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Comments
Respectfully,
John
I always get nervy when I see peoples pics with all those metal weights.....
You are going to love using the glass base for so many things. So simple, so effective, so glad Brett introduced me to it.
Looking forward to an update when you get back in town.
Karl.A
A pitfall for me you can avoid was in building the platforms. Once the first platform was constructed I pushed it up against the building and it was too tall so I cut down all the legs to what I thought was the right height. After going farther in the instructions I found that there was a "concrete" base under the structure which made the original height of the platform correct. It really is not visible in the photos but shows up when you start making the scenery base. Had to do it again. Learned a lesson there.
Mitch
That's a biggie - thank you! Please try to eventually find time to give us additional pictures of your work . . . . .
Respectfully,
John - Medora, ND for a few more days
I bought the piece of glass a year ago to have a flat foundation for the brass O gauge locomotive and brake goods car kits I bought from the UK last year. It is a wonderful tool.
Before going out of town I did the clapboards for the Yardmaster's office, attached the backside bracing with epoxy and left the three pieces under a heavy load on. I tried to distress the clapboard coverage a lot.
Today I put in the windows/doors and shingled the roof. Tomorrow I hope to put it all together but hope I can deviate a little by fitting the office against the building temporarily for a fit with the roof in place then remove it and add the rafter tails. If I can stabilize the office walls with the roof attached, have a satisfactory fit against the warehouse and then remove it to put the rafter tails in place it will be easier than trying to invert the assembled three buildings.
First of all, I took license to modify the attaching wall of the office. Brett's instruction appeared to have the roof edging stand proud. Paul appears to have built that way and seems to have put a similar edge piece on the two vertical wall edges so that the office would attach without gaps when glued to the warehouse. Please correct me if I am wrong. That is how I interpret Brett's and Paul's pictures under magnification.
Instead, I laid the cardboard blank wall and the edging pieces flat on my glass and glued them together. The office was then stood vertically on those pieces for glueing in place. In other words, the cardboard, the edging and the vertical walls are all on the same plane. That enabled me to glue the ensemble to the warehouse without shims to compensate for the roof edging. Zooming in on the photo will clarify this.
Question now. I opted to distress the office a little extra with missing and mis-matched siding. In person the effect isn't even noticeable! In this photo the most visible aspect seems to be fuzzy wood. I can't see it without the camera! Is there a way to tone down the fuzzes now that I have the buildings glued together? Steel wool rubbing seems impractical
My most recent posts used pictures taken with halogen lighting and look weird. I switched to standard light bulbs for the the picture seen below and RTFM - I realized this space age camera has a selector for lighting type and the one picture below was taken after making the adjustment. I'll see how it posts, but off hand it appears to me to be more realistically colored than my last couple of posts.
Having done what I described above, the office fit against the warehouse perfectly. I am pleased with the visual on the flashing also.
I intend to put one LED inside the office. The light blocking paper is arranged so that only the door and adjacent window will show light from inside. I believe a light with shade above the outside of the office door would be appropriate as well.
Watertank, stacks & chimney may just put me into docks / platforms . . .
Thank you for looking . . . .
Respectfully,
John
I'll try to smooth the walls to the extent possible with your suggestions then live with the result. My unfocused eye glasses aren't as critical as the camera - and I thought I was doing myself a favor buying it!
Respectfully,
John
Steel wool is always my "go to" for fuzzies. However, as the wall is already built with windows installed, extra care must be taken.
Lightly rub the wall with a 'loose' ball of steel wool. This will hopefully snag the fuzzies without any detrimental effect to the wall, windows, or colouring. As always, try on an inconspicuous area first to determine the results.
I usually find that a clean, semi-stiff bristled paint brush will remove any stray fibres from the steel wool.
Karl.A
I've used an old stiff toothbrush to get the fine hairs off. For the longer ones I prefer to slice them off with a no. 11 blade as pulling them with tweezers tends to pull long strips of fibers off. This leaves gouges in the wood.
I'm not sure you have seen this? When I have used 70% alcohol for colouring with chalks the number of fine hairs tend to be more than when I use 90% or 99% alcohol. I feel that the extra water content takes longer to dry and if you brush the strip wood too early it raises the grain and fibers too much. Could just be me though?
Also, if I want a smooth finish I chalk the strip wood and wipe it down with a paper towel when it is still damp. This presses the fibers into the wood creating a smoother surface.
BTW: I like the jagged siding on the office. I'm a bit confused though...I like the wood colour, but the aging on the siding seems not to correlate with the colouring. Either the colour is too "fresh wood" like or the siding has been stripped of paint waiting to be repainted? Or is it that new camera doing magical things again.
Marty
If you cannot see the fuzzies but the camera does I would leave it alone. I think you are trying to build the best model you can but its your first so you are gaining all kinds of experience to apply to the next assembly when you get to it. Steel wool, knives and tweezers will all work but they all will probably cause you to expose unstained wood which creates its own problem in trying to fix that. Proceed cautiously.
Best regards,
Mitch
I'm on the road until weekend then need to prep for several interior home contractors to tear up my entire lower floor the following week. I'll be watching though . . .
Thank you for looking and commenting.
Respectfully,
John
I really like the individual boards on the picture above it add a lot to the build. So much better than plain scribed siding. Keep up the great work.
Jim
Once the tank is mounted, I am finally on to another phase!
Been away for awhile on the forums (house and all), your build is coming along nicely, looking forward to seeing the stacks and docks.
Paul
Karl.A
WOW, another Shipyard build. I shared Paul Smulder's build on another forum with this marvelous kit. Spent more than a year putting her together, most of that time doing research on real shipyards. Although time consuming, I thoroughly enjoyed this build.
I expanded and modified my diorama to my own liking. Took 3rd place, large dioramas, at CSS2013. Will definitely follow you along. Glad to see others take the plunge.
John Elwood
Bryan, thank you for your comment on the exterior siding. It looked so prominent up close, yet it remains so tiny!
Paul, thank you, your own project both 1:1 and 1:87 are looking great. I am so pleased to look at your pictures every time I go into a new phase.
Thanks Karl, I only need to build and mount the warehouse roof water tank before moving on to the next phase. I am excited about that. I do need to see if I can find a nice color photo of someone's water tank. I began coloring it but so far it looks drab.
John, I am really pleased to know you are looking in. I have followed so much of your work with fascination. I must go back and find your photos. Having all of you out front is a great aid to me.
Thank you each and everyone for not only looking in but for taking the time to comment.
Respectfully,
John
Seattle
I'd be very appreciative . . . .
Respectfully,
John
Marty
Would a relatively close up picture of my tank help you?
Directions are pretty straightforward...paint the tank---highlight the bands and metal on top...drybrush to weather and bring out the detail.
Best regards,
Mitch
Here's a link to how Paul did his:
http://www.sierrawestscalemodels.com/vanforum/discussion/163/the-shipyard-build/p7
Looks like you prime it with Floquil Earth. Let it dry thoroughly. Then, come back and go over it with a thin layer of Polly Scale Roof Brown.
No problem..you got this!
Marty, I will read the instructions again . . .
KCS Trains - sorry, I forgot your name - I will try to work through the instructions . . .
Mitch, I am missing the intuition to color to an objective, if that makes sense. I am a techie and lack both creative and language skill. I feel like I can reproduce anything I can disassemble in my mind but I am not artistic.
Bill, thank you, I absolutely need step/step and missed Paul's! I have actually been looking at his work, phase by phase and missed this. I owe you a beer for researching something for me that I missed. It is not easy being substandard - smile!
Thanks again to you all - you're the BEST!
Respectfully,
John