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#301 Logging & Tractor Repair Shed (with a twist)
Here we go, my version of the tractor shed build, but first a little background.
Ok, I’ll admit it, I bought the kit for the details. When I bought the kit I had no room on the layout to put it once built, there was simply no real estate in the logging area for a building of that size. Subsequent layout design changes and expansions later I had a space where the building could be placed and be prominently displayed once installed on the layout.
But there is a twist, I can’t build it as per the original layout so it will be built as a mirror image. The tractor shed will also be set back even with the back of the building and there will be a rear door/opening on the “track portion” of the building.
Because the building has an open feel to it, I also want to make the framing more substantial so I plan to timber frame the building and change the pitch of the main building to add a loft area. Sounds like I’m going to be doing a lot of scratchbuilding.
Right now the wood is ‘soaking” in the stain, I’m using one of Mike Chambers recipes as I probably have the world’s 37th largest collection of craft paint. If you are interested in Mike’s staining formula’s you can find them here http://homepage.mac.com/michael21/Stripwoodstains/stripwoodstains.html
Tonight I’ll remove the wood from the stain and then let it dry for a couple of days. While the wood is drying, I’ll make some preliminary plans.
Oh, and just to add some pressure, the goal is to have it completed for the upcoming national narrow gauge convention in Hickory, let the fun begin.
Ok, I’ll admit it, I bought the kit for the details. When I bought the kit I had no room on the layout to put it once built, there was simply no real estate in the logging area for a building of that size. Subsequent layout design changes and expansions later I had a space where the building could be placed and be prominently displayed once installed on the layout.
But there is a twist, I can’t build it as per the original layout so it will be built as a mirror image. The tractor shed will also be set back even with the back of the building and there will be a rear door/opening on the “track portion” of the building.
Because the building has an open feel to it, I also want to make the framing more substantial so I plan to timber frame the building and change the pitch of the main building to add a loft area. Sounds like I’m going to be doing a lot of scratchbuilding.
Right now the wood is ‘soaking” in the stain, I’m using one of Mike Chambers recipes as I probably have the world’s 37th largest collection of craft paint. If you are interested in Mike’s staining formula’s you can find them here http://homepage.mac.com/michael21/Stripwoodstains/stripwoodstains.html
Tonight I’ll remove the wood from the stain and then let it dry for a couple of days. While the wood is drying, I’ll make some preliminary plans.
Oh, and just to add some pressure, the goal is to have it completed for the upcoming national narrow gauge convention in Hickory, let the fun begin.
Comments
Todd
Todd, I'm looking forward to this build too.
First batch is out of the stain and drying....working on plan of attack now.
I'm looking forward to following along with the build and also seeing it in person at Hickory.
Karl.A
Last night I took the wood out of the stain and laid it out on paper towels to dry. This is all the weathering I plan on doing at this stage. Further weathering will take place as construction progresses.
While waiting for the “stain to dry” I started to plan how I was going to lay out the building. Thanks to the planning “aids” that Brett included with the kit (a.k.a laser cut walls) and some masking tape I started playing with the design. After looking at the space I had and the possibilities I came to the realization that I would have to build the kit in the same configuration as the plans (so much for the mirror image idea). I still plan to move the tractor shed back, raise the roof and make other modifications to the design.
Here is a general idea of the building and the space available.
The “floor plan” for the area.
As you can see from the “floor plan” I plan to build a lean-to shed and an outhouse as part of the scene.
Next up is to draw up some plans, figuring out the main timber sizes, I’m leaning to 10” x 10” but they may look too massive so I might go with 8” x 8”, I’ll have to see how it look visibly.
Stay tuned.......
I decided that seeing as this is a private business instead of part of a logging scene I would adjust the height and width of the main building so that full size railroad cars could be built. Taking some measurements of some On30 boxcars I have told me that I would have to build the walls 16 feet high to accommodate the building of freight cars. The added bonus of this wall height would allow me to build a partial second floor in the tractor repair shop to allow for a small office/storage area. This is not shown on the plan yet as the final size will be determined once the walls are up and I have a better idea of the space I have.
Next up, the building begins……
Karl.A
Recently I have been buying the odd bottle of ink to use as a “painting” medium for wooden buildings. I used this technique on a station I built and was well pleased with the result. The goal this time was to create a “coloring technique” for old wood that has spent its life protected from the weather. My experience shows that there is no “graying” like wood that is exposed to the sun and weather. Old buildings that I have been involved in renovation have shown me that the colour of wood tent to be a deep orangey-brown in colour.
So in order to get started I made samples of the ink stains I had on hand.
I liked the colour “saffron” as it had the Orange I was looking for although it is way too bright. Using the technique I used on the station here is the effect/colour I am looking for.
To start I used two coats of my special formula of alcohol/India Ink stain. Ok it’s not much of a secret, it’s the standard mix that most people use except I use 99% isoproponal alcool that is readily available at any drugstore here. I prefer the 99% as it dries fast and has virtually no water content to warp the wood. Because there is no water content I use waterproof ink in my mixture.
Next up is a coat of the “safron” coloured ink. I applied it with a brush. I tried making a “stain” out of it using both water and alcohol and didn’t have success with either. It didn’t mix very well with the alcohol and ended up being a very watered down version when mixed with water. A sample soaking overnight in it resulted in not much color being absorbed by the wood.
In order to dull the colour even more I brushed on two more coats of A/I stain.
I’m pleased with the results so far and will be using this to start construction of the timber framing. I might add another wash of A/I once it is put together. All I need to do now is cut up a whole lot of 2” x 6” for the framing and give them the same treatment.
Stay tuned…….
looks in construction.
I'm not quite there yet, but I'm getting close
To the left is the orange/brown colour that I wasn't quite happy with as it was still a little to orange for my test. Further experimentation was not getting me any closer si I went on a different tact and went for the darker colour wood instead. This was easily done by adding a coat of Hunterline's "dark brown" weathering mix. The final result is on the right. (further experimentation will be required to get the orange/brown color I'm looking for). I also feel that the darker color will blend in with the "gray" boards that will make up the outside walls.
After the lengthy self taught staining tutorial/experimentation, I finally got to frame out some walls.
The side wall
Back wall
Front wall for the car repair side of the building
Wall between the car repair shop and the tractor repair shop.
Next up- weathering the boards for the outside walls.
I have to say after looking at the darker color framing on my monitor, you "Nail It" The house I grew up in (built in the early 30's) had a detached garage with open framing. The color of that wood matched your color. At least in my minds eye.
So here is the process I used.
First I added a random coat of Bragdon's "weathered brown" with a stiff brush. the goal was not to get a consistent look.
Next Medium rust was brushed on
After that Grimy grey was brushed on (note: all colours are by bragdons weathering powders)
Finally mineral spirits was brushed on
Next up adding the boards to the walls.
Karl.A
Last night I started to plank the wall. Now the goal was not to model a building that is not ready to fall down but to have the look of a well used but maintained building. That being said, due to the nature of it's use is does get banged up and has need for repair. You have to remember that I model 1929 so the building would be 20-30 years max.
The back wall.....Seeing as I decided to add nail holes on this build I used the back wall as my experimental piece (big mistake). I'm not a big believer in nail holes as in real life you don't notice them unless you are 4ft of less from the building and we never view are building from a scale 4 feet away. Because I'm building this as a diorama, I thought nail holes would give it character. The real test will come once it is installed on the layout.
To add the nail holes I used an awl and then added a wash of A/I to highlight them. Initial reaction was " well that didn't do much. hmmmm maybe if I used a black marker to further highlight them....." Well you can see how well that worked out, I should have left well enough alone. The good news is that I think I can salvaged the wall with some prudent sanding, touching up the weathering and continuing on. An added bonus is seeing as this is the back wall to the office on the second floor I'll be adding some battens on the top half of the wall to make the office area more weather resistant. I thinking this will also draw attention away from the way to big and dark nail holes. The nail holes on the right of the wall only have the a/i wash added. Live and learn.
The wall between the tractor repair area and the car repair shop. Only one third of the wall is planked as it is the only area exposed to the weather.
The rear wall partially completed. I got a little carried away and sliced out way to much on one side of the board and you could drive a tiny car through the opening.[:-bigeyes] I had a scrap piece left over and covered most of the gap. Not sure if I'll leave the rest of the gap showing of add a skinnier board to cover the rest of the crack.
That's it for this update, hopefully tonight I'll get the rear and front walls boarded up
The sheathing on the side wall is completed. I got lazy when I got to the middle as I ran out of full length boards and didn't want to cut another one. Thanks to Pat's suggestion (from the railroad-lone forum) I decided to make a "repair" on the bottom where the board was missing. The storyline is that the shop foreman got tired of the floor and equipment getting wet every time it rained. Looking around the grounds for something to repair the hole with he found some old tin signs. Nailing the old signs to cover the hole solved the problem.
A close-up of the "patch"
The window frames added to the side wall
The window frames added to the real wall. It looks like the wood has shrunk over time.
Next up.....making windows.
I do plan on adding some weathering along the bottom to make it darker as there would have been rain slashing mud onto the wall, dirt etc.
In order to make the windows I used the lazer cut cheet that the windows came on as a template. To start and to make them the same size as the ones Brett supplied (I only needed two additional double hung windows) I cut a piece of .005 clear evergreen styrene big enough to cover the four openings in the window template. Then it was a matter of cutting the scale 1 x 2's to size and gluing them to the clear styrene.
Once dry, I removed the template.
Then it was a matter of cutting of the access clear styrene and gluing the precut 1 x 2's to the other side. I found making the additional windows easier to make than the one's Brett supplied.
Side wall with all the windows added.
Rear wall with windows added.
In order to figure out how I would do the missing walls for the tractor repair side of the shed I needed to assemble the walls for the car repair side.
Showing the inside wall details
Next up, more timber framing.
Good Idea, except it looks like the windows were designed to open inwards, but then again I guess you could just close the windows to keep the rain out. :-)
It seems that in planing and building the end walls on the car shop portion of the building I forgot to do the peak.
In order to correct this I started by building the masters for the roof trusses. Once made I made a couple of jigs so that I can mass produce the required trusses later.
The peaks added to the car repair shop ends.
The framing for the wall in the tractor repair section.
The completed wall.
Here we see the interior framing for the second floor office/storage area.
Next on the list...... floor joists and decking for the second floor.