces together. So I'm painting the detail parts to go in this area. And some extra pieces as well. I do this in short bursts, due to a mild intention tremor which occurs after awhile. Also the eyestrain. :o
Jeff
There's an old rusty vehicle in the shed (not included). I didn't want to use one of the few Jordan old Model T's I have, but I had this old Stutz from somewhere. It's not terrifically detailed, so will be perfect for this. I'm going to airbrush it basically rust and build up the colors from there with chalks, etc.
Jeff
Looking good Jeff! Great idea using a that old Stutz model instead of burning up a Jordan. She should fit the bill perfectly after you rust her up. ;)
You're doing a super job, gotta love these tall type building from fsm. Look forward to you working through the castings.
That Stutz looks like an old Dyna-Model unit.
Great work on the build
Thank you, gentlemen. Mr. Dye, I believe you are correct that it is from Dyna Models. It's probably been sitting in a drawer here for 25 years. I should have stripped it, but I overpainted it with a reddish rust with the airbrush. After one coat, which didn't stick very well, as it was so shiny, I used a coat of dullcoat, then more airbrushing. Then used pastel chalk put on with alcohol. In a couple of spots the alcohol took the finish down to the original metal ::) . This was easily recovered with more pastel and alcohol. It looks, OK, not great. I think I'll cover most of it with a tarp at any rate. Here's some of the other details ready to go. The pics aren't the greatest.
Jeff
You did good , I always have my airbrush setup and ready to go. I find I can do quite a bit more to make a nice even coat of colour. Once I learned the proper way of cleaning I became a lot more comfortable.
Thanks, Lynnb. Everything is finally together. The workbench was a major pain as the base of four legs and four crossbraces is too flimsy. It looks more askew in the pics than it is, but it isn't perfect. I need to touch up the ends with some A&I. The tarp worked out OK as well. The vehicle is larger than the one George used, as I had a couple of details left over (sacks, a pallet and a trash can) that just didn't fit. You're also supposed to add a figure in the middle, but I don't want to deal with painting a figure right now. Used some of my dirt to weather up where workers would come and go. Time to paint the roof.
Jeff
Jeff,
Really nice in the details. Sometimes a tiny little detail grabs your attention for the "wow" factor. For me, it is that rusty barrel with the junk and the shop rag draped over the side.
Fantastic!
--Opa George
Thanks, George. I always include one of these on my builds. Here's one from a previous diorama. The barrel is a Tichy product.
Jeff
The fragile ends and sides have been attached. I double sided taped this to a piece of matting as it was still slightly warped and I wanted to touch the actual structure as little as possible.
Jeff
Next was the roof. It's the same material (metal roofing) as on the back shed. I was a bit worried when I put a bag of ballast on it to hold it down that it would collapse, but it did OK. A touch of PanPastels on the roof.
Jeff
Both structures in their future location on The Empire. Just enough room in the front for a street. :)
Jeff
Splendid addition to the empire my friend! Really great job all around. The painting and weathering of the detail castings is top notch. :D
Really nice addition , wonderful weathering and detailing.
Excellent addition.
Thanks, guys. There's one more structure to add. Hope to start on that tomorrow.
Jeff
Hey Jeff:
Very well done so far. Can't wait to see the finished product.
Karl
Looking good Jeff..... 8)
Jeff,Your doing a beautiful job!!!! Dennis
Looks terrific, Jeff!
Cheers, Mark.
Thank you, guys for the positive reinforcement. The last structure is a "storage shed". The instructions note to spray paint both sides of the walls with khaki paint and then brace them. I braced them first. I also added the corner pieces and door trim. The structure and trim are all one color, so I needed to paint the window, a "louver", a door and the back steps I'd missed when initially painting all the castings.
Jeff
While the paint dried on the walls, I decided to go back and finish the back platform for the main building. It's 3 metal castings which look like stone. Over this you put a wood deck. Per the instructions, start at the front and work to the back. I worried this could leave a tiny gap, or worse, not be parallel to the wall. I cut out the stripwood and attached it to a piece of double sided tape on the bench.
Jeff
I then used painters tape to connect these, so I could remove it from the double sided tape. I also added a brace to the castings to make them more robust while moving the piece around.
Jeff
Then this was placed in it's spot up against the wall. Of course, I then thought, "Gee, if I'd lined the edges up, I could glue this one much easier than piece by piece. DOH!" :o The gap is even at the front, but the front "timber" isn't quite parallel.
Jeff
Filing the edge of one of the castings, and adding the front board, it's now pretty parallel and has just enough overhang to cover. So I'll remove the pieces, Tape them with even edges, and glue the pieces on.
Jeff
Well, that's done. Not quite easy peasy, but finished. Onto the walls of the storage shed.
Jeff
Well done. The shape is interesting.
Very nice detailing, you can see alot more when you click the pic.
Super cool.
Jaime
Hey Jeff:
Well done. love your stucco. It looks just perfect.
Karl
Thanks, guys. I'm still plugging along. Today is sign day. I had mentioned the license plates weren't quite scale, but, I cut one of each out to see how they looked. The small ones are too small to really distinguish, so I think the larger ones are more recognizable as plates without getting within inches of the wall. Another example of George's artistic knack as they look better than the scale ones. You can see them on the right side of the wall.
Jeff
I think it's easier to apply the signs before putting the walls together. The large Champion sign is supposed to be applied over the siding to look painted on. I didn't feel like sanding it super thin, applying it and fighting to get it to go over each batten and stay straight. So I made it more a billboard and edged it with stripwood. Next I'm going to try to scratchbuild a door to replace the one supplied so I can open it slightly. There's not going to be an interior, but want to put a vehicle inside. I can't cut the one supplied without ruining it, so will try building one on my own. We'll see if this works.
[/size]Jeff
Never seems to be enough signs, good job.
Thanks, Lynn. The doors are done. They are very simple, designed to roll side to side inside. I thought of adding small windows, but they'd be mostly be blocked, and I'm lazy. The color of the doors is much closer to the siding than the picture shows due to the flash. The silver in the center is an angle iron holding the doors in place and the wall up temporarily.
Jeff
Nice signage and doors Jeff.
Very cool, Jeff. Gotta love those license plates around the door. They add that extra "wow" factor.
--Opa George
Looking very nice, Jeff.
Cheers, Mark.
Thank you, Curt, George and Mark. It's a little building! Always nice to get the walls together...
Jeff
...but that leaves the roof and shingles. :P Not my favorite part of structure building. At least it's MUCH easier with the transfer tape versus glue. I ran into an issue. The shingles have an irregular top edge. These are slightly wider than the straight strip, which is what I started with, and then the roof was too long, so I shaved a millimeter or so off. I'll need to do the same to the other side. :-[
Jeff
I like using the tape as well. :)
Excellent modeling Jeff.
Hey Jeff:
that structure is coming along well. I use that tape on all my roofs and also on signs.
Karl
Jeff
This build is looking great. I finally got caught up this morning.
Thanks, guys. Next up is a shed which goes next to the storage building. More building over templates.
Jeff
Hey Jeff:
Looks like you are moving right along.
Karl
Thanks, Karl, not nearly as fast a builder as you, however. :) The roof is on the storage building and the shed is finished. The roof is not attached to the shed yet, as now it's time to glue all the parts down to the diorama so dirt/details can be placed inside the shed before putting the roof on. But first, I need to make sure the diorama will fit on the layout and then, RAFTER TAILS! :o
Jeff
i use mostly MicroEngineering #6 turnouts for sidings. However, I don't have any left hand ones, and can't find any on line. I like the Peco Code 83s as well, and have one here to see how the fit would be. It works out better, as they are shorter. I wanted to be able to see the switch stands from the aisle, and didn't want the structure in the way. The Pecos will work fine. The screwdriver bit shows where the switch stand would be on the right side of the diorama. Need to order the turnouts, then install them and the siding. Then I can cut out the diorama base from the surounding gatorfoam.
Jeff
Doc Jeff, try Crusader Rail for ME track. (http:/www.crusaderrail.com) They have great prices and service.
But I saw in a posting from Fast Tracks that ME is all out of Code 83 rail and spikes.
dave
Nice job on the structures. The open outdoor shed makes the building more interesting.
Thanks, Curt. The rafter tails are on. Added the canopy over the door. Noticed after viewing the picture, the door frame didn't quite get all painted. :-[ So I used some A&I to cover this issue. Added a few more license plates as well. My Peco turnouts just arrived, so it's time for some layout work.
Jeff
Jeff,
Everything is coming together nicely. The coloring of the structures give them a really natural family look, IMO. I really like the storage building and the shed. I often am as attracted to the outbuildings George designs as the main buildings in the kits. He has an amazing eye for complimentary outbuildings. I'd bet this will be a real attention getting scene on your layout.
Jeff,
Very nice build and the roof came out great. I like laying track between builds. Breaks up the modeling for me.
Tom ;D
Looks super Jeff! What a fine addition that will be make the empire. :)
Now that you're almost done with this one inquiring minds want to know - What's next? ;D
Thanks for the kind words, gentlemen. Bob, I'm still a ways from completion, here. The subroadbed (gatorfoam) is glued down for the track. I'm going to glue the road bed (1/4 in hardboard) after breakfast. Then the track goes in (need to add the tortoises for the turnouts as well). Then cut out the diorama base from the gatorfoam. I think once the buildings are in place and scenery starts, I'll feel closer to the finish line. As for next, maybe painting a brass caboose (waycar on the CB&@).
Jeff
Hey Jeff:
Coming along very nicely.
Karl
The siding is in place. I'd forgotten how many tools are required. One piece of flextrak and three turnouts. Fifteen feeder wires (perhaps overkill, but I don't want any dead spots). The tortoises are in, but not powered yet. That will require actually making a control panel, a hurdle I've yet to clear. The "test train" went through at Greg Speed ( ;D ) in both directions with no bumps/jolts/derailments.
Jeff
After all the tools and stuff were put away, I used the diagrams from the instructions to place the structures. The front edge of the layout is not parallel to the track, so perpendiculars from the mainline needed to be drawn first. The buildings were placed so that the two turnout throwbars are visible. I hope to have working switchstands here, but haven't gotten around to trying the Rapido ones yet. The buildings were placed per the diagram and marked off on the gatorfoam. The ruler represents where the street edge is. I used a small pickup here to make sure a vehicle would fit. George has one on the diorama, but it's a Model T and I wanted to make sure the area wasn't too crowded. I moved the left storage building back about 1/8" from the instructions to make it a little roomier. Next the diorama base needs to be cut out of the big sheet, so the diorama can be removed if needed.
Jeff
It's going to look great when it's complete.
Hey Z:
It's looking just great. Keep the pic flowing.
Karl
Looks great!
I am really enjoying the build, Jeff. Looks excellent. I am expecting that this will be one of the next few kits I also build as I work my way south into Monee. It's really handy to have you blazing the trail ahead of time!
Could you tell me what the depth of that scene is from front to back? That is, from the front of the sidewalk to that front of that boxcar behind it? From the photos, looks like maybe 7 or 8 inches?
Jeff,
Looks perfect, well done Doc.
Tom ;D
Thanks, guys. Vince, the depth on my diorama is 5 1/2 inches from the boxcar to the front edge of the sidewalk. Here's the diorama diagram from the instructions. Note it's just the main building, there's the life side addition that sticks out (as well as the stairway). There's about 1/2 inch of space on the sides of the outbuildings to the edges of the diorama. Still painting the detail parts...
Jeff
The detail parts are pretty much finished. Oops, forgot to do the brooms! :) The storage building has clapboard under the door. Since, I'm planning on having a slightly opened door here, I need to eliminate this issue. If I'd planned ahead, I would have cut it out and made the door trim longer (especially as I made my own doors), but instead, I'm raising the driveway. The interior piece is just large enough for the car, the rest of the interior won't be visible.
The other issue is paint changes. The paint I have used for roads in the past is no longer available. It was from Lowe's, a somewhat textured paint with subtle other colors in it. So here I used Woodland scenics "concrete", it's a very light tan color. I'll have to use some pastels to make it grayer. I didn't want to open the whole gallon of earth paint I use for scenery, but wanted to make sure all the edges of the building were covered, so some Polly scale Earth (another now unavailable paint) was used. I'll put some of the earth latex on when it's time to add the dirt over the scene.
Jeff
Nice job on the ramp and approach. Being seamless it looks natural.
Jeff
Very nice work, looking great.
Thanks Curt and John. Tried some AK interactive pigments, plain pastels and some weathering powders on a test piece, none of which was exactly what I was looking for. Then tried Pan Pastels and I think "it'll do", with some further weathering as well. I needed to do the driveway, so I can mount the car in the garage, put on the doors and glue the storage building in place. Then mark the shed area, put down some dirt and details and then add dirt all over the diorama. I'll do the street last.
Jeff
I forgot about the stack on top of the structure. :o Drilled a small hole in the roof, attached a 1/4 inch thick piece of stripwood inside the roof under the hole, then drilled larger holes just a few millimeters into this, so the stack would sit straight. Two small holes, one in the casting, one in the stripwood, and a 0.32 wire between them completed this, again to insure it would sit vertically, set with a small amount of CA glue. Then the two guy wires were attached with CA and some accelerator. Painted and rusted up the stack. Weathered the roof. The building is now attached to the base. Time to go find some dirt for ground cover.
Jeff
Nice looking building.
Well done.
ed
Hey Jeff:
Looks just great so far.
Karl
Thanks for the kind words, guys. Dirt and some ground cover in place. Starting to add details. Easier to add them while the base is wet, in case you need to scrape some of the cover off so the part sits straight. Also, makes them look more like they've been there awhile and the grass/weeds have grown up around them. I'd forgotten how messy this is. ::) I managed to remove some of the pastels from the driveway while drying to move some wet dirt before the matte medium set. :-\ Will just go over it again when everything is dry (probably when I paint/pastel the street).
Jeff
Love the spark plug sign.
looking sharp!
Very nice, and the concrete looks great.
--Opa George
Everything looks great so far, I'll be following.
Thanks, guys. I had an issue on the back of the storage building. The moisture from adding the dirt/etc must have expanded the wood under the door, causing it to bow out (actually moved the dirt base) and crack (bottom left edge of the door). I did paint the inside of the walls before building, but suspect the bottom edge didn't get sealed and sucked up the moisture. I pushed it back in place and used a RR spike to hold it, then piled up dirt so the bottom edge of the door now opens onto the dirt.
Jeff
Still adding details. Need to finish the finishes on the driveway and sidewalk before adding them. Had "auditions" for figures to populate the scene, some of them will need some painting as well.
Jeff
Nice recovery on the little warping problem. :) Looking great overall too! ;D
Thanks, Bob. Next was the power pole/lines. This is the most challenging item for me on a diorama. This took two days. The power pole itself was painted/stained twice, I had used some painter's tape to mask the pole to paint the white, which removed some of the stain. :o I use EZ line for the lines. Spot gluing them is quite a challenge. I use "Instant set CA" and some accelerator, but it still takes a minute to set. I let each joint dry for about 10 minutes and then do it again. I don't dare do another until it sets again, cuz I'll knock off the previous line. :P I added some small pieces of .020 wire on the side of the pole to attach the lines, the instructions just have you glue them to the wood, which wouldn't hold very well. I knocked off the crossbar twice while doing this. I should have attached it with a small piece of wire as well, like the transformer (drill a hole in the item and the pole, glue wire into the item and then add to the pole). This is my second set of pictures. While manipulating the first set, I saw I'd knocked off one line while trimming them. Thank The Maker that part is done. Almost there...
Jeff
Those telephone poles/details/lines can cause one to come up with some new expressions. ;D
Looks good!
The idea of using a fine piece of wire to mount the transformer, etc. is a good one. I use 5 minute epoxy for gluing the lines in place but that has it's downside as well (as in I'm sitting there for five minutes holding the line exactly where I want it).
That is great looking wiring, Jeff!
Superb details Jeff.
Thanks, gents for the positive comments. Did the "roadwork" this morning. Worked on it over an hour. Could work on it forever, as each layer changes things. I used PanPastels just like the sidewalk/driveway. I thought those ended up a little too dark. So the road is slightly lighter. I also wanted to keep the underlying "earth" color, but it tended to disappear in time (I'll use a touch of my dirt to add this back to the street. This is very messy and I kept washing my hands and trying not to touch stuff (just like we're doing for the virus :) ). There were many spots on the road from glue, etc which the pastels couldn't really cover well. I scraped these with a blade and sanded them down as well ( the light areas in the lower pic--not the final product). Added some joints and cracks in the concrete. I noted with the sidewalk that these tended to disappear, so I traced them with a pencil first. This tended to disappear as well, so I added it at the end just before a gentle overall blending. It's in the airbrush booth, as I sprayed some fixative to it so I don't have fingerprints in the pastel if I touch the street. A few more details to add and I'm finished. And I knocked off the pole crossbar again! :o
Jeff
A minor disaster. Using the fixative, I used two light coats. First was fine, second had some drips. >:( Waited for it to dry, sanded them off and did the area again. No fixative this time, we'll just risk getting pastel on our fingers if we touch it. A few final notes on the kit. As usual, the instructions are excellent. The eight full color pics included help a lot as well. I have a fair amount of stripwood left over. I didn't build the small fence behind the open shed as I think there will be a fence between this diorama and whatever comes next to it. There's a fire barrel with some superstructure on the storage building which I left off as well. I just didn't like the looks of it on the structure. I have a couple of details left over, added some of my own as well. The pigeons are on the roof, and that means this one is finished. My first post was Sept 7th, almost nine months (no pregnancy jokes, please :D ), though I did take off three months in between. A great kit. I'll post finished photos after I rig up some better lighting. I used to do this on the pool table, but since it's gone, I'll have to find a new venue.
Jeff
Let's get to the pics. Front and back. I didn't detail much on the back, as it can't be seen on the layout.
Lots of activity in the front. You'll note the sign "Mark's Auto Repair". My brother (Mark) was quite the motorhead in his day, so the place is named for him. Guys near the front door discussing last night's Red Sox victory, guy up fixing the roof. Looks like the workbench in the open shed needs fixing, too. :-[
Jeff
Person done with his newspaper, waiting for his car to be fixed. Foreman discussing with customer the bill. Just before the customer faints... ;)
One of the mechanics moving a tire. His face washes out in the pix so he looks like a masked killer. :o
This area was my favorite for detailing, including the (poorly painted) calico cat drinking from the old toilet, is this the best detail casting ever?
3/4 shot down the rear of the diorama.
Again, not much going on around the back, except for the open shed. The old tarp covered car turned out well, I think.
Some vegetation got in the shed, needs to be removed.
I'm really happy how the storage shed turned out. I made my own doors so that they could be partially opened. Managed to match them with the cast metal doors and the siding as well. Used a lot of the included signs, and have a lot left over as well. :D
Why did I want the doors to open, so a hint of a vehicle could be in the garage. What kind of car? My brother's favorite. I think he's owned five or six of these in the past. I know it doesn't fit the steam/diesel transition, but it had to be this way. I actually thought of using an old Jordan Roadster and putting the "Bird" on the hood, but couldn't find any small enough decals.
Jeff
Anyway, it's been a fun (mostly, I still have nightmares about the power pole) build. Thanks for following. Time to clean up the mess that is my workspace. I must say that my new modules helped me not lose any parts, and keep tools and stuff where I could find them, or this would have taken even longer.
Jeff
Awesome job Jeff! Two thumbs up!
I like the summary you gave prior to posting all the pictures as well. Thanks so much for sharing. :D
Absolutely fantastic build Jeff. All the details are perfect.
A masterpiece, Jeff. Thanks for sharing. I hope to be building that kit sometime this year as well. It will be nice to have your thread as a reference.
Great modeling Jeff , thank you very much for sharing.
Jeff,
Looks fantastic, very well done. It is a masterpiece. Love it all. Great job.
Tom ;D
Great job Jeff, this is really a fantastic build.
Jeff, you knocked this build out of the park. Congrats on such beautiful results.
The final pictures are fun and a feast for the eyes.
--Opa George
Great scene & build thread Jeff.....well done. 8)
Thank you, gentlemen for the kind words. Coming from you folks, it's really gratifying to hear.
Jeff
Hey Jeff:
Beautifully done. Great weathering and all those casting look just great.
Karl