End-of-Year Goals

Yes, I know it is only August.  But August is nearly over, the kids are back to school, and the Chinese Pistache trees are beginning to blush.  So, I'm looking ahead to what I'd like to accomplish by year's end.  The Fall brings birthdays for my wife and both my boys as well as the holidays.  Not sure if we'll make it to Thanksgiving in Nevada this year, due to the virus, the weather, or both.  

All that to say, I'm trying to be realistic about what I might accomplish.  The Trail Drive of Christmas 2020 stretched well into the Spring of 2021.  I do have a tendency to fall prey to the planning fallacy.  That said, here's a look at what I'm thinking I'd like to accomplish.  All are projects in need of completion:

Firstly, the 0-4-0 Shifter.  I started this project not long after I got married...in 2001.  It is time to complete it.  Back when I started I had planned to use incandescent micro bulbs for the headlights.  I need to decide if I'm going to keep them or find suitable LEDs.  Next, the Ice Factory.  I have all I need to complete this scene, it is just a matter of chipping away at it.

Finally, the Fruit Car and the two passenger cars are going to become the Ocali Creek's Morning Milk & Mail train, an all-stops out-and-back on the Pine Branch.  Once completed the 2-6-0 will pull this until I detail and repaint the 4-4-0.  Not that this train will actually go from anywhere to anywhere on the railroad as built - I'll need staging wings on the main line to make this a reality.  Until then it'll run loops just for fun.

I'd also like to get track painted and weathered, and perhaps some scenic contours roughed in, but I'm not going to put that on the list.  Same with installing the passenger station scene or streets.  And of course, I'm going to finish the Four Flats first.  I'm in no hurry, but I'm ready to set some goals again and work towards them.  This post is, in a way, going on record and staking my claim.  Here's to a productive Fall!

 

Reducing and Enlarging

Recently I've been fitting the Tichy windows to the openings in the Ice Company building.  In order to make it all fit I had to first reduce the size of the windows, then enlarge the size of the openings in the walls.  Funny, I was more nervous about enlarging the openings in the walls than reducing the size of the window castings.  I suspect it is because the windows are so precisely made that the cuts and subsequent reassembly was easy to do, and I knew I'd do so with precision and careful work.  Whereas the walls were die-cut cardstock and I'd be tracing around the window to make the opening, not terribly precise, with more room for error.  Fortunately Gorilla Gel CA glue will fill any gaps between windows and walls when it is time to fix them in place.

Cooling Tower Tank?

Yep.  I'm adding a tank to the ice factory adjacent to the cooling tower.  Oh, and that's moved as well.  I never was happy with it on top of the main building so I am building a structure on which it will rest.  Pipes will run from the main building to the tower/tank grouping.  Here is the inspiration:

There is a wealth of detail in these photos but I will need to be judicious with how much I include on the model if I want to get it done sooner rather than later.  I'm shooting for the flavor of the place, not a scale replica.  Thankfully there are many different examples to choose from so I can mix and match as I see fit.

In the mean time since the last post I have trimmed down the Tichy tilting windows to be closer in size to the openings in the office walls.  Next I'll need to trim the walls to fit the windows exactly.  Still need to install the interior details.  Heck, I still need to make an interior wall!  The one that came with the kit was too small.  Really not sure how either I messed up my dimensions or they cut it too short.  Doesn't matter as I still need to make a replacement.

I also purchased a piece of PVC sheet to use for the diorama base.  I decided a while back it'd be easier to gather together all the pieces on one surface instead of trying to glue them to each other.  I'll need to be careful with the wiring, however, as there won't be a significant void beneath the base in which they can nest until it is installed in the scene.

Bits-Building?

Recently JD Lowe over at 30 Squares called attention to the helpful distinction between scratch-building and scrap-building.  This little annex to the Union Ice Co. is what I'd call bits-building.  The bits in question aren't scrap material like tissue box cardboard or soda can aluminum.  Rather, they're the remnants of carrier sheets from the die-cut walls of the Alexander Coaling Tower I built a few years back.  Technically you might call this scratch-building, but I don't feel it is simply because I'm not starting with virgin material.  I'm using bits from my bits box.

The bits are sorted, by the way, (clockwise from upper left) into round styrene, flat & skinny styrene, small flat wood pieces, longer flat and skinny wood and styrene, small skinny wood & styrene, longer than small skinny wood and styrene, metal and wire, and extra dividers.  When the bits box is full, I know it is way past time to utilize these parts somehow. That day had come.  This closeup from the photo of the Ice Factory in Santa Rosa inspired me.

See if you can spot the really big vent hiding behind the Private Property sign on the sunny face of the extension.  I decided the Union Ice building could use an annex along the wall closest to where an operator or viewer might stand.  I chose to make it from wood in order to provide a contrasting texture.  It will be painted blue to match the structure.  As an annex it makes sense to house some sort of additional ventilation for cooling pipes or other mechanical equipment, say, compressors.  Who can say for sure, but it looks plausible and adds interest.

Freezer Door Kitbash

Nobody makes an HO scale freezer door.  Nobody.  None that I could find at least.  This is the sort of part that could have been a unique casting that came with the kit instead of a printed card cutout.  Like I said in the previous post, this is a proto-craftsman kit and many of the parts were still relatively crude.  Later evolutions would produce more fine-scale touches and no doubt a beautiful, wide, six panel freezer door would have been one such part.  

Open this image in a new tab to view it full size for a better look at the detail.  I created this door from Tichy parts; their 5 panel door with frame and the large strap hinges.  Two hinges were used as hinges, and another was cut apart and used as part of the door latch.  Other bits of styrene sprue from the scrap box were used to finish the latch.  Most critically, however, the door is installed on the outside of the frame to give it that bulky look of an insulated door set flush into the frame.

Do an image search for vintage wood freezer door and gaze upon fine craftsmanship.  Many were made from oak and apparently command a great price on the salvage and restoration hardware market.  If I knew CAD and had a 3D printer I could have perhaps drawn and printed a better likeness, but this one took me all of 15 minutes to make using Tichy's excellent parts and some scrap bits.  Not perfect but a far cry from the supplied part, and the result makes me happy.

Make Your Own Template

I believe that every kit, no matter how simple or of what materials it is made, can be a "craftsman kit"*.  I have taken that approach with just about every structure I've built recently, and much of the rolling stock too.  By that I mean any kit can be built with care and consideration of what would make the structure more interesting.  Often additions or modifications can me made to make the structure unique, or materials can be used that improve the level of detail or help sell the realism of the structure. 

Craftsman kits are often known for their reputation of being essentially a box of sticks and detail castings with thorough instruction books and many drawings and templates over which complex assemblies are constructed.  Whereas laser cut or plastic kits have done much of that work for you, stick-by-stick construction is a hallmark of craftsman kits.  For me this is part of the enjoyment of constructing such a kit and brings a sense of satisfaction for having built it myself.

In the case of the Suydam Union Ice Company, there is a sense that this is what might be called a "proto-craftsman kit".  Not "proto" as in "prototypical", but "proto" as in "protozoa" or that more simple kit that came before the evolution of the craftsman kit into Campbell, Fine Scale Miniatures and others.  The elements of a more modern craftsman kit are there - die cut walls, stripwood, templates, detail parts - but some of the materials are still crude by comparison.  

The cardboard widget provided to space the cooling tower baffles is really a weak point in the kit.  In one sense it is brilliant in its design; bent and wedged into place, then held by similar bent cardboard under tension.  And the instructions say that further bracing can be added.  In another sense it is literally weak; more like shirt cardboard, it is prone to warping out of shape.  A cursory search of previously built kits of this structure reveal it to be a problem area on nearly all of them.

But, just like I was unsatisfied to leave the baffles as provided and sheathed them in printed wood texture, then added styrene shapes as bracing, so too I couldn't leave the spacer as is.  Though it won't be seen unless a viewer peers down through the gaps in the baffles, I decided to make my spacer from wood.  It will be painted to resemble metal so it will match the styrene braces.  Assembly will be a little trickier, but in the end I hope to have a structural component that will be a feature of this structure for years to come.

The template is simply a pencil drawing on a sheet of paper, onto which a strip of Daiso transfer tape has been applied.  The cross members are laid on, then the verticals are attached with a dot of yellow glue at each connection point.  The whole shebang is weighted to keep the assembly straight while the glue sets.  A chisel blade allows the brace to be removed and the tape is tacky enough for the second frame.

*I don't mean every wood wall would be riddled with "nail holes", curling and lifting clapboards, rotting foundations and rusting corrugated metal.  Fine if you like that, but it is not for every structure even if you're going for that fire-trap, run-down look.

Cooling Tower Progress

Here's an update on the latest work to detail the cooling tower for the Suydam Union Ice Company.  A couple weeks back I received the angles and channels for the bracing, but focused instead on the interior office details, wall and roof bracing, and building the icing platform.  I also applied a first coat of stucco/paint to the building except the front wall.  In addition, I cut out the letters for the front wall sign.

Before I can finish the front wall I need to finish the cooling tower, in order to get a feel for how the lights will look along the wall beneath the tower.  Having done most of what I could except work on the tower, I returned to that focus.  I set up the NWSL chopper to cut 3/4" lengths of the styrene channel, and 7/8" lengths of the styrene angle for the corners.  Next I attached the strips to a painting stick, along with the styrene letters on a separate stick.  The letters got a coat of black, and the channels and angles a coat of primer gray.

The gray parts will be painted with a blotchy light gray to try and approximate the look of galvanized metal before I glue them to the cooling baffles.  I also found another picture of a prototype much similar to the one in the Suydam kit.  I decided to hunt for the prototype that Ayres used - a fact they touted in their catalog - and turned up a few more cooling towers in California.  Here's one from just down the road in Santa Rosa:

Ain't she a beauty?  Of course this tower has got a fancy roof with lovely trusses, but the baffles are the same shape as the kit.  I'd love to see more sides of this structure, and the detailing is really interesting.  And how about that sign behind the pole?  This Means YOU!  Opens more possibilities for my own structure, though I am having to control project creep and balance that tension with letting the creation speak through the process of building.

Work has been slow going lately, with in-laws visiting, Easter celebrations, a spouse that likely got food poisoning, and splitting a bee hive.  But each night I sit at the bench and do something to move the project forward, no matter how small.  Sounds simple, but right now I find this an effective means of getting something done when living through lockdown as an introvert with a family tends to drain the energy out of me.

A Word to the Wise...

Bonus points if you can finish the phrase in the title of this post.  My old band director used to say it all the time before he scolded someone, usually the drummers.  Observe below the image showing little bits of stripwood, neatly arranged and assembled on a template:

Looks nice, right?  Sure.  But here's the word to the wise - plan your cuts first to ensure you'll have enough material to make all the bits the kit calls for.  I gathered all the 2x8 strips, decided which ones were for what parts, then set up the chopper to begin cutting all the angled braces, starting with the small ones.  Those of you who have either made the same mistake or avoided this mistake will by now know exactly what happened next.

While it is possible this kit didn't come with all its material, it is more likely the kit designer wanted you to make the long cuts first, then use the cutoffs to make the smaller bits.  There is ample evidence in the instructions for clear forethought in how the builder is to use the pieces supplied, though no indication of any sequence for cutting.  Still, it is good advice I've read elsewhere...perhaps in a Campbell kit?  I've even followed this advice before - not sure why I didn't here.

Thankfully I had a pack of 2x8 lumber with plenty material to cut all the longer braces (not shown in the photo above).  They have since been stained, and I've reached the point of assembling the long icing platform where they will be used.  In-laws came for a visit recently since we've all been vaccinated, but even then I managed to move ahead on this kit.  I'm thoroughly enjoying it despite the mistakes, and I hope you are as well.  Thanks for following along!

Bracing and Staining

I've reached a point in the construction process where I can no longer proceed with the main structure assembly until I address the wood structures like the front loading dock and main icing platform.  I must also paint the interior bits so I can install them when the time comes.  I have used additional bracing beyond what came with the kit in order to reduce the wall warping.  Before I apply the stucco I will seal the entire structure inside and out with a spray varnish, also to minimize warping caused by applying a water-based finish to cardstock.

The wood bits I've stained with a 50/50 wash of Mudstone and water.  I will likely paint the front loading dock as it is on the public-facing side of the structure, but the icing platform will be sun-bleached and weathered wood.  Though this is a newer building in my railroad's timeframe, the Florida sun and sub-tropical rain showers will gray exposed wood relatively quickly.

Not shooting for it, but I may just get this thing built by Easter.  We'll see how long the platforms take.  I have also received the styrene channel and angle for the cooling tower bracing.  I will be cutting, priming and painting that bracing before installing it.  Thanks for following along.

Office Detail...AGAIN!

The last structure I completed was the Seqouia Fallburgh Station, built as my Ocala Springs station for the Pine Branch of the Ocali Creek Railway.  I chose to go all in and really detail the structure's interior, including the entryway, waiting room and office.  So when I selected the next structure to build I wasn't expecting to once again be detailing an office, but here we are.  

The Suydam Union Ice kit comes with little wooden shapes which are supposed to represent chairs, desks, a sofa, file cabinets and a counter.  These would be suitable if the building were in the background.  However, it occupies a site on my railroad where it will be quite easy to look through the big windows into all that office space.  Good thing I bought those desk chairs!

I'm also testing out shades of blue for the structure, along with types of stucco material.  I've settled on the light blue shade but the darker is still not quite right.  I've also found that Durham's Water Putty mixed 1:1:1 with paint and water makes a terrific HO scale stucco.  I didn't invent this ratio - others have stumbled upon it and shared it just as I am doing here.  

I really don't need to be or want to be that guy remembered for detailing every interior of every building.  I'm content to focus on those that will be easily seen and maybe do a few that won't be seen as easily just because I want to.  I am inspired by a certain generation of Disney Imagineers who included many details in the attractions they designed even though the casual guest wouldn't see them. However, those viewers who looked more closely at a scene would be delighted to discover them.

Because You Asked

...or maybe you didn't, but if you ended up here looking for prototype information on the Cooling Tower that comes with the Suydam (or Ayres or Alpine or California Models) Union Ice Company, you're kinda sorta in luck.  After spending too much time scouring the inter-webs for that elusive image, this is the best I could come up with:

State Refrigeration Terminal, Embarcadero front and cooling tower. 1935.

Courtesy of UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf0v19n9mx/?order=1

 

Not bad.  1935 is only a few years off my late 20's era.  Wrong coast, but that's okay.  Not an exact match when it comes to the corners - that angled corner sure is neat but at this point there's no way I'm going to redo 8 baffle assemblies.  Still, it looks pretty good.

 

What really excites me about this image, however, beyond the 'squint analysis'* are the braces.  So much so that I ordered some Evergreen styrene channel and angle to get this feel on my tower.  Right click and open in a new tab to get a better close-up look.  At least I think they're channel iron braces.  That's what I'm going with. 

And it seems I was right to use wood for the baffles, although the texture I had may have too much contrast.  Weathering could tone that down or perhaps a dusting of gray through an airbrush to unify the colors of the wood.  At least the darker, wetter wood near the base of each baffle was a good call.

Here's where things stood this morning:

As of now, all eight baffles have been assembled.  That includes adding corner bracing to stiffen each assembly, applying wood image paper inside and out, and touching up the upper and lower edges with paint.  By the way, if you are building this kit, the gummed paper they provide to assemble the baffles works really well.  At least mine did - your mileage may vary depending on the age of your kit.

And that brings us to the first hitch in the git-a-long, the aforementioned channel irons.  As of this posting my styrene letters have arrived, the LEDs are somewhere between San Leandro and Ukiah, but now I'll have to wait on the styrene channel and angle before I can take this cooling tower any further.  That means I can start on the actual icing deck next, or wait until the LEDs arrive.

*Squint analysis was a technique I picked up long ago in a Bible Study workshop, then again in music analysis class, then again in Seminary!  No doubt it works in other fields as well.  To get the gist of a text's (or composition's) major structure, squint enough to blur the words (or notes) but still see the major groupings of things.  Some useful insights can be found using this technique.

And So It Begins...

 

These vintage cardstock kits have one thing in common with today's modern laser cut kits - the parts must often be separated from a carrier sheet by slicing, then the little nubs must be filed away.  Here you see the basic parts for the cooling tower being cut away and filed.

These segments would have been wood planks, likely held together by iron or steel straps.  I will simulate this by overlaying the card with a printed wood plank texture from Clever Models, and straps from strips of paper or maybe styrene.

Icy Inspiration

The next project will be a structure: the Union Ice Company by Suydam.  After all, I've just completed two freezers so why not give 'em a place to go get their bunkers filled.  Of course I can't build it just exactly the way the instructions suggest.  Not that there's anything wrong with the kit, apart from the requisite improvements to the structure due to its vintage materials.  But one of my guiding principles for this railroad was to create each scene in such a way to clearly locate it in central Florida in the 1920s.  For that I can turn to inspiration from old photos.  Here's one that has direct bearing on the kit:

 This is somewhere in Florida in 1927...but I can't find the original image at the Florida Memory project so my apologies for leaving it unattributed.

There are five elements (at least) that I want to replicate from this image and use in the Suydam kit.  

1. The Lighting.  The long gooseneck (for lack of a better term) lamps above the wall and the two sconces on either side of the entrance will be replicated courtesy the LED products available from WEHONEST on eBay.  Seriously.  That's the name.  They're on their way across the Pacific as I write.
2. The Letters on the wall.  On their way from Georgia right now from Trainz.  Thanks to JD Lowe at 30 Squares for the reminder that these little letters exist.  
3. The Decorative Designs on the pilasters...not sure how I'm going to make these.
4. The Tilting Windows.  I think I can make these work using tall roundhouse windows I have in my parts bin.
5. The Plants.  Who doesn't love nice landscaping?
6. The Colors.  I'd say there are at least four represented on the structure - the lamp shades, letters and windows are all a dark color, maybe black.  The recessed wall surface is one shade darker than the pilasters, which is slightly darker than the diamond designs.  I plan to use two shades of blue plus white for the walls.  This is inspired by the color scheme seen here:
   
   Trust me, the Ice Truck in the photo above is actually a beautiful two-tone blue.  The scene is "the world's first traffic jam" from the World of Motion attraction at EPCOT Center.
   
   
   

Here is the obligatory open box shot of the kit:

I sorted the small parts into bags back when I purchased the kit.  Though I am waiting on the lighting to arrive before I begin work on the main structure, I can begin work on the cooling tower and the actual icing platform until then.  Happily, the instructions are already divided accordingly.