FriedClams

You're making good progress here Alan and it's looking really nice. I applaud your decision to light the interior and it will really bring an extra dimension to the model. I do think you will need to add blocking partitions to limit what the viewer can see and how far into the structure they can see. It has been my experience that lit windows invite viewers to place their eyeball as close as possible to see what's inside. Card with similar looking block walls printed on them would be great. Or you could even take photos of a completed section of an exterior wall, stich multiples of them together in software and then print (not glossy, duller the better) and paste them to card stock. Doesn't need to be high-quality images. Just thinking out loud. Keep the updates coming, love it. Gary

Good to see an update, Ken. Looking good. Models are like people; most have one profile that's better than the other. But if it's going to always bug you, maybe you could just pull off the wide plank along with the planks adjacent to it (or two on each side) and divide the space equally between the replacements. Gary

Great progress Grant! That is a sweet little shed, love the hinges. Gary

I’m pulling up a chair also Craig. Yes, that is interesting- four different colors on a single sprue. Hmmm? Gary

Excellent work on the doors OC. Absolutely no way to tell they’re made of paper. The wear on the lower frames is great also. Gary

Been reading your build log over a few sessions Tom, and just caught up. Beautiful, clean work on this model. Very nice indeed! Gary

Just read through your log Chris. Beautiful work! To build this in just three weeks is amazing. I know I’ve said this before, but I must try one of these card models soon. Looks like great fun. Gary

Oh, I like this process Keith! Straight forward, but clever and efficient. It makes perfect sense not to glue to the inner shrouds. Nice clear explanation too. I use a pair of fingernail clippers to get close as possible to whatever I’m clipping off, but I’m going to look into the jeweler’s flush tool. Gary

I just found your log Paul, and a very interesting build this is going to be. I agree, there is something about a tug - the shape and power of the craft. They just command your attention. And thanks for the historical background on the builder and the links. Putting a story to a model breathes real life into them. Good luck with your new project. You keep raising the bar on the build difficulty, and I'm sure it will turn out great, as have your other three. Good solid start, by the way. Gary

An interesting project Alan and looks like great fun. You're starting out nicely and I look forward to seeing more. 8600 bricks - holy cow! Gary

Greetings fellow modelers. Thanks to all for the comments and likes and to those following quietly. Here's a short update on the model. A stairway that follows the walls through the back corner has been constructed. Building it from styrene would have been my preference, but coloring experiments on scrap material to replicate wood was a total bust, so I built it instead from basswood. I began with the stringers. 2” x 12” material. The tread material is slightly thinner - about 1.5” x 10”. 1-2-3 blocks are used to keep things square and to ensure tread overhang off the stringers is consistent. In this photo, the lower staircase treads have received some foot wear and added coloring, where the upper stairs have not. Then some railings. Before the stairs can be placed, I have to first lay down the floor. Scale 2 x 10's are first colored in the typical way by scrapping the side of chalk sticks directly onto the wood in a random pattern. Burnt sienna, raw umber and a speck of dark green here and there. Alcohol is generously swabbed on and spread about. This produces an irregular pattern of darker and lighter areas. Water can also be used to do this, but the quickly evaporating alcohol lessens the chance of the wood warping. In the photo below the wood is still wet and consequently darker than it will be after it's glued down. Before I stuck down the floorboards, I pulled them individually through 600 grit sandpaper pinched between my thumb and forefinger. This eases the edges and strips off some of the color. The stairs are glued in. Foot traffic wear pattern is sanded into the floor. The corner under the stair landing needed some visual filler, so I resorted to my often-used default item and placed a couple of old barrels there. It's so maddening when the prior tenant leaves some of their junk behind. Thanks for stopping by. Be safe and stay well. Gary

And it seems to work just fine Keith, very resourceful. Throughout this log, one cannot help but notice the notebook with your hand written sketches and dimensional drawings. I do hope that you intend to save and perhaps place it in some sort of labeled binding to go along with your wonderful model. Future family will have not only the model, but your drawings, process and thoughts as you progressed. Priceless heirloom. Gary

Looking really good Grant - nice progress! It’s always refreshing when companies support their customers without a quibble. Gary

Ditto the above comments. Excellent clean work! It’s so good to see an update on the Tennessee Keith. I’ve always enjoyed reading your log and looking forward to more. Gary

Been reading your log over a few sessions and just caught up, Jack. The Constellation is coming along great and I’m glad to hear your cataract surgery went well and you’re back to modeling. Look forward to more updates. Love the ice boat. Gary

Beautiful work Mike and what a great looking craft. I look forward to seeing her all done. I've heard nothing but good things about the Mr. Color line of paints and I must try them sometime soon. Gary

Terrific work on this model Denis, and such an interesting log as well. Takes me back to my childhood as I fondly remember building my first balsa model with my dad. I did some of the building, and he did all of the fixing when I wasn't looking. Gary

Been reading through your log Edward and your model is coming along very nicely indeed. I will be watching for future updates. Gary

You have a good memory Keith. Yes, that was in the Stonington Dragger log, but the model was the surface buildings of a hard rock mine, with headframe, hoist house, ore bin and lots of rusty junk. It was the first time I ran into the disdain some folks have against weathering. I don't mind being told my model is crap, but I didn't care for the assertion that I was intentionally using weathering to cover up my lack of skill. As you can probably tell that encounter, even after all these years still raises my blood pressure. And he had bad breath too! So you were mostly right my friend, and I'm honored that you remembered that little story. So put away those five o'clock med cups and tiny umbrellas because you're still sharp as a tack. Gary

It came out a lot better than OK Alan, this is an excellent dio! Wonderful feel to it and great photography as well. Congratulations! Gary

HA! Well that makes me feel really out of the loop! I have not heard that term before, but what do expect from a guy who just last year bought his first smart phone and then never uses it. You must be thinking of another MSW member, because I’m not a model railroader. It looks like a fun hobby, but I never took it up myself. Well, at least you now know my stance on putting labels on models. And no, I’m not going to tag anything - or label it either. I’m going to laugh every time I see a boxcar from now on. Thanks Keith. Gary

What Michael said. Looking great Marc. Gary

Hello Keith. Do you mean like an information tag - name, when built, that sort of thing? At the urgings of my wife, I now put an info tag/label on most things I build that are large enough to discreetly accept one. Small items such as an HO scale vehicle, no I don't. Of course, I've made a lot of junk over the years that I don't label and would rather not admit to building. I hope that answers what you were asking Keith. As always, thanks for your support. Thank you so much OC. Thanks Ken, it's always fun trying to make something look like you had in mind. Thanks to all for looking and for the likes. Gary

Greetings Fellow Modelers, Dan, Edward and Andy - thanks so much for the kind words and for stopping to take a look. And thanks to all for the likes. This mess below is the backside of the rear wall. After having the wall break apart at the styrene columns, I reasoned it was time to reinforce the thing with some strips of wood and absurd amounts of PVA. I mixed the PVA with black acrylic paint so it can serve double duty and act as a light barrier as well. The “exterior” lighting to be used on this model will be very bright, and without the black PVA, it will peek through all the cracks and eliminate the hope of a convincing scene. I have also learned that the styrene has to be back-painted with the black goo to keep it from emitting a low translucent glow. The display needs a point of interest in the right corner of the building – something attached to the building. So, I added an electrical distribution panel. Commonly, these panels have a face cover with an attached door that is larger than the metal box behind it. This allows the panel to be flush mounted in a finished wall as well as surface mounted. To represent this detail, a rectangular block of styrene is front faced with .005” (.127 mm) material. A cover door of the same material is placed on top of that, and a piece of fine brass wire is glued to its edge pretending to be a piano hinge. Conduits feeding and leaving the panel are brass wire and a few are styrene. A piece of 3/32” basswood sheet is cut for the base and the walls are stood up and glued together. Here on the left end of the display, the recessed wall section for the upper staircase is seen. The end wall on the right side has been capped with a “steel” I-beam. I placed a larger header over the doorway than I did on the windows not because the structure requires it, but because the visual weight of the smaller header just looked wrong. With this post, I have caught up to the current state of progress on the model. Thanks for stopping by. Be safe and stay well. Gary

Just read through your log Alan, and what a great diorama you have going here. Your muddy landscaping looks fantastic, as does the rolling hardware. Especially like the Whippet and tow vehicle. Excellent job putting wear on them. Gary