I have finally taken the Fryxell Feed and Seed kit from JL Innovative Design as far as I intend before putting it on my (as of yet not built) layout; with the exception of the porch roof and the completion of the lobby roof.  I intend to leave the final weathering and details until that time to make sure that it will fit into the scene.  As you can see in this picture I have completed the weathering on the metal portion of the roof, added an interior to the office, and completed the office roof.

Notice how I have varied the individual pieces of the metal roof to make it look like some of the pieces have been replaced.  I used the Elmer’s glue pen to attach the signs into the office.  It did leave a residue, but as this area will not be completely visible it will not be a problem.  I painted the office roof black and then used the Eileen’s tacky glue to attach the gravel.

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.

The first step, after drooling while looking at the box picture, is to unload the box and make sure that all of the parts are inside. Here is a picture of the contents of Fryxell Feed & Seed:

After verifying that all the pieces are accounted for, identify each of the pieces.  Carefully cut out the window and door openings – I found that multiple light cuts with an x-acto knife worked the best for me (an attempt with a small wood chisel led to splitting, the knife did not).  I used one of the window frames to verify the opening size and used a jeweler’s file to make adjustments as needed.

Once all of the window and door openings were cut out, I primed the walls inside and out.  After allowing time for the primer to dry I then brushed on a couple of splotches of rubber cement on each wall (outside only).  Make sure to get the cement on the areas that would be natural for peeling paint on a building, usining pictures of real buildings to help with locations.  After the cement has dried (I waited overnight, but an hour would most likely be enough) I painted the walls with the final color, using as many coats as needed.  You can see the cement from the shiny spots in the picture:The final step, after the topcoat has completely dried, is to use tape and stick it to the patches of rubber cement.  Pealing the tape off will take the outer layer with it creating the desired effect (repeat as needed for the desired effect).  I used blue painter’s tape, but have heard of people using duct tape.

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.