The Thomas Point Shoals lighthouse - BEST models- HO scale by Popeye

[lmagna]

4 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

how is it going to fit into the beacon deck,  which is a hexagon?

WOW, that does look like quite a problem. Is this the first time you noticed the difference?

[amateur]

Perhaps the instructionmanual has an informative instruction ?

Otherwise: you are old and wise enough to build your own hexagonal light-thingy.

btw the pics of the original all show a sixsides glass-house on top of your building. You'll have to rebuild

 

Jan

 

Edited September 11, 2019 by amateur

[popeye the sailor]

....didn't think of it actually.....even when I was putting the black border on the bottom.   of course,  I haven't read further ahead in the instructions either.  now that I have.........it's not that much of a question  anymore.  for the beacon assembly,  there are three octagon parts.......one for the roof top,  one for the top of the beacon,  and one for the bottom.   all of these parts have alignment holes,  which will come in handy assembling it.  I've been working on it as we speak...........next update  

[popeye the sailor]

hello Jan    you saw that I had glued the beacon glass together........that was short lived once I began mess'in with it.  it came apart....that's when I read through the instructions     I did have a plan though started in mind,  but went with the instructions.   sandwiching the two upper parts together,  pins were inserted to keep them aligned.   the top and bottom were painted gray.   the beacon glass was then cemented around the top after it had dried..........the bottom glued in place soon after.   for some reason,  there was a gap where the two ends met........likely the cause for the formed glass to come apart.  taking two thinner rods of metal {I don't believe they are brass...they are painted green},  they were painted gray and run through the holes that encircle the top.......gluing them along the edges of the black bottom.

the assembly was then dry fitted onto the beacon deck,  using the pins as guides.

all of the protruding rods were snipped off,  and the black bottom was painted.  as for the gap,  some 2 mm thin strip was painted gray and cemented into place.  in hindsight,  I should probably have done it with the one opposite it on the other side,  to make it even and symmetrical.  I still can,  I suppose  

the plan is to keep it apart for the time being,  so I can run the lighting.   I ran it today and adjusted the light.......they specify the flash to be around 6 seconds apart........I have it adjusted to be a little quicker.   with the lower part dry fitted together,  the center tube barely comes though at the beacon deck.    the circuit board is to be stuck anywhere outside of the structure via sticky tape that is on the bottom of the board.......just peel off the paper and press into place.   I don't think this is going to work for me,  since I have incorporated a base.  for those who would use this in a layout,  they need to drill a hole in the layout floor and run everything under their table.  what I would prefer to do,  is put the circuit board inside the structure,  and run the wires through the bottom of the base.........I will have to create a grove for the wire to run along,  and exit the base.  I might even be able to run another light for the structure {can't do the dormers.........shucks}.  it would have to have direct current,  running it before the flasher circuit board.  we'll see how things go until then    the railing around the beacon was formed.........it still need to have rail posts added.

the parts that I thought were the rafters for the dormers,  are actually the posts for the railings.  the posts were added and the railing assembly was painted flat black.

the beacon roof was cemented together,  and like the other roofs,  need the wire rod treatment and a round ball on top.  more on this later on.  the pins will also be removed later on and I will glue guide pins where the base and beacon deck meet.  

 

[Canute]

Denis, the green wire is probably floral wire, a soft wire(not sure what it is made from) that florists use with their flower arrangements. A lot of older train kits (cars and structures) used to use it because it's pretty easy to work with. It's still good to use, but there are better wire materials available, such as phosphor bronze wire. It's a harder material and holds it's shape when bent.

 

Light house is looking good.

[popeye the sailor]

yes Ken........that is what I thought too    I have a couple of alternative types of wire I could use.......I even picked up a roll of wire along the side of the road while walking Gibbs.  I had passed by it on a couple of occasions,  but this time I stopped to pick it up.......I'm in the habit of picking up trash during our walks {I absolutely hate littering}.   it had been run over a few time,  but it's still good.......there quite a roll of it......very thin gauge wire.  I am using what is supplied in the kit though......it cuts well and is pliable enough to shape any way I need it to.  I played around with the Arizona a little today.......with errands to run,  there was no sense getting into anything too involved.  thanks for look'in in........thanks to all for the likes  

[popeye the sailor]

with what I have so far,  the screw pile really needs to catch up.   for that,  I need the main deck,  so I can run the other section of braces.   on the other hand,  if I'm going to paint and run the wiring through the base,  the beginnings of the 'pile' needs to come off the base.   there was some CA leakage to the base of the posts,  as this much was being assembled.  there was also instances where joints came apart as I progressed,  so I had to re-cement those joints,  compounding the problem.  this thing may very well be cemented to the base.....could be a challenge to remove whole 

 

it actually came off rather well.   some of the post were a tight fit,  but pushing them from the bottom,  little by little.......and equally,  worked.   

only one joint broke in the whole process........it's already repaired.   the base,  on the other hand,  needs a ditch dug under the perma frost  .   this will be for the wire as it comes out from the center.

I have an abundance of the wooden cast off hole plugs from laser cut kits........I will plug off the holes at the bottom,  so that when the posts are put back in,  they will only go in so far.   otherwise I will have to trim the center post.   since this will be a display,  I decided to simply paint the base gray,  like the decks.  one thing I did not see,  was that the squares for the spacers were 'cut' into the board.  this is only one coat of gray primer.

here's a shot of the structure as it sits right now  

[popeye the sailor]

made a little headway on the lighthouse...........getting into the fun stuff now.   setting up the screw pile,  the support pillars were cemented into place.

it's a tiny bit off.........and no matter where I place the line level,  it sends it of in another direction.   I need to support it from the bottom.   I didn't want to cut those pieces of supplied wood......I could probably use them in some other way.   since I have plenty of dowel,  I cut six of them to the length of the center support.   they were arranged on a spare piece of plywood.

with the bottom section in place on the new jig,  it leveled out the deck nicely.

these will all get cemented into place.   with that done,  it's time for the truss cables.   I'll be honest..........they are a pain in the tookus!   I'd better get the inner ones done first  

[popeye the sailor]

hi everyone!.........minor report on the progress.   I'm almost halfway with the inner truss cables.........one more will put me at the halfway point.   they are as tedious as I thought they would be......I also have to wait till the CA dries,  which is surprising,  given that I'm cementing two different materials together.   had a close call too........one of the young munchkin kind.  Sunday,  our oldest son Brandon came over...he got laid off from his job and now is working towards putting a business off the ground,  that he has been doing as a side job.  the state has a program that he is able to take advantage of.   he's getting unemployment,  but that money only goes so far.

   the admiral asked them if they needed stuff.........we have an overstocked freezer at the moment.  so he came over........along with the rest of the family.  usually they are too busy to come over.....we usually make the trek to save them from bundling the kids up.  but........it's not winter at the moment     the bad part of all this.......is that a number of my projects are out on the tables.........that includes the lighthouse.  I was told { I was at work at the time} that the two older boys {Chase and Tripp} made the rounds and saw all on my models.......even the ones that are out in the hallway.  Ari is a three year old......doesn't talk much,  but is very active and curious.  they don't know how he did it,  but he was able to snatch the screw pile off the jig and run off with it!  Brandon noticed it quickly and got it away from him..  when I got home,  I was told the story and that I need to inspect it,  to see if there was any damage.   it must be pretty solid,  because I found no damage done to it I'll inspect it closer when I get back to working on it.......which had better be very soon!

 

I wonder what Chase and Tripp thought of the General?  those two are a thousand questions............each!   so sad I missed all this....I love my boys!

[popeye the sailor]

I haven't done much with this project lately..........too wrapped up with the B 17 and thoughts about how tedious this step is.  putting all these truss cables in is a real pain.  I think that holes in the pillars would have been a great help.......would have made it easier to run these buggers.  I had started to install them when the model had a run in with one of the grand kids......snatched the screw pile off the jig and ran off with it.  his father caught up to him before any damage was done.........I don't blame the kid.  my stuff is all over the table,  just waiting for something like this to happen.  inspecting it this afternoon,  it was confirmed that no damage was done 

 

so........while I was catching up with all the political B.S. on the computer {via video},  I continued with the center truss cables.  I have 1 left to do.........between dropping the rods on the floor,  and the CA not wanting to set quickly,  it making for a long drawn out affair.

there are six more pairs that go from leg to leg,  in an 'X' pattern,  just like the inner ones.  I have one done already.  this is when I realized that I should do the inner ones first....before I box the whole thing in.  it would likely be 10 times worse.  I have them all in place now and I started to cut the outer ones.  I'll try to get them done tomorrow.

I wonder if I can use this as a satellite dish?   when this is done,  it can be painted and I can seat it back into the stand.

 

[popeye the sailor]

I'm gaining on it.............almost there!  yesterday,  I got all but one on the outside rim,  considering the slow drying time of the ca...........could not believe how slow.   anything else,  and I'd be prying the part off,  if I made a mistake!  it's one of the main reasons why I use it so little....only if I'm doing something that needs quick adhesion.   these will likely look like the pictures before,  but you decide  

five of the sides have been done here............and below I'm on the last one.   note that the jig is no longer needed........the posts have been taken down.

....and this morning.........the last cable was cemented in place!

way too busy under there!  now to check for any that the glue didn't hold........and then paint.

[popeye the sailor]

the task is complete........I've done a few checks to insure that all of the cables are cemented.  I've found only one that is being stubborn.   I was going through some of cast off pieces,  which I keep in little bins.  these pieces are the cut outs for windows,  doors,  circular and square bits,  that are usually punched out and tossed.  I have found many uses for these bits in the past,  and now I need to come up with six that will fit into the screw pile holes in the base.   I need to shallow these holes,  so reinstalling it back on the base,  is not a problem.  not finding what I needed in the bins,  the though turned towards looking for what I could use instead.  I was going to cut some dowel........but then I came up with alternative idea.   long ago,  I received some parts for a Billing model....the Danmark.  I have the center spine,  the long panels for the bulwarks and upper section of the hull,  and a few other bits.  I also have a copy of the instructions on CD,  sent to me since I was helping at the time,  a modeler who was building the model.  that has long passed........but I hung onto the parts,  intending on replicating the hull,  and outfit it for another subject.  the panels have portholes.......they are not punched out yet     punching out six of them,  they will be perfect......they are about 1/8th thick........the base is about 1/4 inches thick.

    I've drilled out the holes in the base to accept them and will make it easier for the screw pile to set back in the holes too.

I was going to paint the pile flat black.........but thinking of how hard it would be to mask the underside of the structure,  I'm leaning on simply painting it flat gray.  should look OK.

[Canute]

Ought to put some barnacles on the lower pilings, Denis. Fine train ballast, light gray maybe.

[popeye the sailor]

ballasts? what do they look like?

[lmagna]

7 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

ballasts? what do they look like?

I'm pretty sure Ken is referring to track ballast, in other words rock. Ought to look pretty good if you can find it fine enough.

[Canute]

Like Lou says, look for fairly fine grained track ballast. I saw a model of a New England area pier a few weeks back. The builder said he used a light grey ballast, forgot the scale, but it was pretty fine. Top parts he left gray, the bottom two thirds were algae colored (wet, green shade). My camera died or I'd show you some pictures.

[popeye the sailor]

oHHHHHHHHHH!  you know........I was thinking of looking for small rocks outside....smack 'em with a hammer,  and glue some around the pilings.  them add a little of that scenery that I used for the General.  do you think that will work?  I could smatter them with some green too.

[Roger Pellett]

Actually, this might be an application for an air eraser.  Put some sort of light adhesive like flat varnish on the piling and spay with fine blast media.  On the other hand, it might just make a mess!

 

Roger

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

might be Roger.........but I don't have a set up like that.   I do have some play sand though...something like that perhaps?

[lmagna]

I'm kind of partial to the smash and grab approach. Any method with a hostile resolution can't be all wrong! If you have a chunk of concrete laying around, or can get the city do donate a small portion that after all they have so much! You should be able to make some pretty fine stuff. 

[Canute]

If you want to do barnacles, it should be fine sizes. Not powder, but maybe table salt sizes.

[Roger Pellett]

Possibly too fine, but pumice is sold for use for furniture refinishing.  Pumice is also what makes scouring powder scour.  In its natural state it is grey.  I have some that I would be happy to send if you need it.

 

Roger

[CDW]

What a cool project, Denis! Don't know how I managed to miss this until now. Glad I found your project.

[Kikatinalong]

Nice subject Popeye, very impressive 

[popeye the sailor]

good to have a few more look'in in...welcome     I sprayed the pile yesterday with gray primer.........this morning,  I touched it up,  but I didn't shake the can.  I wanted to give it a two tone gray contrast.   I think the play sand will do the trick.......not too fine or chunky........appreciate the offer    I'm still going to look at the smashed rock idea,  as well as adding a little of the scenery stuff.  I should have it in the base soon    then I can wire it up!  thanks for all the fine comments and likes!

[Jack12477]

Denis, FYI, the light characteristic from Thomas Point Shoals is "flashing white with two red sectors"  See Reference

 

 Looking great so far. 

[popeye the sailor]

yea.......that would be hard to do with the set up supplied in the kit Jack.  if that was the case,  it would have two sets of wires for output.  I do have a red LED....I could substitute ? 

 

.....then I looked at your reference..........

I have the Wiki bookmarked............never noticed that!   the beacon dome is sealed........don't know what I could do about it now...........unless I painted three of the panes red.

 

thanks for the head's up.

[Jack12477]

They used colored panes of glass to change the color, usually hung as removable panels in front of the light, which was always white, due to the glass used to make the Fresnel prisms. So painting a pane red is acceptable. 

[popeye the sailor]

....perhaps something along the lines of a wash?  I'll look into it.  I am glad you pointed it out.   I thought about red tissue paper......but that would look terrible 

 

so now the screw pile has been painted........while the paint was wet,  I sprinkled some play sand around the base areas.   there are a few larger grains that I can flick off later.   I'll touch it up with some rust,  flat green,  and flat black...kind of a dry brush,  and it should look a bit better.   later add some rocks and the green scenery stuff......should make it look more like home   

the table is a bit messy,  as can be seen.......a couple more lines on the boat in the background,  and it will be finished.  

[FriedClams]

Very nice job on this model Popeye.  It is an interesting lighthouse design and it’s coming together nicely.  Great job on the B17 and steam locomotive by the way - they both turned out great.

 

Gary