Well for the last several days I have been working with my cardstock structures. The post delivered my windows at a ridiculous time of 1145 PM such is the sorry state of the post here. So I got a surprise when opened the cardboard envelope that the windows and doors came in. At least 4 sheets of assorted doors and windows and each sheet was a 8 by 11. So for the last few days I have been cutting out doors and windows and gluing them on. Thank Heavens for several small sets of decal scissors. While at it I also upgraded the Pratt Grocery with a front awning and new sidewalk and refurbed my gas station. Now I need to create some door landings and garage aprons then they can go on the layout up on the cliff top. 100_0003-1 by John Moore posted Jan 4, 2024 at 6:11 PM
My barn and silo arrived about 5-6 days early so I have continued on with the farm site up on the cliffs. As expected the Osborn Model kit had not only a broken part but a poorly fitting part. However having ample tools and supplies so I could deal with this. A lees equipped and less experienced model I would advise to stay away from the brand. However I was looking for a small barn specific to my needs thus the purchase. The kit was a nightmare of sprues with several layers of parts within so care had to be taken to get rid of the sprues, As expected one of the roof top cupolas was broken beyond repair So I cut the good one off and filed away the stub of the broken one. Then I relocated the god one in the center of the roof. When It came time to fit the roof on it did not fit good leaving a gap on both sides. So a thin piece of styrene solved that issue on both sides. The kit came with a push cart, several cows, a feed trough, a bench seat, and a lean to shed which I will use except for the cows, I have better ones. The silo came with a ladder that was almost HO size so it was replaced with a Plastruct one. Next I dug out a section of a wood kit of a stockyard salvaged from the old layout and refurbed that and gave it a matching paint job to the barn a silo. I mounted it on a cardstock pad and then took a section of the lousy grass mat the came with Osborn barn kit and recolored it to represent dirt and attached that to the front of the pad. Next up I need to create corral fencing and the fence that came with the Osborn barn kit was too small. Digging once again in one of several parts boxes I came up with Plastruct railing. A .030 by .030 strip of styrene supplied the fence posts. Several hours later I had 3 corrals with gates. This complex will attach to one side of the barn with a fenced pathway leading to a livestock loading chute for trucks. On of the wood kits salvaged from the prior layout and repaired. Next up is to test fit the structures to their new site and then to put the finishing touches to everything before installing, Tractors. hay baler. farm animals. and then ready to install. 100_0004-1 by John Moore posted Jan 8, 2024 at 1:15 PM
Test fitted everything and now have joined the two structures and have added some more cardstock to make another corral and add the loading chute. Added fresh feed to my feed troughs and new water to the water troughs. I made both the feed and water troughs years ago out of styrene. In the back is the mat that came with the barn and a section that I am coloring for the corrals. 100_0005-2 by John Moore posted Jan 8, 2024 at 5:50 PM
Well after a few weeks at the workbench the farm is finally done. 100_0006-1 by John Moore posted Jan 14, 2024 at 4:08 PM The small object in almost the center bottom is a cattle guard. A pipe rack frame laid in the ground that vehicle can drive over but cattle and other livestock will not cross. I grew up in Montana on a farm and ranch and worked on several for awhile while young. The goose and duck pond. The water has a lot of light reflection. 100_0007-2 by John Moore posted Jan 14, 2024 at 4:08 PM The chicken coop with N scale chickens and those are bee hives on the left with a bee keeper. 100_0008-3 by John Moore posted Jan 14, 2024 at 4:08 PM Barn and stock pens with hogs and sheep ready for market. 100_0009-4 by John Moore posted Jan 14, 2024 at 4:08 PM Garden and greenhouses. 100_0010-5 by John Moore posted Jan 14, 2024 at 4:08 PM Farm installed. 100_0011-6 by John Moore posted Jan 14, 2024 at 4:08 PM I have a problem with area too narrow so I am using Arizona Stone coarse rocks to build out which will take several days. Even then I may have to split the garden into two sections to get it to fit.
Well it has been at least a week or more since an update. The farm up on the cliffs has had the terrain expanded some with new plaster and rock molds. The base material got a coat of paint and once dry I could start on my top coat of soil and leveling. Here I have started on the left side fine Arizona Stone material and the some Woodland Scenics earth. 100_0021-4 by John Moore posted Jan 25, 2024 at 1:48 PM Meanwhile at the workbench my 6 Greenmax small commercial structures got some added details. Sidewalks were installed and in back dumpsters, Commercial AC units. and generators were installed. The green Medical building also got doctors names printed off my computer and medical waste containers in addition the the dumpster. The Port Authority building got a set of radar antennas and radio antennas. The Gray building is a San Juan County admin building. The apartment building in back looked like a scene from the Adams Family with the dark colors so I changed the rood color and the stairwell and balconies colors. 100_0018-2 by John Moore posted Jan 25, 2024 at 1:48 PM I have started work and almost finished the 6 house Green Max kit of small single two story houses. Add some different detail from the first three. Installed wall mounted mailboxes that were included with the kits. I went to my selection of Walther roof details for exhaust pipes and also used a set from the kit. Varied the front entrance covers and installed my own outside door lights on front and rear door sides. Since TV antennas were only included on a couple of parts sprues I made some of my own copying the style of the GreenMax ones. While I used Vallejo paints on the commercial buildings I used Testers acrylic paints on the houses. The first three were done with straight from the bottle. The 2nd three were done with a blended mix that gave me different colors. I had parts left over from both kits that were similar and I found that I could cut the sections into two section following a scored line by Greenmax creating a single story section. So I have started a much better small strip mall that the first one I did. I also have enough parts to create anothe single story structure giving me a total of 8 structures from that 6 structure kit. 100_0020-3 by John Moore posted Jan 25, 2024 at 1:48 PM
Completed the GreenMax single family house and now they can be moved to the layout ready to install. I also finished creating some more structures out of the leftover parts from both Greemax kits. Now I can strip some usable parts off the former strip mall and trash the rest since I now have a much more pleasing creation sitting in the middle. 100_0022-1 by John Moore posted Jan 28, 2024 at 9:53 AM The new strip mall has a laundry/dry cleaners and I have installed an exhaust stack for a steam boiler and a roof mounted pressure vessel plus solvent barrels in the rear. Then again using the left over parts I created Benny's automotive. The small building is one of my paper buildings. The outside auto rack is from styrene shapes and left over scraps. The auto I used a single edge razor blade to open the hood. Shingles were again from my dwindling stock of paper shingles. 100_0023-2 by John Moore posted Jan 28, 2024 at 9:53 AM Today I am again going to be working on the scenic material for the farm slowly applying it layer by layer.
Well another update to the layout rebuild. I built a truck repair garage to add to the repair shop built a few days back, and I got a set of mini malls from Kato that I detailed the interiors of, and last I finally got back to my electric transmission towers and started modifying them plus completing them.. 100_0033-1 by John Moore posted Feb 11, 2024 at 5:04 PM The electric towers are by TomyTec and way to tall for my layout so they were cut down to 80 to 120 foot towers. I left one the full size. That one reaches up to the cliffs. Two more are shown here with some buildings that are floating around in the harbor before being placed. 100_0034-2 by John Moore posted Feb 11, 2024 at 5:04 PM Here the townhouses have been permanently mounted with concrete driveways and sidewalks. Black construction paper was first laid for asphalt then everything else went on top. Makes for nice neat lines. 100_0037-4 by John Moore posted Feb 11, 2024 at 5:04 PM Here at the corner of the cliffs near the power plant I have built a block retaining wall and it has been filled with rip rap. I have since laid a finer grain material on top and will next lay soil and have started a road ramp to the bottom. Three or four small company houses will be located here when done. 100_0035-3 by John Moore posted Feb 11, 2024 at 5:04 PM And after several weeks, more like a month, the farm is finally done. Farm equipment and vehicles have been placed, animals in the pens and horses out to pasture. 100_0036-5 by John Moore posted Feb 11, 2024 at 5:04 PM I have finally reached the 2nd half of the layout area with the port area. Now waiting on some more Busch roadway to be delivered, due tomorrow. In this incarnation the business district is going to extend into the port area. Made a decision on no power poles, everything underground. So I will route the electrical power lines over the towers to substations with transformers. Already found the transformers which will be ordered in the next week, at least two of them. May place a 3rd one in the brewery complex.
Well it has been awhile since the last update. For those that do not know I am in a battle with a life threatening illness so that has slowed the progress some as I travel back and forth for treatments. At least I do not have to turn on the lights in the layout room now as I glow in the dark. Found I was short some electric pylons so ordered some more from Japan. These can be height adjusted which in nice and they are made by Tomix or TomyTec. Also ordered two power substations. Power comes from the harbor power plant and goes to two substation via the electric pylons. Then the power is underground. Saves me dealing with all those poles and lines. Here is the West end of the layout and the brewery substation. It has a modified pylon straddling the tracks to the mine. I am using a ship rigging line stained with a India ink alcohol mix. The power substation had to undergo a mod to fit in the space. 100_0001-1 by John Moore posted Mar 7, 2024 at 1:09 PM Different height pylons working their way back to the power plant. 100_0002-2 by John Moore posted Mar 7, 2024 at 1:09 PM Working their way around to the power plant. And in this shot is also Wicked Wanda's and a gate to close off the car float slip that I can close or open depending on whether the car float is in or out. Wanda's is now on land rather than on pilings over the water, and fenced in. To the left of Wanda's is the ferry slip. You can also just see my three story garden apartment on the waterfront. The road goes under the rail viaduct just past there and a mirror was installed to give the impression of continuing on. 100_0003-3 by John Moore posted Mar 7, 2024 at 1:09 PM A closer look at the area. 100_0004-4 by John Moore posted Mar 7, 2024 at 1:09 PM A fuzzy shot of the power plant. 100_0006-5 by John Moore posted Mar 7, 2024 at 1:09 PM And the harbor power substation. The vacant space is going to be Water Front Willy's 100_0007-6 by John Moore posted Mar 7, 2024 at 1:09 PM Supplies are enroute to make some Jersey barriers for the elevated roadway climbing up the the cliff top. I looked at guardrails but too much money for to small an amount. I am using Busch roadway and making some roadway out of heavy black construction paper.
The layout looks real good, John. Very nice work. I pray that the radiation treatments work for you. I finished radiation 3 years ago and the cancer is gone. God Bless.
Well after a long pause I am back at the layout rebuild, Been slowly slowly working on the harbor piers the last several weeks. I am using self adhesive shell liner cork to build up the area around the tracks on the piers. The adhesive on the cork does not hold well so I thin layer of Elmers was laid down first and then the corked weighted in place until the Elmers sets. On top of that when I got the right height of the cork went my heavy grade black construction papers also set in with diluted Elmers. And walla, instant blacktop. I use water spray on the construction paper once in place and then I can smooth it in place. To fill the space between the unitrack rails I am using .040 by .250 strip styrene. It fits perfectly between the unitrack rails. I am cutting curved section out of .040 styrene to make the curved fill spaces, a real pain and a lot of sanding to get the curves. The USCG and NUMA pier with the blacktop and rail gaps partially filled in between the tracks, still a work in progress. 100_0003-3 by John Moore posted Apr 13, 2024 at 1:44 PM Just starting on the container/ general cargo and ore pier with the first cork in place. Waiting on a old movable on rails crane by Faller to arrive from England so I can place those rails before anymore cork is laid. The weight is a bent rail spike from mile post 1 of the old RF&P Railroad 100_0004-4 by John Moore posted Apr 13, 2024 at 1:44 PM Dug out all my cranes and have ordered another Tichy Trains crane from Fifer to build a long boom crane for the NUMA site. I will convert that to an electric from steam enclose the cab more and extend the boom. And to fill the time while things dry and glue sets I am building another ship for the harbor. Once again I have used Cedar wood for the basic shape and then laminated styrene sheet cut to shape over the wood. Once again this ship is a custom built to fit a space in my harbor since there are no commercial models of the small size I need. With the exception of some model ship parts I have ordered most of it is made from parts I have made. 100_0001-1 by John Moore posted Apr 13, 2024 at 1:44 PM
Well a small amount of progress on the layout re-build. Finally got to the container/ore loading pier and started installing my crane tracks. Then started the build up of cork to create the drive over rail tracks. 100_0009-1 by John Moore posted Apr 23, 2024 at 8:29 AM Far left rails are for ore cars and the middle tracks are for container flats. The crane straddles the container trailers that pull through the crane so I have truck and rail loading both. Installed new concrete edge on the container side still have a small section to install then install blacktop over the cork after that. 100_0017-5 by John Moore posted Apr 23, 2024 at 8:46 AM I originally had a Faller dock crane that got lost in the tear down of the old layout so ordered a new one. It is heavily modified especially in the boom area. I added additional cable supports to the boom and an additional cable run to the top. Also replaced the operators ladder with a Plastruct one and made my own safety cage for the ladder, plus added a platform at the top the safely get to the ladder. The legs are safety striped because vehicles pull through the legs to be loaded Also designing my own container lift system which are the orange sections laying near it. The crane base is lead weighted to allow a container to be suspended in the air. 100_0011-2 by John Moore posted Apr 23, 2024 at 8:29 AM Since the port only handles 12 and 20 foot containers everything is designed around that from the container ships and barges to the railcars. I found 20 foot container trailers on the web at the Jacksonville Terminal Company LLC. Bought a set of 3 trailers which are very nice with working parts. 100_0015-3 by John Moore posted Apr 23, 2024 at 8:29 AM Also found that my firehouse was not going to fit anywhere on the new layout so ordered the Silver Cliff Firehouse from RS laser Kits. Wood Laser kit that I could cut and modify and right away the front equipment bay doors had to be modified. Now building a lean to addition to house some more equipment. Needed a ladder truck so ordered a Wiking straight bed ladder truck as the best fit for the new station. Here truck posed in front of the new station. 100_0016-4 by John Moore posted Apr 23, 2024 at 8:29 AM Extendable ladder is the right reach for my structures I have.
