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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 9:41 am 
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Grinding forward, not a ton of progress this week:
Attachment:
File comment: Roadwork commenced
HL project e.jpg
HL project e.jpg [ 179.84 KiB | Viewed 7477 times ]
Followed Howard's method for building the foundation for the road (layers of corrugated). I ended up not curving it as much as I thought I would, but I did have to add a bit to the top-end, having not taken into consideration the depth of the "plateau" when making preliminary measurements. No worries, just paste in an extension.

Next I'll get the road in and probably glue in the tunnel portal masonry bits. Then begins the scenic bit...ugh...


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 2:07 pm 
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It's almost gonna be a shame to cover this:
Attachment:
File comment: Tunnel with scenic partitions.
HL project g.jpg
HL project g.jpg [ 182.23 KiB | Viewed 6799 times ]
Still haven't made the decision whether to go old-school papier-mâché or paper-towels-and-Hydrocal. Still leaning papier-mâché...haven't done any of that since seventh grade art class.

Didn't get much done yesterday...got sidetracked dealing with our first snow of the season. At least I don't live in Albany where my son lives - they got thirty inches.


Last edited by winced36 on Thu Jul 15, 2021 2:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 3:13 pm 
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Paul ll

Your interior scenic supports put mine to shame...looking forward to more progress pictures...

Not to jump too far ahead...but about lighting the buildings...I wish I HAD NOT used LEDs...they don’t have the output I thought they would...12 to 18 volt model railroad type would be better...and I regret not painting the inside of the buildings flat white...

Howard...


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 3:51 pm 
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Good point, Howard. I guess if I'm going to provide interior lighting, now's the time to figure that out. You did a very nice, very neat job of it...I suspect mine won't be. I'm guessing the original by Elastolin was not illuminated. Probably out of laziness, I was leaning that way. Let me poke at it. I'll have to go through the parts bin and see what I have for an 18v bulb. The problem with that is you might have to make the building a lift-off as you'll need access to replace the bulb. LEDs would probably outlive me.

I have a few of these:
Attachment:
File comment: Cleat socket
Cleat socket.jpg
Cleat socket.jpg [ 13.06 KiB | Viewed 6795 times ]
I used to get these at Radio Shack.

Paul II


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 6:18 am 
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Wow!


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 1:45 pm 
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Continuing into the new year:
Attachment:
File comment: Tunnel project - paper mache
HL project i.jpg
HL project i.jpg [ 242.9 KiB | Viewed 6683 times ]
At the last minute, I got nervous about going without any webbing. I didn't want to go the cardboard-strip-and-hot-glue route as I figured that would add a lot of weight. Instead, I decided to go with some strategically placed bits of blue-tape. I figure it only has to stay in place long enough to get the shell in place and dry...we'll see if that's a bad theory.

So then papier-mâché...brought back a lot of memories of high school art class (including the redhead that taught it). A few lessons came back with rather jarring results. For instance, make your bits of paper too big, and try to cover as much form as possible without providing enough overlap, and the whole thing just slides down into a sticky mass at the base. Weight versus surface area, you gotta keep that in balance. For paste, I went with the 50% white glue and 50% water recipe. It seemed to work okay from a saturation/tackiness perspective, but I won't know how structurally strong it is until it dries. I used paper bags from the market, well crumpled (to break down the structure of the paper), and torn into strips, not cut (you need that feathered edge from a tear to get things to bond nicely).

I only did half of it, figuring I wanted to see the results in case I need to alter the process/recipe or just tear it off and go with Plan B (plaster cloth). My artist friend tells me you need to do multiple layers.

Thanks again for the inspiration, Howard. Haven't had this much fun in years.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 4:18 am 
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looks like you have it all figured out!...the blue tape supports are a genius idea...you'll be amazed at how strong the paper and glue will be when thoroughly dry...you can always add a patch or two here and there if an area looks to fragile...

a couple of coats of well brushed in primer will make the paper and glue skin even stronger...i used anti-skid textured floor paint for my primer coats...but almost any paint will work...just add some sand or sawdust to the paint...also look at birdcage gravel from the pet supply store for texture to add to the primer...

howard...


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:47 am 
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After 24 hours, it's fairly strong, but still flexes a bit. My artist friend tells me two or three layers may be necessary. Did you follow up with additional layers, or basically just a single layer with a few added bits in weak areas? Sounds like the latter. The partitions show a bit too much in a few places (for my liking)...I might go back and rework that a bit.

Still gotta do the backside, then the portal details. After that, presuming the structure seems rigid enough, I'll give it a paint job (or I might start the top bit before painting). I have a couple bins of fine model railroad ballast here...was thinking I'd toss a couple handfuls of that in the paint to get the anti-skid/texture.

All good...having a blast with this.

Paul


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 1:18 pm 
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I used torn brown paper bags and undiluted white glue...several layers in some areas if I remember correctly...but those coats of primer will really make the difference...

Model railroad ballast will work for texture...I’ve used dirt from the yard...also sawdust from the shop...dried leaves and grass but I ran then through a blender first and picked out the unwanted oversized bits...coffee grounds and cornmeal grits will work I’ve heard but that might be inviting unwanted lungs lookin for a meal...

Howard


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 4:24 pm 
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When it comes time to paint this thing, I've got some white primer around here and could use that, but I think I'll got to Walmart or someplace and see if I can get an inexpensive can of flat paint, have them tint it medium/dark dray for me. That'll save one layer of paint, although if the paint will significantly strengthen the PM, then maybe I should reconsider. In any event, I'll need to pick up some gray paint, either some latex or some acrylic craft paint.

Had to do a bit of sealing around the base, as I seemed to have left the papier-mâché a bit short on the back side. I had a previously-opened tube of DAP Dynaflex which seemed to work. Says its paintable once it's dry (and waterproof!). I also used the stuff to touch up a few spots on the shell, and have a few more. I see now why it was so important not to cut the paper into strips, but tear it instead. Wherever the paper's edge was not torn, it left an ugly, obvious seam. I'm going to have to go back and touch those up so they don't look so bad once painted. The primer might hide most of them, so I'll have to experiment with that.

I then moved on to the masonry for the tunnel portals. Basically just some cereal box cardboard cut into L-shaped bits and cemented in with some Weldwood contact cement. Here, too, I'm hopeful the thick primer/anti-skid paid hides the gaps. I guess we'll see. I flat out stole this idea from Howard, as I couldn't think of any better-looking alternatives.
Attachment:
File comment: Sealing and masonry.
HL project j.jpg
HL project j.jpg [ 242.57 KiB | Viewed 6644 times ]
I'm not happy with the top of the road. Howard has a scenic depression for his draw-bridge to cross, I do not, instead just going with a steep slope. I'd like to add a bit of road up to the gate where I'd replace the drawbridge with a portcullis in front of heavy wood doors. Unfortunately there's just not enough space. I've developed a cheat approach, but I'm not happy with it. I fiddled around with it last night and couldn't come up with a way to make the original scheme work. We'll see...pretty far off on this project's timeline.

I'll tell you one thing...if I was tasked with making these in the Elastolin factory and was paid piecework, I'd starve to death. :lol:


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