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Some recent work on the In-ko-pah RR

Started by Ray Dunakin, June 28, 2017, 07:02:25 PM

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Bill Gill

Ray, great restoration work! And the slight differences you noted in crispness or coloring, etc. just add to the overall realistic appearnce of buildings that weather and get repaired. Good stuff!

Barney

Excellent - so realistic - and its out doors !! do you ever have trouble with small animals - I had some stuff in the garage and the mice got at it - demolished 2 wooden buildings and chewed some wires - good job we don't have Rhinos in the area
Barney
Never Let someone who has done nothing tell you how to do anything
Stuart McPherson

Ray Dunakin

Thanks guys. Barney, the most trouble I have had with animals has been some minor damage when a raccoon shoved some buildings off their foundations while searching for lizards. The raccoons have also damaged the handrails on a plate girder bridge, and crushed a few of the scale plants.

Visit my website to see pics of the rugged and rocky In-ko-pah Railroad!

Ray Dunakin's World

Ray Dunakin

I had a real face palm moment this evening.

I was geared up to install the glass in the door frames of the second story. This is a bit tricky because the interior furnishings leave limited space to reach inside. I used a toothpick to smear silicone sealant all over the inner surface of the first door frame, including the arched window above it. Then I went to put the glass into place....and it didn't fit!

When I cut the glass I measured the door frames from the outside, and forgot that the inner surface is slightly smaller. Doh!

So I had to try to clean the silicone off the door frame as best I could, and also clean it off the glass. Tomorrow I'll have to take the glass pieces out to the patio and try to trim them down.
Visit my website to see pics of the rugged and rocky In-ko-pah Railroad!

Ray Dunakin's World

Design-HSB

Hello Ray, this confirms once again experience is the sum of errors.
Regards Helmut
the journey is the goal

Ray Dunakin

Well, I cut a second set of glass semi-circles, slightly smaller than the first set, and discovered that they didn't fit correctly either. Apparently the arch is not an exact semi-circular shape. So I ended up just trimming the ends of the first set until they were roughly the right shape to fit.

The glass was secured using clear silicone sealant. Normally I do this before the window frames are installed in the building but of course that wasn't possible here. As a result it got a little sloppy and I had a lot of excess silicone that needed to be removed:




I decided to enhance the look of the faux metal roof by giving it some real rust. I used the iron paint, and chemical rust solution, from Sophisticated Finishes. Right now it's a bit too orange but over time it will become darker and more brownish:






The sign that hangs down over the entry was in very poor condition, but looks much better now:






The upstairs office has a simple, three-bulb light fixture on the ceiling. I removed the old grain-of-rice bulbs and replaced them with "chip" LEDs. Then I used silicone to glue clear glass beads to each LED, making them look more like lightbulbs and also helping to diffuse the light:




The desk lamp had to be completely rebuilt. I used a "nano" sized chip LED, with a fluted metal bead as the lampshade. A tiny, frost glass bead was used to represent the lightbulb. The lamp was painted gold. The brass tube on the bottom of the lamp fits into the lamp's base on top of the desk:








Now all of the incandescent bulbs have been replaced with LEDs. Each subassembly worked fine, but when I connected the plugs between the various parts of the building, I ran into problems. Apparently the sockets for the two-pin plugs were rusted out. So I had to eliminate the plugs and sockets, and instead used small copper alligator clips to make the connections.

At last the building is finished and reinstalled on the layout:
















That's all for now. Enjoy!

.



Visit my website to see pics of the rugged and rocky In-ko-pah Railroad!

Ray Dunakin's World

Bill Gill

Ray, Terrific repairs and renovations to the drug store!
I really like the light fixtures.

Ray Dunakin

My next project involves this brick hardware store:




This structure has held up remarkably well despite nearly 7 years of continuous exposure to the elements. The one area that needs refurbishing is the roof, which is becoming faded and worn:




The main work to be done is adding interior details and lighting.

.


Visit my website to see pics of the rugged and rocky In-ko-pah Railroad!

Ray Dunakin's World

finescalerr

Rebuilding the drug store probably was more difficult than the original construction. The results are more adequate than somewhat. Now let's see what magic you work on the hardware store. -- Russ

Barney

looking Good - and the detail is great - colours are realistic -
Barney
Never Let someone who has done nothing tell you how to do anything
Stuart McPherson

Ray Dunakin

When I finished the exterior of the building back in 2014, I also made the removable box that will contain the interior details. The walls, floor, and ceiling were also finished, so all that remains is to add the interior details and lights:







I'm taking a couple shortcuts on this project that will make things easier for me. First of all, I found some inexpensive 1/24th scale tool and hardware sets online. These should work well to represent brand new hardware, with minimal work needed to make them presentable:




Secondly, I decided to make enclosed displays for the two windows. This means the only view into the interior will be through the glass on the doors, so I won't need to put as much effort into detailing the interior.

I built the display enclosures out of 3mm Sintra PVC board:




Test-fitting the enclosures in the room interior:







That's all for now, more later.

.
Visit my website to see pics of the rugged and rocky In-ko-pah Railroad!

Ray Dunakin's World

finescalerr

The exterior already looks good. I know the interior detail will be of equal quality. The window display boxes are a good idea. -- Russ

Bernhard

A successful renovation! And with the interior, the model will certainly gain even more.

Bernhard

1-32

The stonework is great there Ray looks great.
cheers Kim

Ray Dunakin

When I started on the interior for this building, I thought that using "store-bought" tools to make window displays would save me a lot of time creating interior details. As it turned out, enough of the interior is visible through the doors that I still had to create a lot of details for the interior.

I ended up getting bogged down, and set the project aside while I worked on other things. Anyway, I finally have some progress to show...

I made a row of bins for nails and screws, with space above it to display other products. Only one end is detailed because the other end will not be visible:




I built another rack full of various pipes:




The store's interior is built in a box that slides into the main structure. I cut an opening the rear wall and turned it into a false doorway to another room, using a photo. I also began adding details to the rear wall:




Here's a look at the interior as it nears completion:






The last item I made for the interior is a cash register. I used some Lego pieces to form the basic shape, then added various bits of styrene to make it look like an old-fashioned cash register with a wooden case:








Here's how the building looks with the interior installed and lighted:








The only thing left to do is make some exterior light fixtures, mount them, and complete the wiring.


.
Visit my website to see pics of the rugged and rocky In-ko-pah Railroad!

Ray Dunakin's World