O'Neills Fabrication - HO Scale - An in-depth tutorial for building SWSM kits

KCSTrains

The O'Neills Fabrication Motor Tank Truss Assembly, like the tower, is a very important part of this build. Therefore, I wanted to take extra special care to build it correctly and create a very authentic look.

The first step is to take very large (for HO Scale) wooden beams that will act as support for the tank. The ends of these large beams will be showing, so it is very important to weather them and distress them correctly.

In order to distress large beams, I have developed a technique that I want to share with you. First, I take a No. 11blade and cut intersecting lines on the end of the beam that will be showing.


I then take a stiff brush and stab at the end of the beam.



Finally, I add some chalk to weather the end.



Once I had the ends weathered, I concentrated on the weathering of the beams themselves. Since they will be sitting below an oil tank, and following Brett's instructions, I dipped the beams in AI several times. You can see in the picture below the difference.



That looks like a beam that would be sitting below an oil tank.

Now, I need to build the structure below the beams. This is a combination of laser cut details that I spray painted flat black. Once dry, I used a rust combination of 411.7, 235.3, and 409.7 and rusted the support structure.



Once I rusted both sides of each piece, I put together the support structure according to Brett's instructions.



When adding the support structure to the wooden beams, you needs to use Template "A" and three stripwood guides. Make sure the weathered ends are against the front guide.




Here is the completed base.




Now, it's on to the oil tank itself. First put the tank on a popsicle stick and paint flat black.



Once dry, tape the stencil onto the tank. The "O'Neills" should start just right of the riveted seam.



Since we need to be really careful with the painting, I decided to use my airbrush instead of a rattle can. The advantage of the air brush is you can add a little paint at a time. This time we are using a primer color.



You want to paint the top of the tank, the top and bottom rim and of course, the "O'Neills."




Now, this tank is definitely not ready for prime time. We need to do some very specialized weathering. I followed Brett's instructions on p. 72 to the letter and it turned out well.

First, you add a rust mixture to the top and with a dry brush dab the rust over the entire tank.



Then you take a brush that is loaded with alcohol and press against the top rim and let it run down the tank. I also added some alcohol to the top.



Now, using the usual brown chalk mixture, do the same thing.




Finally, with dry chalk only go back and forth with the rust and brown mixtures to blend the colors. I did add a good amount of rust to the top and sprayed lightly with alcohol to get that "mottled" look.



Here is the final result after adding the front boards and epoxying the tank to the structure.



I really like it and it wasn't difficult to produce a good result. Thanks Brett!!

Next time: The Wooden Fence - Template E

Thanks for following. Phil

Karl.A

Two things I would do..



Shadows/darkening (subtley) around all areas of the decayed clapboard. The joints above the awning, and then again under the split boards beneath the awning, I'd prob use 408.3, lightly on a detail brush, dry
Blended the bottom of the dock handrail legs into the decking for a better 'flow', less harsh contrast.
Minor things.

Karl.A

The stiff brush "stabbing" for the ends of the beams to get that look is the technique I created for the O Scale sawmill kit and is described in Brett's manual.
Think yourself lucky you only had a few ends to do, the Sawmill has 100 or more pieces to do, and I've built it three times, so far. Mostly for the main floor joists and framing.
A card file is a great tool for this effect.

KCSTrains

Thanks Karl for those suggestions. I wouldn't have thought of that. As for the "stabbing," it doesn't surprise me you created it. I just found it by accident when trying to distress some ends. I did find it was easier if you used a No. 11 blade to loosen it up first.

Keep those comments coming and thanks. Phil

TomMich

Great effects! Thorough explanation also Phil! Thanks for doing such a great job on this tutorial.

Pappy

Good Job Phil!..looking great!!

Mountaingoat

So much instruction and a beautiful build. Love it....Rick

brownbr

Tank and support turned out great

KCSTrains

Thanks Tom, Pappy, Rick, and Brian. I'm working on the fence right now. Not far from getting these structures on the diorama. Phil

KKarns

Catching up here Phil...love your weathering on the porch deck boards.

kebmo

KKarns said:

Catching up here Phil...love your weathering on the porch deck boards.

the whole thing is outstanding. i wish i still had o'neill's to build.

KCSTrains

Thanks Ken and Kevin.

I'm now working on the wooden fence. It's pretty simple to build the fence using Template E. The only thing not provided is your imagination. It's really up to you on how dilapidated you want the fence. In fact, it could be a new fence. I chose a fence that definitely needs some work. It goes with the rest of my build.

You start by spotting two rails on the template.



Then you need to cut a bunch of fence boards using your chopper and then begin to weather them and distress them.



Here is the finished fence before the posts.



Carefully remove the fence from the template and spot the fence posts on the template. There are two sizes.



Now glue the fence to the posts. You only need to put the glue where the posts intersect the rails. Very simple!! Here is my completed fence with posts.



Next time: Main Oil Delivery Pipe Assembly.

I'm on the last two pages before putting everything together on the diorama. In these two pages, I will be completing some of the loose ends before getting to the really good stuff. Thanks for following. Phil

EmeryJ

Phil, did you dog ear all of those pickets? It sure looks like it, but my eyes may be lying to me.

KCSTrains

EmeryJ I did somewhat. I wanted to smooth the edges and ended up with dog ears. Phil

Pappy

Great Job Phil!!..
I also lightly dog ear all my wood edges. looks more real. Just lightly!!

sdrees

Great job on the fence Phil.

KKarns

Rounding third Phil! Well done.

KCSTrains

Thanks Pappy, Steve and Ken. Ken, it feels good to be headed to the scenery portion of the build. As you know, this is where I thrive!! Phil

Robert.G

scenery portion is the cherry on the cake , and you've got one hell of a cake !!!!! Thanks for all your time for sharing this wonderful tutorial. Great job..

kebmo

i agree with Robert!

admin

Hah! Very well stated Robert. More agreement here. This is going to be one beautiful diorama.

Karl.A

I hate scenery, wish I could just build the structures...

kebmo

Karl.A said:

I hate scenery, wish I could just build the structures...

but you're so good at it.....

TomMich

Oh but Karl, the scenery finishes the whole structure, and you do it so well.

Rotortips

Hello Phil - I have been following your build and learning so much along the way. Thank you for sharing your techniques and recommendations.

Pappy

I agree with Karl. I as well hate doing scenery. I suck at it...lol
But more dioramas you do the better you get!!

KCSTrains

To me, scenery is the glue that literally holds the diorama together!! LOL

Thanks for all the comments, especially the comment from Rototips. I haven't seen your name before, so welcome!! I'm glad I can help with your modeling education.

Carrying on, I'm working on the Main Oil Delivery Pipe Assembly. You won't find these types of structures in other kits or you will find one made solely from styrene. Styrene has no details.

You will need to locate various white metal castings, as shown below as well as the 3/32" tubing.



Let's cover how to cut the brass tubing. You can use a Dremel, but I don't believe they are as accurate in their cuts and you have to do a lot of clean up. As Brett suggested, I use a miter box and metal saw.

First, measure out the length with a detailed ruler and mark the length and put in the miter box. My miter box, which I got from Micro Mark, has different size slots to hold the tubing.



Once in the miter box, use the metal blade to slowly and carefully make a cut. With the metal blade I have, which is not the best, I find I have to cut in one direction. I'm sure it would be easier if I had a better blade.



Once I have made the cut, I use a small metal file to make sure the cut is even.



I then use a small reamer to maintain the inside diameter of the tube so it will easily slip over the white metal casting.



Once you make all the cuts, make sure everything fits properly. Also, locate the four square 3/32" supports you cut in a previous step.



Take all the parts, except for the supports and blacken them. Once this is done and polished, start gluing the parts together using epoxy. As Brett mentions in the instructions, glue a few parts at a time and let them dry before gluing more. Finally, glue the supports to the bottom of the assembly. Fair warning, I had to glue these twice because they easily popped off the first time.

Here is the assembly before the weathering and straps.



Let's talk about the creation and installation of the straps, which theoretically hold the pipe to the supports. First cut 1/16" strips of white paper and paint them black.



I decided to go ahead and rust the straps initially before installation.



I used straps in my mine build and I found you need to glue the straps on in two steps to make it a lot easier. First glue each strap to one side only.



Once the glue is dry, glue the strap to the other side. Because the glue is dry on the other side, it makes it a lot easier to get the strap tight on the pipe.



Now, it's time to weather the entire assembly. Here is my final product.



Next time: Completing the loose ends.

Thanks for following. Phil

Mountaingoat

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent....Rick

KCSTrains

Thanks Rick.

Karl.A

More great info and modeling again Phil,
the bands over the pipes add that extra level, and so well done.
Thanks for your time,
Karl.A