This is my favorite thread, glad to see it again as well as the great work you've done on the forge. Those bellows look amazing!
Thanks everyone, when I first started this thread I didn't know if it would be of interest and I really didn't think it would stretch out this long but it has been a lot of fun doing it. Here are a few more shots of the Forge with most of the detail in, I put a set of bellows at each end of the forge in the center of the room because it is fairly large. Finding information on Forges is not too easy so the double set of bellows may not be correct. There is a table with some tools in the upper left hand corner and a cart that would be used to bring in a casting, side rod,etc. or take it out to the steam hammer in the Roundhouse. This view shows the smaller forge against the wall with it's set of bellows. There is a barrel in the upper left corner for water if it is needed. There are two small cranes to help lift heavier pieces up into the forges. The material scattered on the floor is supposed to be sawdust. From what I understand the sawdust was put down when firing because if any hot stuff were to hit the floor the sawdust would cause it to start smoking and it could be doused with water. There is also a wheel barrow with more sawdust to be spread. It is in the first photo next to the table. An end view. Looking through a door into the interior.
Everytime I look at this thread I am lost for words! This has to be the ultimate 'how-to' for scratchbuilt detailing The whole topic should be produced as a book, or CD
Alan and Bookbear, Thanks, I'm just glad we have this medium to be able to share our projects. Maybe some day I'll try to send something in for the mags. Here are the last three shots of the Forge; One of the things that have bothered me about a lot of kits is that the sliding doors are just glued on and there is no visible means to move that door. So I added the rollers that would be there. The next two photos show the two sides with doors and roof. The next subject will be the Boiler House. I could not find any boilers the size that I wanted so I'll start with the boilers.
Thank you, Pete. My next and probably last structure for the Roundhouse area is the Boiler House. Before I start on the building I decided to make two boilers to put inside of it. There isn't any N scale boilers big enough and I couldn't find any small HO ones to modify so I have to do my own. I have started taking photos as I build them, hope this isn't too detailed but there seems to be a interest in scratch building methods. If it gets too boring let me know. The Detail Associates (DA) boiler is just too small so I decided to make two patterened after it but larger. I started with 1/4" tube and .060 X .250 styrene. I checked the building kit that I'm going to use for the Boiler House and settled on a length for the boilers that would look good in it. The .060 X .250 styrene becomes the back head of the boiler. The back heads are glued on and let dry good. In the mean time I cut two more pieces of the .060 X .250 styrene and used a punch to put a half circle in them. These will be the front stand that you see on the DA boiler. It is very easy to get the right length for the front piece, just place it up next to the back head which is soild by now and mark the length. I used a punch and lightly tapped the front pieces to get a half circle on each side. The left one has been penciled in to show where the curves go. The right one has been cut out. I use these bits in a very slow turning motor tool to cut out the sides. The bits are like rasps. I'll continue with the front stands in the next installment.
Continuing with the Front Stands, I "dressed up" the sides with a file to take off the sharp edges and the added some detail. The two pieces shown above are glued on as in the left photo, let dry and then then trimmed off as in right photo. The Front Stands then have the .060 Angle trimmed at the foot so it does not stick out too far, and then glued to the front of the boiler. The firebox is shown in the back in this photo which will be covered later. The front has a piece of plastic glued on and when dry it is trimmed to the shape of the boiler and the a small circle is punched out and glued to the front for the smokebox. The back has to be trimmed like the one on the left. More detail is added to the back as shown above. The .015 X .188 styrene is cut to the shape shown in black on the left, then the rectangle at the bottom is cut out and placed higher up on to simulate the firebox door. A .015 X .020 strip is added across the bottom. Two .010 X .020 strips are glued on to start the parts for the hinges. After the two hinge parts are dry (left photo) they are trimmed off and two more pieces are glued on top of these that extend on to the door as in the right photo. Once these dry they can be sanded down to a more scale shape. Next will be the firebox and steam dome.
The next item is the firebox, I used 3 X 5 card because thin styrene will tend to split when liquid plastic cement is used on a curved piece. The card is super glued on. The small piece of .020 styrene becomes the front of the firebox. It's made the same way as the front stand. Once the card is wrapped around the boiler I added rivets. You could put these rivets on the card that is used as the firebox but I like to make a separate band for them. I just run the pounce wheel down one of the lines on the card and cut the band out. Next I put on the steam domes. I start by making a pilot hole in the top and then a 1/8" bit for better control. A thin circle of plastic is made with a punch and then asmaller circle is punched out of the center. This goes at the base of the dome. Some .125 rod is placed in the hole and the top is filed into a dome shape. I really filed the domes before putting them in as it is easier to work with them. The photo above also show the little circles of small rod for the gauges.
John, How long does it take you to complete another detail item, once you get started?? If you didn't stop to take photos anyway! Still amazes me the level of detail added!! Gotta schedule a trip down to see this stuff in person - again!! The photos show what's happening. Just not quite the same as seeing it in person.
John, not only do you do this amazing modelling, you take the time and effort to document it to share with us. Thank you for doing this
Keith, I think I started the two boilers last Tuesday (the 9th) and completed them this evening, the 14th. I did not work on them at all on Thursday or Saturday. So I guess about four evenings. It is my pleasure to share with all of you. I have learned new things from a lot of folks on this Forum and it is nice to be able to give something back. Here is the last of the boiler; Details help finish the boilers. A few photos back one of the steam domes was a little slanted, I made sure to straighten them out before gluing them in. It's best to look at something like that from every angle to see if it's straight. A few more details. I didn't bother to make a hollow pipe for the out going steam or the smoke stack because more piping will be connected to them. I sprayed the boilers with a flat gray and then gave them a wash with diluted black. I painted the saftey valve gold and the gauges white. The last three photos show the difference in size between the Detail Associates boiler and mine. I think I have captured most of the detail. Soon I will start on the boiler house.
