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Comments
When hand laying ties and rails I just find it easier to get the ballast how I like it without the rails in the way, I just find it an easier way to work because there is more access and it also doesn't discolour the rail weathering.
It's easy enough to touch up afterwards, so no big deal.
As I said, it's just my way, not the right way.
Keep on keeping on.
Yes, I’d have to say that I “discovered” why you do the ballast first when I went to do it. As you say, not a big problem, but would have been much easier without the rails in place.
I’ve completed ballasting and have commenced some secondary texturing and placement of some structures as a prelude to creating the individual scenes. I’ll make a more substantial post when I have something worthwhile to look at.
In the belief that the only "dumb" question is the one not asked, can I ask what glue you guys use to attach the castings (both resin and metal) to the scenery base (ie the ground)?
I clearly need to practice/refine my technique for sinking them into the wet base. I’ll return once I’ve got this aspect sorted and have something worthwhile to show.
As you say, once they are in and dried they wont get touched again so no stress on the glue.
Terry
To backtrack a little first (pardon the pun!), the next task was to add the ballast to the rail tracks. I quickly discovered why most of you add the ballast before laying the tracks – it would have been much easier that way! Nevertheless, it didn’t prove to be too difficult. Once the ballast was down, I was able to start adding a secondary layer to the base, including the suggestion of some grass along the outer fence line. (The fence will be added in much later, but for the moment the holes for the fence posts are plugged with some scraps). The loading docks for the main building were also glued in place at this stage. In the picture below, one of the docks is being weighted down while the glue dries.
The next task was to create the Steam Box scene. In addition to the placement of the steam box, boiler and hand cart, I added a pile of sawdust that has been created from the blower under the saw table. As this is great fuel for the boiler furnace, a shovel can be seen in the saw dust pile. Several scraps of wood are also scattered about under the steam box.
It was then time to place some previously prepared castings around the Upper Yard shed. I struggled with this at first but eventually managed to refine my technique to get the castings embedded in the ground. Here is a series of shots from all four sides of the Upper Yard Shed.
Continued in the next post...
The Saw Shed itself was enhanced by the addition of some freshly delivered lumber that has just been unloaded from the rail siding and stacked, ready for processing.
The back of the Saw Shed received a few castings, as well as a little shrubbery.
The opposite end of the Saw Shed received a few scraps of lumber off-cuts after processing in the shed.
In the above picture and the next, you can also see the beginnings of the entry road, which includes creating a crossing for the rail line. There is more work to be done on this.
The Derrick Dock will be the next to receive some detailing before the main buildings are placed and the details added around it. Still a long way to go, but I’m fairly happy with progress thus far.
I'd like to once again acknowledge the excellent tutorials/discussion threads by Karl Allison and Ken Karns - they have been an invaluable supplement to Brett's excellent instruction manual. Thank you both and also the rest of you who have been chiming in with well-timed advice and suggestions.
Oh so true…..previous build threads are invaluable….paired with Brett’s unparalleled construction manuals is a huge assist in a successful project
Terry
And I agree wholeheartedly with you last statement. The tutorials from the folks here at Sierra West have really helped with this Foss Landing. And your build log will be a great reference when I start the Shipyard.
Jeff
A couple of “housekeeping” items to begin with. Firstly, I built an extra ladder and hung it on the side of the Saw Shed using a couple of “S” hooks I made from brass wire.
Then the Bumper was added to the end of the rail tracks. This is made from some scrap dowel.
Two lamps/lamp posts are required. I found what I believe to be one lamp among the metal castings, but only one. It also requires a piece of brass wire attaching to it to form the lamp post lamp. Faced with the dual problem of being short one lamp and securely fixing wire to a white metal casting, I opted to make a pair of new lamps by turning them from brass rod on my lathe.
In the picture below you can see my new lamps on the left, with the blackened original casting on the right.
While I was turning these, I also bored out the back end to accept a 1.6 mm (1/16”) diameter brass wire. I then silver soldered the wire to the lamps. Here they are cleaned up and ready for blackening.
The lamp posts were made from 7/32” (~5.5mm) diameter dowel (The instructions don't specify what thickness they should be - this is just what I had to hand). The blackened and buffed lamps were epoxied into holes drilled in the dowel and are shown below temporarily in place in the diorama. (The Telegraph pole can also be seen in the background).
In the photograph, the poles look a little over-thick, although in the flesh they seem okay. I don’t know whether this is just a trick of the camera lens, or whether I need to redo the lamp posts. Grateful for any thoughts/advice on this one.
With these tasks complete, I was able to proceed to detailing the Derrick Dock. Here are a series of photographs of the detail in this scene.
The end of the dock, with the shed and the Derrick both in place. The Derrick has since been removed for safe keeping until the diorama is complete.
An overview from the pit side of the dock (minus Derrick)
Looking down at the inboard end of the shed.
A closer look at the inner end of the dock.
And another view of the shed area.
I’ve also done a little more work on the entrance road, adding some hint of vegetation growing between the wheel tracks. It looks like someone has just arrived to check on progress….
The final task for the day was to glue the main building in place. Detailing the various scenes around the main building will commence tomorrow.
Jerry
A picture-heavy update, so I'll split this across two posts.
With the “groundwork” complete, it was time to start placing the remainder of the castings around the main building and docks. In doing so, I’ve used the pictures in the instruction manual as a general guide to placement, without copying it exactly. We start with the area outside the Sales Office. Once the castings were in place, the Sales Office Porch was added. This was built in the usual way over a provided template. A two-step set of stairs was also added. In the picture below, I have also added the old truck in its final place.
The stairway to the upper storey was then build and added. A set of three laser-cut stringers are provided in the kit, along with a cutting guide for the stair treads. I got so engrossed in what I was doing that I forgot to take any “in-progress” pics of this process but it was a straight forward one.
Prior to placing the stairs, the area underneath the stairs was detailed with the workbench and other items various. The workbench was a one-piece casting painted earlier, but legs and bracing were needed prior to final placement. I’ve also added a few scraps of timber under the bench.
The left Loading Dock was next. Again, the shelving unit was a one-piece casting painted earlier. All other items are individual castings.
Next we move onto the area outside the Yard Master’s Office. I obtained a set of HO Scale figures from Woodland Scenics and have used some of these to add some more life to the diorama. The set of figures I bought was a Carpenter’s Crew. Here I have modified one (by cutting the saw off of his hand) to represent the Yard Master examining the ship’s plans.
Then it’s on to the end of the Main Dock. Looks like a lot of inventory has been delivered recently.
And from another angle.
The rear of the Yard Master’s Office also houses a range of parts and clutter.
The right Loading Dock also gets its share of paraphernalia.
The fence line is now added, complete with “rising damp” as suggested by a Karl.
Continued next post...
A few extra dock yard maties were selected from the Carpenter’s crew and placed in the overall scene. This chap is carrying a load of freshly cut timber over to the ship.
Two more are at work on the ship itself.
And here’s a close-up of one of these two.
Here then are a few “spin” shots showing the overall diorama from all angles. The design of this kit is so clever, that there is no “front” side – take your pick!
One thing I didn’t mention earlier, but can be seen in the above photos, is that I wasn’t happy with the light poles or telegraph pole, so I re-made these all from 1/8” dowel (the manual actually specified this for the telegraph pole, so I figured the light poles must be similar).
The last task remaining (other than a little touch up here and there) is to pour the “water”. While I’m a little apprehensive about this as there is no going back, the instructions have very little to say about it, other than following the resin manufacturer’s instructions and doing a little test first. I’ve learned along the way that when the instruction manual does not go into great detail, then the process is generally straight forward. (Famous last words).
I'll see you on the other side of the pour......
Grant
For the water, there are some videos on Woodland Scenics website that might be helpful.
Jeff
Brett - fear not, I have already purchased the Envirotex resin as recommended in your instructions.
I’m just waiting on delivery of some 1/8” ply (aircraft grade) to make the edge/dam. Hopefully will arrive this week.
To complete the diorama, I added an external frame of 3mm plywood, that doubles as a dam for the resin water. Once glued in place, I sealed the inside joins with silicone and then used automotive masking tape to reinforce all of the seams before pouring the resin. I'm using Envirotex Lite Resin as recommended in the instruction manual. I did several small test pours with varying combinations of paint to tint the “water’, before settling on a mix of Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue and Black in about a 5:1 ratio.
With the testing complete, it was time to take the ‘no turning back’ step and actually pour the water. All seems to have gone well. The pictures below were taken about two hours after the pour. All bubbles seem to have sorted themselves out and I have “embraced the creep”. Not sure yet whether I will apply some paint along the shoreline to change the colour there a little. The other thing I’m not yet sure about is whether or not to attempt adding some texture to the water surface using either a Woodland Scenics product or an AK Interactive product. I’m open to thoughts on this. Here are the photos with the resin still curing.
Once I’ve made those final decisions, I’ll take off the tape and take some final “glam” shots. In the meantime, I'd value your input on whether or not to attempt the surface texture and if so, what product to use for this purpose.
Grant
I would definitely add texture to the water. I'd use a gloss medium/gel, something like Golden. There are also lots of commercial water products out there from AK and the like.