The JV Models Boyd Logging is an excellent Craftsman Wood Kit. It is well made and includes all the correct sized lumber, siding, roofs, accessories you will need to build this kit. I recommend it to all the Craftsman Modelers out there. Unfortunately, I'm Not A Craftsman Modeler and I had a heck of a time building this kit. It was a for sure challenge to my "so called" modeling skills. In a word in takes a lot of patience. Did I say it takes a lot of patience !!!!! . Wow does it ever. For example the Water Tower base was not bad to build. But the barrel ! It was a 1" Dowell and it required 34 1" long 1/32" by 1/32" separate pieces of wood cut to size. These were the staves that go around the barrel. (Did I tell you it takes a lot of patience) Each one had to be individual glued in place. The rest of the kit is just as detailed Then you construct the buildings and I mean build each one of them. You frame the floor, the walls, put the walls on and the roofs. And all these very small N Scale pieces have to be individually cut using the blueprint as a guide, glued together, then assembled. Did I say it takes a lot of patience !!!!! I cut and test fitted each piece first, then glued it. And after I unstick my fingers (I love my debonder) I go to the next piece. I'm using Great Planes Slow Cure CA glue.It takes about 1-2 minutes to bond. I put the glue on the piece, spread it with a toothpick, by this time a minute has expired and then I put the pieces together. This works for me. Of course you break walls, roofs, and other parts. You just say "Darn It" or something like that and fix it or rebuild it. Did I say it takes a lot of patience !!!!! I've primed all the wood with India ink and Alcohol, let dry overnight, this gives a nice silver grey color, Then used Artists acrylic paints brown/yellow mixed and thinned with alcohol to get my wood color. After it's dry I again use a thin wash of India ink to cover all. Also as I paint I use a paper towel to wipe the piece. I think this adds a nice affect to the paint. For me I've found using Alcohol to thin the acrylic paint is better than water. Well !! I've completed the kit !! . Except for two building I guess I just ran out of patience. As a Non Craftsman modeler and In some perverse way, I enjoyed working on the kit. It's addictive !!, Maybe it's holidays, or maybe the curve was to sharp and I've gone round the bend Anyway, this will be my last Wood Kit !!! Craftsman or any other kind. For me they are not worth the effort and besides, I hate rubber rooms. For better or worse here are some pictures. See ya Ron
"not a craftsman modeller"?.. sheesh, close enough. I think they turned out great! btw.. where does one find india ink?? I've tried michaels, wally world, etc...
Beautiful model!!! Now you have a building set that will not be seen on every other layout around. And it certainly was not a Shake The Box Kit either. INDIA INK is available in most ART SUPPLY Stores and Stationary Stores. Maybe HOBBY LOBBY? I don't know, have never looked there.
Water Tank construction Did you use any other photos(historical?) as models for the water tower and tank? Not ever having paid much attention to water tanks of this vintage, I thought yours looked a little unusual as it's lying on it's side rather than 'standing up' as frequently seen in old photos of more urban settings. But the JV models website also has the tank 'lying down' on their demo model's images. You also constructed the tower portion much differently than their demo. Does the kit supply enough materials to freelance? Or was your tower built following their instruction diagrams? Either way, very nice finished structures. Your abilities are nothing to be ashamed of.
Ron... I think they look great too. Building things by hand always adds a bit more pride to the finished product. The freelancing portioned you did look great in photos. Photos seldom show how good something really looks to the naked eye. So if they are in fact even better....I give ya 5 ***** .
You did good! I built that kit in 1989-90 myself. I think I purchased all the kits that manufacturer had back then. I could have sworn it was Muir Models? Oh well, what I do remember most was that it was a real stick by stick craftsman kit. The kit had one snapshot stuck on the boxtop and one inside for reference. What I discovered after building that kit was that scratchbuilding is much easier than trying to follow instructions. I remember that kit had a lot of sticks with a bit of color at one end, and many looked to be the same size wood with different colored ends. My model ended up on an N-Trak module I left in Boise in the early 90's. The new lasercut kits are much better than the old stick by stick models, as far as assembly is concerned, but the stick by stick models still have their old world charm!
Thanks to everyone for your kind words and comments. This was a big challenge for me and I'm kind of proud of the way it turned out. I may have become adicktive to the stick by stick craftsman kit building process.baffled: BTW: I bought some 1/32x3'x24" and 1/32"x 1/32x 24 lumber from my LHS. cool: See ya Ron
