that looks, like it has been there for years.
another typical Dunakin.
Dan Gilchrist said:
Very nice job Ray! Would be fun watching folks stagger out of there at closing time. You might want to add a railing.
One stagger, Dan, then a long down-hill roll from there!
Looks great, Ray, and the brickwork on that white building next door is very convincing.
The other incomplete model that I’m trying to get finished is the power house for the Mineral Ridge mine and mill. When I last worked on it, I had been in the middle of constructing the large diesel generator for the interior. That part of the project is still on hold, but I’m currently working on finishing up the exterior of the structure. Here’s what it looked like when I left off:
I built two different smoke stacks for the building. One is for the generator and one for the blacksmith’s forge. The generator stack is made of brass and has a conical cap:
The forge stack is a bit shorter and has a simpler design:
I also decided that the building really needed a pair of ventilation cupolas. I built these out of 6mm Sintra, with styrene strips for the louvers. Since I had already covered the roof with corrugated metal, I had to mount them to the metal with Dynaflex 230:
That’s about as far as I’ve got, for now.
Enjoy!
Excellent! 
Korm Kormsen said:
that looks, like it has been there for years.
another typical Dunakin.
Ray certainly has a knack to make polystyrene and PVC look like any materiel he desires. Cast Iron, steel or wood. Amazing Ray!!!
A little more progress…
Four strands of fine copper wire were soldered to the large smoke stack. The other ends of these wires were tied to tiny eye hooks, which I got from the jewelry section in Michael’s:
I sprayed the entire exterior of the building with self-etching metal primer. Then I sprayed a bit of white primer onto the “wood” portions of the cupolas and trim:
I painted the doors and window frames, beginning with a coat of white primer. Next I applied various shades of brown and gray, to simulate the appearance of old wood. When that was dry, I liberally brushed on some Testor’s enamel thinner. While this was wet, I added the white/green color coats, using a modified dry-brush technique. The enamel acts as a “resist”, and this effect combined with the dry-brush technique results in a look of worn, peeled paint:
I also painted the removable interior of the building’s main room. It’s a bit rough, but doesn’t need to be perfect. Much of it will be obscured by the generator and other items, and most of it will only be visible from one angle when seen through the windows:
The “wood” portions of the cupola and exterior trim were painted in a similar manner to the doors and windows:
Then I had to mask off these areas in preparation for the next step. I will be spraying the building with Rustoleum “Cold Galvanizing Compound”. This will give the building a realistic appearance of galvanized metal:
That’s all for now, more later. Enjoy!
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I used this photo of the control panel at the Diamond Tunnel mine in Nevada to create the electrical control panel for the model:
I started by importing a copy of the photo into Photoshop, where I retouched it, cleaned it up, straightened it out, and cropped it. Then I printed it onto self-adhesive vinyl. I mounted this on 6mm Sintra. I also printed a second copy to use as a guide in making some details that would stand out in 3D. I mounted these on 1mm Sintra, and cut them out:
I added some thicker pieces of Sintra as needed, and sanded them to shape. Then I glued the details to the main panel:
Next I cut out the slots for the switch levers, and removed the remaining vinyl. I also added some dials made from slices of styrene rod:
The switch levers were made from brass and glued in place:
Next I made a frame for the control panel, using styrene strips and a piece of heavy brass screen:
I painted the frame, and also painted the switches and other details to match the photographic print. Then I glued the control panel into the frame, and glued the entire assembly into the building’s interior:
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Hmmm … Ray doing what he does best… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
This is very,very neat!
You seem to be getting the hang of that sintra stuff.
Ray, your work is mind boggling, Bill
Wow Ray, your builds are always exciting to watch. The detail behind every door and window is amazing.
Shane
I can see the power being used already!
Getting near the end on this one…
After painting the exterior with Rustoleum’s “Cold Galvanizing Compound”, I went to work on the weathering. I’ve noticed that even galvanized metal can become rusted and/or discolored when exposed to the minerals and chemicals that are often found in and around mines, so that’s what I wanted here. I used a two-part process to create real rust. This is sold under the brand name Sophisticated Finishes. Part one is an acrylic paint filled with iron powder. Part two is a chemical solution that rusts the iron.
Applying this effect to only parts of the structure, and in varying degrees, is a bit tricky. And the zinc in the galvanizing compound seems to inhibit it, which adds to the trickiness. I had to brush the iron paint on, applying a thick coat in some places and thinner in others. Then apply the rust solution. A lot of trial and error was involved, and additional applications of both the iron paint and the rust solution were needed. Here’s how it looked partway through the process:
And here’s the finished weathering. Time and exposure to real weather will improve it, turning the rust to a more natural coloration:
I added a rain gutter over the door to the blacksmith’s shop, and also added a wooden lamp post and exterior lights:
I still need to cement the concrete steps in place, and build up the “soil” around the base of the building.
For the interior of the powerhouse, I painted the ceiling black between the rafters, and drilled holes where the lights will be:
The industrial-style lampshades are from Plastruct. I drilled them out to fit 3mm LEDs, which will be inserted from the top. Then I glued them to the ceiling:
The diesel generator is still unfinished, but was installed temporarily for these photos. I also added lights to the assay office, on the level below the powerhouse:
Meanwhile… the fence along the east side of our yard was replaced recently with a nice, new vinyl fence. But removal of the old fence left one corner of the pathway at the bottom of the railroad unsupported. So I had to dig out a lot of gravel and soil, and build up a small retaining wall of concrete blocks and concrete. Here it is in progress. I still need to dig soil out from under the corner of the step at the bottom of the stairs, and back-fill it with concrete:
That’s all for now. Enjoy!
Bob Kubasko said:
I can see the power being used already!
And after following Ray’s builds for years I can picture him thinking of ways to actually make this powerhouse operate his electric for the Railroad.(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
(http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Miscellaneous_files/Media/IMG_0801/IMG_0801.jpg)
Man how does he do this … his tools look almost real …(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif) Some times it takes me awhile to notice it’s not one of his models …
Way back in January 2015, I finished the interior of a radio repair shop. That same building had room for another shop which was going to be a barbershop. By March of 2015 I had scratchbuilt a barber’s chair:
Then the barbershop got put on the back burner while I worked on some other projects. Well, I’m happy to say that I’ve finally finished the barbershop, more than three years later!
I started by building a corner cabinet with a mirror. The parts were cut from thin Sintra PVC board:
The mirror was something I had bought from the craft store a few years ago. It had a thick, very oversized frame cast out of polyester resin. I had to sand off most of the frame to get it down to a useable size:
Once I got this far, I decided to add a counter extending to the left:
I added a couple strips of quarter-round rod to hold the mirror in place and hide the gaps:
After adding some styrene strips to represent drawers, and slices of styrene channel for handles, the cabinet was painted. Here’s a shot of it temporarily in place in the building:
Then I started making all the little details. A coat rack was made from a strip of styrene and short sections of thin brass rod:
Various bottles were turned from clear acrylic rod and hand-painted. Vintage signs, posters, calendars, etc were printed on self-adhesive vinyl. The “glass” on the clock was cut from a cheap plastic “google-eye”:
I wanted a simple wooden chair for waiting customers. I tried ordering one in 1/24th scale from a vendor on Shapeways. The first batch arrived and were too small. I notified the vendor, he made some changes, and sent me another batch. These were too large. Finally I just scratchbuilt a chair in the correct scale. Mine’s the one in the middle:
I painted it to look like varnished wood:
More details were created to fill up the east wall, including a scratchbuilt magazine rack:
Here’s an overhead shot, with the ceiling removed:
I made ceiling light fixtures from an acrylic “tulip” bead, a white fluted bead, and a plastic button. The bases of the lamps were painted with a metallic “steel” paint:
At last the building was finished and reinstalled on the layout. I also have added curtains and lighting to the Grizzly Bar Saloon:
The town of Mineral Ridge is really starting to look alive. Once I’ve finished adding interior details and lights to the remaining structures it will really be impressive:
Enjoy!
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Just awesome. I love the interiors - if I only had the time and the environment to let them live outdoors (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)
I just love following your builds Ray. Very inspiring. Your ability to create realistic shapes and then detail them is amazing.