Kit 314/315 Morton's Foundry

KCSTrains

I like to peeled paint effect you achieved and I'm interested in the water warp technique you're going to use. Build on!!! Phil

brownbr

Steve, I wasn't planning on wetting the boards for cutting...though I wonder if how that would affect the results. The wetting idea came from something Joel said on his thread about the wood swelling while wet. I'm wondering if I wet the boards to make them swell at the bottom if I can lift more of the paint with tape. I'm thinking it did not adhere very well from the mineral spirits and I might be able to take some off in a controlled manner. Of course if this doesn't work, there is always steel wool.

sdrees

What else can I say, those boards look great

Robert.G

Great work on the peeling paint. Did any of you guys try the chipping fluïde from AK ? Works very well also.

brownbr

I did try the chipping fluid in several combinations. first with just the wood underneath, second with a matte varnish underneath to seal the wood and third with matte medium underneath. I was unable to get convincing chipping on wood as I have gotten on other surfaces.

Nationals red perhaps Ed.

Joel

Same here. I love the chipping fluid for less porous objects like castings but unfortunately I don't find it as useful on wood. Also it is quite expensive for a kit like this.

MuddyCreekRR

Just my own thoughts on this...just like the nail holes.....it's a matter of scale.....I've tried the other methods to get chipping paint...and that's what I usually got....paint that chipped off. Not an issue on structures that is the topic here....but on rolling stock loco's and details. From the average viewing distance...I've been happy with the dry brush technique for a chipping appearance. Brett's method of the downward dabbing of a chisel brush gives me the effect without longer processes with multiple agents (smell) and the waiting. I tend to keep moving on the project once I get going....no shortcuts...but I tend to get distracted by shiny objects and wander off. As I said with the stencil thing....what ever works the best for your eye....is the best method for you....

brownbr

I knew what you were throwing out there. Never been much of a Cards or Cubs fan myself. Grew up on the Big Red Machine and now follow Nats. Kinda tilts your view of things.

Anyway...I trimmed up all of the walls. Overall I'm happy with them right now. I've been re-thinking using water to swell the boards. I'm concerned about loosening glue and warping the backing. Right now I'm thinking a light sanding on the bottom 1/3 of the wall and adding paint with sponge or fan brush on top 1/3 of wall. This should give the transition I'm looking for. There are also a few boards that stand out here and there that need some extra attention.

Above the walls are my test boards for a gray wash. I'm going with enamel, once again to reduce warping. I only had 4 shades of gray though. Probably give a drybrush of light gray/tan when done.

I'll finish the trim, doors, stenciling, individual board treatment, etc before moving on to the wash.

MuddyCreekRR

One of the things I do with my walls once I'm done...is to scrap some tan....and gray chalk onto the finished walls....then rub the chalk into the whole wall with my finger....lightly....I then lightly rub it with the steel wool....this tends to even out the patina...and give some look of exposure to the elements. When I get ready to do final (or almost final) weathering... I then darken up the bottoms of the boards in accordance of the proximity to the ground....and the activity going on in that area....and possibIy lightening up the roof line stuff... can't do that yet as I'm not exactly sure of all of that....The area you have the rot looks interesting....as per the Foundry photos...that the area with the one oven....gives you some options to place cause for that rot....Looking Good!

brownbr

Thanks Muddy. Trying an experiment now with chalks 231.3 & 704.8. See how it turns out. So far I'm liking it. I'll try it on the other boards also when the enamel is dry.

The rot is in about the only place where it would be visible at ground level on this building. Yes, right there by the oven.

And yes, it does work if you apply water to the boards you can lift more paint with tape. In case anyone wants to try it. I applied a drop of water and spread it with my finger. Let sit for minute or so then use Scotch tape to lift paint. Comes off in very small bits.

Joel

Bryan, looks fantastic so far. Love the rotted area. Looking forward to seeing how it changes with the wash.

TomMich

Peeling paint turned out great as did weathering of the boards. Also like the fact that a few of the boards have a darker tone.

sdrees

The walls and weathering turned out just fantastic Bryan

kebmo

i concur

brownbr

Thanks guys.

I'm almost at a stopping point on these walls. I used a very thin dark gray wash over the entire wall. Once dry I did a light sanding to bring out the grain. You can see that some of the knots are now too light. Easy to touch those up. I'll get the door track and windows installed today.

Final weathering will likely include adding some drybrushing and/or chalks for highlights. Streaks below lettering. Mold around the rotted area. Final weathering can't take place until the castings that attach to the wall and around the wall are installed.

Robert.G

So far so good !

Joel

Looks great Bryan.

Mountaingoat

Love how the rotted area has turned out so far. Very convincing. Rick

sdrees

The walls look even better with the gray.

MuddyCreekRR

Looking great Bryan.....love that rotted area...with the oven nearby... that could almost be a burnt area that Clem caused when he left that bucket of smoldering ashes there a little too long....

kebmo

i'll bet it's awful cold in that corner in the winter......

kebmo

engine909 said:

Ah, want is the intent of that comment?

the rotten wood in the corner will let alot of cold in. you've been in florida too long.

admin

Looks awesome, so much texture and detail. Really demonstrates what can be achieved with stripwood and why we all love board on board so much.

brownbr

Thanks Brett.

Ed, don't worry offending. You are right that we interpret these structures as we like and most are not fully accurate. I think about how painting transitioned from Realism to Impressionism. I think most of us model somewhere in between. I do like a random tire/block/washing machine thrown on a roof just because it looks cool.

Please continue to add any/all comments. I appreciate them all. No need to worry about offending.

One of my favorite modelers was Geoff Nott. He extensively modeled missing boards/roof bits to expose the framework underneath. I like that look and it is something I try to incorporate in moderation. I've attached a couple of his photos from Mario's site below.

The Pattern Shop is at a stopping point at this time. Further work will continue once other parts of the kit arrives. I was pleased with the paint and the gray stain. Did not care for the way the windows set in for me, but I worked them until they were satisfactory. I did close the hole a bit. I do want to see the framing below, but it kind of got out of hand. I added some graphite to the inside of the door track...kind of thought that was necessary. I added an area of rot on the roof which will be below the water tank.

Started a test section of slate roof for me to experiment with along with a test section of cobblestone.

MuddyCreekRR

Very nice my friend....I too had some fun with the windows.....I went with a different color on them and the doors....was just a bit too red for me.....I tend to look at the structure towards it's intended usage....and model it to the end that it is either a somewhat maintained business...or somewhat run down. You also need to look at the era we want to model....a good time for example would be the 30's....during the depression. No one every threw anything away then....so stuff would be anywhere...also like the curbs and cobblestones....I have the same molds....haven't used them yet....I'm doing a bit of touch up on my walls and roofs, then safely stow them away for I hope for a month till the next package arrives....

kebmo

walls turned out fantastic.

Dave_S

Bryan,

I like the bit of early rotting and decaying happening on the partially exposed bottom plate in your wall photo.
http://www.craftsmankituniversity.com/vanforum/uploads/imageupload/167/U1UD1U6FR8G4.png

The slate roofing and cobblestone experiments are looking great as well. Slate looks spot on.
As time permits tell us more about how you are creating the slate: materials used, sizes and colors; plus the materials used to create the random cobble stone paver.

Thanks, Dave S. Tucson, AZ

Joel

Bryan, so much to take in, I love the slate and cobblestone and echo Dave's request for more details. The walls are great, really captured the faded peeling paint. The Blacksmith sign is spot on - perfectly faded.

brownbr

Looking forward to seeing it Ed.

Thanks Dave. Your email was spot on.

I think the slate can work on this roof given the size and shape. I wanted to try it on O'Neills but it just looked out of place. The slate, cobblestones, edging, etc are all plaster and molds. Molds came from diorama debris and plaster came from Merlins Magic Plaster. I used a combination of light gray and dark gray plaster. Part of the experimenting is to find the right coloration and weathering. I divided my test roof into quarters and will start trying different techniques to see if I can get it to look like I want it to.

So far my preferred color of slate is using dark gray plaster with 5 drops of black paint added. Paint the molds a gray/green and gray/blue then pour the plaster. 1 tblsp plaster to 4.5-4.7 ml water per sheet of 30 tiles. They are super thin. Maybe scale 1". Dental plaster is a must. Regular plaster won't be hard enough for something this thin.

The molds are 1:35 so the slate tiles are scale 32.6 X 16. On the big side but not out of the question. The cobblestones are 11.5 X 5.75. Once again, on the big side but not out of the question. The reason they appear to be random sized is that my plaster was too thick on this pour and I left air bubbles in the mold resulting in different sizes. But I like the smaller ones so I need to trim up the base so they are a uniform size at top and bottom. Not easy as this is dental plaster and quite hard. I'll pour a few more sets (and I ordered another size as well) and glue them in place, fill in with dirt and see how it looks.

The edging/curb is a scale 11.5" tall. A little taller than I would like. Might be easier to alter the height of the diorama vs sanding down a bunch of curb pieces. The larger pieces forming a cross in the middle are pieces of wall stone. These pieces are meant to be the cap and there are different thickness wall stones. Just toying around with a possible pattern in placement here but several of the larger blocks laying around on the diorama might look cool.

Robert.G

Thanks Bryan for the explanation. I really enjoy following the build. Great work, as usual.