HO Scale Brass & Iron Foundry Official Forum Build

KKarns

Thanks Robert...

KKarns

Have been working on and finishing up all the wonderful details Brett has included for the Foundry building itself. Completed shop list includes:

Detailed and installed the killer Swing Beam Crane
Attached the quarter round vent to the back wall
Painted and installed the awesome brick and motor chimney
Rusted and detailed the stack for the brick chimney
Detailed and installed a hanging light
Installed the oil delivery pipe



View of the Swing Beam Crane. I decided to have mine slightly swung towards the dock that will be below the craen. What an amazing little detail...







View of the chimney, stack, light, and oil delivery pipe. Note the "steel" support strap on the chimney. I made mine a scale 6 inches wide, but I think it's a bit too wide. I may try and remove it and put on a thinner one...it's made of paper so might have to go with it as it may leave a bit of residue from the glue...



Something to point out here. If you glue the chimney to the wall and leave it at that, you will be left with a very straight line where the chimney casting meets the wall. What would have been done was a mortar joint, which would have made the joint a bit uneven. I decided to simulate this by coloring Elmers glue with concrete paint and then using a fine pin to lay in the joint. When this was dry I dulled it with chalk. This process was a bit tedious but turned out good.

Also, note the hanging light. I dished out the underside and added an Epoxy "light bulb" and the wall beasel.



A sort of view of the quarter round vent...more later...Ken

brownbr

The chimney is awesome and the added mortar make it look securely in place. That is overall one fantastic building.

MitchN

Excellent work Dr. Grunge.

Maybe it does not show up in person but there seems to be a difference in color in the pictures between the side walls and the end walls. What I would call the end walls appear a little darker and maybe you can blend the weathering into the long walls for a better match. Maybe there is less texture on the dark walls to make them easier to pull out of the mold and that is what I am seeing. I would assume it is easier to make the light wall darker than the opposite. Then again to the naked eye it might just be one of those photography details that I do not fully comprehend.

admin

Mitch, texture on all walls are exactly the same. I would bet it is the lighting.

Ken - outstanding! Home stretch now...

KKarns

Thanks Bryan.

Mitch, purely the lighting. Hard to get both walls in the same light without a slight shadow. Here is a picture in sunlight that removed nearly all shadows and you can see the color is the same.

Appreciate that Brett...fun details to go...

Joel

Wow what great execution for a formidable building. Quite impressive stone work and brick work and the the roof is fantastic. So looking forward to planting the structures and watching the mini scenes come to life with the details.

KKarns

Thanks Joel and you’re right the diorama base and structure “planting” is just around the corner!

KCSTrains

Wow Ken. I really love this building. Thanks for the tip on the joint of the chimney. Phil

geoawelch

Ken, I love all your individual enhancements (i.e., the mortar line) throughout this build, adding up to some ultra-fantastic modeling, above and beyond what Brett designs into the kit.

George

KKarns

Thanks Phil.

Hey George, I appreciate that you notice the small details...

KKarns

Finishd up the Foundry structure complex consisting of the Foundry, Work Room, and Office.

Once the three structures are glued together the two concrete docks are detailed and the Pattern Shop dock is glued to the structure. The Transfer Dock casting was detailed and installed later.

I wanted to try simulating 1:87 rebar following Bryan's lead on his O scale O'Neills crane pad. I used very fine solder wire and drilled appropriate holes in the corner of the Transfer Dock casting where Brett cast in a damaged corner. Results are hard to see but turned out OK...



Note the rebar sticking out of the damaged corner. Is that a killer concrete casting Brett came up with or what!



Close up of the added rebar...



Here's the Transfer Dock staged in position...the overhang to the left will butt up to the wood Pattern Shop rear dock installed later.



View of the Pattern Shop dock, this one has been permanently attached to the structure.

KKarns

The following series of pictures are of the completed Foundry structure complex.













Detail work on the stove stack for the Office.

Someone had asked previously for a better shot of the Tempering Oven...hope this helps...

MitchN

All the structures blend so well. Great work Ken!

vietnamseabee

What more could we ask for....a master designer and a master fabricator...thanks Brett and Ken
Terry

KCSTrains

Ken, continued great work. I guess you didn't attend the EXPO this weekend. Phil

kebmo

those buildings look incredible all glued up. really incredible kit and modeling.

sdrees

Ken,

Very nice work, just amazing work

Robert.G

What can one say that hasn't been said before, this is just such a nice build in every way. Thanks for posting and explaning all of this. Like many, I hope one day this comes as a O scale kit.....

geoawelch

You've outdone yourself Ken

brownbr

Each of the structures flow together flawlessly. Nice touch on the rebar.

Joel

Amazing work as always. Just beautiful.

KKarns

Thanks guys...

ironmountainlumber

Hi there my friend! What can you say? Spectacular, beautifully executed, brilliant, some of the best modeling you have done! Brett picked the right guy for building this awesome kit. Really have enjoyed watching this come together. Thank you for spending a lot of time documenting this build. Always fantastic to have a build you have done for reference. This goes for anyone who posts a build. So many great ideas to step up the game so to speak. The build takes a ton of time and so does all the documentation and answering questions posted is really appreciated by everyone on the forum. The rebar idea is really cool. I missed it on Bryan's build. Can't wait to see what you do with the scenery. Have you started on the box of individual castings? Keep up the fantastic work.... Sorry I haven't posted anything as of late. Life has gotten in the way and hopefully now more time for modeling.

Jim

KKarns

Hey Jim, nice hearing from you!

Thanks much for the kind words buddy and thanks for taking the time to comment regarding the posting of the build. I have done a few of the castings already but tend to work those up as needed for the individual scenes. I am working on the diorama base right now then the track which will be narrow gauge code 55 rail. More later...Ken

SteveCuster

Really great work Ken. I got my kit from Brett so I’ll have to go read this thread again before I start. As usual you really set the bar high.

-Steve

KKarns

Thanks Steve and glad to hear you'll be putting The Foundry together. Great kit!

KKarns

I am now working on the diorama base and trackage. As you know, if you have followed any of my builds, I'm a bit particular with my track detail! I model HO/Hon3 narrow gauge light, code 55, hand laid rail. I start by laying out the track line which Brett makes easy work of by providing the diorama layout template at 100% including the track! This allows for perfect orientation of the structures to the track.

I then cut, grain, and stain my ties from bulk stripwood I have on hand. I then glue the ties to the diorama base after the initial dirt colored base paint coat. I then cut my rail sections to a scale 35' which is close to prototypical. I spray paint the pre-weathered rail brown and then weather with chalks. I then construct rail joiners from vey thin styrene strip, paint and weather and add NBWs. I alternate the bolt head and nut and washer as prototypical and glue these in place. I then cut simulated rail spike heads from slightly flattened fine solder wire, blacken, and weather with chalks. Each tie then gets 4 rail spikes. All this is quite time consuming and a bit fiddly due to the small size of the components.



The ties and track just in view here with the 12 rail joiners made from scratch.



Close, close-up...note the alternating bolt head and nut/washer as prototypical.

Joel

Amazing work. Keep it up.

brownbr

Love the track detail. The alternating rivet head and NBW on the tie plates earns extra credit.

You say you model HO/HOn3. I seem to have noticed too much standard gauge in your builds. It's time for some narrow gauge.