Large Scale Central

In-ko-pah RR: New project

Getting down to the wire now…

Next step was installing the side door and the upstairs windows:

The second story would not have a detailed interior, just some lights. So I needed curtains for the windows. I started by building a simple frame out of styrene strips:

Then I glued layers of lace trim to the back of the frame, and then glued the frame into the building:

I did the same for the single window on the side:

Next I installed the two posts which support the overhang at the front of the building. I drilled holes into both ends of the posts. On the top of each post I glued a short piece of 1/16" brass rod, with only 1/8" protruding. This end was glued into the building first. Then I glued the bottom end, and inserted a rod up through a hole in the wooden sidewalk. This rod was then cut flush with the styrene:

Now for the lighting… I started by drilling holes through the bottom of the structure, right behind the side door. Two 1/16" diameter brass rods were inserted into these holes. The lower ends were bent over and cut short, then I soldered electrical leads to the rods:

The LEDs I use are from this supplier:

https://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/products/universal-solid-leds-for-transformers

Each LED is pre-wired to a tiny circuit that regulates the voltage and polarity, making them very easy to use:

I inserted LEDs into the light fixtures through holes in the top of the removable ceiling. Most are held in place with tape. On the two “recessed” style fixtures, I used poster putty to hold the LEDs and seal the opening:

Then the ceiling was put into place and secured with tape. The copper alligator clips were connected to the upper ends of the brass rods:

The remaining LEDs were installed separately. Two were inserted into the opening above the sidewalk, in front of the store. These were secured with poster putty. Three more LEDs were mounted on the interior walls of the upper level, again using poster putty to hold them in place:

I made and installed the two signs that are mounted on the rear wall of the bakery:

Here’s the back of the building with both of the removable walls secured in place with small, stainless steel screws:

The “swamp cooler” I built for the original building was still in pretty good shape, so I was able to reuse it. I had to clean it up, extend the two legs, and repaint the platform. Then it was sprayed with Krylon UV-resistant clear coat, and glued into place:

The bakery’s interior details were also salvaged from the old structure, cleaned up, modified slightly, and installed in the new building. The two window displays and the glass cabinet are held in place with screws inserted through the floor:

At last the building is finished, and installed on the layout!

The next building that needs repair is the stone drug store, to the right of the bakery. The plastic “glass” in the windows is almost completely fogged and yellow, and some of the styrene components need repainting. I don’t know yet when I will get to that project.

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Amazing Ray, simply amazing.

Wow Ray, that’s awesome! I really like the lace curtains and the swamp cooler.

Sincerely,

Matt

those are some spendy cakes and stuff for a old town! Incredible work Ray, I would love to just come watch you work on some of this ! We need a Raycam live feed where we can watch and learn as you work. I would pay to watch

Pete Lassen said:

… We need a Raycam live feed where we can watch and learn as you work. I would pay to watch

just my feelings, each time i see a Dunakin model!

even, if you (now) just salvaged them, how on earth did you make bread and cakes? and with what materials?

Awesome as usual, Ray! And now with puns! (Getting down to the wire)

Beautiful work Ray!!

One problem, there is no water and/or mineral stains on the roof below the cooler. Those things ALWAYS leak(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

True craftsmanship at work, Ray!!! As others have stated your work is a pleasure to see and I too would pay to watch you work. Thank you for being part of this big family and sharing your skills with us.

Korm Kormsen said:

even, if you (now) just salvaged them, how on earth did you make bread and cakes? and with what materials?

There are four fancy cakes in the window displays which I bought from a miniatures show. Everything else I made myself. The cakes were round wooden plugs “frosted” with thick paint. The cookies and rolls were sculpted using Premo polyclay. Since I needed a lot of loaves of bread, I sculpted a few and used them to make a silicone mold. Then I cast a bunch of them with resin.

Fantastic work Ray. I love the shots with everything lit up.

Shane

Rick Marty said:

Beautiful work Ray!!

One problem, there is no water and/or mineral stains on the roof below the cooler. Those things ALWAYS leak(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

Yeah, I forgot to add that. I’ll take care of it later.

Way back in 2013 I built an ore bin and headframe for the Princess Shilo Mine. When I quit work on it in January 2014, the headframe was made from Western red cedar and only partially painted, and lacked details such as tie rods, nut/bolt/washers, etc:

A year later I repainted the steel hopper, using “Instant Iron” and “Instant Rust” from Sophisticated Finishes. In April 2017 I modified some of the stony terrain around the mine, and put in a conduit to be used for wiring the structures with lights. Since then I’ve done no more work on the mine. Until now…

The unpainted portion of the headframe was badly weather after 6 years of exposure to the elements, and the glued joints were coming apart. So I had to repair those parts, and then repainted the entire structure. Next I added tie rods made from thin brass rods. Slices of styrene tube were slipped over the ends to roughly simulate the appearance of a nut and washer. In places that didn’t include tie rods, NBW castings were used.

I couldn’t find a suitable sheave (the large pulley wheel at the top of the headframe) so I decided to make my own. I started with a metal casting of a “cannon wheel” from Ozark Miniatures:

Unfortunately the casting is lopsided, and the hole for the axle is off-center. I had no easy way to correct these issues, so it’ll just have to do. At least I don’t need it to be functional. Sadly, I neglected to get any in-progress photos. Anyway, to make it a pulley, it needs a grooved rim. I created this by cutting two rings from styrene sheet and gluing one on each side of the wheel. This gave me a channel around the rim, which I filled with putty. Then I sanded a V-shaped groove into the putty. I sprayed the wheel with self-etching primer, followed by a coat of gloss black:

Next, I made an axle from 1/8" diameter brass rod, and made the pillow block bearings from bits of styrene tube and styrene strips. The NBW castings are from Grandt Line. I ended up removing two of the castings from each bearing, and replaced them with HO track nails to help secure the bearings to the wooden headframe:

The bearings and sheave were mounted on the headframe. Then I weathered them using the Instant Iron/Rust solution:

The ore is brought up out of the mine in carts. The carts are pushed across a platform and dumped into the ore bin, through a “grizzly”. This is a heavy steel grate used to separate out any oversized chunks of ore. I built the platform out of Western red cedar, painted with acrylic house paint. Then I made the grizzly out of styrene:

The track for the ore cart was laid using Code 100 rail set to HO gauge, which comes out to about 15 inches in 1/24th scale. I glued the rails in place before spiking them. I also made a crude, small turntable so that the carts can be diverted for dumping waste rock:

The rails, turntable, and grizzly were given the Instant Iron/Rust treatment:

Here’s how it looks on the layout so far:

I still have much more to do – I have to make a chute for dumping the waste rock off to the side; finish cementing the stony terrain around the mine; cast a foundation; build the hoist house and other structures, etc. I also want to make an ore cart, and maybe sculpt a figure to go with it.

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Oh this is going to be interesting for sure …

Nice, I always found this mine very interesting.

Ok so curious why everyone else can see Ray’s pics but for me all pictures seem to be broken links.

Not secure … site / post ?

Another great project, Ray. Had you not explained your process to produce the sheave, one would have never known it started out asa wagon wheel. Fantastic work. Look forward to seeing more progress.

Quite a change from your usual buildings, pretty cool, just a multi talented guy

As always Ray, I enjoy following along on your projects. I really enjoy your attention to detail. Well done sir!

Joseph Lupinski said:

Ok so curious why everyone else can see Ray’s pics but for me all pictures seem to be broken links.

I don’t know, but you could try viewing them on my website. Here’s a link:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Princess_Shilo_Mine.html