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Comments
The first task for the other side of the roof was to complete the Dormer roof with Tar Paper and glue into position. In this photo, I haven’t yet finished the weathering of the tar paper. Shingles were then placed as per the previous side, up to the level of the chimney.
The Chimney was then placed temporarily in position while the flashing was added on the top and sides of the chimney.
The chimney was then removed while flashing was added to the lower side.
Shingling then continues, working around the flashing, up to the level of the Cupola, where the lower flashing for it was added.
And shingling continued up to the ridge line, again with a special row added along the top edge. In the photo below, you can see that some additional weathering has also been added to the dormer roof.
Ridge capping was then added to the main roof and the two dormer roofs. The Cupola roof was also built and shingled at this stage, but I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I forgot to take any pictures of the construction process.
Rafters were then added to the two large gable ends, and to the two dormer gables.
Rafter “tails” were then cut and added to each side of the main roof.
As well as to the sides of the dormer roofs.
That completes work on the roof for now. There will be more details added a little later in the build, but for now we turn our attention to the construction of the Warehouse and the Yard Master’s Office….
Grant
Shingles, flashing and caps all look perfect.
I find it's always good to just stay with the flow, when its happening.
I didn’t appear to have any of the stained strips left over from the main building, so had to raid my stash to find some substitute timber. I found some of the correct width, but a little too thick. That was soon remedied by passing them through my thickness sander. Of course, even though I applied the same technique, this batch came out a little differently to my first batch. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as careful as I should have been in the application of glue, and I ended up with a number of glue stains on the walls. I gave them a sand, some further treatment with a wire brush and applied more chalk/alcohol mixture and that made them a little better.
Subsequent to this photo being taken, I gave them another go with a wire brush to bring them closer in tone to the main building.
Here is a close up of the left wall with the rsuty steel doors.
The walls were then glued together and the whole assembly glued to the front of the main building. The roof was tar papered in much the same way as the rear dormer and the roof was fitted after a view block had been inserted.
Here are few overall shots to show progress to date.
Rear Wall:
Right Wall:
Left Wall:
And Front Wall:
The gap is where the Yard Master’s Office will go, and that is next up…
Grant
Jerry
The Yard Master’s Office
The Yard Master’s Office introduces a slightly new technique for this build. Here we see for the first time the use of clapboard siding. (I believe that in Australia we call this simply “weatherboard”). To achieve this while still using a board-on-board construction technique, Brett has cleverly made use of laser cutting to provide a substrate with the correct angles pre-cut. It is then a fairly simple process to apply the boards (prepared in the same manner as previous boards) to the substrate in perfect alignment.
Here is a super-close-up to show the design/construction process.
In reality, this is so subtle that it wasn’t until I turned the substate end on that I realised what had been provided. Very clever!
Here is another “in-progress” shot:
And all three walls with siding applied and trimmed up.
Some bracing is added to the interior side of the walls (to help prevent warping), and the inside front corners of the two side walls are then bevelled to allow a snug fit with the front wall.
Each wall then has windows/doors and window shades applied in the same manner as previously described. The front wall also receives a cast resin vent, that is “rusted up” before gluing in place.
Here is the completed Front Wall:
The Left Wall (complete with Yard Master sign on the door):
And the Right Wall:
The walls are then glued up. The rear wall is simply a piece of laser-cut card as it will be glued up against the front of the Warehouse. View blocks are also added.
A pre-cut roof substrate is then added, and the ends covered with a fascia board.
The roof is then shingled in the same manner as the main building. It was at this point that I realised that I was going to run out of shingle material. I reached out to the Brett via email and received a response within 6 hours, saying that he would be cutting more shingles next week and would put some extras in the post for me then. Note that this exchange occurred over a weekend! Now that’s what I call customer service!
Here is where I got to before running out of shingles:
I have some more things that can be progressed while waiting for the extra shingles to arrive…
Grant
Brett is indeed the master at using the laser in a way that it aids the modeller and yet the result is still pure craftsmanship. These subtle enhancements and 'guides' provided by SWSM are often overlooked until people actually build one of the kits.
As you say, and have found out, Brett's customer service is second to none, along with after sales support provided by Brett and here by the great group of modellers on the SWSM Forum.
Your "yard masters office" looks terrific, everything is precise and the finish is going to look great against your main building.
Very nicely done.
While waiting for the additional shingles to arrive, I have begun work on some further details. First up is adding the Pitch and Tar Tank and it’s platform. A 1:1 scale drawing is provided as a template upon which the platform is built. A couple of scrap wood guides are first attached to the template with double-sided tape.
Three support beams are then cut to the size specified on the drawing and these are also attached to the template using double-sided tape.
The five joists are cut to size and glued atop the support beams.
We are then instructed to cut 10 deck boards from the 1/32” x 1/16” material. As can be seen from the first picture above, the drawing shows these 10 deck boards in place. The only problem with this is that the completed platform measures 7/8” x 7/8”. 10 deck boards that are each 1/16” wide are only ever going to cover 5/8” (or very slightly more allowing for a little size variation and potential small gaps). In the end I needed 13 boards to fill the space, with the last one trimmed back a little. I checked the size of my completed platform against the drawings, and it matches these. It is also a good fit for the size of the tank. No big deal, but there is definitely a discrepancy in the drawings/instructions/materials here. This is not meant as a criticism, but more as a "heads up" for anyone who may be following and planning to build the kit.
Anyway, once the platform is completed, some bracing is added to all sides. Here is a picture of the completed platform.
The Pitch and Tar Tank is a resin casting. This is our first foray into the plethora of resin and metal castings included in the kit. It is prepared by painting a light undercoat and then dry-brushing a darker brown over the top. It is then given a dusting of dry chalk powder to finish.
Subsequent to this photo being taken, I decided to give the entire tank a dunk in my Alcohol/Ink mixture and was quite pleased with the result.
Here are a couple of pictures of the completed structure in place atop the Warehouse roof. Note also the addition of support blocks around the platform legs. Prior to final placement, the metal pipe was prepared, blackened and attached to both the tank and the roof. As with previous metal fixtures, black paint was added to the epoxy glue to represent tar and pitch where the pipe enters the roof. It has yet to be finally finished off with some chalk to dull it down a little further.
The Chimney and Stacks for the other roofs were then prepared. These are all white metal castings. With the exception of the Chimney, they are simply cleaned, blackened, polished, and dusted with some grey chalk powder. The Chimney itself has a multi-phase preparation. An undercoat of AK11007 (Rock Grey) is used in place of the Pollyscale Concrete called for in the instructions. This represents the mortar between the bricks. AK 11087 (Scarlet Red) is then used in place of Floquil Scarlet Red and dry-brushed over the top. The aim is to colour only the bricks, leaving the mortar seams untouched. This project has been my first real attempt at the dry-brushing technique, so I’m learning as I go. From normal viewing distance I think it looks okay – the macro lens of the camera is a little brutal though. The top of the Chimney is painted with AK11021 (Basalt Grey) in place of Floquil Grimy Black and finished off with a dusting of black and grey chalk powders to give a “sooty” appearance.
All of these parts, except the Pitch and Tar Tank pipe, have now been set aside and will be fitted in place once the Yard Master’s Office roof has been completed and that building attached to the Warehouse front.
Next up, I’ll be starting work on the loading docks…
Grant