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Comments
Can def use sculptamold.
it feels more organic and a natural situation,
it also allows the optimum viewing angles for all of the structures and scenes
I'm 100% on the second arrangement.
I would suggest slightly rounding the sharp edges of the upper foam to make an easier blend, whichever material you use.
Hope this helps.
A few weeks have passed since my last post but progress continues. I've gone with the layout on the left as described above. The foam board has been glued to the MDF base (this measures ~ 36 in x 18 in). Some sheet-rock compound was used along the sides and the seams and to cover the upper level of the Foss landing side (right). Pilings and mussels were added to the 2 docks of Foss landing and the one for the Shipyard. After a coat of spray paint, the RR ties were laid down on the left. Rather than tape them to a template and glue them all at once, they were laid by hand using a long piece of wood for the boundary on the left and wood spacers to keep the distance between ties the same distance. Here is the work in progress:
Before proceeding with the ties on the right of the shipyard, a bit of compound was used to build up the base so the ties would fit snugly under the rails. The "ship in progress" was also completed. As in Grant's log, the wood was left unstained to simulate newer, non weathered wood.
Other things to think about is how to run the wiring from each structure through the base to the batteries. More on that later. Here are some photos of progress so far. I've been taking it slow as I have to go between the 2 instruction manuals so I don't get too far ahead on on side or the other.
One modification of the Foss landing kit - a cement wall is called for that starts behind the launch Co building and goes to the side of that building and then forms a cement wall under the Clam and Oyster building below the dock. The Shipyard kit has 2 walls, one of brick and one with larger stones. To tie the 2 kits together, I've decided to replace the cement wall with bricks at the back and side of the launch co and larger stones for the wall under the Oyster Co dock. Here's a sample of the bricks and one stone:
And lastly, would like some opinions on 2 items:
1. The Shipyard kit has a metal casting to simulate a light which would go on a pole. I would like to use a pole with a light that works. I think I've found something similar to what would be constructed with the kit and it comes in a 3 pack. One light goes near the shed by the RR tracks (blue circle in photo below). Where do you think would be a good spot for the other 2?
2. I would like to add some telephone power poles with "wires" going to the buildings. Foss Landing includes a casting for one pole but I think more would be required. I thought spacing them out along the back of the diorama would be most appropriate (blue x es in photo below). Or do you think this would make things too busy.
Thanks again for your comments.
jeff
Work continues with the shipyard. After all the RR ties are placed, the base was painted where the water will eventually go.
There are wires poking through the MDF and insulation base. These will be spliced to the various buildings and pole lights. Here are 2 photos of the underside of the base. MDF is perfect for gouging out small trenches for the wires which will then come out the back and eventually get spliced into 2 on/off switches. Each hole is marked to identify the structure associated with the wire.
Next up was the brick wall that replaces the concrete one on Foss Landing. The wall below the Clam and Oyster building was made up of larger blocks, much like the wall near the RR tracks on the Shipyard kit.
The RR track was next glued to the ties after they were weathered. The flex track I purchased came with plastic ties so, before the plastic ties were removed, the track was centered and marked on the weathered ties. One rail was glued first then spacers were used to keep the second track even with the first.
When all was done it was tested with the RR car previously constructed - perfect fit.
I wanted to add the rail spikes for extra security. However, what is commercially available looked out of scale. I ended up using standard paper staples - still a bit out of scale but closer, I think. He is a photo. It was a lot of drill holes and spikes!
The rails were then weathered and a sanding stick was run across the top.
Next up is the sculptamold for the Foss Landing buildings, followed by the Shipyard pit.
Jeff
Meanwhile, back at the Shipyard...
Prior to the sculptamold, I laid down the ballast for both tracks. The rails were already down on the left track, not so on the right. I don't really have an opinion as to which way is better although on the right, the ballast had to be glued then cleared from the ties before laying down the rails. Some color was then added to the ballast to tone down the rather bright grey. Some random oil stains were added as well. Here are some photos.
Foss landing sculptamold was placed first. In preparation, the bumper pilings were made so that they could be placed before the mold hardened. I mixed the mold with some brownish paint and then placed the 2 landings in the soft mold, puling the wires through small holes in the decks. A mix of ground cover to simulate a slightly rock shoreline was then added. Tires were added to the pilings and here is the result.
Next up was the mold for the Shipyard pit and beneath the dock. I ended up doing this in 2 stages as there is just too much going on with the ship and the surrounding supports and decks to try to get it all done at one time. Before mixing the mold, all of the details that have to be stuck in the mold were completed - scaffolding, supports for the ship base etc. The mold was then placed and the ship base placed onto to it. all the supports were placed, using the work decks to check placement. Additional ground cover was placed as well as discarded wood. The ground cover was glued and then it was all left to dry. The main dock was placed but not secured to ensure correct alignment of the ship.
The dock at the left side of the pit was also placed at this time. Remember to push a rod through the hold into the mild for the barge derrick. Here is a shot of the wall at the end of the rail on the left showing a bit of collapse where there were no reinforcing stones.
The mold beneath the dock was then placed followed by the dock. Pilings were then placed as were the tires. On another forum where I am posting this build, a suggestion was made to add a bull rail to the shipyard deck to keep stuff from rolling off the dock. seemed like a good idea so after doing some research on what this would look like it was added.
Next, I constructed a bumper stop for the left rail based on some internet photos I found.
Here how things look now. The 2 docks on the side of the shipyard building have been glued. Here is a shot of where things stand so far.
And finally, the derrick was constructed. From what I could find on the internet, the shipyard derrick is a "guy" derrick. With this type of derrick, the load is moved by either rotating the mast (not likely with this construction) or the boom. With boom rotation, there is an additional lashing between the boom and the mast for support. Derrick construction was straightforward given the excellent instructions and metal parts. I decided to add a few bundles of wood to the flatcar and one being lifted by the boom.
At this time the mast has not been fixed in place. The one support rope leading from the ring at the mast top will be added later.
Jeff
Jeff
This is really looking great and I looove the shingled roof. You really nailed that one. The weathering is superb. This is going to be a show stopper when you get it done. Thanks for sharing.
It's been a while since my last update but construction continues. After the sculptamold and docks were placed, I decided to make some of the mini-kits included in the kit, including the wooden fences (both foss landing and the shipyard), the steam box and boiler, canvas rack and the oil drum rack. For the simulated canvas, I used some leftover silkspan from my sail-making for the Revenge (see page 1 of this log). The silkspan was first painted with an off white / light tan paint (leftover from some room in the house).
Here is a photo of the white silkspan and the painted final product.
Construction of the canvas rack was a bit fiddly given the very fine wood beams. The "canvas" was then rolled into a variety of sizes and placed in the rack.
Also pictured above is the oil drum rack. The hose is a 1 mm brass wire which was annealed to soften it up so I could bend it to the shape seen.
The steam box and boiler were fun to build. For the box doors, I used some leftover door hinges rather than the paper as suggested in the instructions. 2 mm solder was used for the boiler hose. The piping leading from a barrel to the boiler valve was interesting to fit and get right. One suggestion for any future builders - attach the valve at the very end of construction as it is quite fine and will break off at the slightest pressure.
The fences were straightforward however for the Foss Landing retaining wall fence, rather than several sections that step down, I made one longer section that will follow the slope of the brick wall. Note that several posts are longer so that they can be driven into the base, much like the boundary fence for the shipyard.
The Shipyard fence is a bit different construction with vertical boards glued to horizontal stringers. This fence is heavily weathered with cracked and missing boards. I decided to use some of the Foss Landing paper advertising signs for the fence. Below are 2 photos, one with flash which highlights some features of the fence such as the darker bottom where the wood touches the ground.
And lastly, I am starting to think about some of the landscaping around the buildings, fences and bare areas. I was thinking of using a product called static grass to give an effect of somewhat overgrown grass near the fence. The grass comes in different sizes and hues. I'm still experimenting but my thoughts are to have a bit of grass and shrubs near the Foss landing buildings, less so for the shipyard. Anyway, here is a photo of the Foss landing fence with some taller grass at the fence base. Shorter static grass can be seen in the foreground.
As always, any comments are welcome as mini landscaping is all new to me.
Next up will be some thoughts on the boat which is undergoing repair at Foss landing and some photos of the first buildings placed on the base
Jeff