visit sierrawestscalemodels.com

Alan's O'Neill's Build

2456789

Comments

  • Absolutely order one Tom. These kits give pretty much the best return on your hobby dollar that there is, and the sense of accomplishment you get is cheap at twice the price.

    I completed the overhang. Following Phil's advice I pulled the iPhone out and zoomed in when I cropped and resized the photo. You'll note all of the tiny imperfections such as board length variations when hand cutting from the template and a place or two where I got a little sloppy with the glue, caused by moving a rafter because it wasn't right on the line. Now there are a couple of ways to look at these kinds of things:

    1: Much angst and beating up of yourself, and keep fiddling with it until it's perfect. This way lies frustration and if it gets out of control, eventual abandonment of the project, or another long hiatus.

    2: As being portrayed, these structures are old, and have had many "DIY" style modifications done over the years. A little irregularity gives character.

    3: You won't see it on the finished model. The slight irregularities are going to be under the tar paper. The very tiny glue smears are on the underside of the overhang. You can hide this kind of problem with a little chalk dusting.

    Overhang 5


    I'm holding off on the tar paper until I have the corrugated metal prepared. I pulled that out and placed it on the template with double sided tape per the instructions. I didn't have one of those little L shaped rulers when I did my overhang. I managed with a metal ruler and triangle taped down, but I wanted one. Can't have too many tools, right? Amazon Prime to the rescue! I had it the next day. I find it handy for cutting the corrugated metal. It helps keep your cut straight. You may want to shift very slightly away from the cut line to keep your blade in one corrugation. An additional sign of blade wear will be the tendency for the blade to slip out of your selected corrugation. As you did with with the addition floor frame, roll the template out from under the cut pieces to keep them flat.

    Coruugated metal
  • I should clarify. I meant an “O’neill’s”. I’m finishing the loco shed and have SWSM kits in the closet with two more on the way! Lol
    I think they are incredible.
  • I have three more here to do :)
  • i'm jealous. i have two (and a set of disconnects and a blacksmith car).
  • I got the corrugated roofing cut. No casualties, but if you do have a few just use them for the overhang on the main building. Blade count: four. Keep your knife at a low angle to the work so you aren’t just cutting with the point. You’ll get a little more mileage out of the blade that way.
  • edited November 2020
    Because it's still necessary to be gainfully employed I don't get to do much through the week, though there have been a few mornings where I'm up early enough to get in some short sessions at my desk before starting the day job. That's why you see a blue cutting mat instead of the big green one sometimes. I got the corrugated metal painted and baked, and I'm waiting for it to cool. I started taking it off the cardboard with tweezers in the hope of not bending it, but it's easy to scrape the paint this way, so I switched to fingers. If you damage any primer, head to the reaper paint box and grab some gray and exercise your dry brushing technique! Galvanizing in the real world (electro or hot dipped) starts out a medium to bright silver but quickly fades to a medium gray not unlike this primer. Mottled appearances are common, and we're weathering over it anyway. I'm going to pick the five worst pieces for the overhang and cut where the urge strikes me for irregular pieces.
    Corrugated roofing
  • engine909 said:

    Alan, That is an unfortunate deterrent. I am enjoying your journey, and your telling of it.

    Many thanks! I'm enjoying doing it! A quick post script: I did lose a little paint to the double sided tape, so a little more dry brushing than anticipated.

    Post Post script: A question. I have some Higgins India Ink here but it's the waterproof variety. Wanting to be a good student I ordered some of the non waterproof from Blick's along with some chalk sticks. Got the chalk, but the ink is on backorder. What's the difference here, anyone?
  • Alan, great stuff! Both your work and enthusiasm are infectious...
  • Non waterproof will mix more evenly for you. The waterproof tends to act like oil and water.
  • brownbr said:

    Non waterproof will mix more evenly for you. The waterproof tends to act like oil and water.

    Gotcha! Thank you.
  • Regarding non waterproof India ink, it is interesting for me to note when I want to replenish my stock of ink at the local art supply store that the supply of non waterproof in is usually very low or non existent. Must be an indication it is in high demand by artists.

    Later, dave S. Tucson, AZ
  • This weekend kind of didn't work out for bench time the way I would have preferred. Saturday we had the granddaughter, and let's face it, she's more fun to play with. Sunday I had to go to the train club and get ready for the open house. Milwaukee's annual Trainfest has been cancelled, as well as our club's open house, but we get such demand that we decided to try a virtual open house streaming member's trains running on the layout on YouTube and the club's Facebook page. Just like that, weekend shot!

    I did get a few things done though. I got the overhang done. The tar paper was easy enough, though I departed from the manual a little. I ran a 400 grit sanding stick from top to bottom which gate a different kind of streak, plus I hit it with the gray chalk. That plus a little bit of tan showing through looks interesting I think:

    Mounted Overhang 2

    Mounting the thing was easy enough, though I found in addition to the bead of glue along the header, a thin film of glue on tarpaper held it in place even better and made it easier to fit the three braces, while allowing a modest amount of movement for adjustment. I sighted down the edge to make sure the three braces were aligned with each other.

    With the corrugated metal, I again departed from the manual. The results I was getting just didn't look right to me. Too much gray. I decided to hit the pieces with a little rust from the SWSM/Reaper Miniatures paint set. I used the damp brushing technique on the pieces, let the paint begin to set up, then hit them with the suggested chalks. I like this result better:

    Mounted Overhang 3

    I just went random on where to put metal and wood, and didn't think too hard about it. I then did the signs and assembled the four walls of the main building. This to me is the first real milestone on the build, and I was excited about it, but I also remembered to take my time. One of the walls had some warpage in it, and I had to cut one of the braces I had added back. In the end, I got it done.

    Main Building 1
    Main Building 2
    Main Building 3



  • I noticed a little gap here & there, even though the corner braces fit properly and the L shaped ruler said I had everything square. I believe a small amount of warpage occurred over the years the kit sat in the box, just like the window material curled. I pulled out some brass clamps I had and used them to pull the walls up tight. I'll stop here for a breather, and a read on the tower construction, and leave these clamps tight until tomorrow morning!

    Main Building 4
  • main building looks great.
    i gotta get some of those clamps.
  • Looking super!
  • No problem. Brett made me do it! :) Seriously, it's in the manual. I've seen similar junk on sheds in the southern US. The result of using whatever is laying around, and using boards to hold down pieces of corrugated tin. Quirky but interesting!
  • Hey it's okay. I expected this to be a "tough room". There are builders here that are way better and more experienced than I am, and constructive criticism is fine. It makes me a better modeler. I'm assuming by knot holes and nail holes you mean in general, and not necessarily my build. I actually did less of those than some have. Each artist is supposed to make the work "their own", so I see your points. OTOH, these dioramas are something of a caricature of real life. I mean, if we eliminated the property laying around the scene would look kind of sterile wouldn't it?
  • Wonderful progress Alan, looking so good. The scraps on the roof may not be a common sight in the wild but this is a craftsman kit and sometimes a little flourish or detail like this is just fun. Super easy enough to leave off if so inclined!
  • I like those clamps. I seem to remember purchasing something similar, putting it in a drawer and never seeing it again. Maybe I'll go looking now.
  • engine909 said:

    Example, Dolly Parton. Where do your eyes always go? You dig. Way out of proportion.

    Yes, out of proportion. OTOH she is quite prototypical LOL!!!
  • Ed, I knew this photo would come in handy one day. I saved it in case I wanted to show that tires on a roof are prototype. It is near the airport in Springfield, MO.
    Tires on Roof Crop Resize
  • Alan, congratulations on getting the main building put together. As for the stuff on the roof, it's totally up to you. I'll have to ponder on what I will do when I get to this point. Phil
  • Wag The Dog....Ed...

    Main building looks good Alan.
  • probably on a turkey farm....
  • I did the first of the tower walls last night. Same technique as the addition. It's easy enough. The wall tends to curl as you add boards, so keeping things flat is going to be important here. When I had enough done I put a pair of 1-2-3 blocks on the finished area, then two more when the wall was done. on top of those went a copy of Dunscomb's "A Century of Southern Pacific Steam Locomotives" and Wright's Daylight book. That should keep it flat!
  • Alan, you have me stumped. I don't have much of an issue of warpage when I add the siding. Maybe it is because I tape down the cardboard. What kind of glue are you using? You certainly have the correct resolution. As you know, regardless of warpage or not, I always put a freshly-finished wall under weight. Phil
  • edited November 2020
    Phil, I'm using Elmer's Carpenter's glue. It's applied with a toothpick, sparingly. Since you're doing the addition now, you may have already discovered this can't be too sparing, or the clapboards we add will pop off during trimming. I didn't really see a way to tape the tower walls down like you did with the main building. My recommendation would be do get an entire wall done at a sitting so it can be weighted down right away. Take note, these walls are fragile. I didn't break the one I did (front with double door), but those thin sides are where the curling was most pronounced.
  • Thanks Alan. Good to know.
  • Two tower walls are now done. This is a bit of a tedious process but hang in there, it goes by faster than it might feel to you. It's pretty straightforward. Just follow the manual, like always.

    Adding Siding

    IMG_3073

    Note that when you start adding boards, the wall will curl as shown:

    Wall Curl

    Sorry for the less than perfect focus, but it's the principal I'm wanting to show here. As Phil and I discussed, get a wall done then get it under weight as soon as possible. Leave it there for 12-18 hours. These walls do flex, even before you start adding siding. It's in their nature, and the water in the glue amplifies the tendency. They will also flex somewhat after dry as shown here after 18 hours under weight. The corner braces will take care of it. It's not excessive. Bottom line: don't panic.

    Rear Wall
  • I think trying to make laser cut clapboard LOOK like board on board is tedious and never yields the results you have here. And it warps too! Once the corner trim is glue on and the wall weighted the warp will minimize so you can properly glue the walls together.
Sign In or Register to comment.