The Kit

This is what's in the box:

 That's a lot of pieces, and only 5 pages of instructions. I'm kind of on my own here. (Especially considering how the instructions are written. There are some serious goofs in there.) First I'll do some preassembly painting.

Here's the first coat of the base color. You often see pretty decrepit paint jobs on these buildings, but I decided to try for spiffy. My railroad is a tourist operation, so I reason everything will get a fresh coat of paint every winter. I tried out a few colors (note test swatches on lower left board) and settled on good ol' barn red with white trim. I like brushed textures with artist's acrylics. This is straight cadmium red with a bit of gel medium. Two coats was sufficient. The trim was sprayed twice with titanium white while still on the board, and will have a final coat brushed when it's in place.

pqe

Beginning assembly

The building construction is heavy beam and board, so the first glue holds  the wall sheathing to the frames.

There's a lot of glue there, the hard part was spreading it fast enough so the first glue was still wet when I got to the other end. I'm using Aleene's Tacky Glue for this. I then hit it with the white spray.

That's just one coat from a Liqutex rattle can. There's enough wood showing through to make it look dirty. I reasoned that the inside of this facility is not for the tourists, so it probably only gets a coat of whitewash when the soot buildup makes it too dark to work. (And the whitewash goes right over the soot.) There's an engine house in Westcliffe CO that looked like this when I visited.

pqe

Doing Windows

Next up, a bunch of windows.15 double hung and 4 casement. The window frames are lasered from cardstock with a sticky back. The glass panes are likewise lasered from thin acetate. The etching leaves little tabs to hold everything together until needed. 

The first step is to peel the protective paper off the frame and drop a pane into place. The paper edges will line it up nicely. I found this nifty suction gadget at a train shop in Cedar Rapids IA.

Just the thing to work with this little bitty part. It comes with different size suction cups and a straight and bent pipe. This assembly has to be glued into the siding flush with the outer edge, like this:

I believe I have mentioned before that glue is my arch-nemesis. Ever since first grade, I have come from arts&crafts with glue on my hands, my hair, all over the front of the work-- all without getting enough in the right place to hold what-ever-it-was together. This is my latest weapon:

That's a "proxabrush" teeth cleaner. I melt the little nylon bristles off with a soldering iron and wind up with a short twist of fine wire that holds the smallest drop of Aleene's I have managed so far. You can bend the wire to get into odd places. Dry glue builds up after while, but you can just pop it off.

Top to bottom: the original, defuzzed with a spot of glue, a bent one. Note that you can set it down without getting glue on the bench. With this tool, I managed to keep most of the window transparent.

At this point, I departed from the instructions because if I had followed them, the windows would have been inside out. After the top sash was dry, I applied the trim:

Then installed the sills:

I had to add a piece to complete the inside of the sill, because the bottom sash was just a bit short, and you could see under it. (I had to redo a couple after I found this out.) at this point I painted the inside edges of the trim and sill with my finest mousehair* brush. Finally, the lower sash goes in from the inside:

 Looks like that right hand casement has a broken hinge. I tried to leave it open just a bit, but it may need more adjustment. Doors get something of the same treatment. Knobs (& a bit more cadmium red) will come later.

pqe

*As far as I know, there are no brushes made of actual mousehair, that's just my term for a very very small brush.

Your doing a great job so

Your doing a great job so far. If you have any question just let me know as this was one of our first kids and a friend din the directions. And note there are two water tanks incase you have problem on the first but it's not a hard build.

rich

rslaserkits

Looks like a nice kit

You must have picked up that tool at Box-Kar hobbies in Cedar Rapids

http://www.boxkarhobbies.com/

@Pelsea................

.................thanks so much for sharing your techniques!  I am going to have to get that suction thingie as well as some of those "brushes"!!  I have been using tweezers for the window panes but they always go on crooked and the glue dot smears.  Micro Mark?

Peter

Kit

Looking good!  Be sure to publish the finished results.

Joe

Thanks for you kind words

Rich- I'm very impressed with the kit. It looks complex, but it's going together easily. This really shows how much is involved in the design of laser products. It's not enough to just get the building dimensions, you have to allow for material variances, including different cutting characteristics and kerf size, work out a practical build order (so for instance you don't wind up handling finished parts too much) and so on. I wonder how many lasers are sitting unused in basements because the eager buyers had no idea how complex it really is? (But you really should take another shot at the instructions-- there's a lot left out and some things seem out of order.)

Trainman- I get back to Cedar Rapids every couple of years when I visit my brother (retired editor of the Gazette), and Box-Kar is always on my list of places to go. Last trip I picked up some nifty Crandic gons.

Peter- I'm sure you can get the Hobby-pal from most dealers. It's made by Badger, the airbrush folks. I'm really tickled about the proxabrush-- I made an AC version by nipping the end off and untwisting the wires a bit. It's built like a bottle brush, so the bristles just fall off when you do this. I then bent the two wire ends into a tuning fork shape. That will carry a really tiny drop of glue. In addition to handling glue, they are good for getting popcorn out of the teeth. A pack of 8 costs about $12 at CVS. 

More in a bit...

pqe

Thanks, Will look at then

Thanks, Will look at then again if I get time the one thing about the kits I hate is writing directions. Never was a English major  and have added a few tings to upgrade that kits over the last ten years.  Next mod might be a add on service pit and floors. have most the drawings done just need to finish.

rich

rslaserkits

Adventures in Legoland

So, having gotten this far:

It's time for the barn raising. I've read on this forum that the key to getting a building square is Legos. I thought I'd try that, but being childless, I have no access to a toy box to steal them. I had to actually buy some, so I ran out to Toys-R-Us and prowled the Lego department. Boy, was that daunting. I saw floor to ceiling displays of Lego products, but it was nearly impossible to determine what any box actually contained. Seems everything was a tie-in: Star Wars, Ninjas, Frozen, all aimed at making one very specific model. There were even apps and on-line games-- I guess you build your environment then upload it to be scenery and game pieces. The boxes have beautiful art, but few list the actual contents. These kits include plastic biceps for the superheroes, but they contain few if any of the basic blocks I remember from my childhood. And the prices!! You can get an Imperial star destroyer for $129.99. It probably didn't help that they were ripping the roof off of the building so conversation with a store clerk was impossible.

So I drove off to the the nearest official Lego store. That's thirty miles over the mountains, but turned out to be worth the drive. (It didn't hurt that it's near my favorite LHS.) An official store has a back wall with buckets of basic blocks that you buy by the pint. So I was able to get a lifetime supply for $15.00.

This morning I assembled some corner jigs and glued the wall sections together:

It took some creative legotecture to get jigs to miss the windows and trim, but since I had sprung for the full pint of blocks, I had enough variety to get the job done. I didn't glue all four corners at once. I started with the one neared the camera, and when that glue was nearly set I did the one to the right. 10 minutes later I put up the back wall. Not visible from this view is a square steel block that held each corner from the inside while glue was setting up. I used Aleene's "fast grab" variety for this, so the whole thing set up in a half hour. Here it is with the jigs off:

  There's a bit of one rafter missing there-- that cracked when I took the piece out of the board and gave up when I was painting. I've got it and will put it in when the roof goes on.

pqe

Lego

Yet another neat way to use Lego as a structure building aid.

Thanks for sharing it.

Regards,

Darn...got rid of all the

Darn...got rid of all the Legos when the kids got tired of them. Love the corner jigs. Spring garage sales here I come.

Looks Great

A suggestion if is not to late.

With the walls up put it in place on the layout and trace the inside of the walls with the track in place. You can then work out the size of the pit if you are going to include one. Put the floor in and when you set the building in place it should fit just right in place.

If there is a floor included you might have to deviate from the instructions some, I haven't built this kit, so don't really know from experience. It makes it much easier if you are going to detail the inside though.

Anyway you have done a fine job so far. Having done 2 of Rslazer kits they turn out pretty well.

Jack

CANOPY GLUE--- FOR WINDOWS / Clear pieces

When you go to a hobby store to get your supplies -- ask for Canopy Glue -- it dries clear so it doesn't schmutz  up your  nicely done modeling with foggy windows. Use that instead of any superglues or anything 

Really makes getting the glue on the acetate windows - no longer a concern - and you can put it on thick - so 6 months later your windows aren't falling out

Floor

There is no floor supplied, so I'm going to have to make one. The yard it fits into has a top layer of 1/4" cork, so I've plenty of options for matching the floor level with the track. It's pink foam under that, so a pit will be easy. I haven't worked out the details yet but I have some ideas.

Rich mentioned he has plans for a floor, so maybe something will turn up there.

Canopy glue-- I've heard of that, but haven't seen any at my LHS. I'll get some on my next on-line order. The model has sashes made of adhesive backed card stock, so there is less chance of shmutz. I got pretty lucky, and only smudged a couple of windows on the back. I can blame that on spiders.

pqe

Cleaning windows

I revisited a couple of those windows with the shmutz, and discovered dried Aleene's comes off of acetate cleanly if you scrape it gently-- I used a tool that I got from my dentist. Blobs actually come off better than smears. So if you get some Aleene's on a window, don't try to clean it off until it dries.

pqe

Raise high the roof beam

With the walls together, it's time to begin building the roof. This kit has quite a complex roof with one piece trusses and long purlins (which I usually call beams). These are all notched and come together like a 3D jigsaw puzzle. The notching also extends to the walls, which contain the end trusses in the framing. I want to make the roof removable, but unlike the plan given with the kit, I want the rafters and all to come off with the roof so I can reach inside. (I'm going to add interior details at some future date.)

I started the assembly by dry fitting the trusses onto the walls. Then after testing that the purlins fit, I glued the purlins to the interior trusses:

You will note that one purlin has popped out of place. Luckily, so did I and straightened it just after this was taken. When the glue was set, I could remove the raftering as a unit thus:

Looking carefully, you will see something amiss with the side purlin-- not all of the rafters stick through completely. Seems there was a slight production glitch-- the board the trusses were cut from wasn't quite centered in the laser, so the ends of the rafter fell off the side. No matter-- once I attach the roof to this, I can fill in the missing bits with scrapwood. I've already got a rafter end to repair, as one of the end wall trusses cracked at the final notch. They are very, very thin there:

I moved the assembled trusswork over to my painting box for a coat of titanium white. While that was drying, I began to assemble the workshop section. This involved more Legos. 

The clamp on the right is holding a stack of 2x8s against the inside corner to keep things square. The left end is held by my trusty steel block. Once that had set up (Aleene's fast dry glue in use here) I brought the main body into position:

Note the clamps on the right joint. Legos notwithstanding, there was a slight twist in the shop so I had to snug the top of the joint together. I'm using two recently acquired clamps here:

The metal clamps on the left are something to do with hair coloring (ask a lady). I got them in the hair care section of the local Rite-Aide for 6 @ $1.50.  They are made of aluminum (aluminium to our Aussie friends) so they are easily bent into shapes, and can be cut with shears to get a short tight clamp. The wooden clamps are the old standby reversed clothespins but I found a miniature set at a craft store. The plastic thing is the smallest official modeling clamp I have been able to buy. What are you using for tiny clamps?

Once the workshop and main building were married, I started the workshop roof. It has the same construction, with trusses and purlins, but I see no need to make it removable. I did run into another production glitch.

The workshop trusses, which you can see here, are just a bit too short. They don't quite reach from the shop wall to the beam they are supposed to connect to. So I added some bits of scrap to make up the difference. They are shown above held in with a couple of hair clamps. (Note the bends on the clamps to focus pressure on the center of the pieces.)

Eventually I got to this:

Main roof trusses painted and set into place and the shop trusses and purlins glued in. There was a bit of bother with the shop roof-- the scraps I added turned out to be a bit too thick, so the purlins and notches in the trusses didn't quite line up. This took a bit of careful carving, followed by repairs where I wasn't careful enough, but it will all be hidden once the roof is glued on. I also have some carving to do on the main roof. It fits tightly now, but to make it safely removable I'm going to have to ease the notches on the end trusses a bit.

pqe

Will Look into the problems

Will Look into the problems you have as have not heard about them before. Maybe something changed in the file.

 Will see were I am on the floor and serive pit. Drop me a email and will let you know.

rich

Duplo

We bought our 14 month old daughter a Duplo starter kit for Christmas - it had all the pieces on the bottom of the box and most of the pieces are simple blocks unlike the advanced boxes. Wonder if those would work better? Now I wonder if my daughter would miss a few? 

BTW great work on the enginehouse!

I have used the cement below

I have used the cement below for installing as well as making windows and it works fairly well. I have also made small windows with it. I have found it available any place plastic models are sold and in craft stores as well.

Really nice model, the detail is very impressive, that will be a great addition to your layout.

http://testors.cust.shopatron.com/product/0/8876C/_/Clear_Parts_Cement_Window_Maker

Cement-

That looks ideal. I'll need some for the next project, which is a FSM depot that has been hanging around shops and train shows long enough that it has a $39.95 price tag on it.

Duplo-- the blocks are bigger than Legos, right? That may be useful. I also see some interesting angles, so a complete shop may need some of both.

Thanks

pqe

Duplo is Lego for small

Duplo is Lego for small hands... Made by Lego, and compatible with Lego. They're larger and easier to handle for tots... and harder to swallow. You should find them in the same places.

Legos?

Brilliant idea. To bad it's too late for me. But maybe not, there is some empty space in the far corner.

Cleaning up boo-boos

After the glue on the roof truss was solid, I glued the main roof together:

The tape is just temporary to help line up the roof crown with the trusses. After the glue had dried, It needed some more filing and sanding of the notches in the building walls to make the roof easily lift off.

Now it's time to address various goofs. For instance, there was a bit of overlap at a couple of wall edges. These had to be trimmed and sanded smooth: 

Note the knife sharpening block in the background. X-acto knives are pretty sharp when they come out of the package, but that edge only lasts for a few cuts. I keep the edge Death-scythe keen by dressing it on the bottom of the stone, then stropping with the leather side. Incidentally, when you trim like this, cut against the grain. Otherwise, you will wind up splitting a big chunk off. Guess how I learned that? The wood should come off in short chips.

The big goof happened at the joint between the shop and the main building. Despite the best efforts of the citizens of Legoland, the two pieces did not snug up straight:

So, I had to use a single edge razor blade to open the joint, then glue it with some clamps.

There was also a bit of wobble to the building as a whole. There always is, with wood. If the wobble is not minimized, it will be difficult to fit a floor.

I persuaded it to nestle down by setting the low corners on a piece of sandpaper and pulling it out from under. I alternated corners of the diagonal. (The ones that did not move up and down, to be perfectly clear.) This is not a job that can be rushed. I really should be doing this on a piece of glass, but my glass plate is a half inch too short. (Gotta get a new one.) My glass plate did confirm that my cutting mat is flat through here though.

There was another big goof to attack. Remember this?

The circled bit of the rafter broke off while I was working with the ends. Actually, I broke another one while taking the picture three back. Time to put the pieces back together. One just popped back into place with a drop of AC. But the other had a void where the inner layer of the plywood came out. That left very little to glue to. So I built a biscuit out of styrene, clearing a notch in the matching piece with a dental tool.

Once it is painted no one will be the wiser.

I also managed to break the end off of one of the roof trusses before I got it glued to the roof, and it (the broken bit, not the roof) disappeared into the land of the carpet people*. I made a replacement out of some scrap. It's not perfect, but it's well hidden. At the same time, I added ends to the trusses that were a tad short:

They'll be fine with a lick of paint.

pqe

*That's two Terry Pratchett references in one post. Can you tell I'm a fan?