A few changes at Elfrida...

[doctorwayne]

Some time ago, a good friend gave me this simple IHC kit for the Novelty Iron Works:




It took me some time to decide where it should be situated (long enough that he was probably wondering if I was ever going to use it    ), but I finally decided that a little shuffling of the existing structures in Elfrida could create enough room for it.  Here's an older view of the town (courtesy of Secord Air Services) a place long unfinished and for which I had few ideas:



While the grain elevator in the distance had been moved since that photo was taken, many of the remaining industries were too small to merit rail service, and the downtown area itself was virtually non-existant.  With that in mind, I decided to build the new structure with both of its long walls facing the viewer.  This would require that some smaller shippers be (re)moved, and another larger one be moved.  That prospect inspired me enough to resolve to also work on the business district (which is mostly in the background) and to perhaps add a little interest to the backdrop, too.
First up, though, was re-routing the industrial tracks to serve a larger industry.  
This mainly involved moving a turnout (shown at lower left in the photo below), then re-aligning the three tracks to which it's connected.  As you can see, the large industry previously close to the camera has already been moved down the now-lengthened siding and the smaller industries previously there are gone.  The grain elevator, moved some time ago in another thread, is now situated on the other side of the mainline:



Here's the turnout:



...and after a generous spray of "wet" water:



...and a little clean-up and the ends of the existing track already re-aligned, it's ready for the track to be re-layed.  :



With the new track in place, ballast and weeds are added, plus a generous application of wet water and diluted white glue



...and the partially-built factory can be test-fitted to the site:



Because of the winter weather, there was some delay with painting, but I was eventually able to build most of the low-relief structures for downtown and at least get a coat of paint on their brickwork.  These are left-over parts from DPM kits, almost all purchased over the years as miscellaneous bits in clear plastic bags at my LHS.  The three more-fully-modelled orange structures are also from these bargain finds, and consist of rear walls with partial sidewalls (already hacked-up when I bought them).  The roofs and front walls are plain .060" sheet styrene (the fronts aren't viewable from the aisle).  
As you can see, the new factory has acquired a roof (more .060" sheet styrene) and a coat of grey automotive primer from a spray can.  The pieces of grey-painted styrene sitting on the tracks are floors for the new factory, but they won't be installed until the building is almost completed:



Here are a few views of the area, this one taken from the main road into town:



...and as seen from near the station:



...and an over-all view:



There's no telling how long this re-building of Elfrida will take - it's certainly not Rome, but it'll be more than a day or two, as I'm also working on locomotives and...wait for it......more freight cars.    

Next installment soon.

Wayne

[Tyson Rayles]

Looking good so far Wayne!

[cn nutbar]

Looks like our brutal winter has been a benefit to you by keeping you indoors and working on the industrial and commercial expansion at Elfrida---very impressive my friend

[doctorwayne]

The next task was to paint the stones and the brick plugs for the blocked-off doors and windows, which was the main reason the building had been given a coat of grey primer. I used somewhat-thinned PollyScale paints, mostly greys and a couple of browns, and applied it to random stones with a brush. The brick plugs got a coat of modified Depot Buff.



As you can see, some of the thinned paint bled into the recessed mortar lines:



...which was of no consequence, as I had already decided to use pre-mixed drywall mud as mortar. I used a rag stretched over my finger tips to dip into the mud, the spread it generously over the wall's surface, working it into the grooves. Here's the initial test application on the stones which will eventually be beneath the loading dock:



...and, after it had dried for 15 or 20 minutes, the excess was rubbed off using a clean rag. This operation is best done outdoors, as it creates a fair bit of dust - not a lot of fun when it's 20° below zero, though.



...and the same area after applying a wash of well-thinned PollyScale (add a drop or two of dish detergent to help break the surface tension of the water). You can seemingly add a fair amount of wash and multiple applications, too, without negatively affecting the drywall mud, as long as you keep the brush handle relatively parallel to the surface. Otherwise, the bristles of the brush will remove the softened mud from the grooves, necessitating a re-application:



After mudding and applying washes to the entire structure, I began work on the loading dock. The first step was to build the support structure. I made a very simple jig on a sheet of 1/4" balsa. With a piece of scrap styrene pinned in place as a straightedge, I used a machinist's square to align a pre-made bent square to the straightedge, then inserted pins as stops and alignment aids for assembling more. While the two outer uprights are held in-square by the jig, the two centre ones are aligned "by-eye".



Here, a bunch of the bents are being tied together with longitudinal joists. I cut the ones on the outer face to prototypical lengths, while the ones which will be hidden from view are continuous lengths. All posts, joists, bracing and decking have been pre-distressed by dragging a razor saw down their lengths before cutting the individual pieces from the strips:



...and the dock framing all in-place:



Here, the deck framing has been painted and then weathered with India ink. I also added dormers to the roof. They're both located over what the kit intended to be doors on each floor of the structure, and served by an overhead hoist mounted on the roof. I blocked-off the second and third storey doors after deciding that a freight elevator seemed like a logical upgrade, with the hoisting machinery located in the dormers:



While the building has no interior other than the partitions between bays and the yet-to-be-added floors (both included mainly for strength), I decided to model it with one pair of loading dock doors open (they supposedly meet in the middle of the opening and slide, like pocket doors, into recesses within the wall when opened). The elevator is based mostly on one in a very old factory building right here in town (now condos) and a much more modern (and very heavy-duty) one that was in the steel mill where I worked. On both of those, the elevator doors are split horizontally - when the bottom one is pushed down (or the top one up) the other door also moves in its own direction at the same time. Mine is more in the style of the local one, with doors made of wooden slats. Here's a photo with the roof off:



...and another with the roof in place - the building won't be lighted, so I set the camera to compensate for the lower light levels. It should be alright, but not exactly a magnet for the viewers' eyes.



Once the structure received some more weathering washes, it was time to install the deck on the loading dock. I used .030"x.125" strip styrene (nominal 3"x12" in HO) and pre-painted the already-distressed strips in several shades of grey and brown, then pre-weathered them with a well-thinned solution of India ink in alcohol. Most strips received several applications, and were allowed to sit for several seconds before being wiped-off with a paper towel:



The strips were then cut to length (one length for the open elevator door area, where the wood extends right to the top edge of the open lower door, a slightly shorter version for the area of the closed door, and a still shorter length for the balance of the dock. These were heaped in three separate piles, with the appropriate lengths chosen at random, in order to keep the mix of colours so that it appears that boards have been replaced, over the years, as necessary:



Next, I applied a decal which my brother had made for me. I decided that this would be a broom and brush factory and, since it's in an old building, that the sign would be painted directly on the stone. It's a multiple-piece decal done in black, with the printed areas left clear. Applied on an airbrushed white background band, it yields white lettering:



After the decal had been set, then touched-up as necessary, I airbrushed the entire structure with Dullcote, then added the "glass" to the pre-painted windows, which were then installed. As each floor of windows was completed, the next floor/ceiling slab was installed. I then added eavestrough (Evergreen .080" channel), downspouts (Evergreen .080" rod), and decorative trim on the eaves and gables. The under-eave corbels are from Grandt Line, as are the cast iron anchor plates (supposedly attached on the ends of metal rods tying the front and rear walls together). The light shades are from Tichy, while the roof shingles (front only - the back isn't easily visible) are sheet material from Plastruct. I also added styrene window shades to some of the windows where there would likely be offices.



The shingles were airbrushed with a mixed-green (Floquil), then weathered with a wash mixed from craft paints - I used green, some white, and a smidge of black to create a grey-green. This was well diluted with water, and, after adding a drop or two of dish detergent, it was brush onto the roof using a 2" brush. After a few seconds, most of it was wiped-off with a paper towel, then left to dry. I then used a soft brush to add stains to the roof and to the wall details using various colours of artists' oil pastels - the pastel sticks are rubbed on coarse sandpaper, creating a fine powder, which is easily picked up using the brush. This adheres well to the flat paint, and no overspray is required.

Here are a couple more views:







...and as seen from the sidestreet on which it's located:




...and another view courtesy of Secord Air Services (the smokestack is a plaster casting bought used and broken from a nearby hobbyshop):




Special thanks goes to my good friend Charlie, both for his generosity and his continuing friendship.

There's still lots more to be done in Elfrida, but I'm taking a break here and going back to finish-off some freight cars and a couple of locomotives. I'll add more here when work resumes.

Wayne

[Charlie B]

Wayne, that building is nothing like IHC had thought of. Other than the name that ruins the final build it is a great job. I could never imagine all the nice deails you made for the building. It really fits your period well. I am really fond of the white dog line of brushes myself. Sir, I am honored.
Charlie

[doctorwayne]

And I'm pleased that you like it, Charlie. For me, though, that name is what makes it special.

Wayne

[MasonJar]

Elfrida sure looks a lot different... Fantastic work Wayne!

Andrew

[RailCop]

Wayne, I gotta tell ya, THAT is some mighty fine modeling. C got me the same model. Now I have some great ideas and a goal to aspire for.

And I can see Charlie's smile from here. :-D :-D :-D Nicely done.

[doctorwayne]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. It helps to keep me goin'.

Wayne

[e-paw]

That's some good stuff Doc..

[Mr Fixit]

Wayne, I am sorry, but I am going to have to call you on the loading dock doors sliding into pockets in the walls.
Please dont take this as nit picking an otherwise wonderful model, I just wished to share some of my building knowledge, which in this case happens to include a building of similar age to one I work closely with daily.
Your building is a cut stone building from @ 1850 or earlier, and while the stone used maybe different from the bluestone used at the school I work at I can assure you that the building technique will be similar. The cut facing stones will be supported on the inside by a rubble and lime mortar wall of at least 24 [even 30 to 36] inch thickness at dock level given that there are three floors and a roof above the dock. The inside walls will be rendered with a sand and lime mortar. Not a very strong construction technique, but thats what they had at the time.
The walls and lintels of the time, simply do not have the strength [in tension or compression] to be able to deal with pocket cavities for the doors.
The doors will be swing doors mounted to a substantial framed opening and I would expect that they swing out to provide as much dry space inside the factory as possible.
I must admit that I was eye-balling the model thinking that it would for the basis for a model of the Quad South at school, just needs a clock tower in the middle.
Mark

[Tyson Rayles]

That's about as good as it gets Wayne! Mighty fine work!

[Ralph]

Great looking building! The loading dock structure looks like a labor of love.

[Steve]

Lots of work there Wayne, but you (we ) have been rewarded with a beautiful and interesting structure.

[doctorwayne]

Mark, I was aware of what would have been the construction of a building this age, but didn't want to go into a long-winded (my usually practice) explanation of where the doors went. I actually envisioned them as opening outward, then sliding back into the interior walls on either side of the elevator. I seem to recall seeing something similar, but don't know where the heck it would've been. The doors weren't hinged, but instead pivotted on pins, then the whole shebang slid out of sight on tracks. Of course, I should then have modelled the exposed mating edges of the doors, but...

I certainly do understand where you're coming from on this, though. The improbability of the construction practices used on those interesting-looking structures from FSM always bugged me, too. The buildings looked attractive with all their varied roof angles and ornate trim, but real structures like those would be almost useless for housing any kind of industrial activity, although most probably would have collapsed if anyone had dared to open a door. Every time I saw one of their full-page ads touting the lastest release, I always pictured that cartoon with the stairs going up to a blank ceiling.

Wayne