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Comments
Marty
Looks great. Are you in the Camp that is for or against adding nail holes to some of the boards? I know you're not done with the walls, but I didn't notice any nail holes where the boards join in the middle of the walls.
Alan
Alan--I usually add nail holes but forgot! Thanks for the reminder.
It was great seeing everyone at the Expo! Plenty of great models and nowhere near enough time to take it all in.
Okay…on with the assembly of the tipple house. It's pretty straight forward:
using a triangle, glue the front wall to right side wall #2 (the small fully boarded rectangle wall) followed by the left wall (that's the laser cut frame wall.)
Once dry, attach the rear wall. You'll now have something that resembles a structure like this:
Next comes adding right wall #1, but first, the tipple house floor gets some attntion. Remove it from the carrier, sand off the tabs and paint it brown on the top, bottom and edges.
Test the floor's fit for square and glue it place. Then add the right wall #1. I used some large square scrap against an angle plate to make sure everything lined up pefectly square.
I made sure to flip the structure over and check that everything lined up on the bottom, too.
With this done, the tipple house is ready to attach to the top of the bents.
More to come!
Bill
You are doing an excellent, outstanding, superlative, (and lots of other adjectives) job with this build and especially the tutorial for us. But then, I knew that you would! I got my kit a week ago and have had a ball reading and studying the manual along with reviewing your build to date. I eagerly await your updates. I need to get a couple more kit builds under my belt before attempting this one – it will be an invaluable resource when I do.
Phil aka KCSTrains mentioned on March 16 how much your tutorials have meant to him. Although I have a ways to go before feeling that I have achieved a very great precision I have definitely profited in many ways, I also very satisfactorily re-roofed another kit with cedar shingles.
David
Thank you for such thorough detailing. We are slowing you down by burdening you with requests to see how you produce such exquisite results.
John
Good job.
Marty
David--I think you've got the right idea: get comfortable with SW techniques and you'll be able to tackle anything. What are you building currently? If it's a SierraWest kit, make sure to start a thread with lots of pictures. I promise you'll get some great advice along the way.
John--not a burden at all. Keep in mind, my threads are also a cheat sheet for ME later on! (I can't commit all this stuff to memory.) Which reminds me of another tip for folks: NEVER part with your SW kit manuals. I refer back to mine constantly.
Marty--I agree. The little ones can sometimes lead to the biggest headaches. I thought I was over doing it checking for square over and over. BUT...it worked!!
Our basement is getting a remodel and I don't have access until Saturday at the earliest. My wife is having some kind of stained concrete thing done to the floor and we can't walk on it. However, I think I'm gonna come out ahead on the deal. Our guest bedroom has been "relocated" to a Holiday Inn and is about to become my new shop:
(The yellow walls are a chalk and alcohol wash...I'll share the exact shade later!)
lets get those benches filled up with SW kits and modeling supplies !!
Eagerly awaiting the next "mine" update..
Karl.A
Do you have a brand name and number for the transfer tape? My Google search gives so many choices I don't know where to turn.
David U
David--the Transfer tape I used is 3M 465:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-465-Adhesive-Transfer-Tape-Acrylic-2-mil-G4525647-/221568031433?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33967bdac9
Next, the Tipple House is attached to the bents. You draw a line to help locate the ouside edge of the shack. Then, a center board is added in the middle along with 2 side rails.
(Note: the yellow arrow is pointing out a mistake I made earlier. I had to correct it by attaching a piece of square stock. I mention this because my pencil line is off, but the center board placement is correct.)
The 4 wing walls are constructed next. Pay close attention as two are smaller than the others and one does not get boarded over. Paint the laser cut plywood a dark color before adding the siding (if there are any gaps in between the siding, they won't show as white.)
Here's a couple things I did you may find helpful. Be really careful of the little "ears" on the plywood when you're trimming the siding.
When it came time to trim up the siding, I laid a piece pf scrap siding under that ear. That way I could lay my straight edge across and press down on it without breaking it off:
Also, you may want to consider butting the siding right up to the edge (like in the picture on the right). You'll avoid possibly nicking the ear by not having to make a vertical trim cut.
Test fit the wing walls on the tipple house and place it on top of the bents. It should line up like the picture below. I discovered that I didn't sand down the wing wall tabs perfectly. That threw the whole thing out of alignment. Also, if you look inside the house you can see how the framing for the door of right side wall #1 lines up. It's about where the right "rail" piece and the center board meet (note the yellow arrow)
I've been working ahead and am just about done with the head frame. Hopefully I'll get more posted this week (since I can't build for a few more days).
I found that straight nail clippers work really well when cutting off the stripwood ends off the smaller parts. I seem to have better control and there is less chance of tearing the last piece of strip wood when cutting it with a #11 blade. Your mileage may differ.
Marty
http://www.micromark.com/razor-saws.html
Mike--not sure how well those will work, but I agree...changing #11s gets expensive. I use plain old straight edge blades whenever possible. I get mine at Menard's when they have a sale (usually 100 for $5. At a nickel a blade, I don't feel bad about changing them often).
The stairs are installed next. Here's something I should have pointed out in my last post. There is a support that needs to be removed. It's a spacer that will interfere with the stairs (well...the people will hit their head on the support!)
On page 32, the picture on the left shows the support has already been removed. So before gluing the tipple house down and attaching the stairs, carefully pop out this spacer:
Okay, now onto the install of some NBWs. As you go along through the build there are some of these suckers that are really tiny. Here's how I went about attaching, coloring and installing them.
First, to remove them from the carrier card, I had better luck poking them out with a pencil instead of an Xacto. Poke them slightly off center and they'll pop out cleanly. I laid down some blue painters tape (sticky side up) and plopped down the washers. Next, I added a tiny drop of medium super glue to the washer and positioned a nut on top. Put all of them together and let the super glue dry completely.
Once the glue is dry, I colored them with some rust colored paint. I happened to use Brett's "dark rust" mix of Flouquil paint. Any dark brown will work, but thin it so it's more of a wash than paint. The idea is to not obscure the detail with a thick coat of paint.
While the paint is still wet, dust on some rust colored chalks. I used a really soft brush and made the chalk kind of "snow" from above. Blow off any excess chalk and let 'em dry.
When you're ready to install the NBWs, you'll find that the thinner has disolved most of the adhesive on the tape and they can be removed easily with tweezers.
Here's a little tool I made to apply the super glue. I took one of those foam paintbrushes like this:
and removed the sponge part. Then, I super glued a pin where the sponge was. Using the pin, I could place a very tiny drop of thick super glue exactly where I want it on the tipple. Then I take my tweezers, carefully remove a completed NBW from the tape and place it on the glue. I used the back side of an Xacto to hold the NBW in place if it should happen to stick to the tweezers. Hope that makes sense!
If you prep the NBWs like this, most likely you'll avoid any white spots from the tabs.
Next up...the roof!
Marty
The ridge board gets installed between the peaks and then, using a spacing guide, marks are drawn on top of the all the walls to help position the rafters.
The main rafters need the tabs filed down and also removal of the burn marks from the laser. Only the bottom edges will show and I was able to just scrape the burned material off with a blade.
All the rafters are attached with a minimal amount of glue. I made sure to line them up with the marks at the top and bottom and keep an eye on the spacing as I went along.
For the lower roofs, it's the same deal: sand off the tabs and scrape off the burn marks at the ends, but it's important to keep the two sizes separate. The short rafters are for the front wing wall (the one with the ore bins); the longer rafters go on the rear.
Here's how I applied the glue to each rafter to keep it neat. I added a drop in the little "ear" and also a line of glue up a bit from the bottom of the rafter. When installing, I dragged the rafter down (away from the peak) until the glue smeared on top of the wall, then backed it up and into position resting the ear end at the top. No glue blobs on the tops of the walls or the bottoms of the rafters.
Once the front and rear roofs are done, it's time to tackle the corner wing wall roof (hip roof, I guess). First, the middle corner rafter is added. This is where a pair of those straight nail clippers comes in handy...this one needs to be the same length as all the other rafters. A scrap piece of stripwood helps carry that measurement to the corner rafter.
The next rafter gets glued directly to the wall:
To get that one to the correct length, I used one of the little triangles included in the kit. Butt the 90 degree angle against the wall and slide the triangle down to the edge of the corner rafter. Then, mark the end of the wall rafter and cut it to length.
Marks are made on the center rafter using the same spacing guide (I used a silver marker on mine):
Then, using scrap stripwood again as a guide, measure and cut to length the 6 remaining rafters:
Finally, rafter tails need to be added (4 on each side). There are long and short tails and the manual has details and pictures.
Shoo...that's enough for one entry. The purlins go up next and THEN, a really cool treatment for corrugated panels (especially if you hate working with etchant.)
Nearly a third of the way done!
Brett--I'm pleased with the results and glad you like it. The engineering on this kit is very well done, and this roof section is a perfect example. I'm not sure how you do it: "challenging but not difficult." Those of you building this kit...keep those words in mind when you get to this part.
The purlins provide a base for the corrugated panels but mostly add aesthetic interest to the model. They're very easy to construct. You begin at that little hip roof with with a couple pieces at the ridge.
Next, 2 purlins are added along the bottom about 1/16" up from the ends of the rafters. They also extend a 1/16" beyond the edges (left and right). The middle and top purlins are added as well.
A similar pattern is added for the lower roof on the opposite side--the roof of the front (ore bin) wall. On the main roof, there isn't a double course of purlins at the bottom. In addition to the 2 purlins on the peak of the upper roof, there's a small square piece (from bag #2) that fills in the gap at the very top.
David U
Let's get into the metal panels for the roof. First off, I wanted to mention I'm working off an early cutting template and there are some minor discrepancies. It's been corrected for the bulk of the print run of templates, but for the benefit of anyone who might have an early template here's what to watch for...
The upper roof is made of 10 corrugated panels and should measure 1" long.
5 panels for the lower roof above the ore bin should measure 1 5/16" long.
9 panels for the lower roof with the hip roof should be 1 3/8" long.
Tape down the pieces of aluminum to the cutting template (I had good luck with blue painter's tape). I took the ten 1" pieces out of the second row starting from the left. Take your time when cutting these. Use fresh blades and change blades often. The moment my blade felt like it was getting dull, I changed it. The aluminum panels chew up a blade in NO time at all. I bet I went through a dozen blades cutting these panels (75 cents worth, I think). Overkill? Maybe. But I love Brett's philosophy on razor blades: "Don't frustrate yourself fighting with dull blades".
It's important to keep track of the pieces that are marked 1, 2, 3, and 4. Those are applied in a specific order and get specific angles cut with a different template. The manual clearly details all of this.
Okay, here comes the really cool part about the corrugated panels. Say goodbye to that nasty Archer etchant from Radio Shack because you've used it for the last time. Brett credits Roger Malinowski for this method and I think this one technique alone is worth the price of the kit!
With the pieces attached to some blue painter's tape (sticky side up), spray them with gray enamel primer. Once the paint is dry, place the pieces on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Next, you bake the pieces in the oven for 3 minutes at 350 degrees. Just like when your car gets painted, baking the panels locks the paint onto the metal making it much more durable. If you ever tried painting aluminum before you know that the paint will fleck and crack off any time you bend or breathe on them. This solves that problem.
After the panels have cooled, you color them with chalk. First, hit them with gray chalk. I made some light; others darker.
Next, rust colors are added depending on how distressed you want the roof to look. I'm modeling a structure that's in good working order so--no rotten panels, holes or leaks.
"Weathered but functioning" is what I had in mind and used this as a reference picture:
I used mostly Burnt Sienna 411.3 and Burnt Umber 409.5 (the 409.5 is where the hint of purple comes from). I dusted the bottoms here and there lightly with those colors. Then, seal the chalk to the panels using a spray-on chalk fixative (DON'T use Dullcote!). The brand I found was "Krylon Workable Fixatif".
The fixative still dissolved some of the chalk, so I continued to add a bit more while the fixative spray was still wet. I built up the colors slowly in this way (probably 3 applications) until I got the look I was going for.
Installation starts on the wing wall roof with panels 1 and 2 followed by five additional pieces. Then pieces 3 and 4.
There is a spacing guide (overlap guide) to help position the remaining panels. I took the guide and taped it under the rafters. The dashed lines represent the seam locations so you know not only where the next panel goes, but also how far you can go with a tiny line of glue. I lined up the guide starting where I wanted the corrugated panels to end on the right hand side. Then, you install the panels beginning at the opposite side, working from left to right:
Here's how mine turned out:
We still have the flashing, ridge cap and little tarpaper roof to add before we can call it a day!
David U
The weathering on the roofs looks good...but my question is in your option this look better, not as good or just different vs using Etchant to weather the panels?
Alan