Tool Shed Part 1

KKarns

Featured here are some pics of my first Sierra West build. I am planning an early 1900s logging railroad in HO scale. I am starting out small with the Tool Shed and Line Side Storage Shed to get my feet wet with these great kits. My first four walls are completed less doors and windows. Mistakes were made but I'm trying to keep them to a minimum. I was attempting to follow Brett's suggestion in the manual with the Tool Shed build regarding coloring but inadvertently strayed a bit. The siding should have been a bit lighter with an aged and faded red siding. I started with the Grime wash and then began a light brushing with a brass brush and was amazed at the transformation! May have got a bit carried away as the siding got a bit dark. Also, may have weathered things a bit more harsh than I wanted but it doesn't show up as much without the zoom. Spacing on the siding looks a bit generous in spots and I did not plan the spacing where the siding meets the doorways as well as I would have liked. Comments are welcome and please be critical as I'm having a blast learning and am totally hooked on these builds. Will continue updates with windows,doors, roof, etc.. Tried a few nail holes and will finished those as I think they look OK.

John_in_australia

From a newby like my self it looks great!!

KKarns

Did not load pictures to my text.

KKarns

John,

Hey, thanks for the encouragement! I checked the forum and saw your build pics. You're way ahead of me and looking good. I have purchased the Essentials, among others, but have not received them yet which is fine as the Tool Shed and Line Side will keep me busy for a bit. Jumped ahead and detailed a couple of the incredible castings...sweet! Great fun working these. Keep in touch.

Ken

Wes

Ken id be mighty proud of that as my first go.

Keep posting progress shots, its looking good.

Karl.A

Great looking start Ken !!
I've seen many O scale builds of this kit that dont look as good as yours.

Keep taking your time, dont rush and follow the instructions, this is turning out sweet so far.

I'm looking forward to more updates.

Karl.A

KKarns

Wes/Karl :

Thanks for your comments. Coming from you guys it means a great deal. I know I need to crawl before I can walk and I'm humbled by the builds I have seen from you all. Questions; Would you weather the platform more, less, or about the same as the shed siding? I'm inclined to think the weathering would be more on a horizontal surface than a vertical one. I would think the spacing of the boards however, should be close on the platform? Also, foot traffic on the platform would keep the boards a bit smooth? No stairs are shown and leads me to believe the platform is a one step up from ground level?

Will post the finished walls and some casting work soon. Thanks!

brownbr

Excellent job on the walls. Coloring has a nice dull gray. I agree with Karl that this could easily pass as O scale.

As for the platform, I always prefer to use the same palette as the walls but make it more gray and a little lighter to simulate the sun beating down on that horizontal plane. One technique I sometimes use for this is to lightly sand with a 220 grit paper before or after building. For me this really ages the board and highlights the edges and grooves in the wood.

KKarns

Bryan,

Thanks for the feed-back on the walls. I totally agree with your thoughts on the platform and will be building with the plan to keep the platform same palette but lighter/faded and will try the light sanding as this should also smooth the top side a bit as you would expect a foot traffic area on wood to be. Thanks again.

Karl.A

Ken, as yourself and Bryan have already discussed I would also treat the decking slightly differently from the walls.
I personally try to make them look a little greyer and sun faded as has been noted. I use steel wool to lighten, smooth and 'polish' the boards, this gives a really nice worn effect that I like.
As for spacing I leave a very small gap betwwen the boards, for drainage, take a look at the O scale BlueSky dock for an example.

Keep us up to date on your progress,

Karl.A

KKarns

Karl, Thanks for the suggest as it looks like the light steel wool may give me both the lighter color as well as the smoother worn by foot traffic feel. I have been struggling with getting the dirty window effect. The dusting with the light chalk seems to come up smeary rather than that even light coat. Might be using too soft a brush and when I dab, the tips are bending creating a smear effect? Will be posting soon once I sort this out.

Ken

KKarns

Here are some pics of my "finished" walls for the tool shed. I have the two side walls glued to each separate long wall but have not done the final gluing so I can re-work the windows a bit. Thoughts on the windows?? Not real satisfied as I had trouble with the homogeneous "fogging" with the chalk so I decided to make it appear as if the dust has collected along the edges and corners simulating someone half heartedly cleaning the windows with a shop rag. Roof and Rafters are next with some pics coming on the castings.

KKarns

$##%^%&*, Sizing issue, Geesh!

Here are the pics...

Ken

Bill

Ken-
Way to go on your first SW kit! Very nice look on your boards. Color and texture are spot on. Did you do anything special other than the brass brush to get that rough-sawn look? It's very convincing. Knots and nail holes all look good and you've got real nice definition on the slats of the doors.

As far as suggestions, most have already been pointed out. When spacing boards for walls, I've tried to go no bigger than a business card or a razor blade to size the gap (that's in HO). When you add the view block of black construction paper it will help prevent seeing all the way through the building.

This is very good work--you should be proud of it! Have fun and keep posting pictures.
Bill

KKarns

Bill, Really nice to hear from you! You are somewhat of a legend with your Twin Mills build. Gee wiz, I must have looked through that thread a dozen times. Not only the build but your diorama was ridiculous. I learned so much just following that build. Then of course there's Brett's manuals...
Anyway..I used a brass brush ( 1 x 3/4) with 1/2 inch bristles so for the wood it was a bit big with the bristles a bit stiffer than the smaller brush. I brushed both before the Grime wash and after. I did dry brush the boards the Boxcar Red per the manual so there is a hint of faded red. My final coloring on the boards was darker than I had planned so I went real light on the red just giving a hint.
Just about done with the larger castings and will be posting those. Off to work on the roof.
Thanks again for your tutelage and encouragement. It's this interaction that makes this "work" so much fun.

Ken

KKarns

Here are a few pics of almost all the resin castings for the tool shed. I haven't tried the metal castings yet, that's next.

Karl.A

Details look great Ken, sharp definition, muted colours very tidy paint work. Very well done indeed.
As for the windows on the shed I'm not sure what you dont like about them..... they are perfect for old, dirty, half-ass wiped clean shed windows. I really dont see how they could be any better.

I really, REALLY hope you have left them alone and not tried to "fix" them.

Karl.A

KKarns

Karl, I aint touchen em, and if anyone complains I'll tell em Karl said so! They do actually look good at scale.

I see there are some metal castings of wood items such as the pallets. The manual recommends treating all metal castings with product like A-West Blacken-It. Is that needed for castings that will be wood? I understand on metal stuff to get that aged patina.

-K

KKarns

Couldn't help taking one more shot of things just set together.

-K

KKarns

Also wanted to try the addition of old oily rags. Followed the manual recommendation and colored paper towel with Box Car Red then a bit of Grimy Black. I glued them to the top side of an old crate. Also figured out the heavy weathering technique on the old drums. I was trying it with my brush too wet with pra. Tried it with an almost dry brush and that was it!

Karl.A

Ken,
you have definately got "the touch"...

Trying something out and then adjusting it slightly to get the right result is alot of the battle... you obviously have no qualms in doing this, which is showing in your results.
Very nice.

Blackening the metal details which are to represent wood, such as pallets, gives the casting some 'tooth' for the base layer of paint to stick to better.

Also, if for some reason the paint/weathering does chip off at some point in the future you will be left with a dull black chip, which is easily fixable.
Without the blackening you would be left with a shiney metal spot.... not good at all for something like a wooden pallet.

Karl.A

Wes

Ken you really are producing some brilliant work. Those castings are awesome.

KKarns

Wes, Thanks for the comment it's great having you guys and the forum to bounce ideas around and get the feed-back that lets you know you're on the right track. I'm afraid I'm hopelessly addicted! I tried some of the metal castings and think I've got the "feel" for these to some extent. Have been neglecting the Tool Shed roof as I Have been having too much fun with the castings! Ken.

admin

What I look for is subtlety. When I am teaching classes I can identify the folks who "get it" right away by looking for the way they apply color, texture, etc... You understand how to achieve an effect without overdoing it! Well done. Keep at it Bro!

KKarns

Admin, Thank you ole wise one....appreciate the feed-back and I am working hard to do your products justice! Simply amazing castings...I love these guys!

Here is a pic of my first go at the metal castings...not sure which I like better working with metal or resin..hmm. Ken.

Kevin

They look very good to me Ken. I really like the large pulley and the pump. One suggestion for the tools would be to lightly buff the faces to show some wear. As Brett says you get the idea of being subtle and that is huge for a beginner. Very well done!

Kevin

KKarns

Hi Kevin, Awesome you noticed that! When you say faces I assume you mean the contact surface if the tool was used like the blade of the axe and flat surface of the sledge. Confirm and I'll dress this up. The Tool Shed only has two free standing tools like that but the other kits I'll be building have a bunch so it will be nice to get this technique down. I'll re-work and send you an update...thanks again. Ken

Karl.A

Axe edges, hammer heads, gear teeth, basically any surface on any detail that would get wear and tear in the real world, anvils, pully wheel faces, corners of machinery, think about how things are used and look at what is in your garage/shop, or all around you....

Karl.A

LSNRwyAl

Thnk "wear points". Anyplace a surface will get rubs, scraps, hits, scratches, ground...
Looks like you were doing this already on the edge of the gear behind your corn broom.

KKarns

Hey Alan,

Glad you pointed out the gear wear as an example. I actually got that wear by accident and liked the look. I'll re-work the tools and should be able to make that technique an automatic from here on out for obviously "used" tools and equipment...junk piles withstanding! Off for a spirit evaluation (cold beer) and my first work on a tar paper roof...Ken

ironmountainlumber

Hi Ken,

I really like the color of the walls and the knotholes. The castings are really top notch too. The boards look punky like they have been out in the weather for some time.

Did you use diasol or another thinning agent when you made your grime wash? I am wondering if the thinning agent makes the color appear differently or not or wether it is the amount of thinned paint that is applied that really is the determining factor.

The knotholes are excellent and I am struggling with this. The knotholes really add detail and depth to the individual boards. Could you give a small tutorial how you did the knotholes?
Thank you for the help.

Jim