Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
- 931 All Categories
- 3 Picture Posting and Resizing
- 54 New Member Introductions
- 113 Off-Topic Forum
- 4 Photography
- 2 Resources
- 16 New Product Information
- 166 The SierraWest Forum
- 9 Brett's Blog
- 117 General News & Ramblings
- 3 Re-Release Information
- 6 Q & A about SierraWest
- 9 What Would You Like to See?
- 367 Builds
- 132 HO Scale Builds
- 158 O Scale Builds
- 59 Finished SW Build Pics
- 13 Miscellaneous Builds
- 188 Techniques
- 19 Working with Wood
- 20 Painting Castings
- 5 Masonry
- 23 Scenery
- 37 Tools and Supplies
- 21 Layout Planning & Building
- 38 Miscellaneous
- 24 Prototype Information
- 22 Reference and Research
Comments
The scene is coming together nicely now with the dock in place.
I'm looking forward to seeing your steambox and wood cutting shed scene evolve.
Keep posting away, we're all enjoying your progress !!!
The Castings
There are a great many castings included in this kit, in a mixture of white metal and resin. They all need preparation, so I decided that now was as good a time as any to do the initial preparation. Along the way I decided to count them… Including the few castings that are already in place, there are a total of 174 white metal castings and 147 resin castings.
Here is a shot of the remaining white metal castings prior to being “processed”. Some of these parts are extremely small, especially the hand tools!
My “process” for the preparation of these parts is to first wash them all in slightly soapy water, then rinse. Next up is an Acetone bath, after which they are not handled by bare hands again. A quick rinse in distilled water, then a 20-minute soak in Vinegar. Another rinse off in distilled water then left to dry before application of Jax’s Pewter Black, applied by scrubbing the part with an old paint brush. Once the part is totally blackened it is dipped in distilled water again and then left to dry. Finally, all parts are gently buffed by hand using a felt wheel from a Dremel that has been cut in half (a tip I picked up from Brett's video in the "University"). That took a couple of afternoons work to achieve.
The resin castings get a scrub in some soapy water and then rinsed. They are then prepared for a base coat by attaching them to various scrap wood “handles” using double-sided tape. Here is an overview of all the resin parts ready for spraying.
While most of the resin castings are individual parts, there are a couple of composite castings that pack in an incredible amount of detail – especially when one remembers the size of these. For reference, the castings in the foreground of the above picture are mounted on popsicle sticks. Here is a close-up of the casting of the work bench top (centre casting on the left popsicle stick). Note the open drawer full of “stuff” as well as the clutter on the bench top.
And here is the open cupboard right next to it.
Some of the barrels and bins are also filled with incredibly details parts, like this barrel full of spare/discarded parts.
Although some of the tutorials I found on this site suggest that castings representing metal should be sprayed black and those representing wood should be sprayed a “wood” colour initially, Brett in his own tutorial suggest spraying all parts black initially, regardless. I took that advice and sprayed all of these parts with Stynlyrez Black Primer using my airbrush. Another afternoon’s work….
With all the castings now having their initial preparation complete, it was time to turn attention back to completion of the Boiler for the Steam Box. The boiler itself is a resin casting, but it has a white metal casting Stack Cap and Valve, along with a brass wire Stack Wire. The boiler was painted with AK 11212 (Gun Metal) and then dry brushed with AK 11210 (Natural Steel) before the blackened and buffed metal parts were epoxied in place.
The boiler is mounted on a wooden sled – another resin casting. This was first painted with AK11008 (Grimy Grey) and then dry brushed with AK11110 (Leather Brown). A couple of the tiny hand tools had their handles painted - AK11095 (Dirty Red) for the large wrench, and AK11110(Leather Brown) for the wooden handle of the hammer. In the photo below, you can see part of the toothpick that the sled is mounted on for painting.
Two barrels are given the same treatment as the sled (again mounted on toothpicks here).
A Steam Hose is then made from a three-inch length of 1.2mm diameter solder. It is painted with AK11147 (Olive Green) and one end is then wrapped in masking tape to simulate the lagging. It was then dirtied up with light dusting of (dry) black and grey chalk powders.
The boiler was then epoxied in place on the sled and four “supports” were made from paper, painted with AK11210 (Natural Steel) and then dusted with some (dry) rust coloured chalk powder. The barrels were then epoxied in place and once dry the feed-water pipe was made from some 0.5mm diameter brass wire, blackened and buffed, and epoxied in place between the barrel and the valve on the boiler. The two hand tools were then epoxied in place, and finally the steam hose was epoxied in place on the side of the boiler.
Here it is with the steam hose temporarily attached to the steam box.
Finally, here it is temporarily in place on the diorama. I had to play with some post-processing adjustments on the photo as the original was very dark. More details will be added to this scene later.
Now it’s back to painting all of those casting details. This could take a while….
For metal just rinse them in alcohol for a minute to eliminate the surface tension and then straight into the blackener for 30 secs until they blacken, then a quick rinse in clean water and lay them out to dry and they are done, a five minute job.
For Brett's resin in the SierraWests kits, there is no need for all that prep, scrubbing, etc.
There is nothing to wash or scrub off, such as mold release like from other manufacturers... you simply...
Take the resin castings out of the box, stick them on a stick, and then spray prime them (khaki or black), no prep needed.... again, a five min job.
The beauty of Brett's kits is how he has created and also simplified so many of the processes used by others and yet continues to elevate the quality of the product, the process and the results, and ultimately the hobby.
Many follow, but only one can lead...
I suspected that might be the case with Brett's castings, but figured there was no harm in following the more labour intensive prep procedure. It's done now, but I'll keep that in mind for my next one of Brett's kits (I have Foss's Landing tucked away).
Quick question......
Is there any difference in painting the older resin castings vs the newer 3D printed ones? I ask as Brett has a nice tutorial video in the "university" on the 3D printed ones and I'd like to know if I can follow that process also for the resin castings. (I've also watched his videos on the resin castings).
there is no difference in the way to treat Brett's 3D printed parts as to his more traditional hand poured resin detail parts.
They all paint and weather in exactly the same way. Both resins accept the paint and weathering the same.
Brett is always evolving and improving his kits for us,
however, the techniques shown in the newer videos for the 3DP parts work just as well on the older hand poured cast resin details, and, vice versa...
the older techniques for the poured resin work just the same, and as well on the new 3D printed parts.
There are obviously some minor subtle changes over the 15 or so years since the Shipyard was originally released as to the actual techniques now, but, they all yield amazing results and work just as well, it's just an evolution and the techniques are fully interchangable between the newer and older resin parts.
We look forward to your next update on this great build, and then onto the next one...
I went back and watched the video again. I clearly didn't pay enough attention the first three times through, because Brett does actually say in the video that the new techniques work just as well on the older resin castings and the metal castings. So I'm diving in and giving them a try. So far, so good. Hope to post an update in a couple of days.
Now, lets get back to it... less typing and more modelling!!!! hahaha
Keep us all posted on progress and ask away whenever and thanks for sharing your great build with us !
Progressing slowly but steadily with the castings.
Brett has made an excellent video tutorial in the "university" section that demonstrates an extremely easy, yet highly effective technique for achieving peeling and chipped paint effects on the castings. I basically just followed this process, although I merged it a little with one of his other video processes in that after applying the chalk powder at the end, I gave it another dunk in the alchohol to remove most but not all of the chalk.
Here are some of the resin cast oil drums – I have yet to paint the details of the contents of the one in the centre at the back.
The process worked just as well on the metal castings of the Acetylene tanks.
Now, back to paining wooden barrels and crates...
The details are all looking individual and random, just as they should.
Mixing and blending the techniques is working out well for their variation.
Thanks for sharing this great update.
At this point I'd really appreciate some honest critical advice. I've been struggling to achieve a satisfactory finish on the "wooden" castings (crates etc). Below are some photos of a selection of said castings with where I've got to thus far. Actually getting a decent photograph of them was equally challenging, and I have to say they look a lot better to the naked eye than in these extreme macro shots.
My "process" so far is based on everything I've read/watched here on the forum, and in particular the discussion threads posted by Karl.
To create some variation, I used three different base colours to begin - a dark brown, a light brown/neutral, and a mid-grey. These were then painted over with a chalk/alcohol mix using three shades of Raw Umber chalk (408.3, 408.5, and 408.7). I also used Golden Ochre (231.3) on some other parts, but these are not in the photos below. The parts were then given a swirl in an alcohol/ink mixture to remove some but not all of the chalk. The straps were then painted with a chalk/alcohol mix using a rust colour (411.3).
Next came what I found to be the most difficult part - dry brushing. I have never dry-brushed anything before, so was relying on watching various YouTube videos to work out the technique. I used an off-white/ivory colour (AK 11004) for the dry brushing. If I felt that the dry brushing was too heavy, I gave the part a light dusting with dry chalk of the appropriate colour to finish.
So here are my results:
I'd be most grateful for any constructive critique (bearing in mind the difficulty in photographing these) and/or tips for improving my process.
Grant
You did the right thing by using an off white, pure white is way to stark. for an even more subtle aged look I also use a light grey.
Your dulling down with the chalk after the dry brushing is also something I do if I overdo things a little, it worked out well and gave you a very pleasing and plausible result.
Well done.
Not having done this before, I just wasn't sure if I was getting it right. Your encouraging responses are most appreciated and give me confidence moving forward. I would have been equally happy had you suggested that I wasn't quite there yet and had some further tips for me, however it seems that I'm pretty much hitting the mark.
Onwards!
Thanks
Terry
I have tried where possible to use some of the techniques explained in a couple of discussion threads here on the SWSM forum, particularly those written by Karl Allison. We begin with a couple of multi-detailed castings. Here is the workbench top (legs/frame to be added later). This is a single casting, packed with details. I’ve included half of a toothpick in the foreground as a reminder of the scale. Parts were picked out in individual colours and then some edges were highlighted by dry brushing. A little dry chalk powder was added where necessary to dirty things up a little.
And here is a cupboard/bookcase, again packed with details. The same techniques were used here.
There are a few bins and barrels with the contents cast into them as well.
Some miscellaneous larger machinery items – I’m not exactly sure what they are, but figured green was a safe bet for colour. I’ve used a different shade of green on each.
Then there are the plethora of individually cast hand tools. These are all cast white metal parts. The metal areas of the tools are left the buffed blackened colour and are then dry brushed to provide some highlights. Subsequent to this photo, I’ve changed some of the wooden tool handles from brown to a peeling red paint.
The handcart below is comprised of a resin cast tray, some metal cast wheels placed on a brass rod axle, and some wooden handles made from some scrap strip wood.
A Canvas Rack is built up, once again using the provided template to build directly over.
The two sides are then joined by some cross-braces.
Rolls of canvas are then made by cutting strips of tissue paper 30mm wide by about 250mm long and rolling them around a 3/32” diameter piece of brass rod. The ends are secured with some diluted white PVA glue before the rolls are given a coat of diluted off-white paint and a final dusting of some dry chalk powder. Here is the completed canvas rack.
Continued next post...
The Oil Drum Rack is built up in a similar fashion.
Here is the rack, ready for its occupant.
A previously prepared drum is then added together with a hose made from 1.0 mm diameter solder wire.
A number of “mini scenes” are then created from some of the previously prepared castings and some bits of scrap wood. These will each form part of a larger scene in the final diorama. The extreme close-up of the macro lens shows me that I need to go back and take care of some of the shiny bits of epoxy that are evident here.
I believe I am now ready to start adding the details to the diorama itself…
Clean lines, crisp details and chipped and weathered as if you were working in O scale.
Wonderful modelling 'work' and the concise narrative gave the perfect amount of info for the reader.
"small, very small" ... and also, so very well done.