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 Posted - October 06 2013 : 7:59:14 PM
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My building of the week is a modified Bachmann Plasticville coaling tower:
The coal chute has been replaced with a more plausible design and a gate has been added to hold the coal until it's time to dump. The original just had a gaping hole.
Stairways, with their too-small tread and riser have been replaced by long, tall ladders that would give OSHA fits. (OSHA only exists in 12 inches to the foot scale.)
A little paint gives more believable colors, and some coal dust on the ground completes the effect.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - October 06 2013 : 8:17:10 PM
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| Really nice! It is cool how paint can change appearance so significantly. I keep procrastinating on my effort at a scratch-built water tank and I keep seeing that it could be fun to paint a plastic one and at least have one instead of one that is just sitting in a box of pieces and parts. I really like what you did with the coal shut and the chain hangs nice and looks real. I'd be interested in seeing some close ups of how you did the hinge work and what have you. Nice work. Your layout looks pretty cool in general. I like the cross country ski backdrop (ha, ha). Regards, Barry-
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Posted - October 06 2013 : 9:40:04 PM
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Barry,
Thanks for the kind words. It'll be a little while before I can post more photos because I'm away from home for about a week. The gate opens and closes by rotating. It's curved on a radius from its axis. The chute is just built in the up position. What looks like a pivot to drop it is just a bump embossed from behind. The chute is made of thin copper folded into shape and soldered together. Aside from being a fairly authentic color, the black paint also makes it easier to get away with any flaws or deficiencies in the model. The drab color does not make them stand out. Good enough being good enough, I'm willing to exploit that short cut.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - October 06 2013 : 10:07:53 PM
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quote:Stairways, with their too-small tread and riser have been replaced by long, tall ladders that would give OSHA fits. (OSHA only exists in 12 inches to the foot scale.)
Originally posted by scsshaggy - October 06 2013 : 7:59:14 PM
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OSHA also only exists from 1971 on. So your long, tall ladders are just fine! Hey, it's every man for himself, right?
That's a great looking coalng tower; dull matte finish, dirty looking, spilled coal on the ground. Beautiful!
Glenn
I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"
Edited by - gmoney on October 06 2013 10:09:52 PM
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Posted - October 09 2013 : 5:27:40 PM
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| Awesome job on the coaling tower! Was it hand painted (as with a brush) or did you use an air brush/spray can? I've painted a handful of my plastic buildings...it's a vast improvement, but something I still need to work on.
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Posted - October 09 2013 : 7:12:01 PM
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Cheese,
It was brush painted. I rarely use spray paint. Today's paints are almost miraculous in how they smooth out when they dry, so brush marks are seldom a problem.
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Posted - October 09 2013 : 11:57:35 PM
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Don,
Nice work on the painting of the coaling tower! That you brush painted? Tats some time consuming work tho on all the structural supports! I myself, spray buildings that large with low pressure and medium velocity of paint to "cover" but not saturate.....THEN, brush on, weathering, of multiple colors.....or "washes" of color, as well as mortar in bricks.....
SO, while I'm here.....
Here's my BOTW:
May end up a Foundry, or the like, as I have a Machine Shop, already planned! (AND, I like mine, better!)
~John
Many have tried to, and failed, ya just can't repair stupid...
Do NOT try to Idiot-Proof anything!!!! God, will simply create a better......IDIOT!
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Posted - October 14 2013 : 11:23:13 AM
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quote:I really like what you did with the coal shut and the chain hangs nice and looks real. I'd be interested in seeing some close ups of how you did the hinge work and what have you.
Originally posted by Barry - October 06 2013 : 8:17:10 PM
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I'm back home to photograph the details:
The gate is brass from an old bullet shell, soldered together. It's handle is a piece of wire and the brackets are brass pinned to the structure with track nails pressed into predrilled holes. The counterweight on the gate is a block of plastic pressed onto the wire.
The chute is soldered together from thin copper. I ordered the chain from somewhere, probably Clover House. The counterweight on it is a fishing sinker. The pulleys in the top view were turned from plastic sprues using a drill for a lathe and a file for the tool.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - October 14 2013 : 2:30:00 PM
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Don,
Nice detail on the coaling tower chute and all...... VERY nice work!!!!
Awesome use of other then modeling materials in the coaling tower....bullet shell etc.. GREAT!
~John
Many have tried to, and failed, ya just can't repair stupid...
Do NOT try to Idiot-Proof anything!!!! God, will simply create a better......IDIOT!
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Posted - October 14 2013 : 7:26:28 PM
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EM-1, Thanks for the kind words.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - October 14 2013 : 7:54:20 PM
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Don,
Call me John......
Great to see someone else doing "work" without the cost of the actual scale details. Plus, it looks right, and good as it should....like you had bought the actual detail part!
~John
Many have tried to, and failed, ya just can't repair stupid...
Do NOT try to Idiot-Proof anything!!!! God, will simply create a better......IDIOT!
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Posted - October 14 2013 : 9:18:48 PM
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| Thanks for the close up photos of the chute and the chains, etc. Really creative nice work. Just out of curiosity; do you use a magnifying lamp when you're working on that tiny stuff?
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Posted - October 15 2013 : 12:41:07 AM
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Shaggy, that coal chute is just amazing. Reminds me of the smaller chutes on the circa 1890 concrete coaling ramp in my hometown (not a tipple, just a hopper dump with chutes to fill waiting trucks). The thinness of the brass make it look bigger than it is, in fact I would have guessed it was O or G if it weren't for other cues like the Atlas switch and thick ladder on the hopper. Very intricate work. Do all the hinges move?
The Tyco Depot
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Posted - October 15 2013 : 10:38:50 AM
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quote:Thanks for the close up photos of the chute and the chains, etc. Really creative nice work. Just out of curiosity; do you use a magnifying lamp when you're working on that tiny stuff?
Originally posted by Barry - October 14 2013 : 9:18:48 PM
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I don't use a magnifier. I'm near sighted and taking off my glasses and working really close is optically the same as wearing them and using a magnifier.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - October 15 2013 : 10:41:25 AM
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quote:Do all the hinges move?
Originally posted by NickelPlate759Â -Â October 15 2013Â :Â 12:41:07 AM
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The gate opens and closes, but the chute does not move. It's built in the upright position and I couldn't think of a way to build in working hinges and still not have the pivots too big and clunky.
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Posted - October 15 2013 : 1:55:22 PM
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Don,
I'm just amazed!!!!! I looked closer what on earth did you use for the flood gate? ALL that is brass sheet folded, bent to shape and then soldered? NICE work!
~John
Many have tried to, and failed, ya just can't repair stupid...
Do NOT try to Idiot-Proof anything!!!! God, will simply create a better......IDIOT!
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Posted - October 15 2013 : 4:20:57 PM
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Very nicely done Don,your attention to detail is awesome....well done Sir..
I don't always model,but when I do it's in HO,
Stay enthused my friend's...
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