The Lye, Stihl and Djheet Rwy. (Layout updates)

[WoundedBear]

Don........

Glad you like the housing. I found those to be a nice change from building the normal industrial type structures we commonly see built. Would sure like to see some of your work Don.

Jon........

Thanks for the kind words. Coming from a modeller of your caliber I take that as quite a compliment. I need to do more lighting effects projects like you have done in the past on your layout. Maybe that will be next winter's focus.

Sid

[WoundedBear]

Wow.......here we go and it's almost another whole year gone by and I've posted nothing.

That doesn't mean I've been doing nothing though It's been a busy year. I did a repair for Roger T and then had a local club member bring over 4 Shay's, a new 3 truck Climax and a 2-10-0 that were all in need of some TLC. Happy to report all are back in service now. How about yours Roger? Is it still running? Remember.....my warranty was 50 feet/50 seconds......lololol

Since having my hips replaced a couple years ago, this was also the first year back in the dragster. I was able to run the entire season, pain free. What a pleasure. We struggled a bit this year.....lost an ignition box, then the engine. With the help of family and friends we got a used motor and had the thing back on the track 3 weeks later. Despite the setbacks, we managed to get my car into the 14th spot for the year out of 112 racers in my class. My buddy, who I crew chief for, managed a 7th place finish. I was really happy to see him in the top 10. Now winter is back and we've ripped the cars all apart again. Here's a shot of our bodies as of early November. It's time for some paint this year, so we started razor blading the old layers off the fiberglass.



But I digress. This is a train forum, so on with the train stuff.

I have been building, I just haven't been posting....or taking enough photos. I have completion shots, but was lazy about the construction phase shots. I do have one recent project that did get photographed from start to finish though. More on that later.

First up is a Woodland Scenics Trackside Scale kit. This is one of their small white metal kits. It is destined to be used at the large mine. That's a Spectrum 0-6-0 with some Tichy ore cars in behind it. In keeping with some of the wordplay that is apparent on my layout, I changed the decal from "Thiel" scales to read "Thief" (pronounced teef) with a couple quick brush strokes.

[WoundedBear]

Next shot is a row of buildings that are destined to become a side street in the small town of Lye Flats. The first white building on the right is another one of these Woodland Scenics white metal kits. This is their Ticket Office. These things are just an adventure in detail painting. Being metal, any paint will work and if ya mess it up, all you do is dunk it in paint stripper and try again. All painting and decorating must be done before you assemble these models.







To the left of the Ticket Office is a Walthers laser cut card stock kit. It is back a few pages in this thread as well. I still haven't decided on what the building will be used for. To the right of it is a new build I did of Banta Model's "Clark's Outpost". The front is board on board over a laser plywood frame. I was careful to make sure I placed nail holes at each joint. I do my nail holes with a sharp hard lead pencil. I changed it to the local newspaper's headquarters and played off my late brother's name Dale. Everyone needs their Daley's News, right?  (Say it 3 times fast.....lol ) The Assay Office on the end is a Walther's laser wood kit from a few years ago. In the background, you can see the 2 stall engine house. I finally got around to weathering the roof, adding the chimneys and guy wires and put a couple guys up there doing some leak repairs. They are strategically positioned over top of a sink mark in the plastic roof that I couldn't get rid of with putty.

These next shots are a JL Innovative section house kit I just finished up. It is still in need of weathering, but the structure is complete. I think those are Northeastern's shingles on top, I don't quite recall. I have plans to use this to house a handcar as well as be the warehouse for the caboose track.





The next shot is of a Tichy low side gondola kit, lettered for my home road. It is being placed under the sawdust bin by a Spectrum 2 truck Climax (older run) and a sound 3 truck model behind it.

[WoundedBear]

Lastly in this series....is an overview of the ever evolving town of Djheet (pronounced pretty close to cheat) Visible in the photo are a Banta house in the foreground, an old Suydam (now Alpine) Wells Fargo depot, sans signage, and a Banta grocery store and gas station. Behind them one can see the back of a Campbell Scale Model's firehouse, a Muir Model's "Logging Repair Shop", a Life Like supply house and a Grandt mine way up back. I'll build in any media....cardstock, wood, plastic, resin or white metal. I'm more a modeller who got fascinated by railroad models, than I am a model railroader....know what I mean?

[WoundedBear]

Now I'm going to show you a quick little build I just did of Campbell Scale Model's "Quincy Oil Dock". By quick, I mean I got started and done in under 2 weeks. A couple small tricks helped speed things up and will be shown in the photos. When you open a Campbell kit you get a pile of sticks and a few die cut wood parts. They also include any plastic and a few metal castings that will be needed. You can add as much of your own as you like. As with all wood kits, I start by staining everything with an ink/alcohol solution. Plastic parts get all flash and injector marks cleaned up....same with metal castings.

The kit only came with one set of templates, and that would limit a guy to building one trestle bent at a time. Not for me. I ran off 6 copies of the plans and built them all in one sitting. They suggest covering the templates with waxed paper to keep glue from sticking, but I've found that this new silicone coated parchment paper works way better, and for most types of glues. So 6 bents built and then line 'em up on the footprint and start installing the bracing.









While that's drying, I set to building the two sheds that nestle under the bents. These got stained with Testor's new enamel stains....the walls natural and the doors light rust. Some dry transfer signs and then test fit them between the bents as the bracing gets added. Then the tank support beams get added.







A couple of quick roofs later and we have complete sheds. One corrugated metal, the other tissue paper. Some catwalks for the structure and then I made a base from 1/16th plexiglass. The plexi got a coat of paint and some ballast and fine foam sprinkled in while still wet. The bents got attached with 2 part epoxy to the base. Then fill in with small amounts of scenic material to hide the edges.









Campbell included the tank shell, but that's it, just a shell. For safety reasons I made the crew a handrail from .019 stainless wire and a nice sturdy wooden ladder. There is minimal piping included, so for interest I added some scratchbuilt domahinckeys. The real test of courage comes when you gotta drill holes in your freshly finished roofs. Then it was time to paint and weather all the plastic pieces parts.









Once all the sub assemblies are done and weathered it's time to put her all together, and the result is this. I added some figures, not sure whose, and a few little things. We have a fellow out back stacking boxes, the foreman giving instructions to his worker, and up top, we have Sledgehammer Smith doing his best to get the diverter valve freed up. Never use force, use a bigger hammer, right?

Enjoy guys....more to come this winter.

Sid

[jbrock27]

Great stuff!

[jonathan]

Sid

As usual, I'm green with envy.  Your modeling is in a superior league.  I built that same, two-stall engine house (in the background). I love the little extras you put in... really makes it pop.

Keep showing us your work.... please.    Gives the rest of us schlubs something to strive for.

Regards,

Jonathan

PS. The wait was worth it... again!

[WoundedBear]

Thanks for the positive input guys. I'm starting to think this thread is getting a little long.....perhaps time to start a part 2.

Jonathan.........I dug back and found your thread showing your version of this engine house....nice job!

Sid