Isnin, 22 April 2013
May 27, 2013 Fixing Paper Mache Problems
If you have read my About Me page you know that I have been a HO model railroader for well over 50 years. I designed my current layout in 1989 and construction began in early 1990. The design stage took several months and it is still under construction. This is only my third layout since 1951. Model railroads are never finished or complete, they are an ongoing project.
I decided to use blocks of packing foam for the basic mountainous areas because of it's high strength, light weight and it's also easily carved into any shape. I used Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), also called beadboard, it is often referred to as Styrofoam.
I covered the Styrofoam with premixed Celluclay Instant Paper Mache that I purchased from Toys"?"Us in 1992, Toys"?"Us no longer sells Paper Mache.
During the early 1990s through the early 2000s the premix Paper Mache was stocked in local craft stores, last summer I was unable to find any locally. I finally ended up purchasing a 5 lbs. bag of Activa Products Paper Mache off E-Bay.
The Picture below was taken in 2001, it shows my rock mountain built with Plaster of Paris castings attached to �" thick Paper Mache that covers approximately 25 blocks of 2"x12"x16" Styrofoam packing material glued in place with Loctite Foamboard Construction Adhesive. Regular adhesives will melt the Styrofoam blocks.
I used �" square glue blocks to strengthen the thin plywood walls.
The picture below is the bottom of the section after the planing.
The next step was to pre wire the 1/16" brass tubing connectors to power the lighting on the module.
The Red/White wire in the picture above will power the 12 volt lamps in my houses with 8 volts and the vehicle lamps will be powered through Blue/White wire with 1� volts. The lower voltage extends the lamp life and looks much more realistic.
I use #24 awg telephone main frame wire for powering low current circuits on my layout. My normal low current lighting current doesn't exceed 150 ma. per circuit, #24 awg wire is rated at 500 ma, I use 12 volt 35 ma. lamps in buildings and 1� volt 15 ma. lamps in vehicles.
When I originally built my layout I established a wire color code scheme for the various voltages to prevent errors. I use Red/White for 12 volt (actually 8 Volts) lighting, Blue/White for 1� volt (actually 1� volts) lighting, Orange/White for 4� volts to power LED lighting and Green/White for regulated 5 volts circuit boards.
I used Foam Board Adhesive to glue the foam module to the plywood frame. I put four gallon containers full of liquid to help hold the foam in place along with 8 clamps until the glue was dry.
With the adhesive dry I removed all the clamps and weights.
I put the module back in my layout while I ready my hobby room so that I can work on it in the comfort of my comfortable computer chair. I need to move my Magnifying lamp to make room on my workbench for the large module.
Read More..
I decided to use blocks of packing foam for the basic mountainous areas because of it's high strength, light weight and it's also easily carved into any shape. I used Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), also called beadboard, it is often referred to as Styrofoam.
I covered the Styrofoam with premixed Celluclay Instant Paper Mache that I purchased from Toys"?"Us in 1992, Toys"?"Us no longer sells Paper Mache.
During the early 1990s through the early 2000s the premix Paper Mache was stocked in local craft stores, last summer I was unable to find any locally. I finally ended up purchasing a 5 lbs. bag of Activa Products Paper Mache off E-Bay.
The Picture below was taken in 2001, it shows my rock mountain built with Plaster of Paris castings attached to �" thick Paper Mache that covers approximately 25 blocks of 2"x12"x16" Styrofoam packing material glued in place with Loctite Foamboard Construction Adhesive. Regular adhesives will melt the Styrofoam blocks.
The foam blocks are very strong when stacked on top of each other, they would easily support several hundred pounds of weight. The left side of this early picture shows the Styrofoam blocks covered with Paper Mache.
The rock formations were made using Plaster of Paris in various Woodland Scenics Rock Molds and then attached to the Paper Mache by applying thinned Plaster of Paris with a brush as an adhesive.
The most important thing to remember about using Paper Mache is that it shrinks as it drys. The thicker you apply it the more it shrinks. The shrinkage causes stress cracks if applied too thin and if applied too thick on Styrofoam it will warp the foam badly. Paper Mache is very strong for it's weight and very durable, it makes a very nice base to work from. I tried to apply the Paper Mache an even �" thick and that was a mistake, ?" would have been much better and caused less warping.
My layout is located in our garage and it was not climate controlled for 20 years so the temperature would vary from the upper 30� to over 105� before I had R-30 insulation installed in the roof. The temperature variations caused stress on the Paper Mache as well as the track. I built several removable scenery modules from two inch thick Styrofoam for ease of construction and future maintenance in my hobby room that is temperature controlled. After I moved the modules on to my layout the severe heat and cold took it's toll.
This post is about my repairs to a badly damaged module. I have put this task off for ten years because of the nasty cleanup of the foam beads. The 2 foot by 4 foot Styrofoam warped �" on all four sides so I need to cut or plane �" from the bottom center and square up the sides. When the bottom is true I will glue it firmly to a �" thick 2' x4' piece of plywood with Loctite Foamboard Adhesive to prevent it from warping.
This is what the removable section looks like before repairs.
At this point I removed the section as seen in the picture below.
Next I built a base unit from plywood shown in the picture below that will slide into place on my layout .
The rock formations were made using Plaster of Paris in various Woodland Scenics Rock Molds and then attached to the Paper Mache by applying thinned Plaster of Paris with a brush as an adhesive.
The most important thing to remember about using Paper Mache is that it shrinks as it drys. The thicker you apply it the more it shrinks. The shrinkage causes stress cracks if applied too thin and if applied too thick on Styrofoam it will warp the foam badly. Paper Mache is very strong for it's weight and very durable, it makes a very nice base to work from. I tried to apply the Paper Mache an even �" thick and that was a mistake, ?" would have been much better and caused less warping.
My layout is located in our garage and it was not climate controlled for 20 years so the temperature would vary from the upper 30� to over 105� before I had R-30 insulation installed in the roof. The temperature variations caused stress on the Paper Mache as well as the track. I built several removable scenery modules from two inch thick Styrofoam for ease of construction and future maintenance in my hobby room that is temperature controlled. After I moved the modules on to my layout the severe heat and cold took it's toll.
This post is about my repairs to a badly damaged module. I have put this task off for ten years because of the nasty cleanup of the foam beads. The 2 foot by 4 foot Styrofoam warped �" on all four sides so I need to cut or plane �" from the bottom center and square up the sides. When the bottom is true I will glue it firmly to a �" thick 2' x4' piece of plywood with Loctite Foamboard Adhesive to prevent it from warping.
This is what the removable section looks like before repairs.
The house to the right of the arrow head in the picture above is also on a removable section and needs repair. It will be much easier due to it's smaller size. The house, swimming pool,cars and figures are on a 2" x 12" x 18" piece of Styrofoam that also warped badly.
While I have the modules removed I'm going to do some modifications to the scenery. I'm going to replace both of the Walthers Cornerstone two story houses with two of my scratch built Catalog Homes. A third Catalog Home will replace the Cemetery on the other side of the gravel road.
I used �" square glue blocks to strengthen the thin plywood walls.
The picture above shows the base unit in place. I marked both of the plywood sides so that I can use a jigsaw to trim them so that they will mate up to the existing scenery. I will cut a 4" hole in the end wall for easy power access to the removable section.
With the help of my wife and my grandson we managed to remove a half inch of the bottom piece of Styrofoam leveling the section to fit into the new plywood frame. We used my table saw as a planer and I ended up looking like a snowman. We ended up with the biggest mess I've ever made in my entire life with foam BBs everywhere. The cleanup took over two hours.The picture below is the bottom of the section after the planing.
The Red/White wire in the picture above will power the 12 volt lamps in my houses with 8 volts and the vehicle lamps will be powered through Blue/White wire with 1� volts. The lower voltage extends the lamp life and looks much more realistic.
I use #24 awg telephone main frame wire for powering low current circuits on my layout. My normal low current lighting current doesn't exceed 150 ma. per circuit, #24 awg wire is rated at 500 ma, I use 12 volt 35 ma. lamps in buildings and 1� volt 15 ma. lamps in vehicles.
When I originally built my layout I established a wire color code scheme for the various voltages to prevent errors. I use Red/White for 12 volt (actually 8 Volts) lighting, Blue/White for 1� volt (actually 1� volts) lighting, Orange/White for 4� volts to power LED lighting and Green/White for regulated 5 volts circuit boards.
I used Foam Board Adhesive to glue the foam module to the plywood frame. I put four gallon containers full of liquid to help hold the foam in place along with 8 clamps until the glue was dry.
With the adhesive dry I removed all the clamps and weights.
My removable section is now ready for it's makeover.
I put the module back in my layout while I ready my hobby room so that I can work on it in the comfort of my comfortable computer chair. I need to move my Magnifying lamp to make room on my workbench for the large module.
I expect the remodel to take most of the summer. As you can see from the picture above the module needs a lot of detail work. I will have to replace all 55 of the tall pines and widen the gravel road to match the layout. I'm going to make up some new rock castings to blend in to the layout mountains.
I really enjoy working on scenery so it will be a pleasant project.
I will update my blog on the remodel and construction on this project with pictures as my work continues.
I really enjoy working on scenery so it will be a pleasant project.
I will update my blog on the remodel and construction on this project with pictures as my work continues.
Sabtu, 20 April 2013
April 20, 2013 3301 7th House
Last January my model railroad buddy Dan sent me an article from a 1982 Mainline Modeler Magazine on an early 1900s home to to see if I was interested in scratch building it. It looked a bit complex at first look, but after using it for my desktop on my computer for a week I decided to take it on. This is the info from the article.
The first thing I did was to draw up the complete house on my CAD and print out all of the templates, the picture below is the floor template glued to 3/32" thick basswood.
I was out of Midwest Clapboard Siding so I started out using poster board to see what the house would look like.
I use my basswood corner posts through out on all of my buildings as shown in the picture above. The corner posts are printed in red on the floor plan. Several corner posts are also in the picture for framing the poster board.
The roof is pre-lined Campbell card stock, I will apply the Campbell Profile Shingles near the end of the project.
The house is beginning to take shape. I made a few changes from the original drawings. I went to a conventional roof over the kitchen instead of the hip roof that is on the original house.
The bay window was a challenge, this is my first attempt at an angled project. As you can see in the picture above my Midwest Clapboard Siding finally arrived. I cut out all of the wall sections and pre-painted them.
Anxiously I even painted the trim as I continued the construction. This is going to be an awesome house!
I am using Tichy windows and doors on all of my structures now.
The next few pictures are of the finished project.
The house address is done in Century Schoolbook Bold Italic BT 4 font and printed on clear Ink Jet decal paper at 2400 Dpi. The numbers are 3 inches high in HO scale.
Read More..
The first thing I did was to draw up the complete house on my CAD and print out all of the templates, the picture below is the floor template glued to 3/32" thick basswood.
I was out of Midwest Clapboard Siding so I started out using poster board to see what the house would look like.
I use my basswood corner posts through out on all of my buildings as shown in the picture above. The corner posts are printed in red on the floor plan. Several corner posts are also in the picture for framing the poster board.
The roof is pre-lined Campbell card stock, I will apply the Campbell Profile Shingles near the end of the project.
The house is beginning to take shape. I made a few changes from the original drawings. I went to a conventional roof over the kitchen instead of the hip roof that is on the original house.
The bay window was a challenge, this is my first attempt at an angled project. As you can see in the picture above my Midwest Clapboard Siding finally arrived. I cut out all of the wall sections and pre-painted them.
Anxiously I even painted the trim as I continued the construction. This is going to be an awesome house!
I am using Tichy windows and doors on all of my structures now.
The next few pictures are of the finished project.
The house address is done in Century Schoolbook Bold Italic BT 4 font and printed on clear Ink Jet decal paper at 2400 Dpi. The numbers are 3 inches high in HO scale.
The Tichy Turned Spindle Porch Railing really looks sharp.
As usual I have added people to help realism.
The maid is checking out the weather from the back porch.
This turned out to be a very beautiful home and will replace a plastic Walthers Cornerstone house on Red Mountain Road.
Below is a current picture of the house today from Google Maps. Truly a Beautiful house that is well over one hundred years old.
As usual I have added people to help realism.
The maid is checking out the weather from the back porch.
This turned out to be a very beautiful home and will replace a plastic Walthers Cornerstone house on Red Mountain Road.
Below is a current picture of the house today from Google Maps. Truly a Beautiful house that is well over one hundred years old.
Sabtu, 13 April 2013
April 13, 2013 My 1912 Swiss Chalet
I wasn't going to do a post on my latest project but it turned out so well that I decided to go ahead with it. I got into scratch building several early 20th Century Catalog Homes last November and My 1912 Swiss Chalet "California Style" Bungalow will probably be my last for a while. This is my fifth scratch built home, all turned out much better than I expected. I've been an HO model railroader for over fifty years and I had never attempted a scratch built building until last year after I bought a Laser-Art Kit #629 LaSalle House. The kit went together very nicely and got me hooked on vintage houses. I did some research for Catalog Homes on the Internet and found a great site, Antique Home Style. This post is for the 1912 Los Angeles Investment Co, Design No. 515.
The above document is a copy and paste from the Antique Home Style Site and is the starting point for my Swiss Chalet. Below are my CAD drawings converted to HO scale.
I added a basement to my Chalet as my portion of the house for my model railroad layout shown below.
I didn't take pictures of the basic portion of the construction because I didn't plan on doing a post of this project. The pictures below are well into the project.
All of the details are from Tichy with the exception of the basement windows, they are Grandt Line.
I used Midwest Products #4445 1/16" Board & Batten for all of the walls.
The second floor support logs are my wife's cooking skewers. The walls and logs are stained with my Vinegar/Steel Wool mix to give the house a mountain cabin look.
The "Balcony's" or second floor porches are Midwest Products #4437 1/16" thick flooring with 1/16" spacing . I used the 1/16" thick flooring for the suspended porches to prevent warping.
The roof is made from lined card stock included in a Campbell #800 Shingles kit, I will glue the Campbell shingles on the card stock later.
I really like the Tichy Details, the "Balcony" and porch railing is #8093.
The first floor porch flooring is Midwest Products # 4434 1/32" thick with 1/16" spacing glued to the main 3/32" floor to preserve HO scale thickness.
Here I have shingled the roof and the fire place chimney is temporarily in place to fit the hole through the roof.
At this point I have installed all of the window curtains and the interior lighting, the roof is now glued in place.
The rest of the pictures are of the finished house. As you can see I have applied JTT Styrene Pattern Sheeting #97442 Field Stone to the basement foundation, fire place and chimney with a very thin mix of flat black Floquil to accent the stones. Notice the sign hanging from the second floor porch support logs.
The stair railing is also from Tichy #8213. As with all of my structures I have added a lot of figures to add to the ambiance.
This is the closeup of the sign mentioned above, this Swiss Chalet Mountain Home was created as a part of the Perry Family retirement life. And the sign says it all.
Read More..
The above document is a copy and paste from the Antique Home Style Site and is the starting point for my Swiss Chalet. Below are my CAD drawings converted to HO scale.
I added a basement to my Chalet as my portion of the house for my model railroad layout shown below.
I didn't take pictures of the basic portion of the construction because I didn't plan on doing a post of this project. The pictures below are well into the project.
All of the details are from Tichy with the exception of the basement windows, they are Grandt Line.
I used Midwest Products #4445 1/16" Board & Batten for all of the walls.
The second floor support logs are my wife's cooking skewers. The walls and logs are stained with my Vinegar/Steel Wool mix to give the house a mountain cabin look.
The "Balcony's" or second floor porches are Midwest Products #4437 1/16" thick flooring with 1/16" spacing . I used the 1/16" thick flooring for the suspended porches to prevent warping.
The roof is made from lined card stock included in a Campbell #800 Shingles kit, I will glue the Campbell shingles on the card stock later.
I really like the Tichy Details, the "Balcony" and porch railing is #8093.
The first floor porch flooring is Midwest Products # 4434 1/32" thick with 1/16" spacing glued to the main 3/32" floor to preserve HO scale thickness.
Here I have shingled the roof and the fire place chimney is temporarily in place to fit the hole through the roof.
At this point I have installed all of the window curtains and the interior lighting, the roof is now glued in place.
The rest of the pictures are of the finished house. As you can see I have applied JTT Styrene Pattern Sheeting #97442 Field Stone to the basement foundation, fire place and chimney with a very thin mix of flat black Floquil to accent the stones. Notice the sign hanging from the second floor porch support logs.
The stair railing is also from Tichy #8213. As with all of my structures I have added a lot of figures to add to the ambiance.
This is the closeup of the sign mentioned above, this Swiss Chalet Mountain Home was created as a part of the Perry Family retirement life. And the sign says it all.
Langgan:
Ulasan (Atom)