TrainNut's Spring 07 kitbuild challenge

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Well I went and peered underneath the layout on the shelf to check out which one of those dusty old boxes I was going to pull out and work on for this contest. Turns out I picked.... none of them. They were all to simple. So I took a trip up to the LHS to see if they had anything of interest. Jackpot! This is what I found!
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TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Progress

Allright, well, this is kind of long winded but if your up for it, enjoy my trials and tribulations.
So's I finally cracked open the box and started pawing through the little bags and trees and pieces. The more I checked it out, the more I thought to myself, "Holy Shamoley!!! What'd I just get myself into?" You see, the structure itself will not be that complicated... It's the bunches of microscopic little metal extras that are going to kill me! So, first things first, I decided that I better get myself a good little work light with a magnifying glass built into it.

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Allright, now we've got that out of the way, I spread all the little pieces out on paper plates, scraped and filed any burrs and joints away, sprayed grey primer on one side, flipped 'em all over and sprayed the other. I must be absolutely insane. If you can see 'em in the pictures, there is a tractor, a wrecked car, a tow truck, gas pumps, tanks, a forklift, tires, light fixtures, pallettes and too many other little things to mention.

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Next up, I took the plastic wall pieces and prepared them. Since it is supposed to be brick, I gave each piece a whitewash with Reefer White and then did some experimenting with the application of the red. At first, I used a red Sharpie. It worked beautifully on the first piece and totally screwed up the second piece. Instead, I ended up coloring all the pieces with a red colored pencil and then smearing them all with a black oil crayon and smudging it with my fingertips. 5 years ago, I had the top of the line camera (4 mp's). Now, I'm realizing that the pictures could be a lot better... time for a new camera... sorry for the quality.

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Next, comes the stage where you simply put the walls together. Hmph! I screwed this step up every way possible. Right in the instructions, it says to line the corners up with something with a 90 degree edge for accurate corners. Nah, I didn't need to do that... I could eyeball it and it would be just fine. NOPE! Had to take it apart and do it again as the corners in the kit were not cut at 45 degree angles. Then, of course, I got at least one piece in upside down and two others switched around in the wrong positions.

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Yes, the section with the door in it is a little darker than the rest and that was an accident but it turned out okay because that will be underneath a portico and it will actually look shaded. It's not perfect, and believe it or not, that's what I was going for (conveniently so!). I don't want it to look like a nice fresh new building... it should look older and starting to show the age of the years. I can very easily picture a couple of high school kids out for the summer trying to make money by slobbering white paint on the tops of the parapets. So far not too bad but still a ways to go.
Now, comes the introduction of some of the metal pieces and I had to go and get some super glue to proceed.

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And of course, good 'ol Murphy came to visit me again during this stage. I was not paying attention and put one of the Jerry Riggs stickers on upside down. Turns out, it was easier to break off the little metal piece, file the other end to a 45 degree angle, flip it over and re glue it than it was to scrape off the little sticker and flip it over... man that super glue works good!!! It's gonna take a while for that other half of finger print to grow back! J/K... sort of.
And, these next couple will show the structure more or less at the stage of completion. Now it's on to all of those little accessorie pieces... oh boy!
It's kind of hard to tell from the picture but the roof took some figuring out. First off, I had to cut it out myself and that was a real challenge but the file brought the crooked lines back straight again. Then, I was not happy with the shiny smooth finish and so then, I cut some sandpaper to go over the top of it. I wasn't happy with that, removed the roof and smeared Elmers glue all over it. Then, I took my sifting screen and sprinkled a consistent layer of dirt on it. After that dried, I removed the excess, took it outside, and painted it flat black... again. Cool. It turned out good. Enough jabber...

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Now I just have to figure out where I am going to strategically place this puppy for maximum effect. More to come....
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Wow! I got A comment. Thanks Stripes... I thought I was going to get skunked.

Allright, so I had to pick someplace to put this thing on my layout and it actually takes up quite a bit of real estate. I was going to put a farm scene here but my barn was pretty overpowering so I decided to put the service station here instead.

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Is it going to fit? Hmmm, trial placement... looks like it. Let's give it a go.

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Placing this here meant that I had to decide what I was going to do with the three feet to the left of this space as well. With that worked out, I came up with a pleasing road plan and decided that after adding some plaster, I would add a small overpass where the road seems to drop off the cliff in the foreground. This was actually easier said than done as I had to modify the old fascia and add a new piece that was tall enough to receive the end of the new overpass on the near side of the tracks. The plaster is still drying at the moment but after it hardens, I will sand it smooth and add some more details.

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jesso

Member
The building looks great! It looks like it is going to have an incredible view out the back windows! Your vehicles turned out well, can't believe they had that many small parts, they would be small in HO, I can't believe you can work with them in N!
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Yes, the owner of the place (Jerry), is a big railroad fan and spends most of his time out back watching the trains cross the bridges. You should see his photo album someday! The vehicles weren't tooooo bad. The new magnifying light came in very handy. The tow truck was comprised of 8 pieces and i still have to come up with something for the cable on the back. The tractor was easy with only 3 pieces. The fork lift was a pain in the neck and it only had 4 pieces. I still have yet to glue on the roll cage as it just sits in place for now. I wish that I had of painted the inside of the cab of the tow truck black. Pictures reveal all the little goof ups that seem to disappear in person.
 

beamish

HO & Steam Engineer
This is looking great. I like the look of the brick walls. I will be watching for some completed pics.
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Now you can see a little better where the roads are planned to be as I have painted them the first of many shades of grey, added grass and some other little details. Lots more to come.

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Very thoughtful road placement. One of my biggest gripes is to see buildings just plopped down with no consideration of how people are actually going to get to them...as if the train is all that matters! So it's refreshing to see someone plan ahead and do such a fine job (in N scale even!) on a neat little kit. I didn't realize those DPM kits came with all those extra metal castings. I guess that's what makes it 'Gold'. Great job, thanks for sharing!
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Thank you, thank you. I like planning the roads and parking lots for the cars almost as much as I do figuring out where the track is going to go. I guess that is where my background in structural and civil engineering and architecture are reflected in my layouts. I'm still....
waiting on my 50' span overpass for the foreground
need to finish painting and putting together all the little castings
need to add trees and bushes.
I can see the light!
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
As far as I know we are. Due to the discovery of the swapmeet at 9 though it's been pushed back to 10:15. That way I can go for an hour or so and hopefully beat you all back to my home. I'll PM you the address here shortly.
 

stump7

New Member
Looking good. I can not comprehend how you do that in N scale. I can barely do it in HO. Thanks for the tip on the roofing, sounds good, I'll be trying that.
Stump7
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Not a big change but still a change I thought I would share....
It is amazing how much a few trees will change the look of things.

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jesso

Member
Looks Great! I love the little grass area in front of the business. You trees are well placed to make it look like the area is packed with trees. What trees are you using?
 

TrainNut

Ditat Deus
Looks Great! I love the little grass area in front of the business. You trees are well placed to make it look like the area is packed with trees. What trees are you using?
Woodland Scenics pre-packaged. I used to make 'em from the pieces but these are so much easier. They cost a little more but I think they are worth it.
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
WOW, that is awesome!!! I like those propane tanks on the side and those roads look SWEET!!! Nice lil scence
 
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