Nice. Looks like the old Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad depot in Rhyolite, Nevada. Was that your inspiration? Having actually been in the In-Ko-Pah Mountains, all I can say about those rocks is "outstanding!".
I wanted some of the stones to stand out from the wall, to give it more dimension. To do this, I start by gluing thin slices of Sintra to a few random stones. Then I use a hobby knife with a new, sharp #11 blade to carve them. Here are a couple before and after shots:
Here's the finished wall:
I won't do this to the rest of the walls until after I've added on the east wing.
I've been working on blending together the joints at the corners of the building. In the past, I used an epoxy putty made by JB Weld, sold under the name Kwik Plastik. Apparently this is no longer available, at least under that name. So I've had to do some experimenting...
First I tried a product called Magic Sculpt. This is a two-part epoxy putty available from art and craft suppliers, and commonly used for sculpting. It's light gray. I applied some to a couple of corners, and after it cured I scribed mortar lines into it. It's a bit harder than the Kwik Plastik, and was a little tricky to scribe. In thin areas in sometimes flaked off during scribing:
Next I tried a JB Weld product called "Water Weld". This turns out to be very similar to Kwik Plastik, and may even be the same product under a new name. It too is a two-part putty. It is almost white when cured. It's a bit softer than Magic Sculpt, making it slightly easier to sand and scribe. It also flaked off in some spots, but not quite as badly:
The results of both products in this particular application were very similar, but I'd say Water Weld has a slight edge. Neither one is ideal for use on a semi-soft material like Sintra. But considering that these are supposed to be rough, random stones, the defects are not significant and will be pretty well hidden when painted.
Remember that wall I goofed up and had to reject? Well, I used the top of it to make this piece, and laminated it to the rear of the south wall:
BTW, I've moved my website to a new web host, and this update is only on the new host. So if you can't see the above photo please let me know.
I finished scribing the east wall of the two-story, central portion of the depot:
I also created a special piece which will be laminated to the back of the west wing's end wall, to increase the wall's apparent thickness:
Here are all of the pieces that I've completed so far. These are enough to begin assembly:
Woohoo! I've assembled the walls and it finally is starting to look like a building! The east wing, which will be an open, shaded waiting area, will be assembled separately. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to build it:
Here's a view of the south side. I still need to build the bay window:
Here's the top of the west wing's end wall, showing the special piece that was added to make it look thicker:
A view of the northwest corner:
One of the next things to do, is blend together the mortar lines at the joints.
That's all for now!
LOVE the Sandwich Shack!
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Sintra PVC foam board is used for a lot of things, but mainly outdoor signs and displays. You can get it from this online supplier:
http://www.foamboardsource.com/sintra-pvc-foam--sintra-pvc-board.html
They have it in a wide range of sizes, from 8" x 10" all the way up to 4' x 8' sheets. They also have thicknesses from 1mm to 13mm.
Hi Ray, That is some super fine modelling on your depot. Well done. My question to you is about the material you are using. I don't believe I have ever come across PVC board that you say it is. What is it used for in one to one, and where did you get it.?
Johnboy out...............
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
Progress continues a piece at a time...
On the end wall for the west wing, I drew guidelines on the wall's edges, roughly matching the positions of the mortar lines on the north and south walls:
The finished west wing end wall:
After the walls are glued together, I'll need to use a bit of filler on the joints. At that time, I can do any necessary adjustments and touchups on the mortar lines across the joint:
Next I did the west wall of the central, two-story portion of the building. Most of this wall will be hidden by the west wing, so only a small area at the top of the wall had to be scribed:
That's it for now. Enjoy!
Ray, Amazing work and great tutorial! Your clever method of giving the board extra texture is right out of the stone age. The creative use of PVC foam board appears limitless.
Thanks and regards, Peter
Hooray! I finally finished scribing the (new) second wall, and got it right this time:
Still need to use the X-acto to carve out a few random stones, then I'll go to work on the third wall.
Hi Ray:
Happens to the best of us!
Recently I assembled a rather fancy headboard for the master bedroom. It took about 2 hours, that is, so far it has taken 2 hours. When I stood the thing up and turned it to face the front I realized that I had installed one of the key components facing the wrong way. Now I have to take most of it apart again to fix my blunder!
How 'bout we start a club?!? We could call it the "One Step Forward - Two Steps Back Model Railroaders Association". Nah, we better not. Then we would have to start making rules and recommended practises.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I spent quite a bit of time on the second wall today. I got the door and window openings cut out, sanded the surface, applied scratches, tapped the whole surface with a rock, and made a good start on scribing the stones:
Then I realized something… I'd done all this on the WRONG SIDE!
Doh!!!
I had to scrap it and cut out a whole new wall. But I'll save the bad one, and maybe I can cut off sections of it for use elsewhere.
Well, I finally finished scribing the first wall:
But there are still a few things to do that will give the wall more depth and realism. First off, some of the scribed stones are a bit flat and could benefit from additional texturing. For this, I'll use a small scrap of old patio flagstone:
Here's a "before" shot of a small section of the wall, showing some of the stones that need additional work:
I tapped those areas with the piece of flagstone, and here's how it looks now:
Another little trick to add depth is to carve out a few random stones, using a sharp #11-blade hobby knife, as I've done here:
There is still one more thing I want to do, which will extend some of the stones out a little from the surface of the wall. However, I have to wait until after the walls have been assembled. Also I need to scribe some mortar lines in the edges of the door and window openings, and touch up a few cut marks, etc.
The stonework looks amazing, even before paint!
Time for a quick update!
I began scribing the stones on the first wall of the depot. The stones are scribed using an ordinary, carbide-tipped metal scribe from the hardware store. The tool is pressed firmly into the surface -- with Sintra, you're not really scratching it, you're indenting it. Here are a few photos of my progress:
I still have to scribe the upper area of the wall (the second story portion). When this wall is done I have several more walls to do. By the time I'm finished with this building I'm going to be pretty tired of scribing stones!
Neat stuff, Ray!
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Ray:
This is a really interesting tutorial! I'm learning a lot and I can't wait for the next installment.
I like the rock test wall too.
I'll get back to the pinkish rock wall later....
Back in May I did a foam core mockup for the Dos Manos depot:
Now I've finally started to work on the actual model of the depot. First I disassembled the mockup and worked out the size and position of doors and windows for each wall. As you can see by my scribblings this involved some trial and error:
Then I laid out the final design on a 16" x 20" sheet of 6mm thick Sintra PVC board, and cut it out:
Before going any further, I wanted to work out exactly what kind of stone and masonry the building would have. I decided on light tan sandstone in random courses for the bulk of the structure. Then I did a small test piece to see if I could successfully replicate that look using Sintra PVC board. Here's how the test piece turned out. I'm pleased with it:
With that settled, it was time to start texturing the first wall of the building. The first step in this process is to lightly sand the surface using a sanding block and horizontal strokes. This removes the sheen, and the fine scratches add a very subtle texture. Next, I used sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. This was applied with a scrapping motion, horizontally across the face of the wall. This added some more prominent scratches:
This close up view shows the scratches. Most of them will be obscured by the rest of the process, so they don't have to be perfect:
The next step involves tapping on the surface with a rock to give it a rough, uneven texture. For this you need a rock that isn't too rough or too smooth. Here's the rock I used:
After going over the entire surface with the rock, I used a t-square and pencil to lightly draw a series of horizontal lines on the wall. These will be used as guides when scribing the stone courses. Because I'm simulating random courses, the lines don't have to be evenly spaced:
That's it for now, more later. Enjoy!
hon30critter Personally I think there is too much colour differentiation between the individual rocks.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
The ocotillos look very realistic!
The stone wall - well, like you said, it is coming along. Personally I think there is too much colour differentiation between the individual rocks. Perhaps a gray or beige wash might tone them down some, or maybe just a dark wash to bring out the texture.
Hope you don't mind my sharing my opinion. Actually, this is a little bit like coaching Rembrant.
Here are a couple small projects I worked on recently. First was making a big batch of new ocotillos to expand the foliage on the layout. I start with florist's wire, which has a green plastic coating on it. I use a couple different thicknesses, either individually, or mixed, depending on the size of the plant I want to model:
The next step is painting them with gesso. That's the stuff they use to prime artist's canvases. While the gesso is wet, I sprinkle on some fine grain sand available from the craft store. This goes on mainly at the lower end, to thicken the branches near the base. Then they're hung on a wire to dry:
Next I paint them with a coat of grayish-brown latex house paint. While the paint is wet I sprinkle on some green plastic grit from Plastruct, catalog #GC-104. It is then hung up to dry again:
I've found that the green grit fades, so the next step is to dry-brush on a bit of green latex paint:
To finish it off, I cut off the hook used to hang them. Then I paint some of the tips with red latex paint to represent the flowers. Finally the whole thing is given a couple coats of Krylon UV-resistant matte clear. Here are a couple photos of the plants installed on the layout:
The other little project was a test piece. I wanted to see if I could use Sintra to make a stone wall that matches the pinkish rocks on part of my layout. (I'm not sure but I think they may be rhyolite.) Here is a photo of the rocks on the layout, followed by a photo of the test piece:
I think it still needs a little work but it's getting there.
Here are a couple photos of a bridge I just finished. It's for a 15" gauge mine tram, that will run from the mines above Mineral Ridge, across to the mill. I gave it a planked deck because I figure they wouldn't want to risk spilling rocks onto the building, pedestrians or vehicles below. This is also the reason for the corrugated metal along the sides (plus it hides some less-than-prototypical construction elements):
I still need to extend the concrete base of the bent, and also fill in a couple small voids in the concrete. The bent, and most of the bridge, is made from strips of styrene textured and painted to look like wood. The deck is 6mm Sintra.
Thanks Garry!
Ray D. .... I've seen your photos in recent months and I am very much impressed with uour great work.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Mr. Dunakin, all I can say is WOW!
Thanks!
Ray,
Seeing your work is always a pleasure, those stairs are really neat!
Eat, I like it, saw that big faded word on an abandoned and dilapidated 50s era filling station turned BBQ takeout during a road trip thru north eastern Oregon a couple weeks ago.
Here's an update on the sandwich shack...
I wanted to have stone stairs going up the slope to the shack. To do this, I made a form out of foam core board:
Then I used curved tweezers to place small stones in the form, added some 1/4" hardware cloth, and then poured in some thin mortar:
The mortar wasn't quite thin enough to get into all the spaces between the stones, but that's fixable:
I rubbed thin mortar into the gaps, brushed off the excess with a wet brush, and after it set I sanded off some of the residue and it turned out fine. Here's how everything looks so far. The building itself is almost finished. I just have to add the lighting and a few other minor exterior details. I also have to finish the landscape around the building. And later I will build and detail the interior: