Now that's a nice looking group! Wonderfully done Tom and on the home stretch...oops, wait a minute...you do have a bunch more work to do as I remember...
Really great colouring and weathering, especially when they are all together. They should blend very well into your diorama. Nicely done, and looking forward to the rest of this build.
Thanks guys. Ken, as I read the instructions it will be a while before I'm in the "home stretch", but now is the fun stretch when it all comes together. I'm really looking forward to this part of the build.
I know it's been a while since my last update. Life has gotten a bit hectic around here lately. Rest assured however that I have not been idle. In the moments I've been able to work on this wonderful kit, I have been working on details. Probably my favorite part of any build.
Working through this kit it has struck me how much research and thought Brett has put into creating it. It is not just a series of buildings with the customary off the shelf detail parts. Yes there are many cast detail parts, many of which have been created specifically for this kit. But there are many more details that have been laser cut and need assembly. While a bit intimidating at first glance, they go together well after reading and following the instructions. These special details have been thoroughly researched and enhance the whole diorama.
I have been busy painting the cast resin and blackening the metal detail parts and assembling the myriad of other laser cut parts. I have also added a few from my stash of parts.
While the instructions take you through each area of the diorama and mention the details included in each scene and tell you to paint, assemble, blacken them etc. I prefer to have all my detail parts at hand and ready to place for each scene, Thus I have deviated a bit from the instructions and have finished all the details ahead of time.
Here are photos of some of them, in no special order.
The 2 wheel dolly's are laser cut and need assembly, and they do assemble well. One is green and the other a red, but they didn't show up well in the photo.
This is a selection of cast, and other parts. The shelf comes with no door which I like to add in the open position. The cart with the boxes is a laser cut item. The barrel shelf has laser cut legs with wood shelf. The large gear is from my own collection, to which I custom build a pallet with a pallet jack from Alloy Forms (now SS Ltd). I liked Ken's pulley wheels on a pallet so duplicated it. The cart with the bar stock on it is a casting from my collection and I added a handle by bending wire. The boxes have small pieces of bar stock in them. The barrels have scrap wood and bar stock. The clevises are a neat detail I "borrowed" from Ken's great build. There are many more detail parts not shown, but I wanted to highlight some of my favorites.
The bar stock rack was a laser assembly that is really a neat detail.
The coke cart is also a laser cut detail that really adds realism to the scene.
The crane is one of the signature features of the diorama and is also a laser cut detail that needed assembly, and was fun to build and weather.
The used patterns are also laser cut and needed some assembly to add rims and hubs. A simple but neat detail.
The used and discarded mold boxes were also laser cut and needed assembly. They gave me a little trouble because they are somewhat fragile and when trying to weather them with my big clumsy hands was a little challenging for me.
The wheel barrows are laser cut with a cast metal wheel and assembled well. One is gray and the other 2 are red, which didn't show up well in the photo.
The table saw stand has cast metal legs and the instructions call for a "plywood" platform, but I chose boards.
The table saw was fun to assemble the saw body is resin, the handles are cast metal and the saw blade is laser cut.
Thanks for putting up with my ramble. Hope you enjoy the photos. Now as time permits it's on to putting everything together!
Finally able to start the dio. I have the Pattern Shop, Repair Shop, Spring Works complex completed. Here are some pics of them. I'll try to work around the complex in some sort of order so it flows together.
Thanks guys. I appreciate the compliments. It has been a really fun and enjoyable kit to build. So many new and interesting techniques to learn to master.
Carl, the green paint is a craft paint from Michael's or Hobby Lobby, I can't remember where I got it. It's Anita's Acrylic Craft Paint Leaf Green. The instructions call for using SW Meadow Green, but my bottle has curdled and is no good for painting details. I still use it for staining wood, etc. We moved a couple of years ago and I had my supplies in a storage unit. It was over the winter and probably froze in that unit. Several of the bottles have curdled.
I forgot to mention that instead of using the laser cut plywood sheets that come with the kit, I cut my own from cut offs from laser board. For me the supplied laser cut sheets were too thick and the laser board was a thinner material and looked better. I mimicked the cut outs on my laser board cut out plywood sheets to resemble those on the supplied laser cut outs. I also stained the plywood with a light wash of alcohol and brown leather dye.
Outstanding work Tom! Things are really coming together now, such a fun part of a build. Your mini-scenes flow seamlessly together, couple that with your excellent detail work and the results speak for themselves.
WOW !!!!! Tom , you did a fantastic job on this one. I am gonna be busy enlarging these pics and study everything on it. Such great scenes , congratulations. Thanks for sharing this build. It is much appreciated .
Comments
Working through this kit it has struck me how much research and thought Brett has put into creating it. It is not just a series of buildings with the customary off the shelf detail parts. Yes there are many cast detail parts, many of which have been created specifically for this kit. But there are many more details that have been laser cut and need assembly. While a bit intimidating at first glance, they go together well after reading and following the instructions. These special details have been thoroughly researched and enhance the whole diorama.
I have been busy painting the cast resin and blackening the metal detail parts and assembling the myriad of other laser cut parts. I have also added a few from my stash of parts.
While the instructions take you through each area of the diorama and mention the details included in each scene and tell you to paint, assemble, blacken them etc. I prefer to have all my detail parts at hand and ready to place for each scene, Thus I have deviated a bit from the instructions and have finished all the details ahead of time.
Here are photos of some of them, in no special order.
The 2 wheel dolly's are laser cut and need assembly, and they do assemble well. One is green and the other a red, but they didn't show up well in the photo.
This is a selection of cast, and other parts. The shelf comes with no door which I like to add in the open position. The cart with the boxes is a laser cut item. The barrel shelf has laser cut legs with wood shelf. The large gear is from my own collection, to which I custom build a pallet with a pallet jack from Alloy Forms (now SS Ltd). I liked Ken's pulley wheels on a pallet so duplicated it. The cart with the bar stock on it is a casting from my collection and I added a handle by bending wire. The boxes have small pieces of bar stock in them. The barrels have scrap wood and bar stock. The clevises are a neat detail I "borrowed" from Ken's great build. There are many more detail parts not shown, but I wanted to highlight some of my favorites.
The bar stock rack was a laser assembly that is really a neat detail.
The coke cart is also a laser cut detail that really adds realism to the scene.
The crane is one of the signature features of the diorama and is also a laser cut detail that needed assembly, and was fun to build and weather.
The used patterns are also laser cut and needed some assembly to add rims and hubs. A simple but neat detail.
The used and discarded mold boxes were also laser cut and needed assembly. They gave me a little trouble because they are somewhat fragile and when trying to weather them with my big clumsy hands was a little challenging for me.
The wheel barrows are laser cut with a cast metal wheel and assembled well. One is gray and the other 2 are red, which didn't show up well in the photo.
The table saw stand has cast metal legs and the instructions call for a "plywood" platform, but I chose boards.
The table saw was fun to assemble the saw body is resin, the handles are cast metal and the saw blade is laser cut.
Thanks for putting up with my ramble. Hope you enjoy the photos. Now as time permits it's on to putting everything together!
Colours and tones are perfectly done
Next on to the Foundry, Office.
Carl, the green paint is a craft paint from Michael's or Hobby Lobby, I can't remember where I got it. It's Anita's Acrylic Craft Paint Leaf Green. The instructions call for using SW Meadow Green, but my bottle has curdled and is no good for painting details. I still use it for staining wood, etc. We moved a couple of years ago and I had my supplies in a storage unit. It was over the winter and probably froze in that unit. Several of the bottles have curdled.
Thanks for sharing this build. It is much appreciated .