Some recent work on the In-ko-pah RR

[Design-HSB]

Ray as always excellent. The most beautiful garden railway I have ever seen.

[Peter_T1958]

Ray

To be honest, I am not a committed supporter of garden railways – those that I have seen had too much toy charakter for my taste.
Now I have to change my mind, those pictures are quite spectacular (especially the night shots).  I have the impression of a very well executed model layout but moved outside.

Congrats,
Peter

[finescalerr]

That is exactly what Ray has done, Peter.

I began publishing in 1991 with a magazine called Outdoor Railroader and, in the five years before I changed its focus and title, I recall only two or three layouts that truly attempted to recreate reality in miniature. None came close to Ray's level of detail and even now I know of none. Ray truly has built a masterpiece.

Russ

[Bernhard]

This is truly extraordinary, Ray. It looks like your brother just left his workplace for a short break.

Bernhard

[Barney]

I agree with all - a nice bit of detailed work
Barney

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks guys!

The lighted sign I wanted to make was the type that has numerous individual bulbs spelling out the lettering. I drew up art for the sign with white letters on a dark background and printed it on self-adhesive vinyl. Then I mounted the vinyl sign on a piece of clear, 1/4" thick acrylic sheet. I drilled holes into one edge and insert two 3mm LEDS. Then I drilled tiny holes for the bulbs in the letters, and glued in some tiny glass beads. (I didn't make a complete sign, just a test piece.)

Unfortunately the light from the LEDs was glowing through the vinyl and didn't light up the glass beads as much as I'd hoped.

When I make a second attempt at this, I think I will wrap the acrylic in aluminum foil before applying the vinyl. That way the light won't show through the surface of the sign. I saw where someone else did this in O scale and it worked pretty well. Another thing they did that I'll have to try is, they didn't insert the LEDs into the acrylic. Instead, they used a string of flat, surface mount LEDs and just stuck them on the edge of the acrylic, facing into it.

[1-32]

Great Ray the outdoor weathering is a great touch love the stonework
cheers

[Ray Dunakin]

My next project is underway...it's a repair and upgrade of the Dos Manos Drugs building which was finished in 2010.






This structure was built much differently than my current methods. I used real rocks and mortar for the walls. There are pros and cons to this type of construction.

Pro: It holds up well in all weather, never needs to be repainted, and you can't beat the appearance of real rocks.

Con: The only way I could find to make the interior accessible was through the top, so it had to be built in two pieces, and I couldn't make the interior removable. It's not completely moisture-proof. It's heavy, and although it's sturdy it can shatter if accidentally dropped. And unless you have a stone saw it's hard to make stones to fit arches, etc.

Anyway, the real problems with this structure were with the other materials. I had used thin, clear plastic to glaze the windows. This stuff aged very badly, becoming yellow, opaque, and eventually warped and cracked. I used styrene to build the "wooden" parts of the structure, and although the styrene is ok, the paint on it has become worn and faded. Also, I had used incandescent "grain of rice" bulbs to light the interior, and these all burned out rapidly.

Here's how the building looked after I removed it from the layout. A few parts broke off as I was handling it:






I started with the ground floor, since it would be the easiest to repair. The first thing I had to do was remove the displays that were mounted in the windows. These were glued into place but luckily I was able to break them loose without causing any damage:




The displays are in much better condition than I'd expected, and just need to be cleaned up a little. The paint on the "wooden" sidewalk has almost completely worn off, so it will need to be repainted.

Next I removed the plastic glazing from the windows. I was worried this would be difficult, but all I had to do was press on the plastic with a blunt tool, near the edges of the window frames, it it popped loose. When I got enough of it loose, I grabbed it from inside the structure and pulled it off. With that weathered plastic out of the way, you can now see that the interior details are still in good condition:




The red and black paint on the framework was in pretty good shape, just a little dull. The paint on the underside of the balcony was much worse:




I repainted the underside of the balcony, and touched up the red and black frame to brighten it up a bit:





I set that part of the building aside and turned my attention to the second story. I removed the corroded plastic from the windows, but that was as far as I got:




The entire balcony is badly faded and needs to be repainted. Several parts of the railing have fallen off:




This end of the balcony railing and canopy is loose:




It would be easiest to paint the balcony if it were separate from the main structure, but with the exception of the loose bits at this end, the rest is very securely attached. I don't think I can remove it without causing significant damage, and I don't want to be forced to replace it.

So for now I have to put on my "thinking cap" and figure out the best way to go about repairing and repainting the balcony.

I just got some new LEDs in the mail today, which I will be using to replace the incandescent bulbs that were originally installed in the structure.

.

[finescalerr]

I still think your models are just too nice to leave outdoors. Excellent restoration so far. -- Russ

[Barney]

I once again agree with all - a lovely bit of restoration - I left a spanner outside once it did not last a week before the rust and green grot got at it ! the spanner being
a good old "King Dick" made here in the Midlands but no chrome - just painted black !   
Barney

[Ray Dunakin]

Now that the holidays are over I'm making a little more progress. On the second floor of the building, I decided the best adhesive to secure the loose end of the balcony was Gorilla Glue, a urethane glue. I wet the area first, then used a toothpick to smear the glue under the parts that were loose. The excess glue foams up along the edge:




When it was mostly cured but still pliable, I trimmed off the excess glue:




I repainted the balcony using craft acrylics. The coloration isn't as subtle as I had originally done it, but it'll do. Next I needed to spray it with a few coats of Krylon UV-resistant clear matte, so I masked off the rest of the building:




I also repainted the large sign above the balcony, using a small brush. It's not quite as sharp as the original sign, which was done with the aid of a stencil, but it's close enough considering the rough surface:




I cut some real glass for the windows, but haven't installed it yet. Cutting the curved piece was a little tricky. I had score straight lines and snap off a small piece at a time until I had a rough curve. The remaining bits were crushed or broken off with a needle-nose plier:








Meanwhile, on the ground floor, I installed LEDs into the ceiling fixtures:




I get my LEDs from Evan Designs https://evandesigns.com/collections/hobby-leds  They sell them with the tiny circuit board pre-wired into the leads. This allows them to run on battery or regulated DC voltage ranging from 5-12 volts. You don't even have to worry about the polarity.

These particular LEDs are the "chip" size. I ordered them with the circuit board on separate leads, so that the LED leads can fit through the brass tubes of the fixtures:






My messy wiring on the top of the ceiling. I bundled the leads and taped them in place:




Here's how the storefront looks with the LED lighting:






That's all for now. Enjoy!

.

[Chuck Doan]

Just beautiful work Ray. The gallery is wonderful.

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks Chuck!

[1-32]

Hi Ray.
Great modelling I especially like your lighting.
cheers.

[finescalerr]

Most satisfactory. -- Russ