Duluth Company

Karl.A

The structure with the details look fantastic Ken, great work as always. Nice job with the little tool shelf aswell, it will make a good addition to the workshed indeed.

Karl.A

KKarns

Brett, I suppose that's a subtile way of saying...lets get on with the thing and finish it!:) Your absolutely right...see my response to the crew below....

Thanks DJ/John. DJ the tools like castings give the appearance as if someone was just there and adds life even without LPs.

I said it before...with Brett's kits, and you'll see what I mean John if you haven't already, by the end of the basic structure build you have such a personal attachment to the thing...and then you start staring at it, turning it around to all known possible viewing angles, and thinking of all the things that you want to include to dress out the diorama. Careful here not to try and do too much and without thought to the overall goal of the original dio, I know cause I've done that. The little things by themselves don't seem to do much but when you combine them all into the entire diorama those little extras speak volumes. I do have to reel myself in at times to not get carried away!

KKarns

Karl, thanks and of course your dirt, details, and dioramas thread was and remains my motivation for these extra details and came at a perfect time when I was working on the Backwoods Water Tank & Storage Shed build. Kind of that ahha moment when I studied it back then. If anyone hasn't seen that thread please check it out this award winning diorama.

Karl.A

I once saw a window which stood ajar with a wrench between it great detail.

My O Scale wood cutters Shack.





An earlier one..



Karl.A

KKarns

Don't let Karl fool you DJ...he just put that wrench there an hour and a half ago! Just messin with ya Karl, should have known that idea was yours. The picture directly above looks like a mechanics deadfall trap. Mechanic can't help himself and grabs wrench, window falls on mechanic's hand...got him...awesome detail.

KKarns

Duluth update...the open shed at the north end of Duluth is finished except for the air compressor and tool cabinet that will be sunk in the half dirt floor of the shed.
Note: Large oil drum is leaking oil so a piece of corrugated roofing material was bent up to form a catch pan and an old rag is on the edge. A few old license plates are on the left wall, rest is obvious I would guess....Ken

Karl.A

I've been back to these pictures four times now Ken, and all I can say is 'fantastic modelling'. just superb.

Karl.A

Wes

That chain in the first pic. The sign in the last pic.

What a brilliant job Ken. Wow.

shay987

Very nice ! I like the weed growing in the top corner.

srankin6

Ken, absolutely fantastic! Going to have to put this up on the big screen ...can't say enough great job!

Scott

LSNRwyAl

Well done Ken. Thank-you for sharing.

KKarns

Thanks guys! so my spending over a week (couple hours a day) just on the open shed detailing may have paid off...that's good to know. I am disappointed that no one noticed the brick by the side door used for a door stop! Come on guys really....
Shay987...so you like the poison ivy growing up the side..seems to work OK so far.
Finally ready for some dirt...Ken
Karl...couldn't have a better compliment...thanks.

djdutch

Ken it sure looks great nice details on te oil poster and everything.

Karl when I point out the wrench I meant the second picture love that detail I have the picture on my computer as an idea I like to use ( if you don't mind) I don't want to steal your idea

DJ

KKarns

DJ, appreciate the comment, had a tough time getting that sign to lay just right and so the "oil" wording was visible.

Check with Karl, but I bet that idea of the wrench propping open the window has been copyrighted!:)

Still no thoughts on the brick door stop.....sigh.....Ken

Karl.A

Still no thoughts on the brick door stop.....sigh.....Ken

Ken, the brick door stop is a great idea, unfortunately with so much great modeling surrounding it it is easily over looked. The viewers eye is drawn to the lean to work area, the loading dock, the structure itself, the round vent, the uncoloured edge of the shingles, so many other great things in the pictures command attention.
However, it is these 'unseen' details that make a scene real, the eye does not see them but the subconscious does, Chuck Doan is the master at picking up on, and modeling these types of details, things that we don't focus on consciously but they fill in the background of the realism, sometimes the overlooked is most important.

There are ways to make it more obvious, the door slightly ajar with the brick between the door and the frame. Scuff marks on the floor showing where the brick has been moved back and forth. Or, the subtlety you have shown, where the viewer is drawn in by everything else and eventually will see it and say "wish i'd thought of that".

Karl.A

JohnM

Beautiful, Ken. If you have time please - I can't figure out how to get the deep wood texture that shows on your window which is hinged at the top and held open at the bottom with a wrench. I have some pretty mean brushes and can't get such deep scoring.

When you do nail holes, do they need to be chalked to show?

Respectfully,
John

Karl.A

DJ, I absolutely don't mind you using the idea. anything I post is posted freely in the spirit of sharing and the hope that it may help another modeler.
I hated to jump into Kens thread with my pictures but in the past week 4 or 5 of my ideas have been used around various forums and my name not mentioned. Sometimes it just gets frustrating.
I look forward to seeing your pictures. It's not stealing, it's sharing.

Karl.A

KKarns

Karl, your statement "sometimes the overlooked is most important" i really like! I think that perfectly encapsulates the idea of modeling the smallest of details that may not be readily apparent to most viewers. This and "eye does not see them but the subconscious does" also awesome thought here....Ken

KKarns

Hey John, wish I could school you on that stellar window frame but....that's Karl's model. Those couple of images were interjected in this thread to respond to DJs inquiry about the wrench holding the window open idea. Karl can expand, particularly on how he did the mullions! awesome Karl!, but the nice deep texture on the frames is from the careful use of a wire brush. You should be able to get a controlled amount of wood grain depending on how vigorously you wire brush the wood. Brush your wood, with the grain, back and forth for awhile then use a stiff dry brush to clean out the grooves and take a look under magnification (particularly with 1/87 scale) and you'll see the grain. Not enough...do some more..etc. Remember if you use any water based liquid after the wood grain will swell a bit and not be as apparent. You can also impart some nice heavy grain and rotting wood effects by picking and cutting the boards with a #11 blade (see Brett's instruction manual...ooops! Bible to most of us!) depending on how run down you want things. A challenge is the laser cut window frames. These are soo nice to work with that the inability to get a perfect match in wood grain to real wood is overpowered by the awesome utility again particularly in 1/87 scale. What I do with those is color and texture them with the chalks as per Brett's bible (hah, got it that time) then I have a piece of old Oak baseboard trim that I scrape some chalk powder onto, whichever color I want, and I rub it around onto the piece of wood. Then I take the laser window frame and place it good side down on the wood and very lightly slide the frame on the wood with slight pressure in the direction of the desire grain. You can even vary the direction on one window by using the very edge of the board and rubbing one way for the sill and the other for the sides. This is a very subtile and should just give a hint of one direction "streaking" that looks like grain direction. You can also just chalk up the window frame enough with chalk that the laser wood grain is hidden and there is enough texture in the chalk the frame will look great.

My thoughts on nail holes echo Brett's instructions and here's how I do them..

The nail holes should be very subtile as its the combined effect of the nail holes that gives the appearance you want. They would actually be nearly invisible in 1/87 but as Brett states walls would look unnatural without them particularly clapboard walls. I use a round pointed metal scribe. As with wood grain, if you place the nail holes then use water based liquid you may find the nail holes close up. I impart the nail holes after my boards are colored and textured and then just a light dab of AI (alcohol and India Ink)to the board ends. This will highlight the nail holes. If you want a look of rusty nail holes here and there you can use a very fine brush and just touch the nail hole with a bit, dinky little bit, of rust chalk and then a bit of AI. One final note. I put my nail holes in before I place the boards on the walls. I have better control, can add splits and cracks at the nail holes and I don't favor pushing in nail holes on a delicate finished wall.

Sorry you asked aren't ya John??

JohnM

Ken, yes, I am the guilty party who mentioned a tip of yours without due credit! My sincerest apology - I am so overloaded with data now that I lose track of sources . . . When I'm working I am trying to roll everything I have read into play - even then I frustrate myself in their execution.

No, I am not sorry I asked - you told me precisely what I want to know. Both of the above paragraphs are "keepers" for me. Your comments about what closes the grain after brushing is so logical yet I overlooked it in practice, though I am subconsciously aware of such a natural occurrence. I have beat up some of my planks so bad with the toughest brush sold at Home Depot, thinking I am going to wear it paper thin and still don't see the wonderfully deep grains that most of you produce. Post wetting and not cleaning them out would be partial contributors.

Respectfully,
John

Bill

Ken-
Your last 4 pictures of the end of the building are phenomenal! Outstanding detail work that will make this project a real gem. Love it!

KKarns

Hey Bill, your comments here are really appreciated as I know you have an eye for detail. Real exercise in manual dexterity to get that small stuff in that shed in the right spot! How's Quincy commin along? I just started putting down dirt this evening. This part always looks like crap in the beginning! Won't post this part until it looks like something...Ken

James

Love the wall with the tools/ chains in the open shed. That's often the key to convincing clutter - clutter based on an understanding or vision of how someone would arrange or hang or store tools, bottles, cans etc.

For people like me who haven't done a paid day's work of manual labour in my life (I come from a long line of eggheads) it is fun researching storage and work yards and machine shops and such. There are so many great resources on line now one can really learn about how these old facilities functioned and looked. And seeing how others model these areas.

KKarns

James, thanks for your critique here as you seem to have a good eye for these details and happy to have input. That's what makes this hobby so much fun is the different avenues you can take...from the building to the research, photography, etc..thanks for following.Ken

Coors2u

Ken, I've really enjoyed following along with your build. Your casting work has given me some great tips. Keep up the great work.

KKarns

Coors2u(?) Thanks for the note and really glad I was able to inspire some useful tips. Much left to do on Duluth. Spreading dirt and the surrounding details as we speak. More later...Ken

Coors2u

Ken, its actually Dustin. I work for a beer distributor IE "Coors2u"I know I should add my name on stuff. What are you using for the dirt?

KKarns

Ahh, thanks Dustin. Just so much more personal to have a name and I thought I had yours but couldn't remember.

Dirt....I use real dirt in a couple of different colors shades. I sift it through a mesh screen pretty fine for the base layer. I then use various coarser materials on top of that for the various areas on the diorama. The best stuff for that I found was sifting the fine material from an old gravel parking area. Got some nice variation in material and textures. You'll see it on Duluth when I post those pictures.

KKarns

Here is a "teaser" photo of my start on the perimeter of Duluth. Didn't want anyone to think I was slacking around. Lots to do yet and will post all the pics when done....

ironmountainlumber

Hi Ken,
I was checking in to see what you are up to. This initial shot with the scenery is superb.
At least to my eye it seems very natural. Great placment of the weeds and debris. I like the bucket and hose on the dock too. You asked me what I am up to. I am working on the Lineside Storage Shed. Bye the way, I have been going back to your marvous build of this kit as I do mine for inspiration! I thought I might have the Logging essentials kit done but am still working on it too. Keep up the fantastic work! Looking foward to seeing the completed scenery!
Jim