Cornerstone ice house has a peeked roof. When I finish glued the two roof halfs to the walls, I did not notice that they didn't quite meet at the peek. A normal roof would have a ridge cap of shingles or sheet metal but this kit has none. The gap is about 1/32", not close enough to bridge with glue. This is not a foreground building so I may just let it go but that is not my nature. I could make a idge cap out of styrene angle stock but I would have to order it and stop construction.
73
Bruce in the Peg
Bruce,
Mine has the same issue and I just ignore it because it's in the middle of Durango and no one leans over far enough to see it.
I wouldn't use an angle on that. The angle is too shallow. Instead, to cover it either use a thin piece of bar stock (1/32" wide or thereabouts) or a piece of skinny rod (Evergreen #210, .030" rod) or some quarter round (Plastruct 570-90891 for example). All could represent various metal seam ridge caps.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Two options come to mind,
I remember using some black masking tape many years ago when I was doing "paste-ups" for a printing company. Perhaps you could fashion your ridge cap, and the valleys for that matter, out of a thin (1/4") strip of the masking tape?
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=black+masking+tape
Option 2:
I have a Cornerstone Ice House I'll probably never use. I can send you the parts you need to make another roof.
I guess in both cases you would still have to wait for the postman to ring twice.
Take care, Ed
How about making a ridge cap out of thin card stock?
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
O make a ridge cap out of aluminum duct tape. Not the handyman stuff, but the kind that's made of real aluminum.
I have had similar with a number of Cornerstone roofs - can't remember if the ice house was one of them, it's a 60 mile round trip to the Boothbay layout so I can not check today.
I use Evergreeen scale strip to cover the gaps, 2x8 on one side and 2x6 on the other. I do this before painting and weathering so everything appears similar
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
I vote for Bear's solution. It would seem to be the cheapest and quickest. Afterall, the OP is looking for 'quick'.
If you don't have any card stock, how about an old file folder? Failing that, a plain manila envelope will do the same thing, and it will be the closest to the prototype in terms of thickness.
Remember, if you are simulating a metal ridge, that the original material came in 10' (or there abouts) sections. You can do the same thing with the cardstock and it will make it easier to apply. The prototype would have overlapped by 6"-12".
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Blind Bruce .....The gap is about 1/32".....
That's about .030". For a proper repair, take a strip of Evergreen .030"x.060", cut it to a length a little longer than needed, then coat both sides of it with solvent cement and push it into the gap. Apply more solvent cement to where it touches both halves of the roof. Let it cure overnight, then use a sharp knife to trim the length and a file to remove any oozed-out plastic. Paint in a colour of your choice.
Blind Bruce .....not close enough to bridge with glue......
Glue is not a filler - doing the job properly is actually easier and will give better results.
If the roof halves don't meet, you've made a mistake in assembly, either on adding the roof or when you assembled the walls. Most Walthers structure kits are well-made, and the parts fit as intended if you take care during assembly.
Walthers Icehouse - no leaky roof, no repair necessary :
If you want a quick repair, I think that Ray's suggestion would be the most permanent. Cut several strips crosswise off the squared-up end of the tape - make the width just under 1/4": that will span the gap but not extended beyond the raised ridge cap which is moulded, half on each roof section, on the original parts. As Dave suggests, cut the strips into 10' lengths, which will look prototypical and be easier to apply than a single full-length piece.
Wayne
If ever there were a job for JB Quik Weld, 2-part epoxy, this is it.
When I built my Walthers Cornerstone Milwaukee Style Station, one of the roof panels did not meet the brick wall. The gap seemed even wider than 1/32".
The 2-part epoxy can be applied so smooth that very little sanding is required to finish the job. JB Quik Weld begins to harden quickly, so you may prefer JB Weld instead since it take longer to harden.
Rich
Alton Junction
Hi,
I have the same model so I am familiar with the thing. One fix is to get two strips of plastic, say 1/4 inch wide and running the length of the model. Glue one to each side of the roof peak so that they join at the very top of the model. It's an easy fix, and after paint it will blend right in.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I should mention that whenever I have to assemble two pieces to form a single roof, I glue the two pieces together, laying flat on the work bench.
Even after this assembly has fully dried, it can be bent to fit the correct pitch, eliminating the gap problem at the ridge line.
As some others suggested, I would prob ignore the gap since the structure is further back. However, should you still want to fix the roof, perhaps consider filling the gap with Plaster of Paris and then painting the entire section.
~Lee
doctorwayneIf the roof halves don't meet, you've made a mistake in assembly, either on adding the roof or when you assembled the walls. Most Walthers structure kits are well-made, and the parts fit as intended if you take care during assembly.
Wayne,
I think the issue here is part assembly, part error on the mold. IIRC, there's some stops on the underside of the roof that contact the top of the walls. They're just a nudge too far toward the ridgeline. When you first glue and set the roof in place, it seems OK, but walk away to let it dry, and the two halves of the roof slide downward to rest the underside stops againt the inside top of the walls. This leaves a gap at the top.
Rich's suggestion of assmbling flat then folding the roof to match angle is one way to solve this. Or simply hold the two halves in place until the glue sets up enough to avoid gravity doing its thing.
I guess my first instinct (which admittedly has rarely proven to be the best one) would be to carefully remove the roof from the walls and try a do-over. But I am aware that that could damage both walls and roof far beyond the current gap.
It is not helpful at this point to observe that it is always good to have a supply of various styrene, ABS and wood angles in stock for just such situations. It might be helpful to point out that various household and packaging items, including some that end up in the recycling bin, might have just such angles built in that could be cut out and used.
When assembling pitched roofs I often use masking or duct tape on the inside surfaces to hold the pieces together at the angle when fitting and gluing them to the kit walls. That makes using filler of various kinds (including white glue) much easier if there is a slight gap.
Faced with your exact situation I would try using squadron putty to fill the gap, then smooth it down after it hardens.
Dave Nelson
I ussually leave a small gap at the top so I can use square styene to fill the gap, if you have a small gap it looks like someone capped it without it being too high that it looks out of place, do it in wood kits too only with stripwood.
Dave, it just prooves that great minds think alike. Before your reply, I carefully removed the out of place roof half. When I placed it back with no gap, the alignment bars at the wall would not fall into place. It seems that the walls were not seated all the way although they seem to be so. I have the roof peek glued and drying at this time and will deal with the wall issue later. The wall junction isn't visible at all anyway.
mlehman doctorwayne If the roof halves don't meet, you've made a mistake in assembly, either on adding the roof or when you assembled the walls. Most Walthers structure kits are well-made, and the parts fit as intended if you take care during assembly. Wayne, I think the issue here is part assembly, part error on the mold. IIRC, there's some stops on the underside of the roof that contact the top of the walls. They're just a nudge too far toward the ridgeline. When you first glue and set the roof in place, it seems OK, but walk away to let it dry, and the two halves of the roof slide downward to rest the underside stops againt the inside top of the walls. This leaves a gap at the top. Rich's suggestion of assmbling flat then folding the roof to match angle is one way to solve this. Or simply hold the two halves in place until the glue sets up enough to avoid gravity doing its thing.
doctorwayne If the roof halves don't meet, you've made a mistake in assembly, either on adding the roof or when you assembled the walls. Most Walthers structure kits are well-made, and the parts fit as intended if you take care during assembly.
I agree with Mike, a number of Walthers kit roofs I have built just will not fit, they are a bit warped or something. Forcing them together and holding it with tape just invites stray liquid glue to wick under the tape causing more problems. The best solution is to cover with strip styrene or other materials as discussed above
I its the ice house and and not the shed, smear the gap with Squadrins modelers putty. Then paint over it after you leveled it smooth.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
Blind Bruce Dave, it just prooves that great minds think alike.
Dave, it just prooves that great minds think alike.
Bruce, either "great" or "minds" probably belongs in quotes.
But I always applaud the gritted-teeth I shall make this work approach.
mlehman....I think the issue here is part assembly, part error on the mold. IIRC, there's some stops on the underside of the roof that contact the top of the walls. They're just a nudge too far toward the ridgeline. When you first glue and set the roof in place, it seems OK, but walk away to let it dry, and the two halves of the roof slide downward to rest the underside stops againt the inside top of the walls. This leaves a gap at the top....
You may be right, Mike, but my icehouse is "sceniced" in place, so I can't check where those moulded-on stops might be. I do know that if you pre-fit a part before applying the cement, you generally see if there's a problem which needs correcting - for this kit, it appears to be as simple as sliding the roof panels towards the peak just a bit. An easy way would be to put one side of the roof upside down on the workbench, and place the structure on it, then add the other roof part. Slide them 'til they meet at the peak, then apply cement at the roof joint and at the joints where the gable ends meet the underside of the roof. This will prevent the roof panels from sliding out of position. Most solvent-type cements will hold after only a few seconds, although they do become stronger if left overnight.
In my case, it was more complicated. I made the back half of the building only 2/3 deep to accomodate clearance for a track that runs behind it. Half the roof had the "retainer step" or whatever the thing at the bottom that catches the wall in the right position trimmed off, so bit a a botch-up just dealing with that fitted right. Maybe I like putting on too much solvent? Hardly the first time that's happened
But it is the case that some of these kits are a bit less than ideal. Lots of these molds are 20 years old and technology has marched on in terms of acciracy . If it was redone today, they'd take up the slack and it would fit better, at least when the casting process itself doesn;t have a hiccup and distort the part.
Point being, you still need to check on some things as they're drying, especially when using solvents. Gravity works on parts as big as a roof; smaller stuff, too, I'm told. If you make it a slippery slope and don't keep a little pressure on, if there's slack in the fit in something like this, gaps happen.
Those who want some nicely fitted kits, Grandt makes some nice structures, mostly modest narrowgaugey stuff, but still useful for lots of things even in an urban setting. Good stuff and perhaps my expectations are higher, if not not really militant as some are about quality issues. The reality is old molds last forever and cost a bunch to replace. Ain't gonna happen just for a small issue like this. It just requires a little more attention sometimes.