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kgstakes
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Everything posted by kgstakes
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Just doing a few cuts and this is the result. The wood is 1/4x1/4 poplar so I had to cut a piece a little long then trim to get it square. The cut is fantastic !! A lot better than my chopper. They are built like a tank, I would guess 1/8” think steel not aluminum. The I wold say all is made from steel not aluminum. I’ll try basswood in a few minutes and post pictures maybe a video
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Well Santa brought me a couple tools I been wanting for Christmas this year. Few minutes in the woodshop and made some bases for them. Been a great Christmas and yes, Mrs clause received some very nice things too. It works guys, make her happy, you’ll be happy!! Keep up the great work you all do and I’ll see you next year!! Merry Christmas everyone!!
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Little farther along on my build. Second level pretty close to being done. Lights are in first and second decks, now a few more details for the second deck and then on to the next one.
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After some painting and searching through my “detail parts” bin I pretty much have the second deck ready to install on the river boat. still need to install the lights for this level but I’m getting there.
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Well been building a little bit at a time and doing allot of painting - chairs, tables, beds, barrels, etc. here’s where I am so far. Also, if anyone has trouble painting those ?!$&!? Barrel bands try what I ended up doing. Place some masking tape on a piece of glass paint black then cut really thin strips (banding material). Then what I did is all bands were on one end I super glued them in place. After the barrel was done I put a coat of dull coat to take the shine down. If the bands are crooked don’t worry that ones just loose😀. Be ready to get your fingers full of super glue but the result is better than I could ever free hand paint.
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A new angle in precision sanding
kgstakes replied to Arcticbeaver's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
The Ultimation products are great. I have the Slicer and the Sander (course they're Christmas gifts) but I do have them just not in my workshop yet. (yeah boss lady said had to wait). Anyway, they are solidly made. Very accurate (yup had to at least try them). I have other power sanders but what I needed what a better way to cut strip wood, and then to square up the cuts the hand crank sander will do that job really well. What I like about the Ultimation Slicer is that it slices the wood rather than just chop it straight down and the blade on the "chopper" I have will crush the fibers (yeah it'll cut them but). And the Slicer has one side of the blade is straight and the other side is the bevel. So you only cut on one side the other side is your cut off side. Both tools are solidly built and I believe will hold up for years. Plus they say a lifetime warranty. I'd say if you're looking for something the cut strip wood or to touch up an edge, take a look at the ultimation products. -
Glad I found this, I'm just using the box that the model came in for the wood storage and yeah sometimes have to hunt for the right "lumber" to use and I do have them some what separated out but not all of it. I did go buy another (I have many) small parts containers (like jaager has) and sorted all the metal casting parts out so I can just grab and paint them ahead of when I use them. As far as other lumber storage I made a cubed box that I could put all my scale lumber in but between moves (many) it has disappeared. So what I've been using (because I haven't built something better) is a piece of acrylic to support all my HO scale strip wood. Works with a rubber band around it but you still have to "hunt" for what you want. Some day I will make a storage box again for all my strip wood. What I have for my brass stock is very similar to the others with the cardboard tubes. My are from the fax machine roll paper (yeah still have a fax machine, why???) any way, I store the brass in them by size and it will fit upright in one of my workbench drawers. Great Ideas here, never even thought about using plastic fencing material. Have to look into that. I've seen the PVC pipe used for storage that's a good idea too. Keep up the great work everyone, I'm learning something every time I come here !!!!
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Light table question
kgstakes replied to GrandpaPhil's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
If you can find 3/8 or 1/2 clear acrylic, that would be best. Would not use 1/8 inch, too weak unless braced allot which kind of defeats the purpose of a "shadow free" work area. 1/4 acrylic will work but then again, I would brace it pretty good. I worked at a place where we use acrylic to cut out signs etc. and the thicker you can get it the better. Also, be careful with the sheet, it may seem stable, but it does break, chip, easy ( 1/8 or 1/4 ) if handled roughly, until set in place. Nice idea and interested in seeing the finished table. -
I’ll show a picture of what I did and maybe it will help others with a similar problem. I noticed right off the bat that one side of the first deck where the paddle wheel attaches, one side was lower than the other. I thought as I build this deck out that I could straighten when I installed the rear braces for the paddle wheel. When I first put the braces on (gluing) nothing straightened. So I thought what about some 00-90 bolts and bolt it to the wall and to the deck. Well what I actually did was I drilled hole in each side of the wall where the beam attached, drilled into the end of the beam and also down through the beam and deck. Super glue a 00-90 bolt through the wall into the end of the beam (I made that hole smaller so I actually “threaded” the super glued bolt into the end of the beam through the wall), and then bolted with 00-90 n-b-w through the beam through the deck. Made sure everything was level with each other and it worked!! See picture of the finished “bolted” beams.
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I'm not sure if this has been said or covered before (sorry if it has). Acrylic artist paints work great for airbrushing. I don't thin my paints with water, I use windshield washer fluid (summer not winter kind). I have had no problems with my airbrush with this and clean up is very easy. Also, (sorry don't remember your name) but when they said to try artist colors and mix your own colors, I've done this and with the help from my wife (I'm color blind) I can match any color I choose. Brush painting with acrylic artist colors are a joy to work with. When finished, clean brushes with soap and water and you done. I've used many paint brands over the years and the one I've used most for model buildings was Floquil paints and stains. I've used Polly S in the past and back in my plastic car building days (70's) I used testors paints (spray cans and brush paints). I'm sold on artist acrylic paints for the ease of use in an airbrush and for the easy clean up when brush painting. I've even used them for some weathering but I still like my caulks better for this. If you haven't tried these paints give it a try.
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Oh yeah!! I'll continue to follow you on this build and others that you do and/or have done. And especially thank you all for leading me to some figures I can use for my build. As for the cowboy hats and such, a little creative "modeling" I bet I can change a few hats to bowlers. Dresses now on the other hand not sure about but hey it's just plastic and a knife a little modeling putty and some paint and you can make anything "look" what you want people to "see". Look forward to more great things and ideas. Thanks again to everyone and keep up the great work that all of you do.
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Just looked you up to see what you are building and it looks great!! I see the build is in 1/87th scale. I have a HO scale model railroad besides building the Mississippi riverboat kit and was wondering is your riverboat going to be part of a scene on a model railroad? Or do you like to build in that scale for some other reason? I'm not sure but I'm hoping that the Mississippi River boat that I'm building which is 1/80th, I'm hoping that I can use some HO scale figures to detail the boat with. What is your opinion on that? Is there some "period figures" in 1/80th that can be purchased some where? Anyway, be interested to see more on your build, so far again looks great and I like the idea of using trees "materials" from your property. Makes building more fun and enjoyable when you can say you made this from literally scratch. "Log to Model" should be a tag line of yours. Keep up the good work !!
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Little bit more progress on the river boat. First deck the only thing I have to do is the engine compartment and I believe that part of the build is done. Here are some pictures of my progress. Since starting a new job my modeling has taken a back seat but will keep you up to date as I go. Oh and I have started adding lights to each deck.
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I’ve been following this build and I’ve enjoyed every part of it. Being a beginner to ship building, all the lingo is foreign to me but I figure things out as you go. Impressive build for sure!! I learn something every time.
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I have made progress on the riverboat build. This is but isn't about the model. It's how a video of my wood shop "taken over" by this build. I have things spread out but "slightly" organized. Enjoy the video and comment if you work area looks similar or am I just to spread out because I have the room. Shop Riverboat project.mov
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Have the first walls ready to install on the hull of the river boat. Next up, next floor. Enjoy!!
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Before I start building up the sides, etc. I seen that a few steps later it says to paint the bottom of the first deck. Well instead of building it up why not paint it now. So, I spend about 15-20 minutes and masked everything but what I want to paint (airbrush). I like airbrushing because it gives me a better finish than brush painting and to me I can get a sharp edge between parts I want to spray. Here is the result. Comments? Suggestions?
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1/8" = 1 ft I need a harbor on my HO layout so it has a place to make port !!! Great job !!! I'm a beginner at building ships, you guys are talented !!
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I did a minwax polyshades pecan stain. It's a stain & polyurethane finish. Basically, stain and finish in one step. Did two coats on everything, sand between coats. (It's the same finish I did for my roll top desk). I wanted something other than a natural finish. Anyway, the hull is completed and now on to the walls, windows, doors. Primed some doors and windows. So, after painting them they will be ready to install when the time comes. Here are a few pictures of my progress. Oh and like a dummy, I forgot to thread wires for any lighting. So, it may or may not be lighted. Either way, it'll be a great model in my showcase anyway.
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The build continues have the deck and bottom done (that was fun) so next I’m going to give all of that a clear coat and then proceed on with the next part. IMG_1489.mov
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Oh and the instructions said to use contact adhesive (cobbler’s glue ??) for the deck boards. I used contact cement and all the edges I had to go back and basically super glue them all down (kept lifting when I was sanding it). I probably should of used 3M contact adhesive but I used some loktite brand. Next time I use 3M or wood glue or white glue and just do a little bit at a time and make sure all the edges are down tight. This build isn’t a race and I should of stuck with what I know works. What have all you used for glue to plank decking, walls, etc??
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I had a hard time with the bow and the compound curve that I had to I cut it all out and rebuilt it so I had just a simple bend to the bow. Unless someone built this boat, no one will ever know and it made it simpler for me to build.
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Little further along. For a first ship model I thought I bit off more than I can chew but I’m getting it. Hats off to all of you building ships, you guys rock!! Anyway, here’s some pictures of where I’m at in this build as of today.
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Just started today with my river boat. So far so good for never building anything like this before. I've never assembled a laser cut kit before and everything seems to go together the way it's suppose to (so far). I do plan on lighting it and have drilled holes in places that I may need wiring. but for now this is what it looks like. Not much but it's a start.
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Continuation from my last post here. Don't use a gel stain. It will just make a mess out of everything. At least that is my experience with gel stains. They soak in the basswood way to fast. Maybe if you use a conditioner, it won't be so bad. But I've tried it both ways and never can get the result I wanted. I steer clear of gel stains for any of my model work. Just don't work for me. On my larger projects in the shop (full size furniture, etc.). I've used gel stain with good results. Just can't get it right on my model work. Anyone ever try gel stains for your projects??
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