Water Tower and Storage Shed

KCSTrains

While I'm working on my layout, I am starting my second Sierra West build - the Water Tower and Storage Shed.



I chose this kit because (1) it will be in the part of my layout where I will need it very soon, and (2) it just seemed like a natural progression from the Woodcutter's Shack. I decided to use the traditional soaking method for my wood and used a recipe from Mike Chambers. Thank goodness my wife wasn't home when I did this.




Next I took on the resin stone house. I reviewed the notes I got from Bill and Ken about painting stone walls. I wanted more color on the wall because everything else in the build is pretty muted. As first, I wasn't sure I liked what I had done. It was pretty bright!!!



However, I didn't panic. You guys have taught me that. I added the A&I, followed by chalks (thank you Karl), and finally, some dry brushing with grey. See below, what do you think?



If you guys like it, I will finish the other three walls. Also, I will start on the water tank. I actually have some Floquil Rail Brown.

Phil

KKarns

Phil, nice start on the Backwoods Water Tank & Storage Shed. I really enjoyed this build as well. Coloring the stone can be a daunting task and you certainly toned down your original color scheme very nicely. My personal taste would be to tone down the two orange stones and the one grey one right above the orange one on the right as you're looking at the image. The grey stone to the lower left of the door looks spot on to me. In fact, that whole grouping right there looks great. Anxious to see how the wood turns out. Ken

Karl.A

Looking great phil, a couple of things, love the brick work, colour is great to my eye, the darker mortar lines also show an aging building,, moss, dirt, grime etc.

As Ken says I would dust the 5 or 6 blue/orange stones with some dry 408.5, just to dull them down a little more and blend them into the wall. Looking Great so far,

Karl.A

KCSTrains

Thanks Ken and Karl. I see what you mean. Believe me, I've been toning down a lot, but I will continue to do so. Thanks for looking over my shoulder. It always helps to have a fresh perspective. On to the other three walls. Phil

KKarns

Hey Phil, I think you'll be happier with the stone pump house toned down. You mentioned you want color but I think you'd do well to get the "color" from the support castings rather than the stone pump house. Stone for a smaller structure like this would have likely come from the same source so color would only vary within a small range of colors. Like I mentioned, the grouping to the lower left as you look at your picture look really nice. Look forward to more pictures!...Ken

KCSTrains

Now I know why Brett is offering laser-cut walls because building walls with 2x4 scale wood is hard. I finally built one wall and decided to go with a Mike Chambers recipe for the siding, which is a bit red. See below.



This picture is a bit more red than in real life, but I'm pleased with the overall wall at this point. However, I'm in it to get better, so comments and suggestions are always welcome. Thanks for looking.

Phil

mayhaw9999

Phil,

Good start! I agree that the stone colors could be toned down a bit. Really like the color of the siding. Personally, I like less noticeable nail holes, but yours look very well done.

I've been very busy with summer activities - garden and fruit growing chores plus a couple other building projects for the house and yard. Sorry I didn't reply to your comment about my Tool Shed build. Was that really June 29th???? I appreciate your checking in.

Love your new space.

David

KCSTrains

David, I appreciate your comments. Welcome back. I hope you have a new build to start. Phil

admin

OK Phil, wood looks great, looking for some progress!!! Lets see what you've been up to.

KCSTrains

Brett, thanks for checking in. Due to business travel and vacation, no progress has been made. However, October looks much better. Look for some progress then. BTW I'm using my vacation to catch up on my reading. I read a great book on timber railroading that has given me some great ideas on my layout. Phil

MikeM

A great book called...?

KCSTrains

Model Railroader's Logging Railroads. It was an easy read and had a lot of great suggestions. It also emphasized doing research on your particular logging railroad instead of duplicating a layout that is not representative of your region. That's why I like Brett's kits. They can be individualized to the situation. Phil

Karl.A

Thanks for the info on the book Phil.

The wood wall looks good, some nice fading going on with the boards, knot detail is flush and well done. I also like the odd board you have with splits and pieces missing. It really shows off the beauty, character and ease of using individual boards. That, just can not be replicated.
Nice work.

Karl.A

KCSTrains

Thanks Karl. I'm finally free from a lot of September travel and will hopefully making some progress on the water tower. Phil

KCSTrains

I finally got off my duff and started modeling again. I built the other two walls and did a little dry brushing. As you saw in another thread, I started to learn how to weather signs. There were three techniques that I tried, but at the end of the day I learned that you take this information and develop your own style. Below are the pictures of my walls with the signs.




Now it's on the putting the structure together with the stone wall. I'll post those results tomorrow because I'm traveling again next week.

Please, let's hear from you. The forum has really been inactive lately.

Phil

admin

That's the whole idea, take great techniques and own them! Signs look good. One thing I always look for is the quality of cutting job in a round sign. Yours look fantastic. Wood looks great, framing, coloring, weathering... Not in love with the nail holes but I have evolved my feelings on them over the years. Used to model them but don't now. I would try using the smallest brush you have and putting a tiny drop of black alcohol stain in each hole to weather them a bit. The photo's I know make them stand out more than they do in real life.

KCSTrains

Brett, I agree with you. I will do that on the nail holes, but you are right, the photos may them worse than they really are. Thanks for looking. Phil

KCSTrains

Ok, there's some building going on. I built the shed floor and weathered it as the instructions call for and glued the walls down. See below.





The angle of the photograph makes the wall look crooked, but they are not. Also, I have the water tower laying on the stone house, but of course, I have to build the platform for it.

Finally, here is a view of the overall layout. Due to my layout, the track will be in a 2% incline at the point of the water tower, so I had to allow for that. Also, I will have a stream flowing below the track.



I would appreciate your comments. Phil

KKarns

Phil, wonderful stone work, and you really toned it down perfectly. Blends so well and all the stones appear to melt into one another without any one jumping out. Tank weathering looks great with the darkened damp looking bottom and the dirt and grime above each band. Wood coloring is really good as well. Coming along great. Ken

Bill

Phil-
Looks like you've got this one coming along nicely. Both Brett and I mentioned the nail holes...no worries! I think many of us struggled to find the right touch. Take a look at THESE bad boys. I'm not sure if I used a battering ram or a post hole digger, but BY GOD they're there!!! WOO HOO! Nail Holes!!





What you did to tone down the colors on your stone is very nice! What's important is that YOU can recognize why version 2 is more appealing than your first go at it. Seeing colors as they are in the real world can be a little tricky at first. But once you go against the natural instinct to use "crayon box" colors in favor of a somewhat more "boring" color, your results will always be more realistic. It appears to me that you're getting a feel for this...it's what Brett calls "subdued" or "muted" colors.

I'm having fun watching you progress with this one. I don't have one of these kits, some I'm living vicariously through your build! If I'm not mistaken, this kit has the cast roof over the shed.

Keep sharing your progress and keep up the good work!
Bill

Ojaste

Phil, be patient!

Sometimes structure looks oneway standalone, but when you put into a diorama or layout with looks completely different. The key is to have a rough idea/vision of what you want to create and build toward that. Balance and eye re-directing details or scenery can reduce the importance of a characteristic in the structure. By having the vision you will know what you can get away with and what you cannot. Easier said then done though.

Modelling is only a race 2 weeks before a show! LOL

KCSTrains

Ken, Bill and Marty, thanks for your comments. They are useful and encouraging. Bill, this kit is a later model and doesn't have the cast roof. However, I can't wait to get a second crack at those cedar shingles. I do have one question about nail holes. Do you just avoid them or do you just try to be more subtle?

Now that I've progressed on this model, I'm ready to keep moving. If I could only get off the road. It's seriously cramping my modeling style. Phil

KKarns

Phil, my 2 cents here...I still utilize nail holes but very, very subtile. The attached picture is of my Loco and Service Shops. Notice the nail holes where the board ends join to the right of the steel air compressor line and to the right of the right window. Those board ends have nail holes but lightly done...just my taste here but illustrates the issue at the other end of the spectrum.

Ojaste

Phil, as you may have seen in my YouTube videos that I do use nail holes, but they are very subtle. And when I do the chalks often fill them in so it is almost invisible.



For some reason the picture is upside down???

A shadow of nail holes, but not in your face nail holes. I like what Ken does by strategically placing them. It does add that touch of realism without being overpowering.

I would go without nail holes unless you really need them.

Just my thoughts.

Bill

Phil-
I think Ken demonstrated scale sized nail holes perfectly.
And as Marty mentioned, nail holes aren't even all that necessary. On the Deer Creek Mine build, I didn't add any at all. However, there a couple different tools I use if I do put some in.
One is a pair of machinist's dividers:


There's a little step by step on this page: http://www.sierrawestscalemodels.com/vanforum/discussion/290/quincy-salvage/p6

The other tool is one Karl told me about called "felting needles":


You can pick them up at a fabric store or order a set on Amazon. Try and get the "fine" if you can. What's nice about felting needles is that they're really thin but also, they have little "barbs" on them and the point flares quickly so you can kind of feel when you've gone deep enough:



More than anything, it just takes a light touch and a little practice. Don't worry…you'll get the hang of it.

KCSTrains

Ken, Bill and Marty, thanks for your advise. I'll definitely experiment but will lean towards no nail holes unless the scene really calls for it. Phil

KCSTrains

The building continues after being gone all week and traveling in all that rain in Texas. I pretty much followed Brett's instructions to build the tank platform, the spout support and the tank platform railing. I then build the fences and the ladders. I have them in the picture, but they will not be glued until later.



I put nail holes on the ladder and spout support, but they are very subtle. I welcome your comments. Phil

Ojaste

Yippee!

KKarns

Nice progress Phil. The nail holes look just right, you can tell they're there but your eye is not drawn to them. Fence and railings look great. Ladders are weathered and detailed nicely though I would limit the number of off-kilter ladder rungs as a little goes a long way here. Again, I love your weathering on the tank and the depth gauge. Spout support looks spot on as well. Really enjoying your work here.

KCSTrains

Thanks Ken and Marty. Ken, I was having doubts about the ladders and will fix. Good catch. Phil

admin

Looking great Phil! Completely agree with Ken on crooked rungs...