05-03-2011, 03:00 PM
Picking up where we left off, the time has come to solvent-weld the front wall onto the other three, completing the perimeter walls …
The House for San Bernardino now consists of three “major” assemblies …
… which shall now be brought together as a basic structure. Once everything was cured and solid, I couldn’t resist a test to insure that I had maintained all corners at 90º and the interior dimensions were correct …
The Porch will be hung on the Front Wall next …
This is an important joint as it just hangs on the front wall. So to insure a really good bond, I soften up both mating surfaces with multiple applications of solvent first …
… then one more generous solvent application, line up the two parts to the previously scribed lines indicating the solvent application areas and press …
This seemed to be a good spot to “light-proof the walls.” There’s nothing that blows the illusion of a sold structure firmly planted on its foundation and growing up from the ground than the appearance of extreme glowing radioactivity! So next I masked off any area not needing “light block” …
… and then I painted everything not masked with some old black Humbrol miniatures paint (out of a “tin” I’ve had since the mid-‘70’s, and thinned with Humbrol’s thinner, same vintage!)
There is still one interior wall missing, the one that separates the living/dining areas from the kitchen. I cut a piece of styrene to size and laid out the doorway, scribing a line in the surface and rubbing my grubby thumb across the scribe mark, making it just a bit more visible. I then attacked the opening with my trusty nibbler …
… after which, with the help of several different sizes and cuts of files, there is a proper door opening …
Of course, as with every other newly fabricated piece, a test fit is in order …
Confident that I will have a solid joint, solvent is applied to both surfaces as before …
… and the wall is pressed into place and assisted in remaining perpendicular and square to both adjoining surfaces …
At this point, although I’m not quite ready to add the bathroom/ bedroom walls, I still took the time to locate them on the floor …
And that concludes this installment of my build. There are fun things happening on my breakfast area table/workbench. I’m excited about the progress I’m making there and look forward to displaying to the Big Blue model railroad community just how deranged I’ve become, working on this stuff at all hours of the day and and into the wee hours of the morning!
Until then …
The House for San Bernardino now consists of three “major” assemblies …
… which shall now be brought together as a basic structure. Once everything was cured and solid, I couldn’t resist a test to insure that I had maintained all corners at 90º and the interior dimensions were correct …
The Porch will be hung on the Front Wall next …
This is an important joint as it just hangs on the front wall. So to insure a really good bond, I soften up both mating surfaces with multiple applications of solvent first …
… then one more generous solvent application, line up the two parts to the previously scribed lines indicating the solvent application areas and press …
… and the “two become one!”
This seemed to be a good spot to “light-proof the walls.” There’s nothing that blows the illusion of a sold structure firmly planted on its foundation and growing up from the ground than the appearance of extreme glowing radioactivity! So next I masked off any area not needing “light block” …
… and then I painted everything not masked with some old black Humbrol miniatures paint (out of a “tin” I’ve had since the mid-‘70’s, and thinned with Humbrol’s thinner, same vintage!)
There is still one interior wall missing, the one that separates the living/dining areas from the kitchen. I cut a piece of styrene to size and laid out the doorway, scribing a line in the surface and rubbing my grubby thumb across the scribe mark, making it just a bit more visible. I then attacked the opening with my trusty nibbler …
… after which, with the help of several different sizes and cuts of files, there is a proper door opening …
Of course, as with every other newly fabricated piece, a test fit is in order …
Confident that I will have a solid joint, solvent is applied to both surfaces as before …
… and the wall is pressed into place and assisted in remaining perpendicular and square to both adjoining surfaces …
At this point, although I’m not quite ready to add the bathroom/ bedroom walls, I still took the time to locate them on the floor …
And that concludes this installment of my build. There are fun things happening on my breakfast area table/workbench. I’m excited about the progress I’m making there and look forward to displaying to the Big Blue model railroad community just how deranged I’ve become, working on this stuff at all hours of the day and and into the wee hours of the morning!
Until then …
biL
Lehigh Susquehanna & Western
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
Lehigh Susquehanna & Western
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln