Your window opening method I’m sure saves a lot of time once you have the jig made and set up. Thanks for sharing.
Really nice idea for how to build the windows. Filing that one away in my grey matter (I hope it stays!)…
Holy cow. Greta Thunberg would be disappointed in you for killing a forest to make your challenge project.
Update time. I went to work on the dock sections and for the posts that will touch the ground I used mahogany. I knew there was a reason I held onto some old trestle bents instead of tossing them into the fire so I was able to repurpose the wood. Bonus!
I have also been working on the roof support sections and decided on a 20 degree pitch. Usually a factory like this would have flat roofs but I wanted to give this more of a mill feel to it plus living in a snow zone it is important to have a pitched roof for drainage. There will be a flat roof on one of the back add on rooms and a couple of cans will go up on it.
Today I took all the individual parts outside and assembled them.
I’m thinking about crinkling up some aluminum cans to create roll up doors. There would be 5 in total. I also see a few spots for more windows. I also might add a second story door with stairs on the far right side in the above photo.
The building is big but it is coming along.
Looking good, Todd. Has anyone mentioned this thing is huge?
Sanctus bubulus Todd, that’s big and beautiful!
Dan Hilyer said:
Looking good, Todd. Has anyone mentioned this thing is huge?
HA! You just did but I was thinking about adding a few more wings to it LOL
The can is gradually disappearing into the ginormous building… Great work!
That is going to be so awesome
Thanks guys. I’m getting to the point where I have to decide on paint and came up with these shades out of the collection.
I am partial to the middle shade I call green in the center of the lot and the darker red shade on the bottom for the trim. I think they look old timey together. I also like the lighter shade on the right with the blue being for trim. Of course old mills/factories like this would often be painted white or a light grey with white trim but I don’t want this building to stick out or be too bland. I guess I’m looking for something warm but not shocking?
What do you think?
Good picks on color…
Paint? As big as this thing is can you afford to paint it on a 30 dollar budget. I am thinking minimum of a five gallon pale
Todd, for what it’s worth, those are the two colors in the selection I would have chosen. They look good together, I believe. The closeness in value make for a rich, laid-back look.
EDIT: I think you must have a good color sense…I remember another Challenge build of yours where you hit a home run.
industrial complexes tend to be BIG.
One of the things that always got to me a little about model railroad industries was they tend to be only a bit longer in the one dimension than the freight cars parked next to them. I tried to avoid that with the industrial flats and facades on my indoor line - a couple of them take up 4-5 feet of wall space - but that’s still ‘barely big enough.’ (I tell myself it’s the ‘narrow end of the factory.’
Devon Sinsley said:
Paint? As big as this thing is can you afford to paint it on a 30 dollar budget. I am thinking minimum of a five gallon pale
HA! A 5 gallon bucket ! Luckily or not, I have a large collection of paint at my disposal in quarts and gallons that are half full. My wife is a part time interior designer so she likes to try new shades and then changes her mind LOL . Speaking of disposal after cracking open some of these cans they will be heading to the trash.
The sun is out today so I will paint a few of these colours onto a bigger sample and take it from there. I’m really leaning towards the greenish one with the dark red trim and a black roof but we shall see.
Thanks guys.
Very cool Todd!
After much thought and painting a piece of cardboard and taking it out to test in the sunlight I have decided on going with the green paint. That job was started but in the meantime I decided to put in a stair case on the back side of the building. In the photo several posts above it will be placed on the far right wall.
Stairs are a tough thing to build and I had an idea to use a piece of plastic corner molding. I found a 8’ piece for $3 at HD the last time I was there. The stair will be 2" wide and go up to a small balcony that also leads to the flat top roof and a doorway. I plan to paint the flight grey like it is made of metal. E6000 holds the stairs together.
Nice idea for building stairs. Cool!
Great idea Todd, that one has been filed away
I count myself among the “idea thieves” with regards to the stairs!