P5se Camelback's 2010 Summer Structure Challenge GERN Plant

[e-paw]

so far so good Bil. keep the pics coming in.

[P5se Camelback]

Thanks for the interest, guys!

Doctorwayne, I've got dozens of those square bottles! And you are soooo right! It Is/was good paint! The best! :!:

[What do you thin the square bottle stuff with?]

Kevin, considering the pace with which you work, you'll eclipse me in an afternoon! I'm notoriously slow. Back when I would work out in the shop of my first design group, I was known for being slow but always incredibly thorough! And I'm sure you know lots more model building tricks than I do ... I haven't done any model building in close to twenty years! I'll be lucky to remember much of what I once knew! Those gussets are just standard bracing technique. The hole in it facilitates "planting" on the layout with a few screws, if you want to go that way, if not ... eh! But it's easier to drill the hole in prior to "welding" them into place!

Great Idea, Gary ... I had not considered reversing walls! Kool! I will make a note! Unfortunately, because of the location of my roundhouse, when I get to that point, you will be able to see almost all the way around it. I'll probably use some sort on embossed brick sheet for interior walls , since with all the big windows and being at some 50+ inches off the floor, the interior will be rather visible and need at least some minimal detailing.

Thanks for the encouragement, e-paw! Encouragement is always welcome!

O.K. ... I've got to get back to working on the roof of that "Packaged Goods Shipping House." I'm only going to use the roof trusses from the kit on the viewed side, so I must fabricate something structural for under the unseen side to support that side of the roof, put the two halves of the roof together and then ... make some decision about roof covering material!

Then ... find a source for 3/4 ounce bottles for under my Badger 200 airbrushes. My dozen or so bottles are among the missing at this point. Then I can use some of that square-bottled Floquil paint that the esteemed doctorwayne and I like so much!

Keep modeling!

[doctorwayne]

What do you thin the square bottle stuff with?

biL, I use lacquer thinner for the square bottle Floquil, but then again I use lacquer thinner for most paints that aren't water-based. It still works for the latest version of Floquil, too, which I find to be much thinner (less opaque) than the older stuff. I'm slowly learning to use PollyScale, with generally decent results, although its shelf-life, once thinned, is very limited. I still have thinned Floquil that's been in use (used, then added-to continually) for years, whereas the PollyScale seems useless for spraying after only a couple of weeks. Even unthinned, its shelf-life, once opened, is much shorter than Floquil: I'm now buying the smaller bottles unless I've got a large project that will use-up a lot of paint in a short timespan. According to the LHS, Floquil will soon become unavailable due to its supposed status as a "dangerous chemical" and the import regulations on such. Maybe you'll hear about me on the evening news: "Solvent-crazed Canucklehead detained at Queenston/Lewiston Bridge by Canada Customs. Suspected terrorist held after a large quantity of dangerous chemicals found concealed in his vehicle."

I don't know about bottles for your Badger brush, but my Paasche VL uses the same size as the Floquil, PollyScale, and Polly S bottle tops, so I just save the old bottles as they're emptied. Testors Model Masters and SMP Accupaint bottles are also a screw-on fit for the Paasche.

Wayne

[P5se Camelback]

Thanks, doctorwayne!

I've got lots of those Pactra jars from when I was painting R/C Vacu-Formed Lexan Race Car bodies through the LHS that caters to that group of hobbiests! But, it did not occur to this melon head to check for a fit under any of my three airbrusshes - the two Badger 200's or the Paasche VL But after having read your post, and strolling out to the garage to check, I have discovered that what you said is indeed true and I have had the needed jars all along, albeit with some other type of paint in them that at this point I will probably never use! :mrgreen:

Thanks for the wake up!!

[Gary S]

bil!

Any progress??? Inquiring minds are... well... inquiring...

[nachoman]

According to the LHS, Floquil will soon become unavailable due to its supposed status as a "dangerous chemical" and the import regulations on such.

I've been hearing that for YEARS. I've also heard for years that certain types of auto paints will no longer be available, yet I can still buy them. Remember Kodachrome film? I think rumors started circulating back in the 1980s that Kodak was going to discontinue it because the developing process was toxic, but I think it wasn't until digital cameras took over the market that it finally left the shelves. Floquil and lacquer-based paints probably will be discontinued some day, not because of regulations, but because nobody buys it any more. I still prefer the petroleum-based paints, but most everyone else I talk to prefers the acrylic with its low odor and soap/water clean up. Even house paint is almost exclusively acrylic now. In fact, I don't know if HD even carries many petroleum based paints or stains anymore. Again, most people I talk to HATE the old paints because they stink, do not clean up as easy, and take longer to dry.

[P5se Camelback]

The time has come for an update on my 2010 Summer Structure Challenge Project ...

The first building to be constructed for this Northeastern Pennsylvania GERN Campus, situated along the Lehigh River in the small upstate town of Lehighton, will be the "Packaged Product Shipping" building. It will back up to the LS&W's Weissport-to-Scranton Branch and the existing multi-story stone industrial stucture across the tracks, which was purchased as part of the real estate package referred to in the Lehighton Evening Leader article (posted earlier) and will be included as a part of the industrial campus. The Packaged Goods Shipping Building will provide temporary storage as well as a loading facility for bagged and boxed GERN product. The following images will begin to document the construction process of this building as well as the other structures which will comprise the Lehighton, Pennsylvania GERN Industrial Campus.

Replacement walls for the unseen rear and "far side" walls are fabricated ...


The first corner is given a liberal dose of Plastruct Plastic Weld to soften the mating surfaces and the two pieces are pressed together and held at 90 degrees with my thirty year old "chamfered-cornered all-90's 1"x1-1/4"x2" plexiglas corner block" ...


The first corner is evaluated ... and reinforcements and braces are prescribed ...


Four walls a structure make ...


All walls are reinforced and braced ...


Two "kit" walls and two fabricated replacement walls ...


The loading dock wall, along with the unviewed rear wall ...


The paint is scraped from the inside of the loading dock wall to insure a good bond for the "shadow box" interior walls ...


I didn't have a great feeling about the joint between these two large sheets of molded plastic roof, joined at an angle, so reinforcements were added along the ridge, leaving spaces for supporting "roof trusses" ...


The roof is painted and the first rows of Campbell shingles stream off a twenty-eight year old roll and onto the roof, using the molded shingles as a guide ... it felt good!


It became apparent that the roof, intended to fit into another structure at the rear, needed the "notch" filled in ...


The first filler is glued in place and mitered to accept its twin ...


The roof fillers are glued in place, scraped and filed flush with the existing roof, prepared for paint and the applied shingles masked off ...


The gap fillers get painted ...


And so ... the first half of the roof is fully shingled ... done, except for the ridge cap shingles, which will have to wait for the other side of the roof and a lesson from Sumpter250 on cutting and gluing individual shingles ...


I've got to admit, three-dimensional roofing shingles are a mighty big improvement over the molded-in-place kind, even if I DID design molded plastic parts for thirty-five years!


But wait ... there's more ...

... just not right now!

[Puddlejumper]

But wait ... there's more ...

... just not right now!

You TEASE!

[Ralph]

Very neat looking work bil...and I mean that both ways; neat as in well organized, clean and precise...and COOL!
Ralph

[P5se Camelback]

The second building in what will become the Lehighton, Pennsylvania GERN Industrial Campus is the Engineering/Product Development Building. It will be, for the most part, constructed as intended by the kit manufacturer, except for the roof, and some additional architectural details. There is the possibility that I may decide to have this structure share a common wall with another structure, the Machine Shop Building, which will be treated as an exiting building and a part of the GERN real estate purchase, along with the existing multi-story stone industrial structure across the tracks of the Weissport-to-Scranton Branch of the LS&W, a real estate deal alluded to in the Lehighton Evening Leader article posted a while back.

The first image in this next installment of the photo documentary of my 2010 Summer Structure Challenge is the initial test fitting of the kit walls of both the Engineering/Product Development Building as well as the Machine Shop Building. The Machine Shop Building will be addressed in a future post. At the time of the photo, all the walls potentially involved in this project, whether it is anticipated that they will be used in the building program or not, were washed in warm soapy water, rinsed, air-dried, all mating surfaces were “trued” with a large file and the inside wall surfaces were sprayed flat black to facilitate hiding the fact that most of these structures will have no interior detailing. So, in this photo, walls are being test fit and adjustments made to insure tight-fitting joints.


This next image is a detail of the chimney cap and the rear-most wall cap. These pieces were fabricated from 0.060” x 0.125” Evergreen styrene strip and 0.060” styrene sheet. The wall caps were strips cut to the wall length minus the quoining, divided into 2’-2” segments (a dimension arrived at by dividing the length remaining after 2’-0” was divided into the total wall length, minus the corner quoining) and then chamfered on all edges and “V” dressed on the segment separation lines with the corner of a square jewelers file to represent individual concrete wall caps. The chimney caps, as well as the corner caps, were cut from the 0.060” styrene sheet to 0.200” squares and then chamfered on all top and vertical edges. A hole was drilled through the center of the chimney caps and then was “squared” off using the square jewelers file. Some final "clean-up" is still to be done ...


The styrene strips are ready for installation …


The initial wall cap is installed as well as the first corner cap, and the pieces for the other walls have been prepared for installation …


The first wall is completed … and the effect is as pleasing as had been expected!


Here is a detail of the building’s corner showing the wall cap terminating with the corner cap over the quoining …


Due to changes in the types of roof details and their respective locations, a new, tighter-fitting roof was fabricated from 0.060” styrene sheet. Roof access, as well as the usual plumbing vent pipes, etc. will be added later in the build and possibly some sort of water chilling device for rudimentary “air conditioning,” a la 1936…


All walls but the rear wall have been capped and the new roof is test fit for snugness …


This is the expected angle from which the structure will be viewed as it is currently proposed to be situated on the layout. All that remains is the cornice that will be located on top of the center of the front wall, and the roof details referred to earlier. The cornice is still in the design stages as far as its final appearance is concerned.


Of course the windows, doors, entry details and other details still need attention, but as this is one single corporate campus, all the widows and doors will be painted at once, just prior to when the build plan calls for their installation.

Wait … I’m not done yet … there’s more … comment in the next fifteen minutes and we’ll double the offer to provide, for your continued enjoyment, an even more captivating next update!

Stay tuned to this thread … there’s still more to come!

There’s the Machine Shop Building … and …

The Main Production Building … and …

The existing stone industrial building across the Weissport-Scranton Branch tracks … and …

[Gary S]

Now we're talking! This is gonna be one full-fledged true blue GERN facility right here! I love it!

The cornice looks great, like the way you did it.

[P5se Camelback]

With so many structures involved in the Lehighton, Pennsylvania GERN facility, in order to meet the build out schedule they must all be under construction “to oncet,” (say “won-st”) as is sometimes heard in both upstate Pennsylvania Coal Country as well as in the “Dutchy” areas out in Lancaster county.

So … we now address the Administration Building, where the General Manager will receive the Upper Management from “up North” when they come down to visit the new facility. All Management offices will be housed here, as well as the Finance Department, Materials Procurement and Personnel. The Sales Organization will also headquartered here.

As with all the buildings in this project, the interior side of all the walls was painted flat black to minimize the obviously empty interiors. Selected windows may offer a view of a shadow-box room, but that would be at some point in the future. Here we have the beginnings sof the Admininstration Building on the left and the first couple of walls of the Power Generation Building on the right.


The concrete entryway steps are nicely molded parts, but the “dimples” caused by the mold’s ejection pins are “unprototypical details” and therefore not acceptable … they received a screed of Squadron White putty and initial filing with a small flat jeweler’s file. The final wet sanding is on the schedule at some point prior to when paint is applied.




The steps then get a test fit and are retired to the sidelines until needed …


The next step is the back side of the wall parapets … they are cut from the runners and test fit prior to “welding” …


The roof sides of the decorative parapets are then “welded” on. Copious amounts of Plastruct Plastic Weld are “floated” onto both mating surfaces to soften them. The parts are then joined together with some medium pressure, permitting some soft styrene to ooze at the edges. When totally hardened (i.e., by the time I get back to this building again) the mortar lines on the sides of the parapets will be scribed through the undetailed edges.


That about does it for this installment. Now we’ll move on to the Machine Shop’s new roof and then finish shingling the Packaged Product Shipping Building’s roof.

T.T.F.N.!

[mountaingoatgreg]

Bil,

Looking good keep up the great work!!

[Gary S]

With so many structures involved in the Lehighton, Pennsylvania GERN facility, in order to meet the build out schedule they must all be under construction “to oncet,” (say “won-st”) as is sometimes heard in both upstate Pennsylvania Coal Country as well as in the “Dutchy” areas out in Lancaster county.

You ain't kidding! I'm likeing your attention to detail so far, and making sure everything fits properly. This is gonna be a fine GERN facility!

[P5se Camelback]

But wait ... there's more ...

The Machine Shop where new parts are fabricated, as necessary, to maintain all of the machinery in proper working order. The Flux production levels must be maintained at pre-ordained levels to produce the quantities of the different grades of Flux required by area businesses.

We start with the four walls and the initial fitting of the view block (prior to being painted flat black.)


The architecture of the building screams machine shop but the roof cries "not a chance, Klutzer, not a chance! Look at you!"

So a new roof is the next order of the day. Measure, score, snap, scrape the edge then file smooth ... do that twice and then set up a couple pieces of strip to begin to get the desired angle working, then we're soaking the joint with Plastruct Plastic Weld and pressing the two sides together, followed by leaving alone for an hour or so to "set up" or harden.


Once the joint has hardened sufficiently, the roof is turned over, supported on a couple pieces of strip styrene selected to give the desired roof pitch. The ridge joint is then soaked again, this time on the top side and a piece of 0.030" x 0.030" styrene strip is pressed into the ridge with an old palette knife ... it gets almost like paste after it's soaked with the solvent but when cured and hardened, the joint is very strong. At that point, a couple of judicious swipes with my scraper and the joint "goes away." (I made the scraper by grinding off the file teeth on a jewelers edge file and honing that little sucker first on a shapening stone with some light oil and then on a straight razor hone, followed by a couple passes on a leather strop ... I'll put it up against any store-bought scraper! It's been in some of my photos ... I ground a hollow edged chisel on the end of it.)


This roof will in all likelyhood be either tar paper with tarred seams or corrugated metal ... unless someone has a really bright idea that will look right at home on this style of architecture.

O.K. ... now I've really got to get back to shingling Packaged Product Shipping's roof!