Eric, there’s nothing about this I don’t like!
My hat’s off to Kidzilla. Quite an ingenious little engineer. All us civil engineers are really kids at heart, our toys are just much bigger (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
Thanks! We are having fun! I have learned if stuff is available, the crew will use it. This includes the Box-o-Tracks and any material on the lanai not designated for a project. Pieces and parts are available upon request (No one has requested any…yet (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-frown.gif).). I just regret that circumstances have taken the crew from me this last week!
We made some progress today. I took a cookie can like the one below:
…used “Shoe Goo” to glue the top upside down to the bottom, and spray painted the whole thing black. This will rest on top of the tower, serving as “iron” banding for the trusses and mounting platform for the light.
Y.D. had picked red for the top of the light house when she provided the napkin. I masked the lighthouse and - LO! - had a bottle of red spray paint! It had dried enough after dinner to think about the molded brick details. I was about to mask and spray, when O.D. appeared, ordered me to stand down, and dry brushed on the paint as she did for the chimney build last year:
Kid-zilla got some foam scraps from the bag-o-scraps, and I fashioned these into plugs for the cookie tray. I got it to fit with a bit of hot knife work. The plan is to hollow a hole it the center to receive the light. I began to dig out the hole, recognized I was rushing, and decided to call it quits. As of now, it looks like this:
Windows, door, light, and safety railing remain in the build portion of this year’s MIK. Touch up with a Sharpie, to include some “nails” on the deck, a wash, and the TiteBond III seal will follow. It has to be done by Sunday beyond any weather or touch ups the crew decides while I am collecting overtime.
Eric
P.S. In the background you can just make out a rare Craigslist score. Most was battered, but none beyond value as a foundation for a future project.
I spy 2 nice looking (from what I can see) passenger cars, is there a loco or 3rd car too?
Eric,
I know I sound like a broken record but year after year Team Mueller is my favorite to follow. I love how all of you come together to create as a family. I like watching each child put the best of themselves into it. And they will cherish this for their entire life. More than great modeling its great parenting.
Is that “my” light fixture at the top? How is it? I have to re do a lighthouse pn my railway that may be the way to go.
I am happy to see the lad building a railway. Not sure “kidzilla” really suits him anymore. The other “…zilla” wasnt known as a builder of stuff.
Your lighthouse sure is coming along nicely.
Hallelujah! We are going to finish this! It was a heck of a push today, done against the backdrop of gutting the girls room for a rebuild, but it is all done but for some touch ups. All hands turned to, lending to as time between other tasks allowed, but this lighthouse is all but ready for final placement!
First, a quick bit of business:
- @Pete L.: Yes, we got a Kalamazoo combine, coach, and caboose in good condition; an LGB woodside reefer missing a few detail bits; an LGB wood boxcar missing a door and some bits; an LGB stock car missing some bits and unable to track; and an LGB D&RGW combine missing a door and some bits. I’ll hang a separate post for idea generation purposes. In short, there are a lot of directions we could go with the LGB stuff. Kid-zilla has declared the Kalamazoo stuff Diesel Dan’s favorite. They are off the project list!
- @Eric S.: Yes, the light is “yours”! It works great, comes with an easily replaced battery, and the black plastic took paint well. Thanks for the tip; without it, we would not have finished. The light screws into a convex base, presumably to keep the battery and stuff out of water and to promote draining. We find solar stuff doesn’t stand up well to the heat and humidity here. It may not be a problem for you! Once we have things in place, I’ll try and get a video for you. Kid-zilla may get the less fun anonymous name of “Youngest Son” in time!
- @Devon and Todd. Thanks. This is fun. It is getting harder to wrangle everyone together as they get older, of course, so I know I cherish this at least! As for the great parenting, to CINCHOUSE the honors!
Now back to the build…
I set up my command center on the lanai. O.S. and I had to clean the aquariums, Kid-zilla had to field test the new gear, and the girls had to prep their room for painting and reflooring and their bathroom for remodeling. All hands had orders to muster on the lanai at logical breaking points to lend-to on the lighthouse. After O.S. and I got the fish squared away, he headed off to help his sisters. My 1:24 scale crew helped me with the hot knife work to cut out a mounting hole for the light:
I like PLAYMOBIL. The stuff is brilliant! Anyway, the light needs to be removable to swap out the battery. Our new doggie, Opal the Husky-Hound, has a penchant for knocking things down on the railroad, so it also has to be relatively well seated, too. The foam has a nice friction grip on the light. I sealed the edges with whatever the girls were using to fill holes in their walls. It was foam compatible!
Y.D. took a break from her 1:1 painting preps to add “nails” using a fine tip Sharpie. After which, the 1:24 guys and I added a wash of India ink diluted with rubbing alcohol to “age” the wood a bit. We all decided the rest of the lighthouse was “newly painted.”:
O.D. and I did discuss more weathering, but Mama’s Bakery No Ka Oi has weathered well and realistically in place. We’ll let the lighthouse do the same.
O.S. joined me just as I was about to trim some of the buttresses (some day, I will learn to make straight and consistent cuts!). He helped Dremel a couple even with the top of the cans…
…then ensured the light platform would sit level. He doesn’t tend to like the crafting, gluing, and painting parts of projects. He enjoys things that require power tools and tinkering with wires and motors. Pete T. is helping us get that $#%# B’man railtruck working, and we are about to begin the Rehabilitation of the Missile Sponges. These projects will be more his speed. Until we have to paint…
Around this time I was busy coating the timbers in TiteBond III. I learned from the sugar mill project that the washes look better BEFORE you seal the wood. This stuff really, really does seem to protect my craftsticks from the elements. Thanks to the LSC member who recommended it last year during the Mik! Between coats, I used CA glue to affix the girls’ “interiors” to the windows. I owe close-ups of their work. This phase ended with the arrival of CINCHOUSE and the “safety chains” (~$3) and, shortly afterwards, I called end of work on the room clearance operations. O .D. grabbed the sharpie to “scribe” the mortar lines as Y.D., Neighbor Girl Who Thinks She Lives Here, and Kid-zilla strung the safety chains:
Meanwhile, I used some black latex to paint and seal the light deck. Afterwards, the girls ensured I glued door and windows properly to the side of the keeper’s house. Tomorrow we’ll seal the gaps around the windows and door, and it’s a wrap! The 1:24 crew was already prepping the crane and block and tackle to hoist the light in place:
I am completely out of pocket this coming week, and I am just blessed that everyone was able to take a strain across the house to bring this to where it is against competing 1:1 priorities! After thanking them, I told the crew that they should think of details they might want to add before FINEX next week. We’ll see…
What will probably be the final pre-placement photos will follow tomorrow!
Happy Building!
Eric
Thats coming out fantastic.
Your clan is doing a super job this year! I am particularly fond of the buttresses. They fly!
Awesome work to all! Love the name “neighbor kid that thinks she lives here”. Change it to a male person and that was me. Great job to all!!!
Today was the last day for major work! But first, yes, Neighbor Girl Who Thinks She Lives Here, has pretty much earned everything but a house key. She respects our rules, helps the girls with their projects, and has even lent a hand on the railroad. She shows up and various holidays, and no one bats an eye, especially since should could pass for one of our daughters at first blush. She’s truly a delightful young lady.
To follow-up from yesterday, I photographed the windows after sealing them in a bit with silicon around the frames:
I had painted the plastic with black primer by mistake. They used acrylics to paint interiors, then I sealed the lot with clear gloss. When everything had dried, I secured their painted panels to the clear plastic that I stuck to my almost OK mullions and frames. I love how they each interpreted the project, and I do hope one day they will each go solo on the MIK, as I am curious to see their respective, independent interpretation of a railroad project starting from scratch. Maybe next year…
At some point today, Kid-zilla and I posed the Triple O crew, the contracted construction team, and a member of Haluku’ilio SWAT for a final pre-placement photo:
I have charged the 1:1 crew to touch up the paint while I am in an overtime rich environment and to think of details they could add if they have time. I tend to find, though, I need to be doing something to get others to start working. We’ll see…
I’ll be largely off line until just before voting. In the meantime, good luck to all as you bring your projects over the line!
Down scope! Going deep!
Eric
Now these say it all.
Truly unique detail (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
I love the painted interiors. Very cool
The Mueller crew never ceases to impress. Every project just gets better and better. I enjoy watching how they take odd items and make them work for their needs, very ingenious. There’s probably a spiral staircase inside that Kidzilla is waiting on the final photos to spring on us (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)Now, the most important question … how do you get to the cookies in the cookie tin (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)
Oops…
I already have my vote for “Best Use Of Family”.
Lou Luczu said:
I already have my vote for “Best Use Of Family”.
Is that code for child labor?
Devon Sinsley said:
Lou Luczu said:
I already have my vote for “Best Use Of Family”.
Is that code for child labor?
Not on the Sandwich Islands!
All,
I am still in an “overtime rich environment,” but I am pleased to announce O.D. and I finished the touch-up paint today. The rest of the crew is trying to make a hibachi (local Japanese for “grill”) out of bottlecaps and shishkabob skewers to add as a detail part. Placing, staging, and photos to follow later this week when Operation OVERTIME HAUL is over!
Looking forward to catching up on your builds later. In the meantime, stand to our tools and pull your projects through! Mik 2021 is nigh finished!
Eric