If you've read the Coming Soon - Hamilton-Paice Industries thread, you know what is being planned.

Inspired by Josh (Trucklover) and a sale on Walthers Modulars components, I am building a structure based on the 3-story building plans found here -> <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.walthers.com/exec/page/modulars/3story">http://www.walthers.com/exec/page/modulars/3story</a><!-- m --> .

It will feature:

• indoor loading/unloading for rail and trucks
  
• outdoor loading unloading for rail and trucks (no specific unloading dock for rail though)
  
• freight elevator from outside ground level
  
• outside winch from dock level
  
• chimneys
  
• roof vents
  
• skylights on some of the flat roof
  
• a water tower
  
• no other outbuildings planned (not yet anyway)

The building is late Victorian in origin, although I am aiming to set it in 1920s and 30s southern Ontario.

Here's a preliminary sketch I did to modify the Walthers' plan. My modifications include enlarging the building, giving it a bigger indoor unloading space for rail (although that is not shown in the sketch), and turned the "back" of the building into the front by moving the main entrance doors.

[album]1109[/album]

These pictures show the sides as laid out with the Modulars components. Note that where the walls are spaced apart from each other, they will not directly connect - e.g. set back from each other by another perpendicular connecting wall.

"Front" or north side:
[album]1106[/album]

East side:
[album]1105[/album]

West side with rail and truck doors:
[album]1108[/album]

South side with unloading docks planned (right end of building):
[album]1107[/album]

More to come!

Andrew

After some discussion with Spitfire about her excellent background building made with Walthers Modulars (see <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.parkdaleyard.com">www.parkdaleyard.com</a><!-- w -->) I have been diligently, if not speedily, taking the file to all joints in an attempt to make the transition between floors less noticable.

I have also received a notification that my fire escapes (Walthers again, plus Tichy) are in at the LTS. Hope to swing by on the weekend to get them.

Andrew

Looks like a good start to me.
How easy is it working with the Walthers system?

Thanks Ed.

So far so good. Very little flash, and the parts are nicely formed. As Val (Spitfire) noted to me, there is a bit of an issue with joining them top to bottom. The upper overlays the lower, and the resulting joint in the brick is not as nice and even as the ones moulded into the parts themselves. To correct this, I am filing the top "tabs" of each piece.

The doors and windows are a good fit, as are the brick inserts to model bricked over windows.

One problem I may have is the large rail door is a roll-up type, which may be too modern for my era (1920s - 30s). I will have to look into this a little more.

Andrew

So it turns out that the roll-up door was invented in the 1920s, so it will be ok - as long as I position Hamilton-Paice at the leading edge of innovation in the workplace...!

Unfortunately, I suffered a little setback. After filing all the parts for a closer fit, I upset the MicroWeld on the workbench and it coated several segments. I have simply left them in place to dry out, since they began to soften immediately on "impact" I hope that by leaving them alone, they will harden again and not lose too much of the original detail. Luckily they will not bond to the MDF work top...!

So that's it for tonight... Pictures (one way or the other) to follow later.

Andrew

Well, disaster averted...!

I let the MicroWeld evaporate/set and luckily the detail of the brickwork remains in place. A couple of spots are shiny now, but a little sandpaper and/or primer should cover it. Contrary to my assertion above that the styrene parts would not bond to the MDF, one loading dock had to be pried from the work top! hock:

Oh well.

In the end I did manage to get the north wall and one part of the west wall together. While the filing has helped the window segments fit together tightly, the pilasters don't fit nearly as well, and there's nothing to be done, as filing them simply makes the gap between bigger Looks like a little Squadron putty might be in order before priming.

Andrew

Good 'ole green putty. Just be sure to keep the windows open and the fans on. Plenty of ventilation saves brain cells!

Glad the disaster wasn't.

Galen

ocalicreek Wrote:Good 'ole green putty. Just be sure to keep the windows open and the fans on. Plenty of ventilation saves brain cells!
Galen

Open the windows!!! Now you......What year is it?

What sets us back, makes a better project.

Thanks guys,

Any suggestions for an alternative to the Squadron putty? Since I went to the trouble of using MicroWeld instead of Tenax, is there a more "friendly" version of the putty too?

Andrew

MasonJar Wrote:Thanks guys,

Any suggestions for an alternative to the Squadron putty? Since I went to the trouble of using MicroWeld instead of Tenax, is there a more "friendly" version of the putty too?

Andrew

It has been awhile since I used the squadron green putty, but I don't remeber the smell being that particularly strong. I use a bondo protuct - spot glazing putty or something like that - that I bought from the auto parts store.

nachoman Wrote:

MasonJar Wrote:Thanks guys,

Any suggestions for an alternative to the Squadron putty? Since I went to the trouble of using MicroWeld instead of Tenax, is there a more "friendly" version of the putty too?

Andrew

It has been awhile since I used the squadron green putty, but I don't remeber the smell being that particularly strong. I use a bondo protuct - spot glazing putty or something like that - that I bought from the auto parts store.

PHEW!!!! I used Squadron Green a couple of months ago...BIG time chemical smell for me!!!

I'm with Ralph... It seems rather smelly to me. And even if the smell's not objectionable, the MEK and other stuff in it is. I don't know if it's possible though to get away from the "nasty" chemical content.

Thanks for the spot putty tip though... I'll have to check it out.

Andrew

Andrew, Most automotive spot putties are just thick lacquer primer. Be careful using it because it may soften the plastic if too much is used. It too should be used in a very well vented area.
Charlie

Charlie,

Thanks for the heads-up!

Andrew

The progress so far... The main wall components are together and ready for some fill and primer - the pilasters, especially on the corners, do not fit tightly together (top to bottom) and the wall caps and pilasters are a slightly different colour. In this case, I had planned to paint them anyway, but sometimes manufacturers will advertise models as "moulded in realistic colours" perhaps implying that nothing but assembly is needed, or maybe just weathering. Weathering would have to be pretty extensive here to hide the difference in colours. The wall sections are taped together here just to get an idea of the final configuration of the building.

From the southeast showing the loading docks for the trucks. However, I also plan to run a rail spur along the docks on the left. The dock on the right will be exclusively for trucks.
[album]1140[/album]

From the southwest showing two ground level doors. The one on the left (below the bricked over windows) will be the freight elevator. Rail will also run alongside the building in the pavement in front of the elevator door for "extra capacity", but this area will normally be used by trucks. You can also make out the large door on the extreme left that will permit indoor unloading of railcars.
[albumimg]1141[/albumimg]

From the northeast, looking along the "front" of the building and showing the main entrance.
[albumimg]1142[/albumimg]

From the northwest, again showing the "business" side of the building, with the roll-up door this time on the extreme right.
[albumimg]1143[/albumimg]

An overhead shot, showing the layout of the building. The main roof (top to bottom) and the roof over the indoor unloading (on the left) will be peaked. On the top right will be a flat roof to accommodate a water tank (you were wondering where that door went in the photo above, weren't you? ). The bottom right roof (only one story high at this point) will be accessed by a ladder from the roof with the tank.
[albumimg]1144[/albumimg]

That's all for now. Still have to pick up some of the details from the LHS - hopefully soon...!

Andrew