Southern Pacific's Jefferson Branch
#46
@ Mike - THANKS! it's HO

I had bought several sheets of foam core but haven’t used even a full sheet yet.  Since I am on a mock up building roll I went ahead and did a quick mock up for the middle miscellaneous mill building
that use to be a chunk a of 2x 4.    Besides wanting to get rid of the 2x4 I wanted to play with varying colors between the buildings.    

When I did the new Siskiyou building I actually gave it a quick coat of a cheap primer first.  When I did the middle building I was in such a rush I skipped over that step.  I went to give this one the first
shot of color and the paper cover of the foam core wrinkled.   I’m guessing the paint is “wetter” and the primer dries faster.   It will get a do over as well in time but will do for now.
The dusty yellow was too light by itself so I played with the two yellows….if I messed it up it was going to be replaced anyway right.

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Although it looks rough and basic I like the over all scheme that is coming together.

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The next mock up I’m going to tackle is the Arcata Plywood mill in Jefferson.  With only one photo for inspiration It’s going to be hard to replicate it in any form… but then again
I can take some liberties too.  It doesn’t look to be a bow string truss roof and it looks like it has several pitches.

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 I was looking for current photos of the new Siskiyou building, see previous post,  and found this one on Google Earth street view.

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While there I saw another interesting old PALCO building with a what appears to be a similar roof to the Arcata mill roof line.  The only issue I have is the Arcata Mill may be be too
wide in it’s space to have that profile..   I’ll have to spend a few days playing around with it............

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Modleing the Jefferson Branch in HO  on the Southern Pacific
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#47
I got a new toy!!!!!!

It’s a Iwata-Medea NEO TRN 1 Trigger Airbrush

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I have been seeing/reading/hearing lately that a lot of folks with hand issues have been switching to trigger style airbrushes.  Being one of
those guys with these issues I was intrigued.   Now I have a hand full of airbrushes - Passche H & a VL, a Badger and a cheap DA import. 
I didn’t want a cheap import this time around and they aren’t that cheap anymore!  I also didn’t want to spend several hundred dollars on a premium one either.

I went with the TRN1 instead of the TRN 2.  The TRN2 is essentially the same except it’s a side feed.  Looking at it that seemed this setup
could be harder to clean.  There are lots of good reviews and videos out there if you are interested in either.

These are listed as a dual action airbrush but they are more of a cross over.  You can only control the air through the incoming air.  It has a
2 stage trigger and once you “take up” the trigger to the second stage you start to get paint flow. With a 3.5mm needle it is a good all around
airbrush though I hear you can get larger or smaller needles if you want.

Of course now that it is finally here I just HAD TO paint something.   Before I did anything with it I ran a bowl full of thinner thought it, followed by one
of windex and finally a bowl of 91% alcohol just to be sure it was good and clean.   The only thing that was close to being ready to be painted were a
couple of fuel tanks and trucks from some GP40’s. These got Atlas replacement bodies but the lower ends were still just plain black.

I also wanted to test out a few SP “gray” colors.   Here is what I was trying out.......

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The biggest issue here is what I see on the layout, what I see on my screen and what you see on yours are not the same so please bear with me.  
The winner is the Tamiya XF 63.   I was glad to see it as I really like the way the Tamiya paint goes on and how easy the cleanup is.    I mixed up a batch
of about 50/50 paint to the XF-20 lacquer thinner (it makes the paint harder when it dries) and favored the thinner just a little bit.  I painted a few
squiggles on a paper towel and then went onto some plastic pieces from a milk carton just to test it out.   Once I got a feel for  this airbrush I went
ahead and painted just the fuel tanks.  The paint flowed well and the brush behaved nicely at just under 20 psi.   Same paint, painted at the same time
and the light really plays on these tanks in terms of colors!

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Nice light and even coats is the key and the TRN1 does it well.  I can still blow just air out if I want to make the fresh paint skin over a little.

It’s hard to tell but the color is very close but just a little light to be a perfect match.  If I was doing a whole engine it would be perfect.  Even so,
it’s WAY better than the black plastic.

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I did the trucks to tie it all in.  I think it will be just fine with a little weathering but until then I don’t think the casual eye will catch it.  Everything
got a quick shot of dull coat to seal it all in.   Looks much better now!

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The loco on the left is all factory and the one on there right is has a factory paint body and the trucks and fuel tank is my work.

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I did do up a test piece also while I was at it so that I could to try a nice oil filter on it to see how that works out to change up the tone.  The Tamiya is
so dead flat it makes it stand out even more.  Even the quick coat of dull coat gave it a bit of a shine and, hopefully, the oil filter will take it the rest of the way.

Overall I am really happy with the new TRN1.   I can use my middle finger to work the trigger and my pointer finger helps stabilize the airbrush.  
I just need to get use to controlling the trigger with the middle finger now for paint flow.  It cleaned up very easily.  Using the Tamiya I can
use 91% alcohol at only $2 a bottle and save the expensive Tamiya thinner for mixing paint.   I want to start playing with spraying some cheap craft paints next.

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Modleing the Jefferson Branch in HO  on the Southern Pacific
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#48
Congrats on the new airbrush, but if you're planning to make a model of that building, a roller might be quicker for painting something that size. Misngth

EDIT:  You must have been adding to your post when I made my entry, as there were no photos when I made my initial reply.

Am I correct in understanding that you thinned the Tamiya paint with lacquer thinner, but cleaned the airbrush with alcohol? 
The last time I airbrushed Tamiya would have been over 20 years ago, and at that time, I used alcohol as a thinner, and lacquer thinner for cleaning the airbrush.
I still use lacquer thinner for cleaning the airbrush, regardless of what paint I'm using, as it cleans out all of them.

I'll have to give Tamiya a try with lacquer thinner, as your locomotive turned out very nicely.

Wayne
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#49
Wayne, sorry about that but for some reason I can’t post pictures when start an entry but I can fully edit after….. you must have caught it in that sweet spot.

Yes, I thin the Tamiya paints with TAMIYA lacquer thinner with the yellow cap.  I use regular 91% to clean or do a color change.   I assume that the regular Tamyia thinner with the white cap
is just alcohol based. I haven’t put enough paint through the new airbrush yet, but when I do, or when I do a long paint, I may clean with lacquer thinner as needed, especially around the tip.

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I watch a lot of the military/ AC guys because they do way more than we MRR’s will ever do.   They have some great tricks/tips and put out some extraordinary models.  Several of the guys I
follow are Tamyia fans too and couple of them do this.  I know Tamiya paints are alcohol based, and I don’t need to go down that rabbit hole to find out the reason they do this, but they do. Seems to
work for me too so I do. I also think it helps the paint dry faster so it makes it easier to build up layers of color.

Also I am of the old school train of thought that brand paints get that brand thinner for mixing. The only exemption is acrylic mediums and use whatever I have on hand.

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I have a good enough air brush scheme that works for and hasn’t let me down yet so that’s what I do.   I do look at trends but am in no hurry to chase the current flavor of the week.  I hope this helps
Modleing the Jefferson Branch in HO  on the Southern Pacific
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#50
I used a airbrush once. Spent 2 minutes painting and was happy with the results then spent 20 minutes cleaning the brush. When I was done I threw the air brush in the trash and never used one again! Big Grin
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#51
Mike sorry to hear that. In MRRing we don’t use them that often but when you need one nothing beats it. And just like regular painting of a a room or a real car etc. the actual painting part is the easy part, its the prep and the clean up that sucks.

Thats why I am such a fan of using the Tamiyas. 3 maybe 5 minutes and its all cleaned up. I also do not pull the gun apart every time. My clean up is basically the same as my color change process I just pay a little more attention. Most of the time I don’t have long paint sessions so the paint doesn’t have a chance to dry in the gun….. making the clean up easier.

If it’s something you are interested in let me know and I’ll share what I do.
Modleing the Jefferson Branch in HO  on the Southern Pacific
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#52
I use a Paasche VL, and a complete clean takes only a couple of minutes.  A quick clean to change colours or paint types is maybe 10 seconds-or-so.

Wayne
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#53
"If it’s something you are interested in let me know and I’ll share what I do. "

Thanks, but NO, I'd rather do my own root canals and I don't even have any real teeth! Big Grin
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#54
Airbrushing, and even the cleaning, isn't too bad. I usually wait until I have a few good projects ready to paint then gather them up.

I think the real struggle is the paint, which has been a pain since they discontinued Polly Scale and Floquil. I have struggled getting the right settings for Tru-color and other replacements. I also use that Alclad paint for my stainless steel passenger cars, and that stuff is a pain even when being applied normally.

I think the effort necessary for cleaning is directly related to how soon you clean it after use. Its not the sort of thing you can walk away from and come back to. I tend to have everything already prepared before I begin so that as soon as I am done with a color i clean it, and ideally, the paint doesn't sit still for long between models.
Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.  
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#55
Ok, I tried……..

I started on the mock up for Arcata Plywood but the big building in Siskiyou kept nagging at me.  I did make up a quick outline of the PALCO building I had in the other post with interesting roof line.   It’s too small and I’m not sure if enlarging it will work out proportionally .  I also did a quick cut out of a bow string roof building of the right size to see how that works out.   I’m letting both of them sit for a few days and will I see how I like them….

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In the mean time I went back to Siskiyou.     This scene will be based on these two pics:

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Now the real building is about 650’ but my version will be reduced to about a scale 350’ or 4’ on the layout.  

With the place holder removed I started work on the mock up.  Being it is so long in length I had to use 2 pieces of foam core to make the main wall.

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To fit this on my layout I had to flip the scene on the horizontal and the main building will only have 2 walls modeled.  The second wall going in…….

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Here it is  test fitted in place.  The white piece in front is a sheet of JTT HO clapboard siding that is going to be used for the final model.  I like JTT better than Evergreen as it is a little thinner, costs about the same per package but you get 2 sheets in a pack instead of one Evergreen.

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Once I was sure it was the right fit I went a head braced it all up. 

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Everything got a light prime and a quick shot of dullcoat.   If you look at the pictures you can see the original pic in the background, I think I got the roof line close.

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I have spent several days trying to work on good color for it but haven’t worked that out yet.  The issue is in my head, and mislead by the MEDCO building in the previous post, is I am focusing on yellow as what the colors were when really at the the time PALCO is more or a cream or a very muted yellow.

I am also going to see how some chipping looks on the lower sections.  Who knows maybe that will make it to the final model… and this is why I do the mock ups
Modleing the Jefferson Branch in HO  on the Southern Pacific
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#56
The answer is purple!

I  admit colors aren’t my strong suit and I was really having a hard time getting a color close to what I’m after for The Siskiyou Lumber Co. I had to dive into the color yellow.  
Not a deep dive but more time than I wanted to devote.  I had been playing with yellows, white and browns and all I was getting is a beige line.    I found a video on yellows that said
try adding purple to your yellows to get a different tone.

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That didn’t make sense to me as red and blue make purple.,… and brown; which wasn’t helping.  I tried it anyway (it’s only weird if doesn’t work right) and low and behold it worked.  
Still playing around with getting exact color but I’m there.

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After a day or so confirming I like the color I wanted to paint something to be sure but I didn’t want to paint the main building yet until I was absolutely sure.  I hastily put together a mock up
for the Pres-to-Log  building and painted it up.  Now that it is done I wish I had taken a little more time and care on it but t’s good enough for a mock though.   I was going to use sandpaper for
the roof but I couldn’t find any sheets of 220 black larger than 11” and I need about 13” with the over hanging.

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Also, I had a couple of DIY decal pages that I have been wanting to try for some time now and the Pres-to-log building seem to be as good as time as any.  One thing I found is this really
doesn’t like any of the Testors line - clear coat and dull coat - it causes it to run.

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Due of this I had to the decal about 4-5 times because of bleeding.    It’s also a little thick and I hope I can use it on the clapboard siding.  Even with microset/sol it might not follow the
boards enough.     Although the last one is a little crooked I think the font is spot on.  I can’t wait until the actual model.

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Modleing the Jefferson Branch in HO  on the Southern Pacific
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#57
Wow this really is a major undertaking you have embarked on! Makes me tired just following along. Big Grin
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#58
Just a quick note to pimp Martin Welberg's latest video.   If you don't know his stuff - get to - its AMAZING to work with.






Here is a shot I took playing around at Placer Creek a while ago with just one of his sheets

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Modleing the Jefferson Branch in HO  on the Southern Pacific
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#59
(02-03-2021, 02:01 PM)ratled Wrote: Just a quick note to pimp Martin Welberg's latest video.   If you don't know his stuff -  get to - its AMAZING to work with.

And quite the character, too.

I found that how-to very educational, and it certainly explains some of the troubles that I've had with static grass...I think that my homemade applicator is capable of doing the job, but my techniques needed to be altered, so he showed some useful stuff that, hopefully, will yield better results.

Thanks for including that link. 

Wayne
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#60
@ Tyson- I know but I have been thinking about it for over 10 years now!   It’s nice to see it start to come to life now.

@ Doc - I’m glad you liked it.  I’m going to give his method a test run, it should be fun at least.


Progress……


I spent some more time on the iconic mill building mock up.  Besides getting rid of the stand in from the LED light boxes until the real model can be built this allows me to refine techniques for the final build.  A quick shot with some base color

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With the color finalized I moved on to the lettering.  The original thought would be to create painting masks and paint the lettering on.  With it being HO 5” clapboard siding it was going to be very difficult not to get bleeding around the edges, even with over spraying the mask.   Since I had the DIY decals I thought I would give that a try.   I did these with an inkjet printer and sealed them like the Pres-to-log one.  The decal film on these is THICK.   I think it will take a whole set of bottles of Micro-set/sol just for these because of how thick they are and the over all size of these decals.     Prior to applying them I sprayed the building with a couple of light coats of Pledge to act as the gloss coat.

Laying out the decals

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A couple of shots of it back on the layout. Note I roughed in the large door but still need to clean it up some.  I also need add the roof structure and figure out the windows it.  If anyone has a recommendation to consider for an 6 over 2 setup let me know.   I won’t add the roof vents or blowers to the roof on the mock up but they will be on the final model.

To finish it off I painted over the layout lines, gave it a couple of light coats of Pledge again to help hide the decal lines and gave it 2 final coats of Dullcoat to get rid of the shine.  

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When painting it, and even using the Micro Sol/Set, caused the build to warp a little.  I used a damp towel and some weights to get it back to being it close to straight. After about 20 minutes I removed the paper towel and let it sit under the weights over night.

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Over all I’m liking the the way this is turning out… close enough for me

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In the mean time I also started working on the CVMW 1902 bridge that will cross the Oro River.  I have been using the CVMW videos and Rob Bennett series on his build.  I found both of them a helpful references in my build.




The lower deck is built and the track has been painted.  I did have trouble with “spiking” the track in and used a little Pilobond to ensure good contact.  I also tried using ME bridge track instead.   Going with the provided ties but need to dress them up some.

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