Stockpiling structures

A place for discussing garden railway scenery, such as buildings, trees, etc....
User avatar
Old Man Aaron
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 795
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 11:08 am
Location: Sunshine Coast QLD, Australia

Stockpiling structures

Post by Old Man Aaron » Sun Mar 20, 2022 10:55 am

It'll be several years at current rate, before I can start on the next garden line. So I won't let that time be wasted, it's an opportunity to get a head-start on smaller, time-consuming projects like buildings and detailing. Things I can put away once complete, then, more-or-less plonk into the new tramway when the time finally comes..

This foamboard and styrene traffic office, modelled on the long-since demolished example at South Johnstone sugar mill, has been sporadically-progressing for the last year.
IMG_9583.JPG
IMG_9583.JPG (153.63 KiB) Viewed 7039 times

The peeling paint effect was unintentional - the low-tack masking tape removed quite a bit of green topcoat. In spite of the grey primer showing underneath, it made for a reasonably realistic peeled paint effect; so I just stuck and ripped more tape from all over the building until I was satisfied. The exposed "wood" and "fibro" was then picked out with a wash of Tamiya enamels. The "hazy" effect on the green is because I sprayed during a storm. I tried gently buffing it with a kitchen scourer, which worked, but couldn't get into the corners without fully removing the paint. This turned out to be another happy accident, and has given the green another layer of age. An enamel "dirt" wash and flat clearcoat once the roof is done should see the weathering complete.
IMG_9586.JPG
IMG_9586.JPG (161.28 KiB) Viewed 7039 times

Jackson's Miniatures doors and windows are just loosely fitted, awaiting glazing with real glass. More effort, but more durable. Couldn't find any interior photos of period narrow gauge traffic offices, so this was knocked up from foamboard scraps, and will be illuminated before fitting a corrugated iron roof.
IMG_9587.JPG
IMG_9587.JPG (182.87 KiB) Viewed 7039 times

More to come on this and future buildings, in dribs and drabs, as and when.. I'm always keeping an eye out for characterful Australian buildings to add to the ideas folder.

Cheers,
Last edited by Old Man Aaron on Sun Mar 20, 2022 3:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Regards,
Aaron - Scum Class Works

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by philipy » Sun Mar 20, 2022 11:18 am

Accidental or not, the weathering looks fabulous. I just hope I last long enough to see all this in situ! :lol:
Philip

User avatar
Peter Butler
Driver
Driver
Posts: 5219
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:33 pm
Location: West Wales

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by Peter Butler » Sun Mar 20, 2022 11:50 am

I agree with Philip, the peeling and weathered paint effect is just perfect; it suits the style and period of the structure well.
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?

User avatar
ge_rik
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 6497
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by ge_rik » Mon Mar 21, 2022 7:18 am

Great effects by happy accidents! I wish mine worked out so fortuitously ... 😉

Rik
------------------------
Peckforton Light Railway - Blog Facebook Youtube

User avatar
Lonsdaler
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1226
Joined: Tue May 20, 2014 9:50 am
Location: North Yorkshire

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by Lonsdaler » Mon Mar 21, 2022 5:41 pm

That is such an atmospheric little building Aaron. And a fortuitous way to add weathering effects - good job you didn't want it pristine! :lol:
Phil

Sporadic Garden Railer who's inconsistencies know no bounds

My Line - https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 41&t=11077

User avatar
gregh
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 566
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2018 5:44 am
Location: Sydney, Australia
Contact:

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by gregh » Tue Mar 22, 2022 9:09 pm

As soon as I saw that paint peeling from the fibro, I was taken back to the old garage in the family home. Must have been the post war paint or fibro composition. Great work by you.
But the interior. Surely no railway office was without its Seth-Thomas pendulum clock. I expect to see a working model real soon. :thumbright: :thumbleft: :salute:
Greg from downunder.
The Sandstone & Termite's website: https://members.optusnet.com.au/satr/satr.htm

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by Andrew » Thu Mar 24, 2022 11:15 am

Old Man Aaron wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 10:55 am Couldn't find any interior photos of period narrow gauge traffic offices, so this was knocked up from foamboard scraps, and will be illuminated before fitting a corrugated iron roof.
IMG_9587.JPG
I'm guessing this picture of Tal-y-Llyn manager Haydn Jones (taken in 1949, when he was 86) depicts him in Towyn station building, the TR's version of a traffic office? It would be quite a challenge to model...

Haydn Jones (2).jpg
Haydn Jones (2).jpg (414.69 KiB) Viewed 6886 times

I love your model, so full of character... The corrugated roof will finish it off a treat...

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by philipy » Thu Mar 24, 2022 12:39 pm

Strewth, no wonder they went bust!
Philip

Phil.P
Fireman
Fireman
Posts: 430
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 3:28 pm
Location: Staffs. UK

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by Phil.P » Fri Mar 25, 2022 10:52 am

And I thought my filing system was unique! :dontknow:

User avatar
Old Man Aaron
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 795
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 11:08 am
Location: Sunshine Coast QLD, Australia

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by Old Man Aaron » Fri Mar 25, 2022 3:26 pm

gregh wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 9:09 pm As soon as I saw that paint peeling from the fibro, I was taken back to the old garage in the family home. Must have been the post war paint or fibro composition. Great work by you.
But the interior. Surely no railway office was without its Seth-Thomas pendulum clock. I expect to see a working model real soon. :thumbright: :thumbleft: :salute:
Never seen peeling paint on fibro, so quite pleased to hear that. I considered a clock, but had to keep myself on a short leash for detailing this interior, lest I spend too much time on it, like the Imperial Hotel.. :roll:

My local heritage line has made a very faithful 1:1 scale model of the TR's traffic office erm, "system" in the volunteers' cottage on-site.. :bom: :lol:

Lights are now wired in, yet to finish the foamboard roof panels. When I make the corrugated sheets, I'll also clad the corflute sub-structure for this shed at right. This Moreton Mill photo was taken from the CaneSIG website; I reckon the shed itself was for the drying and storage of sand for locos. Note the sleeper walls and 1920s/30s gravity fuel pump. I've already bought a 1:18 model pump, it's on the list for a repaint and weathering sometime this year..
df_mm-22.jpg
df_mm-22.jpg (61.63 KiB) Viewed 6839 times
Cheers gents,
Regards,
Aaron - Scum Class Works

User avatar
Old Man Aaron
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 795
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 11:08 am
Location: Sunshine Coast QLD, Australia

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by Old Man Aaron » Sat Apr 16, 2022 2:08 am

16/04/22

After the corflute shell sat for a year, the sand shed was finally knocked out over four nights. Real happy to finally have a model of this.
IMG_9645-46.jpg
IMG_9645-46.jpg (1017.77 KiB) Viewed 6353 times
Regards,
Aaron - Scum Class Works

User avatar
LNR
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1533
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2016 5:26 am
Location: Australia

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by LNR » Sat Apr 16, 2022 4:34 am

Like the sag in the propped open window. Hope you enjoy painting all that rusty and otherwise corrugated iron.
Grant.

invicta280
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 664
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:24 pm
Location: kent england

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by invicta280 » Sun May 15, 2022 9:47 pm

I love to see models of corrugated iron structures. Good old wriggly tin.

User avatar
Old Man Aaron
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 795
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 11:08 am
Location: Sunshine Coast QLD, Australia

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by Old Man Aaron » Wed Jul 20, 2022 6:45 am

I did indeed enjoy painting! :) Lots more tin to come..

After grey etch primer, the building was sprayed all over with silver zinc, grey, a couple of browns and black, to get a galvanised effect. Short bursts and misting the paint seems to give good results, building up the effect in layers. It pays to leave the thing to sit afterwards and come back to it - you'll likely find you want to tweak some spot or other with a little more black, silver etc. Then the building was forgotten for a couple of months to work work on other projects. :lol:

On a Sunday whim, I decided to mask off and spray the randomly coloured sheets, approximating the prototype. Yesterday, I drybrushed some black and brown for age, and gave the timber around the roof's edge, what I think the prototype had. That's another one ready to go in the cupboard until it's needed.
IMG_0224-26.jpg
IMG_0224-26.jpg (1.04 MiB) Viewed 5433 times


Still needs an enamel wash all over for some more depth, but I want to complete a few more buildings first, and spend a day washing everything in one session.
Next up, a small shop and finishing the traffic office - it's roof was fitted and painted as I did the shed, but it still needs a couple of details before it can be shown..
Regards,
Aaron - Scum Class Works

User avatar
ge_rik
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 6497
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by ge_rik » Wed Jul 20, 2022 8:35 am

That does look good! :thumbup:

Rik
------------------------
Peckforton Light Railway - Blog Facebook Youtube

User avatar
Peter Butler
Driver
Driver
Posts: 5219
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:33 pm
Location: West Wales

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by Peter Butler » Wed Jul 20, 2022 12:30 pm

The style is unfamiliar to UK structures but the material is not. You make it look so 'right' and will fit in well with your other buildings.
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?

User avatar
Old Man Aaron
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 795
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 11:08 am
Location: Sunshine Coast QLD, Australia

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by Old Man Aaron » Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:57 am

That's really nice of you guys to say, thank you! Getting the feel just right is paramount. I've noticed the sunlight and sky will vary quite a bit depending on where you go, so living in the same part of the world as the prototypes is a big help.

I've spent the past 10 months overhauling my car, and haven't had any energy for the real hobby - 16mm that is. ;)
Having hit a roadblock building the new engine a couple weeks back, and three days now bashing my head against the wall in wiring up the indicators, I decided to ask for help on the pertinent car forum. But being that the car and it's forum is American, and everyone over there is asleep right now, I had myself an afternoon to take a much needed break to work on the things I really care about.

As mentioned eight months ago, :roll: the traffic office roof was painted to look like new-ish galvanised iron. (Camera doesn't really show the colour variation, but it's there) I wired in a pair of 12V "grain-of-wheat" incandescent bulbs when I did the roof. A pair of wires hangs out from under the building, and will one day be connected to a buried grid system. That's the plan, anyway..
IMG_1230.JPG
IMG_1230.JPG (190.29 KiB) Viewed 4874 times

This was the first time I'd actually powered the thing beyond testing the bulbs before assembly. Really pleased. :lol:
IMG_1236.JPG
IMG_1236.JPG (107.56 KiB) Viewed 4874 times
IMG_1242.JPG
IMG_1242.JPG (148.41 KiB) Viewed 4874 times

There's a tiny fibro-clad jewel shop in Woodford, Queensland, around the corner from the Woodford Railway where I sometimes volunteer in the workshop.
It's too damn cute not to model.
With a picture from Google and one from Street View, I got this far some months ago. Today I glued in the basic interior, and gave it a coat of grey primer after the photo. Tomorrow I'll topcoat it white.
IMG_1244.JPG
IMG_1244.JPG (181.6 KiB) Viewed 4874 times
Cheers,
Aaron
Regards,
Aaron - Scum Class Works

User avatar
gregh
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 566
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2018 5:44 am
Location: Sydney, Australia
Contact:

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by gregh » Sun Feb 26, 2023 10:22 pm

Nice to see the Aussie outline buildings. Love the awning over the window. Very Queensland.
Greg from downunder.
The Sandstone & Termite's website: https://members.optusnet.com.au/satr/satr.htm

User avatar
ge_rik
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 6497
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by ge_rik » Mon Feb 27, 2023 7:12 am

They certainly look the part. The lighting and interiors add another dimension.

Rik
------------------------
Peckforton Light Railway - Blog Facebook Youtube

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5033
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: Stockpiling structures

Post by philipy » Mon Feb 27, 2023 8:22 am

Those incandescent bulbs give a "real" atmospheric feel that you don't get with LED's. Lovely.
Philip

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests