the Engine House at Eureka Springs

Dave_S

Another Ken Karns kit build to savor. especially the "grunge" parts. What more can we ask for?

Later, Dave S. Tucson, AZ

KKarns

Thanks Dave...plenty of grunge on this one...lots of wood work on the walls which is what I'm working on right now. Just finished paint peel detail on the resin windows. Should have something to post, maybe tomorrow.

KKarns

Figured it was time to dust off this thread and get things up to date. Despite the lack of regular posts, a good bit of work has been done. All the walls of both the engine house and attached machine shop are done. The diorama base is done and the wood floor in both the engine house and machine shop are down and detailed. The machine shop walls and three of the four engine house walls have been positioned and glued to the diorama base. Basic track work has been installed and the interior of the machine shop is complete. The machine shop has been redesigned a bit to suit my vision of the project along with a few other interesting additions. I will point those out as I move along in the build. !
I previously posted pictures of the front wall of the engine house which functioned as a test case to see if it fit my plan. I have continued with the other three walls in the same fashion (see below).!



The west wall with the opening for the attached machine shop.



The east wall depicting the very open concept of Eureka Springs.



The rear wall with an additional window added. This wall had to be lightly modified to match the front wall engine bay as this has the pass through track.

Keep in mind that the somewhat overdone weathering at the bottom of the walls will be toned down by all the details and scenic work.

All stripwood for the walls were given an initial graining with a wire brush then an initial coat of AI to give them the base color and texture. Each individual board was then detailed for the weathered, worn and rotted appearance particularly along the bottom where the wood would contact the ground. Following the detailing, various shades of weathering powder were strategically placed and worked in with mineral spirits. This was followed by damp brushing with the "red" PollyScale paint to give the faded, worn, peeling effect. Battens were treated the same way. The inside of the walls were also detailed for a dirty, oily, grungy, engine house look (see future post below).!
Next up will be the completed interior walls, the engine house and machine shop floor, and some track detail...Ken

KCSTrains

Ken, I glad to see your update. I had a feeling you were working on it, but just not posting. So far, so good. I love the worn look. As is usual, your wood weathering is superb!! Looking forward to future postings. Phil

KKarns

Thanks Phil. Sorry to hear you're back at work! Lol.

Mountaingoat

Love what you show so far. Anxious to see the floor and interior. Always glad when you post Ken.....Rick

KKarns

Appreciate that Rick, likewise...I'll post the floor and interior walls tomorrow.

kebmo

can't wait to see the rest!

admin

walls look fantastic. cannot wait to see more!

KKarns

Thanks Kevin.

Appreciate that Brett.

KKarns

Laid the planking for the main engine house and installed code 55 rail and completed the initial weathering. Next up will be installing three of the four walls. Leaving one wall out to allow access for interior detailing.



Boards weathered with real dirt and powders rubbed in by hand to give a slight sheen of a well traversed wood shop floor.





Track detail...rail spike heads not installed yet.

TomMich

Ken, outstanding work on the walls! Weathering and coloring are up to your usual great standards. The floor is also well done. Love the patch in the last photo as well as the end of the top track in the first floor photo.

The grate in between the rails, what is it for and where did you get something like that? Really adds a lot of interest.

Mountaingoat

Impressive as usual. Also, love the grate. All those drips have to go somewhere....Rick

admin

Love the grate as well, subtle but very effective.

KKarns

Hey Thanks Tom! The patch, grate, and track stop and walkway pieces are for exactly as you pointed out...to add interest and variation. What is the grate for...I have no idea! lol...I like Rick's usage explanation. I'll send you a PM Tom on the grate.

Thanks Rick and see above! I'll have to add some oil drips around there...

Glad to hear Brett, it dresses up the trackage a good bit I think.

KKarns

Three walls of the main engine house and the machine shop addition walls are up with the interior initial wall weathering completed.





Added protective wire screen over the two windows...

KKarns

Here is a preview of how I decided to work up the walls of the Machine Shop. Went with a slight greenish hue...not sure why...something different I guess.

Mountaingoat

Steam engines were a greasy oily mess to work on. They were constantly adding grease and oil at most stops so you can imagine what the drippings were like when finally parked for a period of time thus the need for the grate....Rick

mikemettelka

Aspirational as always

brownbr

Up to your usual high standards.

KKarns

Thanks Mike. Interior detailing always takes an great deal of time and planning. The machine shop alone took me 2 weeks! Much of that just figuring out what I wanted to do!

Appreciate that Bryan. Nice hearing from you.

mikemettelka

The green is really nice.... I tried it on an off topic build and it came out very different

KKarns

Appreciate the support, I tried to keep it subtile and the weathering also served to tone it down a bit.

Wes

Just catching up Ken. What a beautiful build so far.

I cant wait to see more.

KKarns

Hey Wes, so nice hearing from you! Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Appreciate your thoughts here and look forward to posting more knowing your following along.

Dave_S

Ken,
I keep pouring over the interior details of the main engine and after several times I finally spotted a really great detail in the final floor photo, in the bottom right hand corner, the rail joint bars. http://www.craftsmankituniversity.com/vanforum/uploads/imageupload/226/UNRV7JSFOU1U.jpg
Code 55 rail spiked with rail joint bars nuts and bolts, now that's some fine track detail work. Looks like you have a copy of Mike Cougill's book Detailing Track. Great reference to have.
Later Dave S. Tucson, AZ

KKarns

Well hey Dave, nice hearing from you. I really appreciate your picking up on the track detail. I put my time in on it that's for sure. Like the time spent working with the wood, it makes a big difference in the end! I found that .010" x .030" styrene strip will fit in the recess of the track to make the rail joiners. The NBWs are really "dinky" to finish off the part. Actually I have not seen Cougill's book but sounds like a must have.

Dave_S

Ken,
Checked on the availability of Mike Cougill's book "Detailing Track". You may have to go direct to him for purchase. Check out this link:
https://www.ostpubs.com/product/detailing-track/
Later, Dave S. Tucson, AZ

brownbr

A good book Dave. I have a copy around here somewhere. Just can't say where.

KKarns

Thanks Dave