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Comments
I am satisfied with the SHIPYARD sign now and per Marty's suggestion and my own gut I have reworked the other walls slightly to bring all four into somewhat the same appearance - I didn't want to mess with SHIPYARD!
Now, back to work!
Respectfully,
John
Window & door work was done in fits of a few minutes here and a few minutes there over the past couple of days - possibly I have all necessary for the main building. I am up to page 25 of the manual now with nothing skipped on earlier pages.
The signs were fun to do. I still have to cut them to produce the "cracks" but just laid them in place to see how they looked. I managed to sand the sign paper thin as instructed and got them in place without mishap. They are just laying on the wall in this picture to see what they look like more or less in place. The white trim paint looks scruffy - If any of you could please comment on how to fix it I'd be very appreciative.
I finished off the walls, floor and underfloor of the rear dormer. I love my weights - thank you for the idea Paul!
I used a coffee stir stick to validate the length and cut quality before using supplied kit material.
When finished installing the under floor 4 X 6's I had some distortion so I wet the floor with alcohol and set weights on it to restore the shape. I'm unsure how the wall coloring got this way - I'll address it when things dry out - later . . . .
As Paul noted, I believe I'll need to put a header on the main wall before eventually attaching the dormer. In this specific case, a plank identical to the wall siding will work.
If any of you see anything I am missing, please bring it to my attention.
Respectfully,
John
Maybe a light dusting of white to blend the bare wood up to the paint colour. Or alternatively a light dusting of the wood colour to tone down the white.
Either way do it very lightly on an out of the way window to test out how it will effect your work. Also remember that these super close up shots really pick up those contrasts and the windows are only a small part of a very big overall picture so really not much is required.
It would also be possible to leave this until the basic structure is assembled which would give you a better overall feel for the look.
Karl.A
Respectfully,
John
Dave
I am sure not going to catch up to Paul or Marty or anyone else on this project with such tiny steps, but I am making progress at my own pace. Today I worked on the rear dormer tar paper and spent a lot of time ruining perfectly good signs by trying to split the boards then refasten them for the cracked effect. Of course the camera magnifies my poor work! Without looking back, it may have been Paul who chose to weather the tar paper when it was in place - an excellent choice. After messing up my signs I just decided to follow the manual and do the tar paper now.
If you were to look at the signs on my post on the 7th one would see how much I lost. The error was to initially glue the planks that make up the sign backing too tightly together. That made it difficult to separate them with a razor. Somehow they need to be placed together in a manner that allows some breathing room between the planks. I may have made the paper too thin also, looking at Brett's work. I also think that with the paper as tissue thin as I made it, the pieces did not come back together well.
Back to the drawing board - or should I say, the "Sign Boards".
Respectfully,
John
Following the manual is the best course of action, several hundred hours went into that manual to make your modeling journey a success.
Detours on a side road every now and then are fun to try out, but unless you are familiar with the neighborhood it's best to follow the GPS to get to where you want to go.
That's enough similes and metaphors for one post, I'm off into the sunshine.....
Karl.A
For me, slow and continuous work allowed me to stay in the moment.
Find your on rhythm and stay with it.
Marty
I'm with Marty. I like the signs. They are different from other builds, and they make your model different. Your own signature.
Keep up the good work, at your own pace.
Dave
Take your time. Remember Paul has been working a long time on his kit. Brett's kits are really large, full of interesting character, detail,and modeling techniques. They take some time, but look like the picture on the web site when you follow his instructions. His kits make you a better modeler when you have finished.
There is never a rush when you are having fun so take your time and enjoy.
Jim
respectfully,
John
Seattle weather has been nice for the past week and I have been biking to Starbucks every morning. Yesterday I took my longest ride yet, 41 miles, to test the endurance of the batteries on my Optibike R11. It is reputed that each of the two batteries, independently selectable, are capable of about 45 miles travel with some pedal assistance, totaling 85 to 100 miles capability. After a 41 mile ride I returned home with 40% remaining in the so called "touring" battery and the main battery untouched. Great success! The appearance styling is unique and combined with a pearl white paint scheme it draws me into a lot of conversations.
Today was a half day in the shipyard. I made another set of signs that came out real well until I weathered them with a chalk that was a little too red. I tried to wash that off with alcohol and ruined the signs - again . . .
The rear dormer wasn't attached in sequence because I had some minor adjustments to make. Today I glued it in place.
As I think I remember Paul mentioning, an additional plank where the dormer joists meet the main wall seemed appropriate so that was dealt with as part of the attachment process. Before I attach the roof and eventually glue all the walls together I need to look at interior illumination. At this point I am thinking about over illuminating the various sections but bringing out the wiring for each separately so I can adjust the level independently or just not use that section if it appears to be too much.
I also began tar papering the roof of the rear dormer. My little weights are perfect for some compression to hold position while the glue sets.
Now to go through and read again the work that all of you have done on your own projects to give me some carry forward knowledge.
Thank you for looking in. Please inspect critically . . .
Respectfully,
John
Marty
Yes, of course, but if you hadn't mentioned it the reality would have escaped me. By all rights the streaking should have been done with the tar paper in place.
How am I going to work around that? I love your pictures. I look at your work, Paul's and then different build logs for ideas.
Respectfully,
John
BTW, this is exactly how my tiny steps are paying off - only a small hole to dig my way out of .
Marty
I think my way out of this would be to repaint the red and cover up my streaking. I could do that even to the section of roof already in place - then, put all the tar paper in place and streak at that point.
Good catch. Thank you!
Respectfully,
John
Respectfully,
John
Where did you get that desk maginfying lamp? Looks like a pretty useful one. Mine has a small, circular glass.
Brian
I researched the light because I did not understand what diopter was - obviously a household word but one who's precise definition I had never personally defined. It is German made and exquisite in quality. Not only is the lens large but I also have room to work beneath it when the task is in focus - very important to me. Here is what the top looks like and you can see the brand is Day,
As those who have done this already know, the work is slow. I opened the rear wall of the dormer a sufficient amount that I will be able to reenter and place a LED lamp above the top of the rectangular slot seen in the photo. That will put it at a normal room level height. I plan to do that prior to fastening all the walls together. I will then "close" the opening with black paper. After taking this photo I painted the dormer's interior rear wall black also.
At this point in time it is my intention to do this in several interior locations. I will wire each place separately so each can be individually dimmed - or not used at all if upon completion it seems like too much.
I reworked my signs and am satisfied with their appearance. They are now attached and below their respective weights. The dormer roof tar paper was attached as instructed. The top end that fits to the wall was bent crisply with a steel ruler as instructed and the overall fit left nothing to be desired. I plan to leave all under weights overnight and bruise a grape or two now after an excellent day's work in the shipyard.
Respectfully,
John
Seattle
Mike, that sure is the lamp. I also bought all the attachments which will take the diopter to a high value but of course with very close proximity to the work. The price is daunting bu I wanted excellent quality. This unit is German made. I really like how it moves and stays in place without tension adjustments. I bought mine through Amazon.
I am in MN for a couple of days to kick- hopefully in the right place - a Coast Guard navigation site that is broken.
Respectfully,
John
John
My building front looks like this. The photographs are excellent truth meters. I see the white folds in the awnings that Brett warns to deal with. The door I am holding off on in case I choose to let it remain open.
I added a header below the dormer for the rafters to abut. Prior to doing that I had an exposed intermediate layer. It also gave me a straight edge to push the dormer floor against to make it perfectly flat.
I opened the wall here to enable me to get my fingers inside later for lighting. Once the LED is in place I plan to cover the opening with black paper. You can see where I did a dry run to get a feel for using the stencil.
Here is the opening for the next dormer. Again, when the LED is in place I'll close the opening with black paper.
This shows how I plan to attach the LEDs in the dormers. It will be on the center piece which you can see is above window level. I plan to use the flat style LED and I'm leaning towards an absolute minimal intensity with a warm color yellow/white. Repeating my earlier comment, I plan to bring wiring from each LED out to a common point so that if I choose not to illuminate a particular window set I can leave it unpowered. I suspect that interior illumination can be overdone.
Criticisms are solicited. I need perhaps to find a link to roof treatment to give me something to look at and attempt to duplicate. I also suspect my nail markings need to be tamed. What else?
Respectfully,
John