I added on the lettering using dry transfer decals.  After adding the small lettering I decided to redo it in another location.  I find that is one of the nice things about dry transfer is that they are relatively easy to remove if you decide against them.  I did this by using the tip of a hobby knife to scratch them off.

I then added all of the final details, using grab-irons from a detail upgrade kit available for this model.  I decided that buying the upgrade kit would produce better results than trying to make them myself.  For the next kit I will think twice about them, because while they certainly were convenient it would be easy to make them.  Included in this detail kit was an etched metal kit for the end ladders.  This would have been a very good looking upgrade, however I found that my soldering skills were not up to the task – they will make good additions to a scrap pile some where on the layout.

After final touch-up, I sprayed the model with dull-cote.  I didn’t bother masking the windows as I did not put an interior in it.  I then used chalk to weather the caboose.

I have to thank my wife for the beautiful picture of the completed project taken on my “work in progress” layout.

Before completing the chalk weathering on the model I painted the metal parts with silver paint.  Over this I dry-brushed a rust color, adding heavy color where it would be likely for rust to form.  Once this had dried I used the chalk to blend in the areas and add even more rust color to the metal.

One of the other final steps was to fill in the small gap on the upper window by using white glue.  This had the effect of filling in the gap, but was able to be hidden by the weathering so that it was not noticeable.  Once all of this had dried I coated the entire model with Dullcote to protect all of the weathering.  On most models I would have done this before installing the windows as it take away the clarity, however in this case I wanted the windows to be slightly opaque so that you  were not able to see inside the building.

Once this building was complete I donated it to the San Leandro Historic Railway society to be used as a generic industrial building on our layout.  This building served as my “try piece” and landed me the job of working with another member to create the buildings for the Selby area of the layout (Selby, CA during the 1950’s contained a lead smelter and not far from there is the C&H sugar plant).  I will provide pictures of this current building and any future buildings in that area as they are built.

After wiping off the excess paint to color the grout in between the bricks I glued the acetate on the window frames and doors.  The reccomendation from most sources is to use some form of white glue to hold it in place, but as I intended to weather the building so that the glass would not really be clear anyways, I used Zap-a-Gap.  This allowed me to install the “glass” much faster than using white glue would have done.  Here is a picture of the building after all the windows and doors had been installed:

The next step was to airbrush a layer of dirt on the building.  Unfortunatly for me I did not thin out the paint far enough so it ended up leaving some rather large splatters.  This ended up working out in the long run as I then used chalk to blend everything together.  Here is a picture showing the roof with one side showing the airbrush and the other showing the chalk blending it in:

I also used chalk to blend on the rest of the building, using a piece of sandpaper to grind the chalk into a fine powder.  I usually use a couple of different colors and use the application brush to blend them.  Here is a picture showing work on the walls of the building:

As you can see in the picture, I also used the chalk on the windows which had the effect of making them very hard to see through (just like most industrial buildings that I see in Oakland, CA).

]]> http://www.railroadredux.com/2010/01/concor-bakery-part-3/feed/ 0 http://www.railroadredux.com/2010/01/concor-bakery-part-2-washing-brick/ http://www.railroadredux.com/2010/01/concor-bakery-part-2-washing-brick/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:54:24 +0000 Dom http://www.railroadredux.com/?p=161

After doing a little research I found a couple of different techniques, the best of which I found on the NMRA website.  This technique was to paint the walls a brick color, using an airbrush.  Once that had dried I mixed up a batch of watered down white paint.  I brushed this over the wall, covering about one third of the wall.

After allowing it to dry for about one minute I used a rag (an old T shirt) and wiped off the majority of the paint.  This had the affect of removing the white paint off the bricks, leaving the white in the mortar lines.  I was  very pleased with the look, especially considering how quick and easy it was.  Here is the picture of the results:

As you can see it is very bright, but I intend to airbrush and use chalk to complete the look.

As I was on vacation over the Christmas holiday I did not have any time to work on any of my projects so I decided to post some pictures I took at the San Leandro Historic Railway Society while running some of my trains.

This picture shows my F7 A&B units from Proto 2000.  They were the first two models that I installed NCE decoders into, a really easy process as it was just a matter of removing the existing DC chip and plugging in the new decoder.

This picture shows a view of the same train heading across the top of the small helix heading towards Antelope.  Notice the weathered look of the boxcars and gondola in the picture.  This was done by drybrushing two different colors of paint, and then using pastel chalks to complete the affect.

Happy Holidays from RailroadRedux.

I decided that I needed the corrugated metal roof to be rusted and corroded to match the peeling paint of the Fryxell Feed Store.  I used Ferric Chloride to “rust” out the individual panels once I had cut them to the needed size.

-Safety Note-

Make sure to fully read the directions on the bottle when using chemical etchants.  Use safety equipment as directed and make sure to use in a well ventilated area, preferably outside.  Make sure to follow local regulations on disposal of used etchant.

I dipped the pieces into the solution and left them there until they “boiled” violently.  I then swished the pieces in water to stop the reaction and set them to dry after wiping the gunk off of them.  Once dry I attached the pieces to the cardstock sub-roof using a CA type glue, although in the future I think I will use tacky glue.

Once I attached the roof panels I used a mixture of several different colors of pastel chalks to provide the rusted color I wanted.  I then sealed the roof using Dulcote.

Here the various sub assemblies are put together on the base I cut out of scrap plywood.  In this picture you can see that I have constructed and installed the front dock and the back porch, the only major change I made was in putting another ramp on the near end of the dock.  I have yet to finish weathering the back porch.  The dock was weathered using various pastel chalks, similar to what I did on the floor of the building.

Also in this picture is the foundation which the office rests on.  For the desired effect I started with a dark gray and dry-brushed two lighter colors of gray on top.  I touched up the highlights with a final light dry-brush of white.

This picture shows the front view, a little bit further on.  Notice that I have put some of the doors in place, and the cardstock for the roof.  In hindsight it would have probably been better to build the sub roof using scale lumber, as you can see the edges of the cardstock under the corrugated metal roofing.  I set the side door part way open, with someone standing in it to add life to the building.

Once the paint had been successfully peeled I started construction of the feed store, though I must confess it seemed a little bit strange getting all the paint to peel before the building was even constructed.  I used Zap-A-Gap medium to glue all of the parts together, which worked pretty well.  On the next kit I think I will try some of the other blends to see if I can find something better.  Constant reference to the plans assisted in the placement of internal supports and correct identification of parts.  I assembled the main part of the building and the office as two separate parts.  This picture shows both sections with the floor installed and chalk weathered in the main building:

The weathering on the floor of the main section was made surprisingly easy with the use of pastel chalks, obtained from my local craft store.  I used a sheet of 220 grit sandpaper (test a couple of different grits to find what works best for you) and rubbed brown, black, gray, and red to create little piles of chalk.  I then used a fairly stiff brush and took random samples of the chalk and scrubbed it into the wood of the floor.  This created a well worn effect, which I sealed using Testors Dullcote after I had reached the desired amount of wear.  Notice how it brings out the detail of the cracks in the floor.  This techniques has many uses in weathering and will come back in multiple places on this build.

I recently purchased this excellent kit, Fryxell Feed & Seed kit #181 from JL Innovative Design, and decided that it would be my first venture into laser-cut wood models.

The kit contained all of the parts needed for construction, cast detail parts, and enough extra material for the minor changes I made to the model.  The parts were all relatively clear and free of flash, though some cleaning was needed.  The plaster cast for the stone foundation at the rear of the building was a nice touch and was packaged in bubble wrap for protection.

Included in the box was a detailed instruction sheet, having instructions on one side and the drawn to scale building plan on the other.  A cut list was in place for each step of the building process.  There were a couple of minor annoyances from the instructions:  the first was a lack of detailed pictures or diagrams explaining some of the steps (causing much flipping of instructions from the description and the plan on the back) and also that in the dock area of the plan the vertical spacing of the supports was not very accurate.

I kept my changes to the model to a minimum amount, the major change was in adding a ramp to both ends of the dock and also cutting the roofing material into individual pieces instead of one large piece.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being worst, I would rate this kit as follows:

• Overall: 9
• Provided parts: 10
• Instructions: 7
• Value for price: 9
• Overall quality: 9

This kit was good for a first kit, please stay posted for details and techniques I used in completing the model.