This thread was started in February, 2019
TomMich
February 2019 in HO Scale Builds
I really like all the different buildings and materials in this kit, especially the stone walls. It also has some interesting castings and details. So I thought I’d tackle a build. I will attempt to show my progress as portions come together. I do encourage comments as I’m always looking to improve my techniques. I will photograph portions as I can and post them here. I am using my Samsung S9 phone to take pictures so they may not be the best quality photos.
A disclaimer, in no way do I attempt to live up to Ken’s wonderful build, in fact I am using it for inspiration. I will be following the instructions and perhaps using some of my favorite techniques.
The obligatorily box photo. 
And the open box kit parts.
Comments
TomMich
February 2019
I have been working on this for a few days so I have the walls to the Pattern shop completed. Here’s what I have thus far.
Front Wall.
Left Wall. I left more color on this wall and it is not as heavily weathered because it is under an awning and my reasoning is that it would not receive as much weather as the other sides of the building.
Rear Wall.
Right Wall.
Joel
February 2019
Looks great. I see you left a bit more paint on the tops of the walls where they are more protected by the eaves. Nice effect.
brownbr
February 2019
Looking forward to watching this come together.
Bryan
admin
February 2019
Awesome start Tom, can’t wait to see more. Thanks so much for taking the time to post your build.
Jerry
March 2019
Looks good so far Tom.
Jerry
mikemettelka
March 2019
Eagerly anticipated
TomMich
March 2019
Thanks guys for the comments.
Joel, I did leave the area under the eaves with more color. Looking at the real world this is often seen on weathered buildings. The eaves are more protected from the elements.
I’m really looking forward to building this kit. There are so many interesting aspects to it and different components.
mstanley
March 2019
Fantastic start Tom, I’ll be following along on this one too.
TomMich
March 2019
Brett,
I have a question. I am at the point of working with the windows. I have removed them from the carrier as described in the instructions and primed them with the Khaki paint as described. Why can’t the windows just be left in the carrier and painted there. It seems the only part that would not be painted is the edges, and in the case of windows won’t show. Most of the doors the same would apply. Leaving them in the carrier would be less likely to damage them.
admin
March 2019
Yes, definitely less likely to damage but that has never been an issue as I have never received a request to replace those parts in any kit. Just handle them carefully and you’ll be fine! In addition the edges must be colored since they could be visible on the completed structure.
KKarns
March 2019
Great loking walls Tom and off to a terrific start. Will be following you along here and keen to see what you do with this wonderful kit.
vietnamseabee
March 2019
The vertical siding looks pretty ragged alone the bottom edge…just like I like it… well done
Terry
brownbr
March 2019
Tom, the risk to priming while still in the carrier is that excess paint will make it harder to remove. It’s kind of 6 of one, half dozen of other for which way works best for you.
TomMich
March 2019
I did remove them from, the carrier as per instructions and had no problem with any of them other than a little tape residue on a couple of the doors. All turned out OK. It makes sense that painting them in the carrier would make them more difficult to remove since the instruction say the paint adds to the strength of the parts.
Robert.G
March 2019
Even as an O ‘scaler’, I will gladly follow this build. Great start Tom.
Dave_S
March 2019
Tom,
Like Robert I am on board and enjoying what I am seeing and Liking the weathered red barn walls a lot.
Ya think if we left this kit in water for a few days we could get it to swell up to O-Scale? (LOL)
Later, Dave S. Tucson, AZ
Karl.A
March 2019
Great start Tom, I’m another one eagerly following along with your progress on this great kit.
Karl.A
TomMich
March 2019 108.205.147.72
Here are photos of my Pattern Shop walls after being detailed and assembled.
mstanley
March 2019
Tom, I really like wall with the roll up door, the weathering at the bottom looks fantastic.
Mike
Joel
March 2019
Tom,
Great progress, love all the little details.
Joel
TomMich
March 2019
Thanks guys. I took a lesson from Ken’s wonderful build on the thresholds on the doors and rounded them a little to show wear from years of use. I know it’s hard to see, but I also added bolts to the clevises as per Ken’s build. I wanted to see how hard it would be and it wasn’t that bad. The hardest part was keeping those tiny NBW castings from flying off my tweezers into the abyss of my workbench.
admin
March 2019
well worth the extras effort, those hanging clevises look fantastic!
KKarns
March 2019
Wow Tom!..most excellent work here. Your weathering is very nicely done. I left off the round vent on my build but glad you included it on yours as you did a great job on it with just the right amount of exhaust accumulation…
brownbr
March 2019
A fine looking structure
TomMich
March 2019
It is a fun build and especially with the fantastic information and photos in this forum and SW website. I have enjoyed adding the little extras from Ken’s great build and gaining inspiration from both.
The clevises were a fun and easy extra little detail. Like I said the hardest part was corralling those little NBW’s and keeping them from popping off my tweezers. It’s something I will remember and use again.
TomMich
March 2019
Here’s the finished Pattern Shop with the roof on.
admin
March 2019
Fantastic! Love the coloration, rich, warm, and weathered just right.
Joel
March 2019
fantastic finish on that roof.
KKarns
March 2019
Very well done Tom. Wonderful work.
nextceo
March 2019
Nice work on the whole building…
Alan
brownbr
March 2019
Looks great Tom.
Karl.A
March 2019
The whole building looks fantastic Tom, the weathered siding is right on and I’m loving that roof, everything looks so good together. Looking forward to following your next stage.
Karl.A
TomMich
March 2019
I had intended to photograph the walls for the Repair Shop laying flat, but I got so engrossed in the build I forgot to photograph them, so here they are assembled albeit sans the roof.
vietnamseabee
March 2019
Butting board ends are great…nice weathering of the siding
Terry
kebmo
March 2019 edited March 2019
i’ll say. those walls are great!
admin
March 2019
Love the color of the siding!
KKarns
March 2019
Great work Tom, the corners are nice and tight, weathering is great and I’m with Brett…love the siding treatment. Foundry sign is well done and nicely faded and worn. Watch your height on the signs on the front wall on either side of the window. They appear to be, if I calculated right, about 6-7 scale feet off the deck. In addition, once the porch roof is installed they may be hard to see that high…just a thought
Robert.G
March 2019
I like the rather bleached look of the wood. Nice work !
TomMich
March 2019
Thanks for the nice comments guys. I have enjoyed weathering and detailing the wood siding, and building board on board.
Ken, Now that I have the porch on I think I am OK with the height of the signs. I was worried I would place them too low and they would be obscured by the details.
Here is my progress to date.
MarkG
March 2019
Nice work Tom. I appreciate the subtlety of the shading under the eaves.
Kudos.
Mark
kebmo
March 2019
i agree, it’s looks so real.
brownbr
March 2019
Red and white structures should look good together.
Joel
March 2019
Looks great, the weathering is really well done.
Dave_S
March 2019 edited March 2019
Tom,
I agree with Bryan’s comment… “red and white structures should look good together.”
Can you give us a quick “sneak photo preview” of the red and white buildings together?
Later, Dave S. Tucson, AZ
TomMich
March 2019
I am just getting to the point of joining the buildings. I am following the instructions so as not to mess up and will post photos of the two together as soon as I’m done. Here is the Tempering Shed.
Dave_S
March 2019
Tom,
I understand your desire to follow the directions thus not joining the structures at this point so as not mess anything up now that you have come this far. Looking forward to the photo when you share it with us. Because you have these three structures near completion you have to be getting excited to see them together in a photo as well.
The weathered tar paper, overhead garage door and battens of the tempering shed look great. When this structure is added to the others it will give some great contrast and interest.
Later, Dave s. Tucson, AZ
TomMich
March 2019
As it turns out one of the next steps was to glue the 2 buildings together, so as per the requests to see them together here they are.
TomMich
March 2019
The next step is the Tempering Oven.
It’s a nice detail and one in which is colored primarily with chalk. It took me a little playing with it but I finally arrived at results that I’m satisfied with.
Joel
March 2019
The buildings look great and the contrast in colours works extremely well. The brick colour is fantastic and the weathering superb.
sdrees
March 2019
I second what Joel said about the color of the brick, Fantastic!
brownbr
March 2019
Love the brick work
kebmo
March 2019
i totally agree.
TomMich
March 2019
Thanks for the comments. That little oven was fun to paint and weather. Now here are the 3 buildings placed together.
I tried to replicate the water stains running from the water tank pipe that Ken described in his wonderful build. I played around with it and thought I’d better leave well enough alone before going too far and mess things up.
Now on to the stone walls. Here they are after painting ans weathering.
Stone Walls Resize
Quote
TomMich
March 2019 108.205.147.72
Here are a couple closer shots of the stone walls. After posting all 5 at one time I realized it didn’t show much detail so here are some closer shots.
KCSTrains
March 2019
I really like the way you did the stone. Can you go over your process for painting and weathering stone? Thanks. Phil
kebmo
March 2019
yes please? i’m going to be working on the stone walls for the rr camp in a little while and love the results you achieved on these, they look great.
Joel
March 2019
Nice work. This kit looks like a joy to build. So many interesting aspects. Your execution is wonderful.
sdrees
March 2019
The stone work is a big WOW!!!
TomMich
March 2019
Phil,
I just followed the instructions. I sprayed the castings with Khaki paint, let dry, then blotted on A/I, let dry, then painted individual stones with chalks diluted in alcohol. Basically painted individual stones using chalk in alcohol mix instead of paints. I used to paint individual stones with acrylic paints, but I like this method better as the colors are more subtle.
TomMich
March 2019
Joel,
This is a fun kit to build. There are many new and interesting aspects that are incorporated and fun and interesting to work with. That is why I decided to build it, hoping to learn new methods and techniques for building, and it has not let me down. It is also great to have Ken’s Official build to refer to for inspiration and ideas.
Kevin,
I hope my explanation as to how I did the stone work helps. It is very simple and straight forward and rewarding.
KCSTrains
March 2019
Thanks for the explanation. That’s pretty easy. Phil
TomMich
March 2019
It was easy to color the stone and the results I think are good. Here are the stone walls after installing the windows and other details. Next step is to assemble the building.
kebmo
March 2019
outstanding stone work!
TomMich
March 2019
Thanks Kevin. It was an easy process and a lot of fun. Give it a try on your build.
Here is the stone building assembled.
Joel
March 2019
Wow what a fantastic building. The three building will compliment each other beautifully.
KKarns
April 2019
Great progress and wonderful work.
Dave_S
April 2019
Tom,
Learning a great deal from your build. Looks fantastic. Enjoying each addition as you post your photos and descriptions.
Later, Dave S. Tucson, AZ
TomMich
April 2019
Joel, This is a great complex of different and interesting buildings. It is the reason I chose to build it. Lots of variety, and it has provided a lot of learning techniques and processes.
Thanks Ken and Dave.
Here is the office completed. I have never built clapboard board on board over a scribed sheet before. I like the look of it and how much weathering can be done.
After photographing the Office I noticed fuzz on the cap board. I took steel wool to it post haste! Interesting how photographing a model can bring out the imperfections and details, both good and bad.
Joel
April 2019
Wow that looks great. Some real character to that building. great work.
admin
April 2019
That’s an awesome structure Tom. Color and weathering look perfect together!
brownbr
April 2019
These turned out great. You are right about the photographs showing imperfections. Especially with the close-ups that we tend to take.
TomMich
April 2019
Thanks for the compliments guys, the Office was fun to build. I have finished the Foundry roof. I have to admit I was a little intimidated by the prospect of creating this and having it turn out acceptable. Alas, I should have known better. By following the instructions and taking my time I am satisfied with how it turned out. My biggest problem was I kept knocking the battens loose when working on other parts of the roof. Also it is imperative to keep hands clean so as not to leave marks.
After photographing, again I noticed things I could have done better. For example, there is a sub roof made out of laser cut card stock and an outer roof made from laser board. The outer roof has indentations for the battens to be glued into. I thought I was gluing them into the indentations correctly, but after taking pics, I noticed I missed on a few of them. It isn’t terrible, just looks to the naked eye to be more rust areas around the battens. In any case I am satisfied with it and while a bit of a challenge for me, it was fun to build and I learned a lot from building it, especially how versatile chalks are for coloring and weathering.
I also deviated a bit from the instructions when applying the flashing. I liked the look of Ken’s “lead” flashing and wanted to create that look. The instructions calls for folded flashing, which was laser cut in paper with a fold line cut in it. I cut my flashing from that paper, but didn’t use the laser cut flashing. I simply cut a piece from the edge of that paper and bent it. In hindsight, I should have used typing paper as it is thinner and would have been easier to bend into shape. But it turned out OK.
All in all this is an awesome structure with lots of character.
KKarns
April 2019
You nailed the roof work Tom! Very nicely done and the entire structure looks wonderful. You certainly are on a roll coming off the stellar work on the Office. Can’t wait to see these structures all come together..
Joel
April 2019
Looks great.
sdrees
April 2019
The roof looks great Joel, as does the whole project.
kebmo
April 2019
the roof and stone walls really turned out nice.
TomMich
April 2019
Thanks guys. This structure is really unique and was a lot of fun to build. I am also looking forward to assembling the structures into a diorama.
TomMich
April 2019
Here is the Foundry and Office Complex assembled.
Now the fun really begins, putting the diorama together and adding the details.
Joel
April 2019
It looks fantastic. Can’t wait for it to all come together. Best part of the build.
Jim M
April 2019
Beautiful. Great job
brownbr
April 2019
Looks like a classic New England stonework structure.
sdrees
April 2019
Nice work with the stone work.
Robert.G
April 2019
Looks really great. Well done !!!
TomMich
April 2019
Thanks, looking forward to putting it all together.
TomMich
April 2019
One more thing, I couldn’t resist adding the rebar to the broken corner on the loading dock.
Robert.G
April 2019
It’s all in the subtle details…
kebmo
April 2019
great work!
brownbr
April 2019
Like Robert says, the subtle details sure make a difference in the overall look
KKarns
April 2019
Now that’s a nice looking group! Wonderfully done Tom and on the home stretch…oops, wait a minute…you do have a bunch more work to do as I remember…
mstanley
April 2019
Really great colouring and weathering, especially when they are all together. They should blend very well into your diorama. Nicely done, and looking forward to the rest of this build.
TomMich
April 2019
Thanks guys. Ken, as I read the instructions it will be a while before I’m in the “home stretch”, but now is the fun stretch when it all comes together. I’m really looking forward to this part of the build.
KKarns
April 2019
And there they are! Wonderful work Tom. Everything blends together so well.
KKarns
April 2019
Concrete color and finish looks spot on.
TomMich
May 2019
I know it’s been a while since my last update. Life has gotten a bit hectic around here lately. Rest assured however that I have not been idle. In the moments I’ve been able to work on this wonderful kit, I have been working on details. Probably my favorite part of any build.
Working through this kit it has struck me how much research and thought Brett has put into creating it. It is not just a series of buildings with the customary off the shelf detail parts. Yes there are many cast detail parts, many of which have been created specifically for this kit. But there are many more details that have been laser cut and need assembly. While a bit intimidating at first glance, they go together well after reading and following the instructions. These special details have been thoroughly researched and enhance the whole diorama.
I have been busy painting the cast resin and blackening the metal detail parts and assembling the myriad of other laser cut parts. I have also added a few from my stash of parts.
While the instructions take you through each area of the diorama and mention the details included in each scene and tell you to paint, assemble, blacken them etc. I prefer to have all my detail parts at hand and ready to place for each scene, Thus I have deviated a bit from the instructions and have finished all the details ahead of time.
Here are photos of some of them, in no special order.
The 2 wheel dolly’s are laser cut and need assembly, and they do assemble well. One is green and the other a red, but they didn’t show up well in the photo.
This is a selection of cast, and other parts. The shelf comes with no door which I like to add in the open position. The cart with the boxes is a laser cut item. The barrel shelf has laser cut legs with wood shelf. The large gear is from my own collection, to which I custom build a pallet with a pallet jack from Alloy Forms (now SS Ltd). I liked Ken’s pulley wheels on a pallet so duplicated it. The cart with the bar stock on it is a casting from my collection and I added a handle by bending wire. The boxes have small pieces of bar stock in them. The barrels have scrap wood and bar stock. The clevises are a neat detail I “borrowed” from Ken’s great build. There are many more detail parts not shown, but I wanted to highlight some of my favorites.
The bar stock rack was a laser assembly that is really a neat detail.
The coke cart is also a laser cut detail that really adds realism to the scene.
The crane is one of the signature features of the diorama and is also a laser cut detail that needed assembly, and was fun to build and weather.
The used patterns are also laser cut and needed some assembly to add rims and hubs. A simple but neat detail.
The used and discarded mold boxes were also laser cut and needed assembly. They gave me a little trouble because they are somewhat fragile and when trying to weather them with my big clumsy hands was a little challenging for me.
The wheel barrows are laser cut with a cast metal wheel and assembled well. One is gray and the other 2 are red, which didn’t show up well in the photo.
The table saw stand has cast metal legs and the instructions call for a “plywood” platform, but I chose boards.
The table saw was fun to assemble the saw body is resin, the handles are cast metal and the saw blade is laser cut.
Thanks for putting up with my ramble. Hope you enjoy the photos. Now as time permits it’s on to putting everything together!
Robert.G
May 2019
You did a fine work on those castings for sure !!!
kebmo
May 2019
great job on the laser cut details. they give me fits…
brownbr
May 2019
Great job.
admin
May 2019
Outstanding!
Joel
May 2019
Great work on the details. Looking forward to seeing it all come together.
TomMich
May 2019
Thanks guys. Appreciate the comments. Going to begin creating the diorama now.
Wes
May 2019
Wow Tom. Beautiful work bud.
Colours and tones are perfectly done
KKarns
May 2019
Details look wonderful, well done.
TomMich
May 2019
Finally able to start the dio. I have the Pattern Shop, Repair Shop, Spring Works complex completed. Here are some pics of them. I’ll try to work around the complex in some sort of order so it flows together.
Next on to the Foundry, Office.
Joel
May 2019
Amazing how it all comes together. Beautiful work.
CarlLaskey
May 2019
Nice job Tom from every angle. What did you use for the green paint? ..Carl…
sdrees
May 2019
Great looking diorama
Robert.G
May 2019
Indeed it is. Well done.
brownbr
May 2019
Nicely done. I don’t recall seeing anyone finish scenery in sections quite the way you do.
TomMich
May 2019
Thanks guys. I appreciate the compliments. It has been a really fun and enjoyable kit to build. So many new and interesting techniques to learn to master.
Carl, the green paint is a craft paint from Michael’s or Hobby Lobby, I can’t remember where I got it. It’s Anita’s Acrylic Craft Paint Leaf Green. The instructions call for using SW Meadow Green, but my bottle has curdled and is no good for painting details. I still use it for staining wood, etc. We moved a couple of years ago and I had my supplies in a storage unit. It was over the winter and probably froze in that unit. Several of the bottles have curdled.
TomMich
May 2019
I forgot to mention that instead of using the laser cut plywood sheets that come with the kit, I cut my own from cut offs from laser board. For me the supplied laser cut sheets were too thick and the laser board was a thinner material and looked better. I mimicked the cut outs on my laser board cut out plywood sheets to resemble those on the supplied laser cut outs. I also stained the plywood with a light wash of alcohol and brown leather dye.
CarlLaskey
May 2019
Thank’s Tom I do like that color. .Carl…
KKarns
May 2019
Outstanding work Tom! Things are really coming together now, such a fun part of a build. Your mini-scenes flow seamlessly together, couple that with your excellent detail work and the results speak for themselves.
TomMich
May 2019
I have the Foundry/Office complex completed. Here are some photos.
CarlLaskey
May 2019
Tom. A great job looks very good to me. …Carl…
kebmo
May 2019
outstanding!
Robert.G
May 2019
WOW !!! Tom , you did a fantastic job on this one. I am gonna be busy enlarging these pics and study everything on it. Such great scenes , congratulations.
Thanks for sharing this build. It is much appreciated .
Robert.G
May 2019
Oh, if you have more photo’s , they’d be welcome.. 
JeanGS
May 2019
If there are reasons to look at the forum,here is one when you see these great achievements.
BRAVO!!!
brownbr
May 2019
Looks great.
kebmo
May 2019
wow, you sure made short shrift of this kit.
TomMich
May 2019
Thanks guys for the nice comments. Kevin, being retired has some advantages, you get to work on dioramas much of the day!
Robert, I’ll see if I can figure a way to take some photos outside under natural light and see of that works out. We live in a new subdivision without much of a backdrop.
Actually I almost forgot to put the chimney on the furnace. I was so excited to post the latest photos that I forgot to install it. Here are photos of the chimney.
CarlLaskey
May 2019
Tom. Outstanding. …Carl…
brownbr
May 2019
That looks great.
Joel
May 2019
Great work. A real treat to watch it all come together. Thanks for taking the time.
admin
May 2019
Wonderful, very impressive Tom!
KKarns
May 2019
Beautiful work and attention to detail is superb. On the home stretch Tom!
Geezerbill
November 2019
Tom, such a great build. Wonderful photos. You even have water in the tank. Thanks for sharing.
Geezerbill
TomMich
November 2019
Thanks Bill. It was a LOT of fun to build! I also learned a lot of new techniques and honed a few skills.