1880's Floating Steam Donkey Pile Driver by Keith Black - 1:120 Scale

[Keith Black]

 Thank you to all for the kind comments and the likes.

 

 

 

On 9/10/2024 at 5:38 PM, FriedClams said:

As Ken stated above, Tichy Train is quite reliable.  I've ordered from them myself and have always been satisfied.  Very nice products and they do indeed produce their own stuff.  Every window I have bought from them has come with laser cut glazing to fit it included - pops right in.

 Thank you, Gary. My order arrived yesterday and I'm very pleased. The windows are spot on and of good quality. I've yet to try the glazing as I need to paint the windows first which is the next step.

 

 

On 9/11/2024 at 3:48 PM, clearway said:

problem is as good as 3d printing is it might stop a lot of people actually 'modelling' if that makes sense and stop people developing their skills and solutions to problems- only my humble tuppence worth😁

 

 

On 9/12/2024 at 3:57 AM, wefalck said:

.. the same was probably said, when manual lathes and milling machines and powered saws were introduced. The question is: what is our objective - to build better models or to develop manual skills? On the other hand, if you want to show bare metal or wood, there is no 3D-printing option (yet). 

Thank you, Keith and Eberhard. I think people have a need to make things with their own hands, we've been doing so since we learned to make fire. IMHO 3D printing is going to enable modelers to make even more believable builds hence forth. 3D printing is the future. They're  now 3D printing brain tissue for God's sake! 

 

 https://cureepilepsy.org/news/revolutionary-3d-printed-brain-tissue-mimics-human-function/#:~:text=A team of University of,vertically%2C the researchers went horizontally.

 

 

 I haven't posted in five days which is an eternity with this little build. As mentioned above I received the windows, I also received the Vallejo red paint. A big thumbs down on the paint, way too orange.

 

 The shed walls are made and glued together but are not glued to the deck. I still need to paint and glaze the windows and paint the shed before installing the windows. As far as the windows go, they're four over four which was the most common of the time period. All the windows in our 1869 house are four over four. The windows are probably more suited for a house instead of a shed but the length will allow a little more light into the shed once the roof is on.

 

 Regarding the roof, it'll be a pitched roof with a drum line tower opening. The shed's rear door is about 0.38 inches, the two front doors will each be 0.48 inches open with card hinges. 

 

 The friction drum line story is still a mystery. I might have the line loosely wrapped around the Donkeyman's arm or have the line tied around a cleat just inside the left front shed door. What I do know is, this 3 x 6 inch footprint is starting to get a wee bit cramped!

 

 The next phase is to get the inside (white) and outside (Apple Barn Red) of the shed painted, the windows and doors installed, and the friction drum line story finalized. 

 

 Please excuse the next two out of focus photos of the Steam Donkey inside the shed but it does give an idea of how much inside the shed is going to be visible 

 

 

 

 The rear door is temporally set in the jamb. I need to make card hinges then the door will be opened to the tank side.

 

 Thank you to everyone for taking the time to visit and lending your support.

 

   Keith

Edited September 15 by Keith Black

[John Ruy]

Keith, I love the detail at this scale, Awesome work! 🙇

You are an inspiration to me, as I am headed for small scale builds.  The Admiral has been telling me to downsize my collection, either in numbers or scale. I am choosing scale so I can continue to build. LOL 😆 

[Keith Black]

12 hours ago, John Ruy said:

Keith, I love the detail at this scale, Awesome work! 🙇

You are an inspiration to me, as I am headed for small scale builds.  The Admiral has been telling me to downsize my collection, either in numbers or scale. I am choosing scale so I can continue to build. LOL 😆 

 Thank you, John. For me, the good thing about 1:120 is I don't have to do a bunch of mental gymnastics figuring out the size to make something. Measuring with a six inch machinist ruler a tenth of an inch equals a foot, half a tenth is six inches, a little more than a tenth is three inches, and a little less is nine inches. The problem is calibrating the fingers to work at that scale. I've worked at 1:120 for so long I've learned a lot of little tricks to help the fingers get the job done. The one problem I really regret is 1:120 doesn't allow me to include all the detail I'd like to. That's the learning curve, what can I include and nope, I can't do that.  

[Glen McGuire]

That shed looks great, Keith!  Well done so far.

[clearway]

looking great Keith it is a blessing and a curse that you will be able to see all the detail through the opening- i still chuckle a little bit at steam donkey pile- i keep adding "ing" after steam in my head- sorry schoolboy humour gets the better  of me sometimes😁

 

Keith

[tmj]

On 9/8/2024 at 2:24 PM, Keith Black said:

I haven't received the Vallejo Red as of yet

Keith, I remember you were looking for a good red color. What about stain? I ran across this and though about you while shopping today. You could adjust the color by mixing other stains until you find what you like...???

 

Edited September 15 by tmj

[GrandpaPhil]

Keith,

  Looking good!

[mtaylor]

I"m finally catching up and my jaw is dropped and the wow's rolling forth.    Wonderful work, Kieth.

[mcb]

Hi Keith, 

The pile driver is looking good, it won't be long now before it's done.

You found a good window size for your scale. I'm a fan of Tichy windows as well.

Did you say this was going to burn wood?

Thanks for posting,

mcb

[Keith Black]

 Thank you to everyone for the kind comments and the likes.

 

 

On 9/15/2024 at 12:21 PM, Glen McGuire said:

That shed looks great, Keith!  Well done so far.

 thank you, Glen.

 

On 9/15/2024 at 2:53 PM, clearway said:

looking great Keith it is a blessing and a curse that you will be able to see all the detail through the opening- i still chuckle a little bit at steam donkey pile- i keep adding "ing" after steam in my head- sorry schoolboy humour gets the better  of me sometimes😁

 

 Thank you, Keith. I think the view into the shed is going to be just about the right amount. I didn't want the Donkey engine to be the star of the show, I wanted all the elements to be somewhat in balance.

 

23 hours ago, tmj said:

Keith, I remember you were looking for a good red color. What about stain? I ran across this and though about you while shopping today. You could adjust the color by mixing other stains until you find what you like...???

 

 Thank you, Tom. The shed color is already determined but thank you for the suggestion. 

 

22 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

Keith,

  Looking good!

 Thank you, Phil. 

 

22 hours ago, mtaylor said:

"m finally catching up and my jaw is dropped and the wow's rolling forth.    Wonderful work, Kieth.

 Thank you, Mark. I noticed your absence, I hope all is well. 

 

20 hours ago, mcb said:

Hi Keith, 

The pile driver is looking good, it won't be long now before it's done.

You found a good window size for your scale. I'm a fan of Tichy windows as well.

Did you say this was going to burn wood?

Thanks for posting,

mcb

 Thank you, mcb. Yes, this little project is moving along rather nicely. I sent Don at Tichy an email stating how pleased I was with the quality of the windows. And yes, the boiler is going to be wood fired. Your next question is where's the woodpile? Well...imagine stacked wood on the inside wall opposite the water tank. If there were a woodpile there, once the roof is on, you wouldn't be able to see it. During this build I've kept all the cutoffs and scrap bits of wood to make a woodpile. Once the roof is on, I'll be the only one to know if I included a wood pile? 

 

 

 I got the shed painted, rear door attached less hinges, winnow glazing installed in the windows and the windows installed in the shed, and resolved the friction drum line issue. I have the Donkeyman holding the line and drooped over his forearm. I didn't get the front doors made, painted, and hung today, that'll be tomorrows task.

 

This view wasn't planned in the beginning of the build, it wasn't till I made the water tank and knew the location of the backdoor that I realized one would be able to see the Donkeyman looking through the backdoor.. I think it's a pretty neat unexpected view but one does have to get down eyeball level with the table surface to be able to peer into the shed. This is one of the few times my camera has cooperated, stupid camera. 

 

 Friction drum line resolution

 

 

 

A heartfelt thank you to each of you for your support.

 

  Keith 

Edited September 16 by Keith Black

[Glen McGuire]

The boxcar red on the shed is spot on, IMO.

 

And I would love to have a business card I could hand to people that said I was a "Donkeyman"!

[John Ruy]

WOW! Love that peak in the back door at the operator. Well done. 👍 

 

John

[Rick310]

Keith, this is such a great build!!

Rick

[wefalck]

Just to chime in: I love to see such subjects modelled that are humble, yet indispensible to the operation of the harbours and other facilties on which the ships depend that we usually chose as subjects. I also love these 'technical' subjects of the steam-age, I mean the real things, not the steam-punk caricatures.

 

Looking forward to the completion of the project.

[Desertanimal]

The detail you can achieve is truly astounding. Amazing work!

 After your discussion about high end cutter/choppers I bit the bullet and ordered the ultimation slicer. Looking forward to receiving it. 

[mbp521]

I am running out of words to say about this Keith. I just marvel at the amount of detail you are cramming (apologies for the term, but my Thesaurus is limited) into small scale model. I also agree with Glen, the Boxcar Red works perfectly!

 

-Brian

[Retired guy]

Looks brilliant Keith 👍

 

Regards

Richard

[BANYAN]

18 hours ago, Keith Black said:

I think it's a pretty neat unexpected view

Certainly is Keith.  The whole build is looking great, a well-executed blend of detail and craftsmanship.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Keith Black]

 Thank you to everyone for the kind comments and the likes.

 

 

 

On 9/16/2024 at 5:58 AM, Glen McGuire said:

The boxcar red on the shed is spot on, IMO.

 I'm pleased with the color and am glad you like it. Thank you for your suggesting that I needed to find a better color than Burnt Sienna. 

 

On 9/16/2024 at 6:16 AM, John Ruy said:

WOW! Love that peak in the back door at the operator. Well done. 👍

 Thank you, John. 

 

20 hours ago, Rick310 said:

Keith, this is such a great build!!

 Thank you, Rick.

 

19 hours ago, wefalck said:

Just to chime in: I love to see such subjects modelled that are humble, yet indispensible to the operation of the harbours and other facilties on which the ships depend that we usually chose as subjects. I also love these 'technical' subjects of the steam-age, I mean the real things, not the steam-punk caricatures.

 

Looking forward to the completion of the project.

 Thank you, Eberhard. There's lots to love about the common workaday ships and boats.

 

17 hours ago, Desertanimal said:

The detail you can achieve is truly astounding. Amazing work!

 After your discussion about high end cutter/choppers I bit the bullet and ordered the ultimation slicer. Looking forward to receiving it

 Thank you. I hope your new cutter meets your expectations.

 

 

14 hours ago, mbp521 said:

I am running out of words to say about this Keith. I just marvel at the amount of detail you are cramming (apologies for the term, but my Thesaurus is limited) into small scale model. I also agree with Glen, the Boxcar Red works perfectly!

 Thank you, Brian. 

 

14 hours ago, Retired guy said:

Looks brilliant Keith 👍

 Thank you, Richard.

 

10 hours ago, BANYAN said:

The whole build is looking great, a well-executed blend of detail and craftsmanship.

 Thank you, Pat.

 

 

 Yesterday was a day of taking measurements and planning on how to build the roof and drum line tower. It'll be a couple of days before I'm able to start on that part of the shed.

 

 

 Thank you so much for your support.

 

   Keith

[Keith Black]

 I've been having a discussion with Rik Buter, @Rik Buter on his build log (see link below) about my paint which isn't fair to Rik so I'd like to carry on that conversation here. Rik does an absolutely amazing job using washes and suggested I would get better results using thinner paint.

 

 At 1:120 scale the pieces are so small for them to be noticeable I apply a heavy coat of paint. I've messed about some trying washes and those small pieces don't stand out as they should, at least IMHO. I said to Rik that showing a dirty area on a piece I had to apply heavy black paint. An example of that is the water tank ladder photos in post # 224. There are two close up shots showing where I indicated grunge with black paint and one photo taken a little further back. In that photo the black doesn't stand out because the ladder is so small that at normal viewing distance it's barely noticeable, IMHO 

 

 The wood used also comes into play. At times I have to mix lighter woods with darker woods to make a piece. In that caseI don't think a wash or thinner paint would work. 

 

 I'm open to comments, if this ole dog can be taught new tricks I'm all ears. 

 

 

 

[Glen McGuire]

Looking at the water tank ladder you reference on post 224, I think the touch of black grunge is very well done.  I often run into the same issue on really small details of my SIB ships.  Some details I do for my own satisfaction and don't care if they can't be seen without 6x glasses.  But If I want the detail to be somewhat noticeable, I'll go a little brighter/darker/thicker whatever with the paint to make it stand out just a bit.  I think you found a nice middle ground with that ladder grunge where it's noticeable and a nice detail if you look close, but it does not jump out and scream "HEY LOOK AT ME!" (which is probably what you don't want).   

Edited September 17 by Glen McGuire

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, Glen McGuire said:

Looking at the water tank ladder you reference on post 224, I think the touch of black grunge is very well done.  I often run into the same issue on really small details of my SIB ships.  Some details I do for my own satisfaction and don't care if they can't be seen without 6x glasses.  But If I want the detail to be somewhat noticeable, I'll go a little brighter/darker/thicker whatever with the paint to make it stand out just a bit.  I think you found a nice middle ground with that ladder grunge where it's noticeable and a nice detail if you look close, but it does not jump out and scream "HEY LOOK AT ME!" (which is probably what you don't want). 

 thank you, Glen. I wish I could use washes like Rik, Eberhard, Gary, (@FriedClams), and others. I'm envious of their abilities and they make their work look so nice but I don't see that technique working at small scales. Someday I'm gonna build something at a big scale!   

Edited September 18 by Keith Black

[wefalck]

Some people use oil-paints for washings, but I personally prefer acrylics or sometime simple water-colours. Acrylics have the advantage that different layers dry rapidly and are not affected by subsequent washes, while in the case of water-colours in particular it is not possible to have several layers. You can have several layers of oil-washings, but you have to work fast and there may be quite long drying times in between.

 

For acrylic washings I use a dish with a bit of water in the middle and dabs of (pre-diluted for the airbrush, such as Vallejo ModelAir) paint. I wet a soft brush, dab the tip into the paint and then make a very dilute mix that is then applied to the model. Then I quickly empty the brush on a paper towel and wet it again to push the paint where I want it. If there is too much, it can be picked up again with a very wet brush. I apply were little, let dry, examine the result, and if needed have another go half an hour so later. Repeat if needed.

 

Typically, I have black, dark grey, white and burnt umbra on the palette, but it depends also on the subject. Dark green may be added, to represent algae, or rusty red for exactly the same effect.

 

The other option are pastels. I am lucky to have inherited from my father a large set of artists pastels (they tend do be quite pricey), but mainly use again the same colours as above. I think this is about all you need for ship models. They sell sets of 'weathering powders' for military and railway modellers, but most of the colours you probably wont need. Pastel sticks are available individually from artists supply shops. I rub a bit of pastel on a 240 or so grit sandpaper and take the resulting dust up with an old brush. Some people use bristle brushes, but I use old hair brushes as they are easier on the underlying paint. With the brush the dust can be applied to the desired areas and rubbed in. It doesn't work on glossy paint, matt paint is the best. However, it is nearly impossible to remove it dry, you will have to wash it off. Otherwise there will remain a light haze, but this may be exactly what you want. Excess powder can be simply blown off. Pastels have to be the very last step, as adding washes afterwards would either wash the pastels away or turn them into some sort of paint. I like the pastels because they have a sort of 'velvety' effect and surface that cannot be achieved with washes.

 

[Daniel Kimmer]

Keith, 

You stated " The wood used also comes into play. At times I have to mix lighter woods with darker woods to make a piece."   Is there wood you need that you don't have or a shade of wood you require.  I have a lot more if you need more.  Let me know. I have more mahogany, walnut, yellow cedar, and cherry.

 

After reviewing your latest photos I definitely think you really need to keep building models long enough to build a second donkey pile driver where the boiler engine assembly is not covered by a shed, or at least consider having a side panel open where you can see the works inside.  All the detail you put into building an accurate boiler engine assembly should not be covered up.  Either way keep up the excellent work, I love the detail.

 

Dan

[tmj]

3 hours ago, Daniel Kimmer said:

I definitely think you really need to keep building models long enough to build a second donkey pile driver where the boiler engine assembly is not covered by a shed

Admiralty/Navy-Board style! 😏

[tmj]

Something like this, only with partially framed windows, a door, and the beginnings of a roof.

[Keith Black]

 Thank you to everyone for the kind comments, the likes, and for following along. 

 

On 9/18/2024 at 4:02 AM, wefalck said:

Some people use oil-paints for washings, but I personally prefer acrylics or sometime simple water-colours. Acrylics have the advantage that different layers dry rapidly and are not affected by subsequent washes, while in the case of water-colours in particular it is not possible to have several layers. You can have several layers of oil-washings, but you have to work fast and there may be quite long drying times in between.

 

For acrylic washings I use a dish with a bit of water in the middle and dabs of (pre-diluted for the airbrush, such as Vallejo ModelAir) paint. I wet a soft brush, dab the tip into the paint and then make a very dilute mix that is then applied to the model. Then I quickly empty the brush on a paper towel and wet it again to push the paint where I want it. If there is too much, it can be picked up again with a very wet brush. I apply were little, let dry, examine the result, and if needed have another go half an hour so later. Repeat if needed.

 

Typically, I have black, dark grey, white and burnt umbra on the palette, but it depends also on the subject. Dark green may be added, to represent algae, or rusty red for exactly the same effect.

 

The other option are pastels. I am lucky to have inherited from my father a large set of artists pastels (they tend do be quite pricey), but mainly use again the same colours as above. I think this is about all you need for ship models. They sell sets of 'weathering powders' for military and railway modellers, but most of the colours you probably wont need. Pastel sticks are available individually from artists supply shops. I rub a bit of pastel on a 240 or so grit sandpaper and take the resulting dust up with an old brush. Some people use bristle brushes, but I use old hair brushes as they are easier on the underlying paint. With the brush the dust can be applied to the desired areas and rubbed in. It doesn't work on glossy paint, matt paint is the best. However, it is nearly impossible to remove it dry, you will have to wash it off. Otherwise there will remain a light haze, but this may be exactly what you want. Excess powder can be simply blown off. Pastels have to be the very last step, as adding washes afterwards would either wash the pastels away or turn them into some sort of paint. I like the pastels because they have a sort of 'velvety' effect and surface that cannot be achieved with washes.

Eberhard, thank you for taking the time to explain your process/ A lot of very good useful information, thank you again.

 

 

5 hours ago, Daniel Kimmer said:

You stated " The wood used also comes into play. At times I have to mix lighter woods with darker woods to make a piece."   Is there wood you need that you don't have or a shade of wood you require.  I have a lot more if you need more.  Let me know. I have more mahogany, walnut, yellow cedar, and cherry.

 

After reviewing your latest photos I definitely think you really need to keep building models long enough to build a second donkey pile driver where the boiler engine assembly is not covered by a shed, or at least consider having a side panel open where you can see the works inside.  All the detail you put into building an accurate boiler engine assembly should not be covered up.  Either way keep up the excellent work, I love the detail.

 Thank you, Dan. I'll PM you regarding wood as I do see a need in the not too distant future. As far as a second pile drive is concerned, I've had such a good time making this one that once the opportunity presents itself I'll be ready to make another one. It would be a improved dual cylinder dual drum Donkey engine.

 

 

2 hours ago, tmj said:

Admiralty/Navy-Board style! 😏

 

1 hour ago, tmj said:

Something like this, only with partially framed windows, a door, and the beginnings of a roof

  The Alamo!   Kidding you, Tom. Seriously, thank you for taking the time to draw that up.

 

 

 Not much happening today as it's a day of recover after a night of pool league play. I'll make my way upstairs after supper and start gathering wood for the roof and making the jig. 

 

 Thank you to everyone for the support.

 

  Keith

[FriedClams]

Sweet work, Keith!  I too, like the view of the operator through the rear door.  And I really like how the various individual elements of the model complement as a whole - everything looks and feels like it belongs together. 

 

Gary

 

 

[Keith Black]

 Thank you to everyone for the kind comments, the likes and for following along.

 

 

On 9/20/2024 at 3:30 PM, FriedClams said:

Sweet work, Keith!  I too, like the view of the operator through the rear door.  And I really like how the various individual elements of the model complement as a whole - everything looks and feels like it belongs together. 

 Thank you, Gary. 

 

 

 The roofing took a couple of days to get off the ground.   I had to mentally run through every conceivable way of building the roof noting the pitfalls of each method. i was going to try making the roof removable but that failed when thinking through the "how to" process. Yesterday I finally started cutting wood. There's no way in God's green earth I could have made successful progress without the RP cutter.

 

I started with the cable tower. This engine shed sits on a 1.6 x 2.0 inch footprint. The first floor and cable tower opening are a combined 0,80 x 2.0 inches. The pitched roof is 1.6 inches at the peak. The engine shed is very small and very fragile and is a bit like working on an empty eggshell but the more roof structure I add the less fragile it becomes.  

 

 Then the back gable end was made.

 

This is where I left off for the evening. . 

 

 

 

 I will have to extend the boiler stack. 

 

 Thank you to everyone for your support.

 

   keith

[Keith Black]

 Thank you to everyone for the likes and for following along. 

 

 Work continues on the engine shed.  Hopefully I'll have the shed's main structure finished in the next couple of days.

 

 What remains to be done on the shed is as follows.

 1. Roof treatment. I can't decide what to do, paint the wood black with a little grey mixed in or put down masking tape and paint in the same manner? At this scale i don't know that tape would look right??

 2. I'm up in the sir about adding vertical trim at the corners, the cable tower doors, and the cable tower top. I don't want the shed to look like a house but studying the old photos, in a lot of cases vertical trim was used.

3. Hang the five doors.  

4. Soot up the interior prior to permanently attaching to the barge.

 

 I want to finish the shed real bad because I'm tired of working on it. The number of pieces it's taken to build this thing is absolutely amazing.  And the time, heck I've got more time invested in the shed that what I had in the Donkey engine. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Thank you to each of you for your support.

 

  Keith