doctorwayne's Summer Challenge - Part II: A shanty...

[nachoman]

Great looking little shantys. In fact, they would be the perfect "first scratchbuild" type structures for anyone wanting to try scratchbuilding out of styrene on a small and simple structure (these simple kinds of builds are what the model print magazines seem to lack these days -hint.. hint.. ). I have a rather bizarre question, though. I was looking at the structures trying to get a sense of their size, and noticed the cutting mat you use to build on has measurements. Knowing you are in Canada I initially assumed the measurements are metric. Then I noticed the word "inches". What are you doing with a cutting mat with "inches" in canada?! Was it really cheap because most fellow canadians find the measurement lines useless?

[doctorwayne]

Geez, thanks for the kind words, guys. :oops: That's enough of a lift to get me back to work after the football game is over.

For me, the brush marks are as dependent on the paint as they are on anything I can do to prevent them. The main reason for brush painting in this case is the fact that those "company colours" are in long-discontinued Polly S. I've since found suitable replacements in Polly Scale, but for some time, I very stingily guarded my limited supply - that's one of the main reasons that only stations, towers, and crossing shanties (the "public" face of the railroad) get that treatment. Things such as section houses, handcar sheds, water towers, etc. are all in plain old boxcar red.
The Polly S colours used are very forgiving as far as brush marks are concerned, and it dries so quickly that I could paint the three shanties continuously in each colour until I had decent coverage - two coats for the green and three for each grey. The small areas with clapboard or board & batten detail also help to hide any brush strokes.
I find Polly Scale pretty decent in hiding brush marks, and it also covers better than Polly S. Solvent-based paints such as Floquil can be difficult to brush on plastic, as the solvent "attacks" the plastic almost immediately. I find small areas are easy enough - one pass and leave it. If it needs touch-up, let it cure for a day or two before trying. A good quality brush is a big help, too - check art supply stores. Get natural bristle brushes for use with solvent-based paints and man-made bristles for water-based paints and expect to pay anywhere from $5.00 to $10.00 or more apiece for good brushes - well-cared for, they'll last for years. Last, don't over-work the paint - unless it's extremely fast-drying, most paint will level itself to some degree.

Kevin, the cutting mat was picked up (you're right - cheap) on a visit with my artist daughter to an art supply store. I have never used it as a cutting mat, though, preferring to work on a sheet of glass for most small jobs like this. With the store's name right-side-up, there are inch increments along the bottom and the left side, with centimeters along the other two edges. Made in Taiwan, by the way. While Canada is officially metric, in my opinion it's a puny set of measurements for a country this big - it's no more impressive to say Canada is 5514 kilometers from coast-to-coast than to call it 3426 miles, and at least I have a sense of a mile - a kilometer on the highway is gone while I change the station on the radio. When I'm not using a scale rule, I measure in inches, feet, and miles, calculate my car's mileage (is there such a thing as kilometerage?) in miles per gallon (Imperial gallon) and consider it a nice day if it's over 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
And you are correct in your observation about this being a relatively simple scratchbuild - both this and the even simpler "outhouse" kit-build are aimed primarily at those modellers who might like to try scratchbuilding but are for some reason intimidated by the prospect. Other than measuring to ensure these buildings will fit on their assigned plots, there's not a great deal of precision work here - none of the buildings will fit on the floor of the others, and none of the roofs will fit on any other than the one for which it was built - shoemaker local carpenters following the railroad's "standard plan", with each builder's personal stamp on the end product.

Wayne

[Steve]

Wayne....thanks for the painting tips!

[doctorwayne]

Some more progress on the crossing shanties - I was going to cement some window blinds to the inside of the window frames before installing the windows, but the small gluing surface available derailed that plan. I installed all of the windows, then made some simple window blinds - these are easy to make, easy to install, won't curl over time like paper, and don't touch the "glass", so there's less chance of the cement marring those panes.
I used .015" sheet styrene, cut to various lengths - mine are mostly short, as the watchman needs to keep an eye on things. They're a little bit wider than the window.


After cutting them to size, I drag them, flat, over the sandpaper, to remove any raised edges caused by the passage of the knife.
Next, cement the top edge of the face of the blind to a strip of styrene - I used .020"x.040":


...and then cut apart the individual blinds and paint both sides, both side edges, and the bottom edge - don't paint the styrene strip, though:


After scraping the paint from the inside wall above each window, use solvent-type cement to attach the face of the styrene strip above each window. In the view below, you can see how the blind to the right of the stovepipe is spaced away from the window "glass":


Here's the painted structure with its blinds installed:


The next task was shingling, but unlike Pete, I used Campbell's "Profile Shingles". These come on a roll, to be cut off in the required lengths. Their gummed backs are then moistened and they're pressed into place. However, since my roof is styrene, I wanted a stronger and longer-lasting bond, so used gelled contact cement. It's much easier to use than the regular variety, as most of the stringiness is avoided. The styrene roof was first prepped by brushing on a coat of lacquer thinner, followed by, after a couple minutes, a brushed-on coat of contact cement. While this was drying, I began brushing the cement onto the shingle strips after first placing them face-down on some newspaper. Make sure that they don't come in contact with any adjacent strips, as "contact" equals "cemented".
For these small roofs, I didn't bother drawing alignment marks, although they're a good idea for larger areas. Starting at the bottom, place the first strip so that it overhangs the eaves just slightly. The strips should also overhang at both ends by an eighth of an inch-or-so. With three roofs to shingle, I was able to work continuously (that's why you don't see any "under construction" photos). After each strip was installed, the non-tabbed upper part of it was given a quick coat of contact cement, and by the time the sixth roof-side was so done, the first one was ready for the next strip. I tried to keep the bottom edge of the strip being installed so that it just slightly overlapped the top of the cuts in the previously-applied strip, but, as you can see, there were some variations:


After all of the shingles were in place, I fashioned roof caps using brown paper bag material - mine are about 2' wide, folded down the middle, then contact-cemented in place. A new blade was then used to trim the excess shingles from the gable ends. The ones around the chimney flashing were trimmed as they were installed. The roof caps were painted to look like metal, then the roof was weathered with various colours of Floquil, all applied with a brush. I used an initial coat of Flo-Stain Oak, followed by applications of greys, greens, boxcar red, orange, brown and black. Because of the multiple coats, the shingles have a slight sheen - I'll Dullcote the roofs when I do the final weathering of the structure. I was going to add more interior detail, but, even though these will be at the front of the layout, it's difficult to see even the stoves. I still need to add doorknobs, though, and perhaps some signs, and maybe some handrails to keep the crossing tender from wandering onto the track (two of these shanties will be installed between adjacent tracks, with minimal clearances - it was Management's idea that the proximity of passing trains would ensure that the crossing tender would not be in the shanty while a train passed, but rather out on the road, flagging the crossing).






After the details are added, installation on the layout will be next.

Wayne

[Herc Driver]

Great project and great result! Those will look great on the layout...well done!

[ngauger]

That's amazing Too Cool!!! Great Work!!!

[Gary S]

yeah docWayne, for such small buildings, they do pack a wallop! Very nice, the painting is first rate, sweet little structures, I really like the architecture.

[doctorwayne]

Finally, a little more progress.

Thanks to Kevin's (nachoman) tip on doorknobs, that detail was added to all three shanties. Unfortunately, before I could take a photo, I decide that two of the shanties needed handrails on their front porches. I spent several days trying to decide between wooden railings and pipe railings, with pipe railings preferred due to their greater strength. Then I couldn't decide on a good construction method - solder would have been nice, although butt joints aren't especially strong and I didn't have any cored brass pipe tees on-hand.
I decided to try making my own from styrene rod, with wire for the actual railings. The railings are mounted in holes bored into the built-up "foundation" of ties, with everything secured with ca. The pictures tell the story - the styrene rod is .035" diameter, the brass wire .022" diameter, and the drill bit a #74 (.0225" diameter).








I brush-painted them with PollyScale Railbox Yellow:




While these little shanties still need weathering, some signs and their respective crossing tenders, they're essentially done. I'll add some pictures here after they're in place on the layout. Thanks for following along.

Wayne

[P5se Camelback]

Good DoctorWayne, those little shanties are a real "slice of life" ...

It's all the little details, like those beautiful tiny "T's" on the hand rails, that bring your models to life! You want to stand there watching and waiting, for at any second, the door will open and the crossing tender will come out with his flags to guard the crossing for the oncoming train!

Bloody Brilliant!

[scubadude]

Doc, your past comments about how structures were merely background for the trains makes me shudder to think of what your buildings would look like if you felt they were the focal point of your layout! Great job on the shantys...

[Gary S]

And another great technique learned from the master, DocWayne.

[cnw1961]

Wayne, fantastic job ... as usual , I am tempted to say . Voting at the end of this challenge will be a tough one ....

[Steamtrains]

Those are some nice shanties...With a character all their own....

I'm needing several of those on the layout, and since I have a TON of left-over materials from the roundhouse, I'm going to build me a few....

[Steve]

Great job Wayne!

[eightyeightfan1]

More great work from the good doctor.