Let the games begin
Comments
Karl.A
February 2022 edited February 2022
Ooooh , this is going to be good, bring it on Jim.
I’m looking forward to watching your work on this great kit.
Post lot’s of pics and updates please…
brownbr
February 2022
Looking forward to watching your build. One of my favorite kits to build.
Jim M
February 2022
I’m not sure about the color and won’t be able to decide until tomorrow in the daylight; my lighting really sucks. This is after the 1st attempt of chalking and alcohol. I am having trouble getting the white balance of the camera adjusted properly to show the true colors.
brownbr
February 2022
I like the color and the knots. The sawbanding really pops.
Color is subjective and you should make it the color that you like the most.
For me, I would add a couple coats of thin AI and give a light gray dry brushing now. Once the walls are up I’d go at the lower wall some more with black/green.
Karl.A
February 2022 edited February 2022
I also have trouble sometimes conveying the true color of what I’m working on to show on the screen.
I have incandescents and daylights over my desk, I can have either on independently but always have both on when working.
Photo’s however rarely show what I see in front of me.
As much as we try to show the true colors we see in front of us it rarely conveys well over the screen, without some effort, and we don’t always have time to do that while building.
As long as the color looks great to you in person that is what is most important, conveying that during the build itself I think is secondary.
The important things to show, (for me) are, build quality, build effects, detailing, weathering and effects, and variations.
That last picture of yours shows all of these things clearly and excellently, knots are great, saw banding is subtle, tone and color variations show up well but are blended… this is what is important to see for me.
Color tones vary from screen to screen, and I know we all really want to show the ‘true color’, but,
I dont sweat it too much anymore, unless that is the specific purpose of my post.
Sorry Jim, I guess thats a long ass way of saying “those boards look great”.
KKarns
February 2022
Nice start Jim, look forward to following along.
admin
February 2022
Board detail is excellent, can’t wait to see more. Thanks for sharing with us.
EmeryJ
February 2022
Off to a great start. The boards look perfect.
Jim M
February 2022
Thanks guys, they look OK in the daylight to me, so I’ll continue. I stained a few extra pieces of scrap wood to give Brownbr’s suggestion a try. Karl, if I was drinking coffee while I read your post, I would have had it all over my screen when I read your last sentence; that was hilarious. Thanks so much, I appreciate the comments and suggestions.
ALCO
February 2022
Looks pretty realistic from here!
Joel
February 2022
A great start, the boards really look good, Nice texture and variable shades.
Jim M
February 2022
It seems that the siding has really lightened up some since it has sat for a few days, so I need to decide if I want to make some changes there. In the meantime, I’ve finished building the walls; dang those fire breaks are small. I’m pretty sure I could have framed an entire real house in the time it took to build these. I can’t imagine doing this in HO scale, yikes. I kept the tar paper over the doors intact so it would help support the wall until I can glue it all up.
Karl.A
February 2022
Looking great Jim, I really like the lighter ‘faded’ shades on the tar paper.
randyp
February 2022
Jim, great tight job with the 2x4 studs. I don’t see any gaps top or bottom.
admin
February 2022
Fantastic Jim! Looks great.
KKarns
February 2022
Well done Jim!
Jim M
February 2022
Thanks, I’m plugging away at the siding now. Crazy how long it takes.
Randy, I have the Ultimation sander with the repeater accessory, it really helps to get small pieces the exact same size.
brownbr
February 2022
Tarpaper turned out nice
randyp
February 2022
Jim I have that too. It is a great help in getting things just so.
kebmo
February 2022
Jim M said:
Thanks, I’m plugging away at the siding now. Crazy how long it takes.
Randy, I have the Ultimation sander with the repeater accessory, it really helps to get small pieces the exact same size.
i just ordered a repeater this morning knowing i have this kit on the shelf.
Jim M
February 2022
Kevin, you won’t regret it. It’s what makes the sander a great tool. I still have to use a razor blade to remove the last bit of fuzz left after sanding to length.
kebmo
February 2022
Jim M said:
Kevin, you won’t regret it. It’s what makes the sander a great tool. I still have to use a razor blade to remove the last bit of fuzz left after sanding to length.
i wonder if putting finer grit sandpaper on the sander would eliminate the fuzz. i’ve been wondering that since i bought the sander.
randyp
February 2022
I use a professional finger nail file to remove the fuzz. kevin, I don’t think that will do any good. You might try turning the wood over so the fuzz is in top just before you get to the length. Randy
kebmo
February 2022
randyp said:
I use a professional finger nail file to remove the fuzz. kevin, I don’t think that will do any good. You might try turning the wood over so the fuzz is in top just before you get to the length. Randy
that’s pretty much what i use too.
Jim M
February 2022
I just use a razor blade to cut it off, that’s easy and quick. I’ve tried turning it over at the end of the sanding and it helps a bit, but I still felt I needed to cut with the razor blade.
EmeryJ
February 2022
Coming along right nice there Jim. Have to agree with you on the fire breaks. They sure are tiny. I like your idea of not cutting off the tarpaper in the big doors for added support. Every little bit helps.
Jim M
April 2022
I’ve been plugging away at this for a bit and have really enjoyed doing this kit. I thought it would be a fairly simple little build but there is so much to it. I’m just having a blast with this one. I’ve got the building planted and I am now just starting to put the junk and greenery around the building to make it come alive.
First a few around the inside of the rooms.
Had to get the parts book out to order some parts for that old Ford 2-cylinder tractor motor
Looks like I need to sweep up the floor.
A few outside but I’ve got quite a bit left to do.
A little engine work going on.
I’ll post again when I get the outside finished. Thanks for looking.
Karl.A
April 2022 edited April 2022
Looks so good Jim, you have a great scene coming together.
All of those details on the walls and shelves are so nicely done, you should be feeling really good about these results.
I specifically noticed the plug wires, distributer, etc. on the engine block and the fan.
Also in the last pic, the subtle rust on the cabinet hinges and the spare parts (4 pistons) spread out on the “instruction sheet/soaker paper”, the block on one side and the head on the other side of the bench, and of course the oily rag to wipe your hands. Then there’s the head gasket under the head, now that’s some really nice, thoughtful detailing.
You must have done that job once or twice in real life, great little scene.
Jim M
April 2022
Thanks so much Karl, I’m really enjoying this kit. Yes, I once had to replace the valves on my car. I did the valve job on my kitchen table in my apartment. I could have used this workshop then.
brownbr
April 2022
The extra effort is paying off on all of the scenes
Jerry
April 2022
Very nice Jim!
I assumed when you used the kitchen table for the valve job you were single or your wife was very understanding?
Jim M
April 2022
Thanks Brownbr and Jerry. I appreciate the comments.
Jerry said:
I assumed when you used the kitchen table for the valve job you were single or your wife was very understanding?
Jerry
Jerry yes, I was single and I was a recent college grad at the time and had no money to pay to get my car fixed. We’ve all been there. I had never done that kind of work before, but I bought a book and I was able to do it. I remember riding my bicycle to downtown Chicago from the suburbs to go to the JC Whitney store to get the head gaskets and the valves I needed.
TomMich
April 2022
Great detailed scenes. Lots to look at and appreciate.
ALCO
April 2022
Obviously I know less about an engine than Karl but I like your work just as much!
Jim M
April 2022
Thanks Tom and ALCO, I appreciate the comment.
KKarns
April 2022
Nicely done Jim. Excellent scene composition and detail work.
Jim M
April 2022
Thanks so much Ken, I appreciate it.
admin
May 2022
Wonderful, really enjoying watching this build come to life!
Jim M
May 2022
Brett, thanks so much. So nice to get a complimentary comment from the creator of this wonderful kit.
Jim M
November 2022
Well, it’s been 6 months since I’ve done anything on this project, I’ve been busy with other projects but it’s time to try and finish this one up. A discussion on another thread inspired me to show what I’ve been doing with wiring my Truck repair. I decided to add a light under the “shed” because where this will sit on my layout, you really won’t be able to see any of the details without some light. I should have anticipated this and prepared for it, but no such luck and now I’ve had to try and shoehorn the wiring in without wrecking everything in the process.
I like to use SMD LED’s (pictured below) if I can, because they really throw a lot of light. Above the strip of LEDs is a single one inverted with the soldering spots evident. Positive wire goes to the smaller soldering spot.
I, like everyone else, have so many of these old wall warts from so many different electrical gadgets that don’t work anymore. This one is from an old wireless router; it has a 12-volt DC output. LEDs operate on about 3 volts so the voltage needs to be reduced or the LED will blow immediately. Instead of using resistors to reduce that voltage, I use these cheap little “Buck converters” because they are much more versatile and very easy to use. With this setup, you don’t have to worry about batteries or resistors. This converter takes a DC voltage of up to 40 volts and reduces it to as low as 1.5 volts. Though these are called “buck converters” for a different reason, they actually cost about a buck. You can get these that convert AC voltage to DC voltage as well, but they are a slightly more expensive. Anyway, I just cut off the end of the wall wart and after identifying which wire is the positive lead, solder the wires to the input of the converter in the appropriate site. I then dial in a voltage of about 3 volts test with my voltmeter and then solder the LED leads to the output. You can easily dial up a little higher voltage to get the amount of light you want, not too high though, you don’t want to fry the LED. You can also obviously dial the voltage down for a more dimmed light.
I used a .042 diameter tubing for the conduit and a twisted magnet wire as the conductor. I used a few 3D printed details like the elbows and the “junction box” and “pillow blocks” for mounting. I know these are not necessarily prototypical, but I just wanted to hide the wires. In the picture, I separated the elbow from the conduit so you can see the twisted wire inside the conduit.
After much manipulation and cursing and one failure (there was a short circuit in the system after it was all mounted, so I had to start all over again), I was able to get the assembly mounted. I had to remove a couple of the rafters to be able to mount this.
Finished. Now onto the lighting for inside the building.
Note to self: Next time, do this before all the details are added. This was so much harder to do than it had to be if I had just thought ahead. Arrgh
Karl.A
November 2022 edited November 2022
Hindsight is a beautiful thing indeed Jim, just like your lighting.
Thx for sharing with us,
I’ll need to look into those ‘buck thingy’s’
admin
November 2022
That looks amazing! Lighting is such a worthy addition.
EmeryJ
November 2022
Good save on adding lights. It is a PIA after the fact. You did great.
sdrees
November 2022
The pictures with the lighting are just amazing and lighting adds so much to the project. I use the same method for my lighting using the buck converter. Make things so much easier.
Jim M
November 2022
Thanks guys. Really appreciate the comments. I’m putting thought into how to do the lighting in the building. I have an idea that will entail building a few more trusses. I’ll start that tomorrow.
KKarns
November 2022
Well done Jim.
brownbr
November 2022
Love the conduit you created.
TomMich
November 2022
Lighting really adds a lot! Nice work!
Jim M
November 2022
Thanks for the comments, they are really appreciated. Any suggestions or criticisms are appreciated as well.
I think I am going to install the lighting in the building in a similar manner. I still want to be able to remove the roof so I decided to try and replicate the trusses that I have previously built. On the template, I taped some blocks around a previously built truss. I then built 4 more trusses using some scrap wood which is very close in size to the original. I also used the hobby saw to cut some strip wood from the same plywood from which the trusses were originally laser cut. These new trusses look to be a near perfect match to the trusses that I already have, so I hope this works out OK.
My plan is to follow the manual using the original trusses and glue those to the roof board. Then I will glue these additional trusses to the building. The conduit will be glued to these additional trusses but not to the original ones. This way, the roof can still be removed. Wish me luck.
randyp
November 2022
Jim, I really like your conduit. I may try that on the water tank kit I am working on now. Thanks for the tip on the buck converters. I just ordered ten for $9.19 plus shipping. Keep us updated on your lighting. Randy
KKarns
November 2022
Sounds like a plan. Nifty idea…look forward to seeing how it shakes out.
Jim M
November 2022
Randy, I’m glad this was helpful. I hope you like the results using these. I think you will, it really makes it simple.
Ken, I’m looking forward to it too. I just need to figure out a good order of doing things. I spotted the original trusses. After they dry, I need to then drill a few holes and then I can install the additional trusses and then mount the conduit. Fingers crossed
Joel
November 2022
Love the lighting system. Adds so much and beautifully done.
Jim M
November 2022
Thanks Joel, I appreciate that.
Moving forward, I tried and tried to bend tubing in the shape of a gooseneck lamp and I had nothing but miserable results. Nothing I tried worked as the tubing always kinked. I guess I don’t have the patience to figure this out, so I decided to come up with something different and I’m satisfied with this.
Here is one of the pendant lights for inside the structure and one of the lights with the modification I came up with for outside the building. These are wired with the same SMD LED I referred to in an earlier post. The wire is the same 30AWG magnet wire.
randyp
November 2022
Jim your solutions to kinked tubing look great. what kind of tubing were you trying to bend that kinked so bad? Good work, Randy
Jim M
November 2022
Thanks Randy. It was tubing from Ngineering. I’m impressed with result you got on your build. They have a jig for bending but I just decided to go this way instead. I actually like these better than the gooseneck lamps.
Jim M
November 2022
Trying to light this and hide the wires in conduit has sure proved problematic but it’s now installed, and all the lights are still working. I don’t have any pictures of it lit up yet, but I did test all the lights and there are no shorts and all of them work.
An overhead shot shows the conduit routing. All the wires go down through the large bore conduit and exit below the base of the diorama. I built the additional trusses using scrap wood.
A couple of pics through the doors: that’s the roof in the background, the original trusses are glued to the roof. You can see the LED in the pendant light from this angle. I have a shade for the lights that I can add if I desire. I don’t think you will be able to see the LEDs unless you can get below the structure though, so I probably won’t use the shades.
brownbr
November 2022
Fantastic way to install the lights.
randyp
November 2022
Jim, What did you use for the junction boxes? They look good. Randy
kebmo
November 2022
randyp said:
Jim, What did you use for the junction boxes? They look good. Randy
i was gonna ask that too.
Jim M
November 2022
Thanks guys. Randy, the junction boxes and elbows are 3D printed. I’ve been working with Brett on some drawings of some electrical components. I don’t know if or when they will pass the test for being able to be mass produced. These “elbows” took quite a bit of work to fit the conduit and be able to pass the wire through. The junction boxes were drawn specifically for the width of the truss they are attached to and for the conduit tubing that I used.
randyp
November 2022
Thanks Jim for the information. I hope you and Brett get things worked out. these would be a great addition to the 3D printed parts. Randy
KKarns
November 2022
Great work here Jim! Looking forward to seeing this piece all lit up. Nice details all around.
geoawelch
February 25
Hi Jim, great build. Did you ever complete it?
Cheers
George
Jim M
February 25
Thanks George, I appreciate you looking. Unfortunately, no I haven’t finished it. I’m stuck on the scenery. I know exactly what I want it to look like, but I don’t know how to do it, so I know I’ll be disappointed, and I think that is what stops me from proceeding. Hopefully soon though.