Twin Mills

Joel

Stunning! A truly remarkable diorama.

Karl.A

INCREDIBLE !!!

Not only am I now not going to bother to bring anything to the show, I'm now resigned to just sit at home and watch the show "reports" on the forums...

Dont get too comfy in your seat at the awards dinner my friend as you may need to get up a few times...

Karl.A

Mike Engler

Wow! And to think you did it in less than two years. A remarkable model, and I can't wait to see it in person. I know the journey is long. Imagine how long it was for Brett to have built the pilot. Congratulations.

Bill

Joel, Karl and Mike-
Thanks for the nice words. I'm very appreciative of all the encouragement and advice along the way. I've been watching your projects on different threads as well and I can hardly wait for October!

Karl- don't even joke about not going! There's at least a few Corona's at the bar for you, my friend!

ETinBH

This is another home run diorama - you have exceeded everyones expectations with a tremendous build - water, landscaping, structure, all comes together coherently - well done ( you will never really finish, thus my comments will always be premature)

Wes

This has to be one of the best Dioramas Ive seen Bill. Your immaculate attention to detail really shines through in the pictures you've provided us.

I cant wait to see what you start on next.

LSNRwyAl

Man that look good !!!!!!!!!

Bill

Thanks very much, guys!
Elliott-I know what you mean about never being done. I've got a list of things that are still unfinished, but each time I start working on one of them I'll spot something and think "man...I could really do that better" or "I should probably touch that up." I think I have to make a FINAL final list and stick with it. Whoever thought we'd need directions for how to stop working on a project?

Wes-I love working on those little scenery details. I made some notes of things I wanted to try and had success with a lot of them. A few took several attempts to get right (water!) but most went as planned. I've got a few SW kits in the on-deck circle and also the FOS radio station. But once this is 100% done, I have to get back to benchwork and track for the layout. I've been promising my son that he'll get to run trains "soon."

I'll take some outdoor pics of the finished dio with natural sun light and post 'em here. "Soon."

brownbr

Outstanding work. Certainly one to be proud of.

Bill

The idea of some longer lumber on the buggies has stuck with me. Brett hooked me up with 4 additional buggies and a few rooster bars to connect them. The bar is needed because the length of the wood interfers with the couplers. In looking through the Pino Grande book, I found a couple pictures where they were hauling longer lengths of lumber. The longer boards on the short buggies made them droop and sag. To model this, I cut stripwood to 20 foot lengths and tossed them into a pot of boiling water for a minute or so. I pulled them out and rested them between two popsicle sticks, then clamped them down to force the warp. I used a round hairspray can along all the strips like this:



I tried clamping them down with a piece of scrap wood but that left crease marks from the edges. After drying over night, most held the curve while others didn't. Eh...a little variety! Then it was a simple matter of gluing the load together. One other thing I didn't mention before...I created the gaps in the load by gluing a really short piece here and there on several of the rows. That helps make the stacks of lumber look a little less perfect. For the couplers, I used link and pin hardware from both Alexander Scale Models and Wiseman Model Services. Here's how they turned out:









And here's how they look on the model:



Ooops. I can see some spots where I forgot to add the couplers. 2 smokestacks and guy wires are left to attach and then add the fascia. Then, I'm calling it done!

JamestownTrains

Bill, Way awesome!

Brett, can you put in a couple roosters in my order that I'm waiting on? (Of course I'll pay for them. )

Again, Bill, your pictures are an inspiration!

MikeM

Perhaps Brett would consider adding the roosters to his list of HO castings he currently has available?

slaskey

Bill
I built this kit a few years ago and you have done a superb job with it, Great Job Well Done.

Carl Laskey

Karl.A

Awesome Bill, great attention to the smaller things. The way that the lower boards on the cars 'sag' more than the upper boards is perfect. Such an inspiration to see you doing these often overlooked things. It really makes a difference.

Karl.A

Wes

A very authentic looking load Bill. Good idea for bending the wood, ill put it in my notebook for future refference.

brownbr

Love the sagging board idea. I believe that I will borrow that one as well as many others you have presented with this build

admin

fantastic

JamestownTrains

Perhaps Brett would consider adding the roosters to his list of HO castings he currently has available?

I that's a great idea! Looking closer at the photos though gives me the idea that they really would not be that hard to scratch build.

LSNRwyAl

As said by others Bill, just plain awesome !!!

chrisco240

like pics inspires me too get moving on my twin mills

MitchN

Bill,

In one of the first posts of this beautiful model you mentioned a staining technique of inks, water and alcohol. I have never tried this method before and before I try it you might clarify something for me. In other postings it is mentioned that non waterproof black India ink makes a difference in using a stain. My impression is that waterproof does not work. At the same time the Bombay inks are waterproof and are added to water (I do not understand why) before adding that brown mix to a India ink alcohol mix. Does waterproof or non waterproof really matter using this process?

Did you wire brush the boards before or after the staining?

Best regards,

Mitch

Bill

Mitch-
The exact process I used escapes me since I started this project almost 5 years ago. I will sometimes add texture to the raw wood and then stain them. My thinking is that the crevices will darken more or that the wood will accept the stain better. If you use a 24 hour soaking method, that is probably not the case but experiment and see what result you get. For me, it depends on my mood! Adding texture can be a boring chore, so it'll seem appealing to get that out of the way first: Rough up the wood, soak 'em for 24 hours, pull 'em out of the bag, let 'em dry and BUILD.

The difference I've seen using waterproof ink is that it doesn't go into solution as well nor does it stay in solution very long.
As far as the Bombay inks…I'm not sure what the explanation is. I know that I must have been satisfied with the results or I would have written otherwise. One difference is that I used it for swiping the strip wood--not soaking. (So I was using a rag and wiping it on the wood.)

I found an old batch of alcohol mixed with 2 tsps of of Ph Martins' Bombay ink (the "waterproof" stuff). If I shake the jug of alcohol really well, it looks thoroughly mixed. But when I pour it into an aluminum pan you can tell that it isn't. It looks like the ink had sort of curdled--like milk--into really tiny balls. Take a look:





All those clumps aren't sediment from wood scraps or some other debris...that's gunked up ink reacting to the alcohol! Soak your wood in this mess and you'll probably end up with ugly, nasty blobs. (OR, as I think about it...it may possibly yield a really COOL effect hat none of us has seen or tried. Hmmmm. But seriously, don't try it with a new kit. I'm just thinking out loud as I type. )

If I were to start a project today, I probably wouldn't bother with the colored inks any more. I'll always have jugs of the standard medium and heavy dilutions of A&I (non-waterproof) on my bench to touch up ends, add water stains, and other quick applications. I'd still use non-waterproof black India ink in combination with the acrylic paints if I was going to make a soaking recipe. But honestly, using chalks and alcohol gives you a quicker, more consistent result.

Hope that helps!
Bill

MitchN

Bill,

Thank you for response. I appreciate it. You went back and really investigated your answer. I suppose, after seeing your work, what else would one expect.

If you ever build trees for your layout I would love to see them.

Since I already have the ink I am going to experiment with them. I have reached out to the ink manufacturer for their advice. If anything turns out to be worth posting I will in a separate topic.

If anyone else has experience with inks, good or bad, I would like to hear from you.

Best regards,

Mitch

brownbr

I like the colors that ink can produce, but like Bill, use chalks almost exclusively now for their ease of use. This link shows a couple of experiments I was trying with IA. I handlaid all of the track on my layout and used this technique for the ties and got a very nice effect.
http://www.sierrawestscalemodels.com/vanforum/discussion/159/wood-coloring-experiments/p1

ChuckB

Your work is really great. I am impressed by the wood tones as well as the construction.