Looks great Val. I like the door on the bottom floor, set in what appears to be a cinder block patch on the brick wall. Just love it.

Gary

Very nice Val, I've always been afraid of working with plastic until I built my Walthers coaling tower and realized how nice it was to work with and plastic weathers up nice too.

Thanks Tetters. Stay tuned for more towards the end of the week.

Wayne, thank-you for that piece of advice on the corner punch. Now I don't feel so bad about losing it!

Josh, thanks for the offer. I love the HABS site, it's a real goldmine for modellers.

Gary, I'm glad you like the retrofit. I get a kick out of things like that too.

Thanks Lynn. Plastic is pretty easy to work with, although cutting out windows is kind of a pain. LOL! I am looking forward to weathering the building once it's finished -- that is one of my favourite things to do.

cheers
Val

Looks Good! One suggestion for cable would be Fishing line - specifically Muskee Master Fishing Line. I believe it comes in gray and I know a lot of 1:50 crane collectors use it in lieu of the supplied string.

- Dan

Okay, just so you don't all think I've been slacking, here's a few progress shots of the benzol plant. I can't believe how long this is taking!!

But I finally tackled scratchbuilding the platform that holds the agitator. This is part of the process of separating the benzol and other by-products from the coke gas.

Here's the start of the platform. I used Evergreen styrene I-beams and angle iron to make the supports. This is the only shot I have of the beginning construction.



A few days later I had the platforms made and tackled the stairs and railings. For the actual agitator I used a Walthers surge bin kit I had been planning to use for something else, and just sized the platform to fit it.

From the front:



And from the back:



The platform is very fragile so before I added the stairs I glued it to the base. Then I realized that there should be concrete footings, :oops: but I came up with a cute little trick to fix that problem. I cut 4 sections of 1/4" styrene tubing about 1/8" high, then made a slit thru each one so I could slip them around the supports at ground level, like little collars. I filled this with white putty, and once they're painted I think they will look like round concrete footings. I hope so anyway!!!

Next will be to connect up the pipes, and build the light oil condensers which will sit on top of the other platform.

Well, that's it for now. I hope you like it!

cheers
Val

Wow!! Val, that is some incredible modeling!!!

Matt

Great job Val!

Excellent work Val are you going to weather/dirty up the area to blend it all in ?

Thanks for the kind comments guys.

Upnick, I will be adding ground cover to the white plastic base eventually, but I have several tanks to attach first - right now they're just sitting there loose. I usually sprinkle some real earth into the paint while it's still wet, so I have to wait until the tank bases (concrete slabs) are attached. I did do the earth treatment underneath the agitator frame because it was going to be hard to get to later. I also have to figure out where I want walkways and/or roads.

cheers
Val

wow val,the benzol plant looks great its nice to see some new models of a steel mill,not just the usual blast furnace,coke oven and rolling mill people put up. i always liked the look of the smaller side plants on site,just a big tangled mess of pipes,wiring and tanks --josh

Looks great Val! Your photos looks so realistic already!
Ralph

Val -Nice job.This brings back memories when I used to go into Bethlehem steels Sparrows Point Md. plant and pick Benzene.Can't wait to see more. Bob

Looking awesome Val!

Val, all i can say is you are doing a BEAUTIFUL Job!!

Thanks a lot folks. I'm looking forward to adding lots of pipes and tanks. This started as something to do while I was waiting for the blast furnace kit, but it has turned into kind of a major project, and I'm glad you all like it!

cheers
Val