Logging and Tractor repair - Straight Up

Kevin

Fantastic job on the Cat Joel! Also nice save on the floor. You are setting the bar very high my friend. Belated Happy New Year to you and I hope all is well at home.

Kevin

Wes

Joel that CAT turned out just fantastic. Couldd you describe how you got that great weathered look?

Joel

Thanks guys for all the nice comments. Wes I know this is a cop out but for the weathering all I did was follow Brett's directions on page 38 of the manual. Just paint and chalk and a bit of oily black polly S. Only difference is I downloaded some pictures from goole and did all my wiring and piping first and then painted it as a whole.
These are the pictures I used: save you all some work looking around google....

Wes

Thats no cop out Joel. You just using techniques from the best in the business, and your results show how good those techniques are.

Thanks for those pics too. Theyre great reffference material.

Joel

Well still a few dozen castings to finish but I thought I'd work on the interior a bit as I prepare to glue the walls together. Just a couple of shots to test out what the interior may look like. I can see from these I have an unsightly splotch of "Asphaltum" that leaked through above the desk and the desk unit has some sort of stain on one of the doors. Both probably could be there in the real world so I may leave them but Not sure yet...

brownbr

Joel, not to take anything from anyone else, but your work is 2nd to none. Thanks for keeping us updated.

LSNRwyAl

Love the look of the individual castings / tools.
Especially like the blueprint under the wrench.

Joel

hey Bryan,
Thanks for the compliment but it is a bit silly with the likes of Brett, Karl and Kevin modelling away, nevermind your stunning Woodcutter's Shack. I'm not even in the same league as Dave Revelia or Chuck Doan. That said for my third attemp at an O scale structure I'm pretty pleased and I am learning tons. Maybe one day I can sit at the adult table but for now I'm content with being a good student.

Karl.A

The broken hinge and the hanging window is a nice little detail Joel, something different to catch the eye.
Everything else is coming together very nicely indeed, very impressive.

Karl.A

Joel

OK I'm back. I had a bad cold and couldn't get in the right frame of mind. Did a couple of mindless chores like the pallettes and ladder.
I tried to model the other tractor and used an airbrush for the first time. I'm pleased with the results but much of the "good stuff" is chalk I added afterwards. Also completed the forge. some of the stones stick out because of the chalk I added and i have to tone them down a bit. Finally I went a bit of the rails making labels for the cans and bottles included with the kit. I downloaded so pictures of signs from Laurie Green (a great resource) and printed them on photo paper. Thinned the label as much as I dared and glued them on. They're still a bit thick but they are a nice detail.

Only about 100 details left to paint and then it can all go together.

brownbr

the labels on the cans is a nice touch.

Joel

Hi all,
I haven't abandoned the project. Lots of gardening and the Ottawa train show got in the way. Also I'm at the slowest part of my process. I usually build the structure (s) and then sit them out on the ping pong table and move them around, place some trees and then let it sit. Typically I do this for a few weeks. Last year with the cove it took 2 months to come up with a plan. This year I'm sort of lost and looking for input. I built an arch bridge to go over Deer Creek and am thinking of building the tool shed on the near side of the tracks to add a bit more interest.
Any thoughts?

LSNRwyAl

I like 013 small.jpg as it draws the viewer up close then over to the front / doors of the repair shed. I also like the "peek-a-boo" modeling where the trains are in the open then behind a building then again in the open. Love the trees.

Joel

Ok still working on detail elements and thought I'd try one of Brett's CHB mack trucks. I also thought I'd try something new in terms of weathering. I read about using coarse salt as a mask in the On30 annual and thought I'd give it a try. In the end I used the salt as well as the hairspray (to allow for further peeling) and a brand new technique. I rusted up the body pretty severely and this time used really coarse chunks of chalk (some almost 1/2 a millimeter). Then I sprayed on a qick coat of hairspray and sprinkled on some salt. After 10 minutes I airbrushed on the yellow paint. after another 10 minutes I used a wet toothpick and rubbed as much of the little bumps off as I could. This often exposed the undercoat when the bump was salt but when it was rust coloured chalk the effect was great (see the last picture of the fender). The truck is not done as I have the bed to finish and a strip of filler to add above the windshield.
Interesting technique. Really easy.

Karl.A

looking good so far Joel, cant wait to see how you finish this one off, rust texture looks great, I'm gonna need to investigate the chalk relief method in the near future.

Keep us posted.

Karl.A

Joel

Another element I'm working on and hopefully it will all mix together. These are the walls for the tool shed. I left the door open and plan on completing the interior (in a subtle way of course) and lighting it. All keeping with a slightly newer but still sun faded wood structure.

admin

Can't wait to see it lit up. I especially like the wall with the signing and sliding door. Well done chap!

Wes

I echo Bretts statement Joel. The rusted metal work of the sliding door is fantastic.

What lighting will you be using? Ive never tried it, so would be interested to see how you do it.

Joel

Thanks for the nice comments guys. The rust is just water based paint dabbed with rust coloured chalk before it dries. Classic Sierrawest technique.
Ok six weeks to the show it's time to start putting together all the elements. I am just about finished painting all the details for the tool shed interior and exterior. I finished a few dozen extra so when it comes time to sink everything into the dirt I'll have what I need. Pictures soon. Meanwhile I thought I might need something other than the disconnect so I started the scrap and pipe car. the colours are too vivid in the picture but will be toned down after I finish the work bench
I also decided I like the idea of sound with last years model so I will try and add some here too. I took my base and carefully drilled a hole andcarved out the styrofoam until I reached the wooden floorboards (from underneath). Then I epoxied in a speaker (sound activator really). I'll try to connect the sound when the glue is dry.
It would be great if I can make the sound come from the inside of the shop. Cross your fingers. I also drilled the tiny hole for the lights. I'll add the microlumina lights after I build them and have the structure glued down

GregInOz

Joel, is this little speaker what I have heard described as an Exciter? I am interested in the placement of it...is it epoxied to the underside of the floor boards, or to the last of the foam? Thanks for clearing it up, in advance. Greg in Australia.

Joel

Yup it's an exciter. It's not really that small - about 85mm across or 3.5 inches. First time I've ever tried these but I really liked the idea of getting the sound to eminate from the building. I'll report back when I've actually turned it on. All I did was smear a bit of epoxy on the underside of the floor boards and then stick on the exciter. I', going to try the same thing with the cliff behind the shed and the sound of rushing water.

Joel

Ok well it's time to start putting it all together. The details are about 95% painted and the main components are all done except the roof. I didn't get a lot of feedback about the set up so I'm going with the initial plan. I cut a 30X36" board and glued down some styrofoam forms roughly cut from the pink insulation boards. Then I used the Bragdon urethane system and cast some of his molds and a few of mine. I buried 3 more exciters in the mountainside in case I want ambient sounds later. I glue gunned the molds to the styrofoam and filled in the open atreas with spray urtethane from a can. When dry I carved the rocks in between and then used some latex caulking to fill any small gaps and to smooth out any transistions. I used artists Gesso mixed with latex primer and black tempra powder to get a uniform gray undercoat....


Then I did about four washes of various colors (raw sienna, burt sienna, payne's gray and burnt umber) mixed with lots of water and letting each layer dry before the next.

I used some sculptamold to smooth out the terrain where the building will be and buried all the wires for the sound and lights. BTW the exciter works beautifully under the floorboards - I guess they act as a sounding board.

Today's plan is to finish the bridge and the trackwork (painted flex track) and hopefully pour the water

admin

OMG...

Mike Engler

Joel this is some great modeling. Can't wait to see the final layout. Haven't heard if the tool shed is still part of it. It looks like there will plenty to blow us away without it. The bridge is fabulous

Joel

The bridge is a simple Blackbear jig. Two nights of straightforward, nothing to modify modeling. Really easy after yu distress and detail the wood. The tool shed is a part of the foreground. details are all done except the gas pump. Now have a few trees to build. Most of the big ones I bought from Canyon creek before I read the thread on this site and realized how straight forward they are to build. Too bad could have saved a few bucks. Either way they are beautiful.

LSNRwyAl

From a boy that hunts on the Canadian shield your rocks are really nice. They sure look good in the pics and I bet they even look better in person. Well done Joel.

Joel

Ok the gas pump is done except a bit of chalk weathering.

Now I spent about two hours arranging and rearranging trees until I think it looks about right. I dotted the cliffs with pines like they have here in Ontario using smaller ones with darker colours to force perspective a bit. I think i'll finish the treed area before pouring the river.

It looks like the rockface is entirely covered but you can see it all from various vantages you just have to look at it from all angles.


Holidays coming up so I'll have to put away my toys for a week so I'll likely finish up the 15 or so trees and complete the casting painting. Small stuff.

brownbr

the rock wall frames the scene in nice.

Karl.A

Really looking nice Joel, the diorama is certainly spectacular with thos rocks and trees. Judging from what you have already shown us of the structures and details this is going to be another master piece, cant wait for the next update.

Karl.A

Joel

Well it's time to panic. Three weeks until the show and I have no idea how I'm going to get all this done. I may just be finished a bit early for next years show. I finished the disconnect:

I've built two large deciduous trees and about twenty conifers.


And I've soldered all the wires on the micro LEDs (about a milimeter).


They seemed a bit too rectangular so I dipped them each into weldbond about 10 times to give them a globe shape. The weldbond dries clear so it should work.


Now the lampshades, the truck and the roof and I can start assembling the model when my guests leave and I get the ping pong table back (next week).