HO/HOn3 Backwoods Tie Mill

KKarns · October 11

Nice to hear Kevin, thanks!

admin · October 11

the Staging Shed and Eagle Engine are superb! Love that stack...

KKarns · October 12

Thanks much Brett, things are coming together nicely. Off to build a bridge to get the Mac AB Flat bed and Cletrac Crawler across the creek!

KKarns · October 13

As promised, I scratch built a temporary bridge to span the creek in my diorama for vehicle traffic to access the Tie Mill. I used real pine twigs with most of the bark stripped off as the joists to span the creek. Then strip wood was grained, stained, colored, and detailed. I laid the first two cross planks on my bench upside down and spaced as they would be. I then glued the twigs to the two end planks spaced appropriately. This was done so the uneven diameter of the twigs would not cause an uneven plank surface and all the boards would be in contact with all the twigs.

The finished bridge. I designed this from a reference photo and thought it looked cool. The oil stains were done with AK Interactive "Engine Oil glossy finish" This is an enamel product. I wanted an enamel so the drips would spread out along the grain of the wood naturally. Just pigments would not create that creep effect. After the AK Engine Oil was down I wanted to knock back the glossy finish to make the stains look old so I then dabbed dry pigments over the "oil" to tone down the glossiness.

The reference photo had these elevated side pieces on either side of the wood tracks. This would alert the driver if the tire was going too far one way or the other. This also shows the pine twig support beams.

Different angle

Mac AB Flatbed included in the kit, unfinished of course, tooling across the bridge. That's going to make a great scene!

TomMich · October 14

That's a neat little bridge. weathering and finish is superb!

KKarns · October 14

Thanks Tom, it’s going to be a great little scene to detail.

Mountaingoat · October 14

Your attention to even the smallest detail stands out. Yes, it's a cute small bridge, but the wood and stains are perfect and the bridge is prototypically correct.
Rick

KKarns · October 14

Appreciate that Rick! Like I mentioned to Tom, it will be a blast detailing the scene with bridge, creek, and vehicle.

KKarns · October 16

Have finished up the main Sawmill equipment detailing short of the final detailing once the scene is constructed. The three pieces are; the In-Feed Table, Saw Table, and Dead Rolls.

The In-Feed Table with basic detailing of oil base coat (gray) then dry pigments (gray) then a general oil wash of burnt umber. Highlights of brighter metal on wheels and gear teeth with Model Color 70.863 Gunmetal. The wheels on the table probably wouldn't be this shiny as they run on wood runners, but gives a splash of color. Maybe I'll have them running on metal...

Closer view...

Sawmill Table. This was done the same way with oil base and dry pigments. More detailing on the saw blade is planned. I think it's way too dark. Looks good without the high magnification.

Saw Table decking. I outlined the cut out with paper to look like metal to dress up the cut out a bit. This will be mostly if not completely covered by a tie being cut!

Back end of the Saw Table. Cable spool will be detailed just prior to planting on the diorama.

Detailed Sawmill pieces ready to go!

ALCO · October 16

A ton of realism in those little parts!

KKarns · October 16

Nice to hear from you Al. Going to make a great scene once its all put together. These 3D detail parts are amazing.

TomMich · October 16

They look like real metal! Wonderful finishes.

KKarns · October 16

Thanks Tom! On to the next thing...

TravisS · October 16

Perfect prints and perfect execution! The crisp "Oliver" on the in-feed table. Wow!

KKarns · October 16

Isn't that a crazy good print! Thanks much Travis, nice hearing from you. Here's a close up of the "Oliver":

KKarns · October 16

The finished details are piling up! About time to extend the diorama base and get things laid out.

Mountaingoat · October 17

If you didn't have your fingers in the shot for scale, I would swear it was the real thing, not a model. Fantastic work Ken.

Rick

KKarns · October 17

Appreciate ya Rick, thanks my friend!

glandesjr · October 17

Hi Ken:
This is looking great. Love the bridge you built. And the weathering on the equipment makes it look truly real. This is one cool diorama. I love the creek you also built. Really creative. Looking forward to learning more as you build this.

KKarns · October 17

Always nice hearing from you George! Appreciate your thoughts here my friend. The creek isn’t finished of course the water stops just after the slope. I’m adding an extension to the diorama base to accommodate the Tie Mill scene just south of where all the components are sitting. Not quite enough room for what I want to do!

Jerry · October 17

Ahh! Perfection once again!!

Jerry

ALCO · October 17

One of the neatest things is to stage the pieces and see how things might look!

KKarns · October 17

Hey thanks much Jerry!

For sure Al. I love this stage and being able to assemble and detail the individual components, detail parts and start lying things out!

Kevin L · October 17

Wow looks great, can't wait for my "O" scale kit to arrive I know it's in transit to me here in Australia.

KKarns · October 17

Hey Kevin, thanks much. yup a really awesome kit, you'll love it.

KKarns · 12:30PM

Slight change in plans that I'm really excited about. I had mentioned that I was going to expand the footprint of the diorama base of the Wood Cutter's Shack (aka the Tie Cutter's Shack by me) to accommodate the Backwoods Tie Mill kit. I went back and forth and have now decided that firstly, the expanded size was going to make the diorama unwieldy. Secondly, the engineering to attach the expansion created some issues. Something just wasn't adding up. Too much real estate with structures too spread out to give the right effect. So, I have decided to work with the current diorama and the initial layout is illustrated below:

Here is the staged layout that I'm thinking right now will work the best. This accomplishes so much more than just throwing more acreage around; the cabin appears nicely associated with the mill, the creek and bridge become an integral scene detail in close proximity, the Tie Mill is now close to the backdrop of forested hillside which looks I think looks cool, the Main Sawmill is close to the edge of the diorama so viewing the critical main details of the sawmill are close at hand, the output of the end product is close to the rail transport, and finally...I don't have to mess around creating more land mass from scratch and can get on with detailing and creating the beautifully designed Backwoods Tie Mill scene!

KKarns · 2:41PM

Busy today priming 3D detail parts. I use several different colors of spray paint depending on the final color and what I want the primer color to be. I use Tamiya exclusively. The Tamiya spray paint is great, sprays evenly, lays down super nice, and the small cans give good control and atomization is very fine.

Supply stock of Tamiya spray paint.

Example of a collection of 3D printed details from the Backwoods Tie Mill kit primed in three different finishes.

Taking my time on this exquisite 3D Print kit from the Backwoods Tie Mill kit, the AB Flatbed. Glued on the gas tank, front control arm and axle assembly, Side steps (these were sanded down to thin the actual step plate), and the flatbed bolsters. Once dry I'll fit the rear axle and check the alignment with the wheels and then it's off to the paint shop! The wheels and steering wheel have already been dry fitted and adjusted prior to assembly and painting. NOTE: All the little nubs and stubs you see are not support remnants, but fine details such as spring shackle clamps, etc... crazy awesome detail! Haven't decided on a definite final color for this one yet...

TomMich · 4:29PM

Ken,
Not wanting to be difficult, have you tried to position the structure complex on a slight diagonal to the front, kind of paralleling the creek? Just a thought.

KKarns · 5:35PM

great that you're scrutinizing the layout Tom, exactly why I posted to get some feed-back. Can't get all three structure in-line with that configuration. I was going to put the extension on the diorama base to get some more room but just isn't feasible at this point. The vehicles coming off the bridge need room to maneuver as well. I also want the final rough ties to be exiting near the tracks. I certainly appreciate the ole rules in modeling of not having things perpendicular and parallel to other axis but sometimes unavoidable. I was hoping the angled meandering creek would help break this up. I think it will be OK in the end.

Only way you'd be difficult is if I never heard from you! You've been a good friend here.

Howdy, Stranger!

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HO/HOn3 Backwoods Tie Mill

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