Walthers New River Mine - Painting question

[timhar47]

So - I am working on building this kit(New River Mine), almost done. I have found that it is really more for the very experienced builder, as the instructions are poor for the size of kit that it is, and the bases do not really have a definitive edge to butt the walls against while building.

Anyway - I have painted the structure with Floquil water based Concrete, which looks nice, but left the roofing til last. The walls and roofing are the same construction- ribbed metal, and I was wondering if anyone has built one of these, and painted it, whether they painted it all one color, or painted the roofing silver? Just wondering. It seems I always have issues in my mind, deciding on color schemes with buildings

[jonathan]

Tim,

I happen to have this kit:











My default response is do whatever makes you happy.  It's your railroad.  Don't know if these pics will help, but I did a little dry brushing of some white, brown, gray, and black.  Just to make the metal look aged.  The kit's colors are a good starting point.  Painted supports might be black.  The roof and siding could certainly be new and silvery looking.  I'm of the opinion the pieces just need some aging.  I do a little at a time.  When it looks old enough to me, I'll stop.

Thanks for giving me an excuse to post some pics.

Regards,

Jonathan

[timhar47]

WOW - that really looks great, thanks for the views. I sometimes think that an untapped area by the RR magazine people, is the need to produce a color softcove book, with just pictures and pictures of HO(ok, maybe some N too) towns, farms, stations, factories, whatever - but just all centered on the structures, instead of just the trains, for a change.
Great Pix!

[r0bert]

think dirty, dirty, dirty.

[Doneldon]

th47-

Mines and factories all have one thing in common: They're filthy places. So you can go as heavy on the weathering/aging as you want. It's also appropriate to have some new looking areas on such structures, representing repairs or additions. I would probably want my roof and siding to look different, just so the model isn't so monochromatic and artificial looking. Of course, good weathering can disguise the use of the same color for the whole project but that just proves my point. Don't neglect rust on steel buildings. There will always be places where the zinc didn't stay put or was knocked off during construction, use or just from time. The rust should be very streaky, just like you see in real life. Also, anything other than a new building will have dirt and/or rust streaks from the edges of the metal sheathing, nailheads, worn areas, and any horizontal place where dirt may have accumulated for a while until rain washed it down the side of the building. Such areas would include windows, doors, exterior stairs or ladders, and ventilators or other external mechanical equipment.
                                                                                                    -- D

[PerfectPercy]

Hope it's alright if I jump in here.

I am dealing with questions of my own about this mining kit. I know I will be using this kit one way or another because of how much I like it. I am also fond of both setups shown, but I'm not sure if they would work for what I'm dealing with.

That extra slack loading is something that I can't find a home for. What is more common for it? To load coal into trains or into dump trucks? I'm caught here. I am attempting to model an older era but no older than 1950. I have no definite dates.

Another question: is it possible to reverse the entire kit, or only certain portions, if need be?

I don't want to pull out the glue and assemble this stuff if I am not sure of what setup I should have.

The closest to my possible setup would be fairly similar to r0bert's, but the slack loading building would need to be relocated.

If anyone can give any advice, hints, or suggestions, I would be greatly thankful.

Cheers,
PerfectPercy

[r0bert]

You might also want to look at Glacier gravel.
link is to N scale version because the pic is better
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3241
same style structure with different layout.
you could even bash the two together to better fit your needs.

[jonathan]

Space is always the issue.  I turned the mine around backwards from my original intention.  I cheated a little with the slack loader.  I set it up on one of my turntable tracks in order to load the tenders of the steamers hauling to a from the mine.  Everything (mine, turntable and approach trackage) is squeezed into a very small space; 18"X36".  Prototypical? Doubtful.  Fun to operate and look at?  You bet.

Regards,

Jonathan

[timhar47]

AGGGG! So I went to the HELP section, and for posting pictures, it states that I can upload pictures right from my drive, but when I try to do this I get a message that no can do upload folder is full or pictures too large (they are 96kb) contact administrator or lower the size. First, the size is way below the 128 kb, second - i have yet to see how to contact an administrator.
Anyone have any help here?
I have 2 pix of my work so far but am stuck and frustrated - Tim

[r0bert]

get a hosting account (photobucket, flicker,...) they're free.
upload pocs there, a copy img link into your posts here.