Designing a shadowbox diorama

[Lawton Maner]

Sometimes with very light rail the tread of the wheel is much wider then  the head of the rail.  The wood is there to act as a soft surface to prevent tread damage which would happen without it.  We didn't plan ahead when pouring the concrete floor in the East Broad Top Paint Shop in Rock Hill, Pa and are paying for it now as we rebiuld their antique railcars.

[Hauk]

Hauk,

I second what Russ said. And what you said about the polished rail heads. For sure rolling some wheelsets a few times over the burnished (?) rails will get close to the appearance of a shed track. Additionally to me the rust stains don't fit to well; I wouldn't expect to much brake dust in a shed, rather much more oil and grease dropping from axle boxes and gears. Concrete may benefit from some tonal variation and maybe the 'grain' is a bit to coarse for the scale. For the oil you may try some drawing ink, which builds up a bit and leaves a somewhat tarish surface, starting with thinned ink/washes and then changing to covering layers.

The following thoughts are only relevant, if you're going to model the floor in a meticulous prototypical manner. In your first picture it nearly looks like a tamped gravel floor around the pit or concrete is already heavily worn out. It looks like both pictures were taken at the same day?

The usual vignol/flat bottom rails seem to be lowered in relation to the floor and there's a step made from timber in the first picture and from angle section (?) and timber in the second one. What ever reason there was for it, this gives a nice touch to the scene. The space between the rails again is lowered a bit (approx. flange height). Maybe this simply served as drain. To me the timber seems to be an important buffering element between the rails and the architectural structure. Especially the first picture shows some really interesting floor textures, giving a good impression of the rather rough work done here.

Volker

Good observations, Volker. I think that both pictures were taken by the same photographer on the same day/ same photosession.

One of the reasons for the rough surface is probably that the building was rebuilt prior to these photos. From the beginning it was used as a combined electric substation and workshop. At some point the transformers were moved, and the whole area converted into a workshop.

I have not really noticed it before, but if you take a closer look at the  floor surface behind the back of the seated workman it is obvious that there have been some repair work done to the floor. Rather crude job, by the way.

Here are a couple of images of the building with the trafos still in place:





Quite sloppy paintjob on the roof, check out the stains on the withewashed wall!

Last, here are some color images that might give an idea about the coloring of the floor:

[Lawton Maner]

The 2 steam shed photos are of a different building.  And, in the second photo you can see how the head of the rail stands proud of the concrete floor.  That being said, the details are worth a close study as there is a wealth of detail in them which can be added to a scene such as the blocking for the wheel sets.

[finescalerr]

Please also note, in the last photo, it appears the locomotive is unpainted styrene. -- ssuR

[Hauk]

Boy, do time fly...
Two years and not much progress, but just a post to keep the thread alive.  I have finally started on the roof trusses. Not dramatic progress, but it is something!



The milled jig might be a bit overkill, but I like to fool around with the CNC router at our local model railroad club. The main frame will be built in the milled jig, but then I will move the trusses to the more primitive jig in the background and add the smaller parts. The milled jig is just too tight for adding all the parts. Should have allowed for a little more slop in the milled channels. It is also a good idea to mill double-wide channels and use filler bits to hold the parts tight. You can see that I did this with the long, straight beams.

Thinking about it, the jig really paid off when I drilled the holes for the nbw-castings that are going to be installed in the curved, laminated beam.

[Barney]

Stunning stuff - I think its time for me to give up and take up fishing or something like an allotment !! or even stamp collecting !
Barney

[Bill Gill]

Hauk, Nice to see this thread continued. Thanks, looks like a good start.

[detail_stymied]

probably a little late for my "diagonal" vote, eh?

[finescalerr]

I was looking at the truss and thinking how difficult it would be to align components and drill holes. I wondered why you'd think using the CNC router was overkill. Then you reversed yourself and admitted it really paid off. When technology is available and helps you do something better or more easily, forget tradition and make use of the technology! -- Russ

[Hauk]

I was looking at the truss and thinking how difficult it would be to align components and drill holes. I wondered why you'd think using the CNC router was overkill. Then you reversed yourself and admitted it really paid off. When technology is available and helps you do something better or more easily, forget tradition and make use of the technology! -- Russ

Good point, Russ! I think the CNC router is a great tool, and the jig worked great for aligning the main timbers.
But sometimes I feel more like a computer operator than a modeller, and I get a bit frustrated that so much of my hobby time takes place in front of a PC screen. Just like at work...

[finescalerr]

Here's the simple reasoning behind our little dilemma, and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to confront it:

If you want a model as accurate as possible in every dimension, with everything square and straight, and prefer a more "perfect" appearance, you need to use computers and digital machine tools. If you prefer models with a more "artistic" and perhaps slightly imperfect appearance, build them more the old fashioned way, by hand.

We've all seen examples of each approach and my guess is none of us would say one way is better. So it's just a matter of personal preference and, if your preference is for the highest degree of accuracy, then you may have to spend more time at the computer.

Personally, I build to achieve the end result. The "journey" (for me) is nothing more than a way to get there and the quicker the better! (Hooray for computer!)

Russ

[Hauk]

Here's the simple reasoning behind our little dilemma, and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to confront it:

If you want a model as accurate as possible in every dimension, with everything square and straight, and prefer a more "perfect" appearance, you need to use computers and digital machine tools. If you prefer models with a more "artistic" and perhaps slightly imperfect appearance, build them more the old fashioned way, by hand.

We've all seen examples of each approach and my guess is none of us would say one way is better. So it's just a matter of personal preference and, if your preference is for the highest degree of accuracy, then you may have to spend more time at the computer.

Personally, I build to achieve the end result. The "journey" (for me) is nothing more than a way to get there and the quicker the better! (Hooray for computer!)

Russ

Interesting point, Russ. I am also a "By Any Means Neccesary" modeller, and I use a lot of technological shortcuts. Without the possibility of CAD-designed artwork for etchings, I would probably not be building models at all.  And that I thought the CNC-machined jigs were utterly BS. In fact, it was absolutely essential to have a precise and solid jig where the parts could be pressed into shape when the glue dried. It took a lot of force to make tight joints at the end of the curved beams.  

Had a rather productive weekend so far.  The woodwork for four trusses were completed tonight, and the frame of a fifth one is in the jig.



Speaking of building by hand, it is funny how you have to get back in shape when you don´t do any modelling for some months.  The last trusses I finished are far better than the first.

By the way, here is one of my favourite tools for shaping wood:



A 12" sander might seem large for modelling, but I really hate the small hobby-sanders. I had a yellow and green disk sander from a German company, and it really sucked.  I feel it is easier to do precision work on heftier machines, and the size is no drawback at all. I use double-sided tape to fasten aluminium profile guides on the table. The small piece of MDF is for supporting small parts while sanding. I often work with really small parts on the sander, and at times my nails get a little shorter in the process. This might seem like a dangerous practice, and maybe I should not advocate it... But a sander is an entirely different beast than for instance a table saw. I have by accident touched the sanding disk while the machine is running, but no blood has ever been drawn.

[5thwheel]

This is a fixture I made many years ago to build small wooden spoked wheels.  The parts of the wheel fit tightly in place and fitted to the hub. The rims and tires are mounted on the ends of the spokes to complete the wheel.  Missing in the pictures is the flat inserts that fit in the large slots over the eject pins. Also I used small pins to fit to the outside diameter of the wheel.  A spacer is placed between the two plates during assembly and once the wheels assembled the spacer is removed and the wheels and hub (nave) are raised from the fixture when the plates are closed. I have used a similar fixture when I had to build 200 trusses for a commercial sawmill model.

Bill Hudson

[Chuck Doan]

Hauk, two years, what's your hurry? Trusses are looking good!

I have the same thoughts. I have become dependent on 3D printed parts and sometimes I just can't make progress because of needing to sit in front of the computer after sitting in front of one all day.

[finescalerr]

My disk sander is indispensable once I get to the workbench (i.e., once I leave the computer). Many years ago I asked two top modelers, Doug Heitkamp and Richard Christ, what they considered their most used machine tools. Both chose the disk sander.

Bill, that is a clever and sophisticated little fixture. I could never figure out how to design something like that.

Russ