FriedClams

I'm pulling up a chair also Dan. As you stated, very nice detailing in the moldings. Gary

Hello folks - I so appreciate all the "likes" and the wonderful comments. Thank you. Thank you OC. So far this has been a fun, no stress model. That's good to hear and a wonderful compliment. Thanks Alan Thanks Ken. This is the third display where I've included them, so I'm at least getting faster at making them - if no better. Just because I have a Charlie Brown head, doesn't make it okay to make fun of my glasses. Thanks for the nice words Dan. Thank you Keith. I always truly appreciate your support, encouragement and feedback on all my builds. Yes, there will be an LED in the box at the top of the stairs to highlight the staircase and hopefully graze the wall as well. Thank you Mark. Thank you EG. Yea, this model really is predominantly about the lighting, and it will make or break the thing. At this point I'm not confident how it's going to turn out, but I feel certain there will be some fails and a "plan B" down the road. Hope to have something new to show soon. Gary

Great progress Alan - looking very good. Even though you've still more work to do on them, shaping the towers and adding the fill already makes a big difference. And thanks for sharing the Welsh castle photos. Beautiful countryside. Gary

Being pragmatic and logical can be such a drag sometimes. I admire your discipline Keith. Gary

More wonderful figure painting in progress. I enjoy seeing the stages in how you paint them - very instructive. What sort of product are you using to hold the figures in place atop the paint jars while working on them? Do they easily detach like rubber cement? Gary

Hello Fellow Modelers, Thank you Wefalck, Andy, Keith, Alan, Paul, Mark, OC, Colin and Mike for your kind and generous comments. I appreciate it very much. And thanks to all for the likes. Well, I haven't accomplished much lately, but here's a short update on what I have managed to get done. The ceiling for the display is a simple construction - scale 2 x 10's glued down to a piece of 3/32” basswood sheet. It's colored in the same way as the floor was – chalk and alcohol. Above the ceiling, a box surrounds the cutout for the stairway. It will act as a visual block not allowing a view of the inside of the shadowbox. The interior of the box will be painted and the top covered. Lighting will be installed inside so that it will shine down the staircase. The two small holes along one edge of the ceiling are where the electrical panel conduits pass through. Evergreen I-beams will be attached to the ceiling to match up to the steel structure of the walls. The material is colored with Stynylrez gray primer and pigment powder. There will be three light pendants hanging from the ceiling: two larger ones as general fill lighting and a smaller one above the stairway landing. The pendant shades hang off the scale pipe. The “pipe” is stainless tubing and has an inside diameter of .013”. I have not found any pre-wired LEDs with wires fine enough to fit through such small tubing, so I solder up my own surface mount LEDs with very fine wire. In another build log, I have explained how I do this, what LEDs I use and how the pendant lights are constructed, so rather than repeating all that here, I'll just provide a link to that posting for anyone who is interested. Post #117 at the link below. https://modelshipworld.com/topic/28441-1940-auto-repair-shop-interior-by-friedclams-finished-diorama-in-187/page/4/#comment-864355 Here's the pendant shades for this model – green primer and rust colored pigments. Once the LEDs are inserted, they are covered in a product called Gallery Glass (crystal clear – not white), which is clear after drying. Before the ceiling gets glued down to the walls, I might just add a junction box to the pendant pipe at the ceiling and a conduit leading off from that. Emphasis on the word “might”. In the photo below, the ceiling has been temporarily flopped on top to get an idea of what these pendants lights will look like. It's being driven at full current and will not be that bright when the thing is done. Nor will there be a light crack at the top of the wall. The LED is a surface mount warm white #0603. Thanks for taking a look. Be safe and stay well. Gary

Nice progress on this model Edward, and very nice workmanship! I like the ladders - clean and square. Gary

"Ditto" Gary

Very nice Denis, she looks great. Well done. Gary

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