In-ko-pah RR: Dos Manos depot

[Ray Dunakin]

I finished scribing the east wall of the two-story, central portion of the depot:





I also created a special piece which will be laminated to the back of the west wing's end wall, to increase the wall's apparent thickness:





Here are all of the pieces that I've completed so far. These are enough to begin assembly:





Woohoo! I've assembled the walls and it finally is starting to look like a building! The east wing, which will be an open, shaded waiting area, will be assembled separately. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to build it:





Here's a view of the south side. I still need to build the bay window:





Here's the top of the west wing's end wall, showing the special piece that was added to make it look thicker:





A view of the northwest corner:





One of the next things to do, is blend together the mortar lines at the joints.

That's all for now!

[michael mott]

That looks really great Ray.
Michael

[Ray Dunakin]

Remember that wall I goofed up and had to reject? Well, I used the top of it to make this piece, and laminated it to the rear of the south wall:

[Allan G]

Glad you could repurpose it. Looks great!... Allan

[Ray Dunakin]

I've been working on blending together the joints at the corners of the building. In the past, I used an epoxy putty made by JB Weld, sold under the name Kwik Plastik. Apparently this is no longer available, at least under that name. So I've had to do some experimenting...

First I tried a product called Magic Sculpt. This is a two-part epoxy putty available from art and craft suppliers, and commonly used for sculpting. It's light gray. I applied some to a couple of corners, and after it cured I scribed mortar lines into it. It's a bit harder than the Kwik Plastik, and was a little tricky to scribe. In thin areas in sometimes flaked off during scribing:






Next I tried a JB Weld product called "Water Weld". This turns out to be very similar to Kwik Plastik, and may even be the same product under a new name. It too is a two-part putty. It is almost white when cured. It's a bit softer than Magic Sculpt, making it slightly easier to sand and scribe. It also flaked off in some spots, but not quite as badly:




The results of both products in this particular application were very similar, but I'd say Water Weld has a slight edge. Neither one is ideal for use on a semi-soft material like Sintra. But considering that these are supposed to be rough, random stones, the defects are not significant and will be pretty well hidden when painted.

[michael mott]

Looks pretty good to my eye Ray I suspect that when you give it a coat of paint that it will be hard to spot which side the joint is on.

Michael

[Ray Dunakin]

I wanted some of the stones to stand out from the wall, to give it more dimension. To do this, I start by gluing thin slices of Sintra to a few random stones. Then I use a hobby knife with a new, sharp #11 blade to carve them. Here are a couple before and after shots:











Here's the finished wall:






I won't do this to the rest of the walls until after I've added on the east wing.

[Bill Gill]

Ahh, that's the extra step for making some stones stand out. I'd wondered if you added Sintra or some kind of putty, Sintra it is. Thanks, great stuff there.

[Chuck Doan]

That is a lot of really nice work Ray!

[michael mott]

Ray having tried your method of working I am even more impressed by what you have been able to achieve.

Michael

[Sami]

Very nice and good technique Ray !

[Ray Dunakin]

Because this depot will sit so close to the "edge" of the layout, a detailed interior is a necessity! However, this is the first building I've made with an interior that is also visible from all four sides. Previous structures had the rear wall against a cliff, allowing me to make that wall removable. (It also cut down on the amount of exterior detailing!) The interiors could be built into a box that slides out the back of the building.

On the depot, the interior box has to be accessible from below. Not a big deal but it does complicate things a bit. For one thing, the way I make and install the windows, they extend into the building slightly. So the box has to clear the windows and avoid damaging the shades/curtains.

I built a recessed rim and spacers in the main structure. The rim creates an overlapping seal to help keep out moisture, as well as giving me something to put the screws into that will be used to secure the interior. Here's a view from the underside:




And here's a view from the top. I haven't installed the spacer on the wall at right yet, because I'm debating whether or not to add a window to that wall:




Here's the box which will contain the interior. The ceiling is removable and held in place with small screws:








Here's a shot of the underside of the building, with the box temporarily installed. For this shot I only used two screws, instead of the six that will eventually be used:




Note that the floor of the west wing (baggage/freight area) is also removable. This room will not have interior details.


Here's a shot looking down from the top. The second floor windows will have closed curtains, eliminating the need for detailing the second floor. Only a light will be installed there, to shine through the curtains:




As you can see, I've also installed the bracing for the roof of the west wing, and will soon add bracing for the main roof:

[lab-dad]

I know this is after the horse has left the barn but;
Why cant you install the windows flush with the inside?

Other than my reverse engineering - the building looks great! Cant wait to see it painted!

-Marty

[Ray Dunakin]

I know this is after the horse has left the barn but;
Why cant you install the windows flush with the inside?

I used to try to do that on my earlier buildings... long story short, it's more trouble than it's worth.

[Ray Dunakin]

The depot sits between two tracks, and one of the tracks curves inward a bit. To accommodate the reduced clearance, I had to taper the east wing on the south side:




Because the east wing is an odd shape, I decided to go with a flat roof and parapet, rather than a peaked roof. I feel this will also give the building more visual interest, and I've seen photos of a couple prototype, mission-style depots that had a flat roof on one end. I put together a mockup of the east wing and taped it to the model to see how it will look:






Before I start cutting up Sintra, I'd like to hear what others think of this design for the east wing.