Years ago I used Pelikin Brown drawing ink, diluted in alcohol, made a nice redwood stain.
Slow down! I’ll never catch up! I’m stuck on 'lectric culverts and your roof is not only secured but painted too!
I made God laugh, yeah I told Him my plans… the electrician comes tomorrow to power my casting shop and the insurance guys want a couple of eyesores removed … manual labor when I wanna play!
Oh woe.
John
Hey John, that’s really taking shape now. Looks much less spindly with some of the siding on. I thought that you r staining looked pretty good, but I know how it is when your trying to match the vision in your head. What’s going on with the wall you put the window in? Is there a reason that wall doesn’t have wood siding? Looking good, keep gluing those planks!
I am liking the roof. That uniform rust seems right.
I like the roof how you have it now. If it is still a working mine the roof needs to be somewhat together but if it is going to abandoned on your RR then yes beat it and rust it to pieces.
Do you have a pin nailer? You mentioned that your progress has been slow due to waiting for glue to dry. With a pin nailer you can glue then nail and move on to the next piece without having to wait for the glue to do its thing.
Keep up the good work.
I’m coming around on the coloring of the tin also. I’m thinking this is a case where less is more. I may lay some variety in and lighten a few spots, but that might be about it.
The shiny new roof over the entrance to the shaft will stay new with minimal weathering, as if it were newly installed. I think I have an idea of what to do with the extra tin I might have left over: I’ll rust the heck out of it and pile it up near the entrance as if it were the old roof recently replaced.
Won’t a pin nailer split those 1/8" wooden sticks? I’ve never used one before.
Randy Lehrian Jr. said:
What’s going on with the wall you put the window in? Is there a reason that wall doesn’t have wood siding? Looking good, keep gluing those planks!
Gotta keep gluing planks!!
You really do need to invest in a pin nailer if you don’t have one. Even a el-cheepo Harbor freight one. No one ever that has had one, has ever not loved the thing. With a pin nailer, that total siding would take 3 hours tops. A bead of glue, place, Bang Bang Bang, Next board, Bang Bang. Well not bang actually, more of a foooph.
No the pin nailer is awesome. I have a cheap harbor freight one and shoot mostly the 3/8 pins even though it says it only shoots 1/2 inch. Don’t be afraid to shoot the shorter pins. The 23 gauge ones are so fine that I can shoot them very close to the end of very thin cedar stock with little to no splitting. Actually the worst splitting I find occurs on oak but even then its minimal.
Go buy one. Best investment you will ever make for modeling. It also works on styrene but not as well. I know many on here like the quality ones and I would buy the best you feel you can afford but this is the one I have and have zero complaints and don’t know how or why anything else could be better because this one works flawlessly.
I have never shot anything other than Grex pins and I know people have more issue with the pins than the nailer. Your build would go way faster with one.
Also it makes very prototypical nail holes even with out the pins. just put it where you want a dimple and squeeze
Depending on how you treat your nailer you might consider buying the extra warranty. I usually buy the two year one and screw up my nailer before the warranty runs out. Then I just pick up a new one and buy another warranty!
Do not use Harbor Freight pins, they are soft and will jam up your nailer. I think they bend trying to defeat the varnish holding them together!
Last year I got some Senco Galvanized for that nail look when they poke out. I’ve been very happy with them. Any name brand will/should be ok.
I tend to double the thickness of boards tho’ and must also use glue or they will pop off. I tried making a quick solid building with just pins, but thin boards find wings…
John
Yes, my bridge went together in no time with my pin nailer. But practice on scrap wood first. I shot a pin through the board into the other board and blew the end off of the underlying board, all because I had the air pressure a bit too high. I have the cheep Harbor freight one, on sale I think it was like $20. I think I spent more on the 2 packages of quality pins then I did for the nailer.
Another vote for the pin nailer. I have a Grex that I bought years ago at ECLSTS for about $75. I don’t use it often but for projects like this contest, or wooden cars, they are a real time saver. The Grex will shoot up to 7/8" pins. Be careful where you hold your work when shooting long pins (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
I also have a portable air tank that I charge with my compressor that I use with the nailer. No noise! You could use a tire if you don’t have a compressor or a tank.
You guys use pin nailer’s?
Yes John Long pins and fingers dont go together to well…
Daktah John said:
I also have a portable air tank that I charge with my compressor that I use with the nailer. No noise! You could use a tire if you don’t have a compressor or a tank.
John, now we’re getting somewhere. I like my modelling because it’s quiet and relaxing and calming. Having a compressor blasting off, especially indoors, at unpredictable moments is unnerving!
But how does this work exactly? I have a compressor I use outdoors reluctantly and rarely, but I never heard of a tank, or using a tire? Sorry to be so ignorant, but if I can find a quiet way of using a pin nailer, I’ll be all over it.
A related question: are there electric pin nailers? I didn’t see anything that shoots 3/8" nails/pins when I searched for that.
you get yourself something like this and fill it from your compressor then use it to run the nailer. pin nailers don’t require a ton of air. So it should last awhile, tire would do the same thing. Or you can do what I plan to do and run a hose or a hard line from your compressor to your work space if feasible. That way when the compressor runs then it is in another location out of ear shot. Iam going that route because I like to air brush which is air intensive and tanks don’t last. This way I will have all the air I need and it is quiet. I also want to play with small scale vacuum clamping. why you might ask . . . because I can.
I picked up a cheap $60 HDX air compressor/inflator. Runs the pinner fine, not enough back pressure to run much else, but I am pleased by it’s lack of noise. Won’t call it quiet, but it’s not bad at all and the neighbors won’t mind it. It has a 2 gal tank so it doesn’t run often.
With a separate tank, you fill it with compressed air and you get a finite number of pin nailings before you take your tank back to the compressor to refill.
Can’t say about electrics, I’ve always been pneumatic.
John
Get the pin nailer, John. As others have stated, it will make stick building much faster. I have built my engine house piece by piece and I could not have gotten to where I am this quick without the nailer. I second your desire to have quite while I am putting the model together. I just ran the hose from my air compressor in the shop around the edge of the house and in a window in my office. Mr. Paws, owner of WSRR, went into hiding for a couple of hours after the first time he was around when I was using it, but now he supervises every pin placement. If you choose to get one, please heed the advice about the placement of fingers when using long pins especially at odd angles and on hardwood. Don’t ask me how I know this.
The mine structure is looking great. I really like the individual framing technique. It does take some time, but it is rewarding. Did I understand that you are using sepia ink to weather the aluminum panels? Does it come in different colors? Do you do any prep work on the panels before you apply the ink? Where would one look for said ink? Sorry for all the questions, but this will be my first attempt at weathering aluminum or anything else for that matter.
Dan Hilyer said: Did I understand that you are using sepia ink to weather the aluminum panels? Does it come in different colors? Do you do any prep work on the panels before you apply the ink? Where would one look for said ink? Sorry for all the questions, but this will be my first attempt at weathering aluminum or anything else for that matter.
Thanks to everyone for your support on the build and for your advice on the pin nailer. I’m sold and I think I’ll try the tank system.
Dan, I use sepia, brown, blue, and black drawing inks on the pine boards to color and weather them. Higgins is a good brand; John C. mentioned using Pelikan Ink, another good brand. Just be sure to get water-based ink, not lacquer/shellac-based like most of the French inks. Lacquer-based ink is a mess to deal with, difficult to thin, and, more importantly, it leaves a gloss look, which obviously isn’t right for wood staining, no no no. Any art store will have the inks you’re looking for (I think craft stores have them too maybe), fountain pen inks are fine too if more expensive, or, if you want to save some money, go online at Dick Blick http://www.dickblick.com/products/higgins-calligraphy-ink/
I wouldn’t worry too much about the cost because a small jar of ink goes a loooooooooong way, because you are seriously watering it down to stain wood, like ten to one or something.
Inks will not stick to the aluminum panels; it just beads up. I use artist paints. No preparation necessary, just paint away.
