NO WAY …Playmobile guys come with a window suction cup tool!! I gotta get some of them.
The line of construction figurines is pretty awesome in its scope and breadth. They are always updating it with specialty trades, too.
Eric
Update:
The rains passed this afternoon, and I got my lanai back (see my last post in Hawaiian Volcano?). I found out that I far prefer tinkering on my lanai than I do playing computer games!
The 1:24 gang and I focused on converting the salvaged buttresses into supports for the tower’s bottom, first by carefully measuring how much we needed…
…then by chopping them to size.
I was impressed, really, how well the TiteBond III seal preserved all but the bottoms parts of these pieces, which you can see here:
The cores are pristine. Needless to say, lathering projects with TiteBond III will remain a Triple O best practice!
Next, we laid out our network to see where the notches had to be to receive the tower.
It was at that point that I realized I had no idea how I was going to cut those notches!
The gang and I experiment with both the chopper and a mini table saw…
…only to discover that circular blades make circular cuts, so that what looks good on one said is totally kapakahi on the other.
Some epoxy putty fixed this…I hope.
I then switched to hand tools…
…which went a whole lot better.
After this, the lads and I carefully marked where the tower would need to go…
…aligned the timbers, and glued them in place.
We finished the day by weighting it all down while it dries.
Next, I’ll lather TiteBond III on the exposed timbers and use the same to make fillets to seal the gap between timbers and foam, borrowing a technique from rocketry. I also have a can of flat black exterior latex paint for the exposed foam. With the humidity, I don’t anticipate any of this will go quickly as I wait for everything to dry.
Updates as Progress Merits,
Eric
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Update:
I got out to the lanai between squalls to make some small progress. The roof beams got their fillets late last week, and on Saturday, I laid on a thick coat of latex.
The big issue was getting the tower to sit level. Using my level, some wood scraps, some construction glue, and some patience, I finally got it more or less upright.
Once the glue dries, I’ll get in there and see if it needs more support.
Meanwhile, CINCHOUS found a can we can use as a lighthouse topper that fits the salvaged foam base…
…though I may go with Kid-zilla’s suggestion of foam wrapped in thin styrene.
The kids and I had a good discussion about how to plank the deck, with Kid-zilla and Y.D. suggesting scribed plastic and yours truly thinking craftsticks. I’ll mull over that as I brace the tower…
Updates as Progress Merits.
Eric
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with your weather - wood fouling faster than plastic…
wood can look more realistic. but plastic is more in line with playmobil…
and don’t forget the standing order: it’s not your’s alone!
happy mulling over!
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Korm,
Plastic is probably the right answer. I have thin sheets of styrene that I was thinking of gluing together to about 1/8" thickness. Would this work? Thd hobby shop had nothing thicker.
Eric
i don’t know.
when i need thick plastic, i normally cannibalise household-items, like buckets or trays.
You might get ripples from the adhesive, but it can’t hurt to glue up some scrap to see. I also like Korm’s thought of finding a discarded or unused plastic item you can cannibalize for the plastic.
Why not use both… { craftsticks & styrene } make the floor base out of the wood and then glue the sheet of styrene on top. Space the wood with gaps that way you can follow the lines on the other side.
Perhaps take the girls hairdryer to it and allow the plastic to fold into the gaps essentially making PVC covered wood. However you will want to have air space under the floor and you should paint/prime the wood before gluing.
It might give you a good couple years of service and it settles everyone’s thoughts. If the kids deny your thoughts then just go sit in the corner and sulk with your beer and take pics of the clan working.
Craftsticks are so old hat these days and it’s becoming time to let them go and think outside of the box Eric.
discarded or unused?
i trend more to unguarded.
always keep in mind, that asking for forgiveness has better chances than asking for permission…
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Update:
After searching for suitable material in our scraps and coming to full agreement with @Rooster regarding craftsticks, I chose, well, crafsticks. The were ready to hand and fit with the more than toy / less than model area this tower occupies. Six panels like the one below await trimming, staining, and affixing…
When Kid-zilla finishes “Fudge,” we’ll challenge ourselves in terms of new materials on our next project which remains secret…
Eric
Update:
We finally got around to this project. I had stained all the “decking” earlier this week. Kid-zilla helped trim away some framing…
…and, after he left for the movies, the 1:24 gang arrived to shape it and hammer it in place.
I will note that Kid-zilla called me out for not wearing safety goggles! Good for him! Shortly after he left, the cutting disc broke free and shot across the lanai!
Meanwhile, I am again learning a lesson about building to common angles and sizes. The decking needs to carefully match so that errors don’t propagate from “pie piece” to “pie piece.” Basically, each deck needs to be laid down, marked, and cut so that it comes at least close to abutting the neighboring bit of decking and still has enough slack on the other side to be glued to the roof beams. Someday I will learn to accurately use a ruler…perhaps when I start a new - rather than rebuild an old - building!
Professional clobber inbound, so progress will likely halt…again. Kid-zill and I really want to move on to the secret project, so I need to get cracking.
Eric
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Update:
I finally got back to this project. I screwed up the final section of deck…
…largely because I forgot to get the 1:24 gang and rushed. I got out some cutters, cut the sticks to length, and got it done.
To be frank, I should have done each section like the last one rather than making decks I tried to cut (nominally) to shape. It’ll meet the standards of 1:24-ish PLAYMOBIL scale, but barely.
My power supply for my foam cutter arrived, so the light cupola is next.
Eric
Update:
I finally got around to this project again. Kid-zilla cut and glued the new light holder:
Later, the 1:24 gang helped shape this with some sanding.
I remembered @VicSmith had tried to use woodfiller on his Vic’s 2026 Mik Challenge Darjeeling Streamliner and found it less than satisfactory, but I had some on hand that was in danger of drying out, so I gave it a try:
The results are good enough, per Oldest Daughter.
I agree, so we’ll move on. Next, we have to bore out a hole to snug this over the tower and then fit the basswood support timbers. The cupola will get a coat of black latex paint, too, to seal it all in.
Creeping along…
Eric
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Update:
The rains have made it a struggle to keep the plants back and trains running…
…and last weekend was the first all year we had the road up and running in full! MOW always takes priority over projects!
Excuses aside, Kid-zilla lent-to to hollow out the pedestal for the light, using a hot knife to make the cut.
Interestingly, the TiteBond III, as you can see in the picture on the right, was still wet in the central part of the pedestal!
We then took turns, alternating between MOW and sanding, to shape and fit the pedestal on the tower.
That’s when disaster struck, and the cans gave way…AGAIN!
We tried to support this with construction adhesive, but it is far from secure, bringing us to Question #1:
- Should we fill the hollow core of the building with expanding foam and affix the tower to that?
We set it aside and decided to run trains. This is never a bad idea.
Today, O.D. took a crack at mounting the support beams, which, do the aforementioned breakage, will now be more than cosmetic! She lined things up and prepared to cut into the pedestal…
…when we both decided we’d better think this through. That brings us to Question #2:
- Should we cut into the pedestal, forming a notch for the support beams to fit, or should we create a wedge or use a few timber braces and run the beam to the top along the outside?
We like the looks of the latter idea, but, Question #3:
- How would we make that wedge?
Light was failing, dinner was ready, and, at O.D.'s suggestion, we decided to sleep on it and see if the community had some suggestions.
Updates as Progress Merits!
Eric
2 Likes
OK, Kid-zilla called me out today as we were preparing to host visiting large scalers from Oregon. “Dad, I’ve never seen one of your projects last so long! Do like building rockets better?”
Oy! The SHAME!
In actuality, this project has, for some reason, not been enjoyable. Besides some issues of “What next?” I think I am just ready to move past the rehab projects that seem to be my bread-and-butter these days. That being said, O.D. and I did discuss it on Saturday. We came up with the idea of using a string to get the measurement for the timber braces then sanding as required to lean the brace against the light cupola. This was instead of making a wedge, which we rejected as impractical.
This evening, I decided that pre-cut timbers from the craft store were for crafting, so the 1:24 gang and I put O.D.'s and my plan into motion. First, we cut and taped in place the String of Beam Measuring.
We deliberately left it long, as cutting things shorter is easier than making it longer.
For a moment, I was hopeful that, byhappy accident, this was a 45-45-90 or a 30-60-90 triangle.
Nope. Not so lucky. This meant hobby saw and disc sander came out of storage for an iterative process of cut, sand, test, repeat.
That’ll do! I will use this brace as a template to shape the other five. Progress at last! I think once I have these braces in place, the project should start moving along. Now, I can go back to guilt-tripping Kid-zilla about Fudge!
Updates as Progress Merits!
Eric
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Update:
Kid-zilla and I puttered on this over the weekend, working together and solo to cut, shape, and place the beams.
He’s more photogenic, so no pictures of me! We opted not to scrape away the wood filler to enable a beam-to-foam bond. I hope we do not live to regret that! Our cutting and sanding was not perfect…
…so we used epoxy putty to fill the gaps. The support beams actually stabilize the tower, though I would not lift it from the tower or the support beams!
Today, I applied multiple coats of a water-based wood sealer, choosing this material because I had it on hand in quantities will in excess of any expectation of need.
I will let it dry for 24 hours, lightly sand, the coat it again, but I think this part of the project is, at last, done. Next i have to repaint the house, repaint the light cupola, craft some sort of exit from the tower to the deck, add the safety railings, and, probably, mount this on a less cracked piece of HardieBacker.
There has been enough progress to grant myself permission to start scavenging parts for the Secret Project as well as to 'bash some salvaged rocket airframes into service. What else can I do as the paint and glue dry?
Updates as progress merits!
Eric
Update:
Oldest Daughter in Japan with the in-laws…Check!
Youngest Daughter and CINCHOUSE in Kenya on a mission trip…Check!
BOYS GO FERAL IN HAWAII!!! YEAH, BABY!!!
CINCHOUSE, anticipating our retrograde motion on the evolutionary tree, left us with chores and checklists, but, still, we are having fun. That has included chipping away at this project, which has arrived at the chip-let dry-repeat phase. To summarize what Kid-zilla, the 1:24 gang. and I have done…
We decided to use eybolts to hold the safety chain, and we let the 1:24 gang set the height.
We then found screwing these things into the underside of the support timbers was pretty tough for 1:1 members of the crew!
There was insufficient space to tap a hole with a pinvise, so we had to drill a small starter hole using the tip of an old No. 11 X-acto blade. We got all the eyebolts in and sealed them up with TiteBond III.
Since the deck is raised from the foam core, the keeper cannot access it via roof hatch. Instead, he will need a door, which the 1:24 guys carefully measured…
…only to have me screw it up…
…before screwing it up again.
Even when I finally got it right, it turned out it was just too big. I tried sanding it to fit over the tower, but it wasn’t going to do. As a consequence, the 1:24 gang used a bit of scrap wood to test the concept of a flat door we could clue to the tower and then seal up with caulk.
That’ll work, so Kid-zilla and proceeded to turning scrap styrene into a door. By the way, he doesn’t like scoring and snapping styrene!
A bit of putty, some paint, and a wash, and voila!
This is in the “let dry” phase. Tomorrow, we will caulk it into place. Then we will fit the safety rails and wait for the girls to come home to address the windows. We may use @Rooster 's “cheat” and use aluminum tape to represent windows in the event the girls choose not to replace the destroyed panes.
We are finally getting somewhere!
Updates a progress merits!
Eric
Fantastic work!!
An whadda opportunity for the male half of Team Mueller, woo hoo!!
Will pizza be involved?
A flat black works as well. The ticket to the cheat is using vinyl pinstripping (or sliced masking tape) for the rails,stiles and mullions. If you want to use masking tape stick it lightly to wax paper or (PHOTO/glossy) printer paper.
Then lay out your lines and cut it on the paper backing, paint it OR color it with a sharpie. Then just peel off an end, stick it in place and peel off the backing as you go. You can peel it off the backing in one shot but it may curl up and stick to itself. This makes 12 over 12 windows much easier. It’s also easier if you boys stay out of the beer or mountain dew till finished.