Looking good Karl. Lots of stripwood on this one.

Thanks George. For the FSM kit I scribed horizontal lines in the siding before I applied it to the core. This kit already had horizontal lines so I followed those. If the lines are deep enough the thread locks right in to the groove. I super glue one end of the thread on first then make sure i pull it tight while gluing the rest of the way around.

-Steve

Thanks everyone.

I made a little more progress today. I got the roof on the smaller building and I started the loading dock and the water tank.

I didn't take enough pictures of the assembly of the decking and the water tank base. I thought I was stopping to take pictures but apparently I did not. I have a tendency to get wrapped up in the project and I forget to take photos.






I added the rafter tails and end rafters. Same as the other building.


The wooden dowel for the water tank core was missing from the kit. I have a few dowels sitting around. I found one that looked about right and cut it to fit.


The tank is made from one sheet with laser cut planks wrapped around the dowel.


It looks like the instructions have you using paper to simulate bands. I decided to use thin thread instead.


Here is everything mocked up in place. The tank isn't glued down. The weathering of the decking and the water tank assembly is not finished. I need to let the glue dry before I can start to weather it more.


I liked how the thread bands came out when I built this FSM Water Tank that's why I decided to go with thread on this one. I used the same thread also. It's a dark brown with very little fuzzies.


Thanks for checking in.

-Steve

Thanks guys.

Lynn, I sanded the back of the sign to make it a little thinner, cut along along with the clapboard once it was in place then I used my fingernail in press it into the clapboards.

I made a little more progress over the weekend. Lots of Christmas stuff coming up with the kids so I didn't have a ton of time.


I wanted to do something different with the roof. I used some scale 2x2s to cover up the seams. I wasn't really happy with the unfinished wood look.


I decided to paint all the wood on the roof to match. I think the unfinished wood looks good on a shed or some type of barn structure but it looks unfinished with all the blue and white coloring.


I painted and added on all the rafter tails. These are laser cut and I colored them the same as the windows. 1 coat of A&I, white paint dabbed on with a stiff straight brush followed by another A&I wash. All of the coloring was done prior to removing them from the laser cut sheet.




I dusted the roof with some dark brown chalk. I'll add some more weathering later once I add the chimneys and the water tank.



Thanks for checking in.

-Steve

Very nice little structure Dave.

Thanks everyone. for following along.

Lynn, Some of the FSM kits George has you mix grimy black with epoxy. It fills gaps better but for me it ends up with chunky looking tar that's also very shiny and sometimes difficult to dull down. I prefer Gallery Glass Liquid Leading Black to simulate tar. Its thick and flat and comes out of the tube the right color. I built Bailey's a long time ago but I believe in that kit George is using Elmers glue mixed with Polly-S Grimy Black? Muxh easier to dull down than Epoxy.

Thanks Curt, I took the flashing idea from Brett Gallant. It's one of the techniques used in O'Neills Fabrication. I've been using it ever since.

Thanks Jerry, I'm glad you're following along. I think I spend more time experimenting with colors than I actually do building kits. I try a few colors out on a piece of scrap clapboard and fully weather them to see which one will work for me. I usually come back the next day and choose one. Gray, dark silver, dark green all work out well for the flashing. Its a super easy technique and it works pretty well.

I made a little progress today on the roof. The roof consists of peel and stick paper strips similar to a stick on label from Staples.


The peel and stick is very fast to apply. Even with the cuts around the dormers it only took me a few minutes to do the whole roof.


I colored the roofing with Apple Barrel 21490E Pavement. It's very similar to Grimy Black or Weathered Black Floquil.


Before I installed the roofing I needed to bevel the edges of the front and rear walls to match the peaked profile. Everyone has a technique for doing this and it's pretty standard on craftsman kits but I figured I'd show how I do it.


I've used a sanding block in the past but I prefer a piece of 120 grit laid flat on my glass workbench.



Pretty basic stuff but if the roof doesn't sit flat it will ruin any model. This and tight corner joints make or break a model in my opinion.


I had to sand it a little bit more but it looks good to me here

I added this little clapboard triangle section to the end of the front dormer. The peaked dormer roof actually comes over the top of the main roof.

Thanks for checking in.

-Steve

Thanks everyone.

Vince, I've always liked the color scheme of Barongoulds. Blue can be a little bit scary for me. I think a blue structure can really stand out in a bad way if the wrong shade is used. I bought every Apple Barrel blue from Wal-Mart and experimented till I found a shade I was comfortable with. The nice thing is they are $.50 a piece so you can buy the whole rack for about $20.00.

I made a little more progress today.


I glued the walls together and weathered the sign a little more using chalks.


This is the bracing I added.


I prefer to add the roofing with the roof glued down. I glued the dormers on the roof card at this point. I was not real happy with the gap between the dormer and the roof.


In the past I'd use some white glue darkened with black paint to make tar and fill this area but it always comes out sloppy especially if I'm filling in a large gap. Lately I've been using construction paper to make flashing. In reality the flashing is bent at a 90 degree angle with half under the roofing and half over the siding. I only model the part that comes up on the siding.


I trim it in place once it dries with a sharp razor.


The rear dormer had a really nasty gap due to an error I made cutting the corner trim.


I used the same technique to cover up the gap. I also weathered the flashing with some brown chalks. The flashing is a little bigger here to cover it but once the roofing material is on it should blend in nicely.

Thanks for checking in. Hopefully I'll get a chance to tackle the roofing tonight.

Thanks everyone.

I don't really know Jim Mooney personally but he really helped me out when I was building Master Creations Minerva Casket. I don't know if I would've got that kit finished if he didn't help me identify where everything goes. Super nice guy.

Lynn, I did brace the walls heavily. I used way more wood than was supplied in the kit for bracing. The A&I warps the wood but the Mineral Spirits warps it worse I think. I braced before I did any coloring also. The A&I isnt a big deal but if I applied the thinner/ top paint coat the paint comes off so easily it would have bare spots where the closepins are. I'll upload a photo of the bracing with the next batch of pictures.


I added the corner trim and the windows this afternoon. I also drybrushed the clapboard walls with off-white craft paint.

I painted the corner trim using a "wet-brushing" technique I learned from Brett Gallant. It's something I picked up while building SierraWest O'Neills Fabrication and I've been using it ever since. I pre-stained the wood with A&I as a base then I painted the wood white but I tried to do a bad job covering everything. The little missed areas give a decent peeling/chipping appearance. Brett has a video on his website if you want to check it out.


This little window was a little tough to get in without damaging. The rest of the windows and doors went in no problem.


I need to weather up this door a little more. Probably add some grime/dirt around the bottom. It feels too white to me right now.




Looks like a mistake was made when manufacturing this wall. The clapboard is going up instead of down. Its the rear of the structure and it won't be seen so I'll leave it be. I also cut a chunk out of the upper right corner when I was cutting the bracing.





I like the detail on this wall. The laser cut windows are nice because you can customize how open or closed you want them. I need to work the sign a little bit. I want it to look as weathered as the windows.



Thanks for checking in.

Once all these pieces dry I'll add some window dressing and glue the walls together.

-Steve

Hello Everyone.

I just started working on Bar Mills Mooney's Plumbing. I have a few Bar Mills kits on the shelf but this is the first one I've assembled.


First step of course I laid out all the pieces. I bought the kit secondhand and the box was full of woodland scenic fine turf so I had to clean all the pieces off.


I washed over all the laser cut window and door sheets with A&I. This probably effects the reliability of the self-adhesive backing but I plan on gluing everything anyway.



A&I wash over all the siding.


Before I painted the siding I coated it in mineral spirits so the paint won't adhere well. This color is Apple Barrel 21887E Tuscan Teal.


After the walls mostly dried I used a wire brush and some tape to pull up some of the color. I coated the walls in A&I after I was done.



I added the sign to the wall.



I thought I had taken a few pictures of the window assembly process but I didn't. The coloring was really simple. I used a flat stiff brush to blot white on all the pieces I previously coloring with A&I. I try to leave the paint out of the grain and out of a few areas. Before I installed the acetate I sprayed it with Dullcoat. The glass got a dusting of Rembrandt 408.3 chalk to dirty it up.

Thanks for checking in.

Hopefully more to come tomorrow.

-Steve

I'm in. I've got a whole bunch of smaller structures I need to build for the layout.

Contest doesn't officially start till January 1st?

-Steve

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

I'm glad you like the water George. It was a portion of the kit I had some anxiety about due to my inexperience modeling it. I made a little pond on a piece of foam that I used to practice working with the materials till I got some things I liked.


-Steve

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all the positive feedback!

-Steve

Thanks Lynn. The roof was definitely the most time consuming part. I'm glad you like it.

Hello everyone,

I just got done putting together another smaller background structure for my layout. I did some experimenting with stone coloring on this one and I'm happy with how it came out. This is one of the first hydrocal stone walls I've worked with. I watched Brian Nolan's DVD and used his technique of thinning down earth tones and applying them over a damp casting. I did not seal the casting before using it.

The base components for this building came from a CC Crow Engine House I purchased but decided I won't have room for on my layout. I really liked the castings so I decided to use them in a different way. This kit is pretty big so I'll get a few more structures out of it I'm sure.



This is the kit in it's intended form.


This is my finished "modification".


I intended for it to be a 2 story building with a stone base and a clapboard 2nd floor but when I added the clapboard walls I hated the way it looked. I added a flat tarpaper roof and I didn't like that either. This roof was what I ended up with. It was actually the easiest. I sprayed adhesive on a piece of cardstock and glued on some cinders. When it dried I sprayed it dark gray.


The billboard is scratchbuilt from plans taken out of FSM Roadside Delights. The sign is one I also copied from that kit.


This roof vent is laser cut wood left over from an ITLA models kit.


Thanks for checking in.


-Steve

Great job Bob. I have this kit on my shelf. Watching this build is making me want to pull it down and start it.
-Steve