Luke's Garage & Gas Station

[Chuck Doan]

Wonderful!

[Barney]

Looking good - like the subtle  weathering - excellent
Barney

[Ray Dunakin]

That looks fantastic!

[Barney]

Stuart-A small "constructional criticism " I might be wrong and I'm sure there are many versions using rope (for lighter lifting ) but most winches appear to use chain or steel cable see photos below My comments are no reflection on your superb modelling skills just an observation and previous work in the mechanical world
Barney

[Carlo]

Just amazing, Stuart! As I also model in 1/12 scale, I can appreciate the fine details you have added. Are you 3D printing any parts, or are they all fabricated by you? Also, can you show that compressor/tank in the background of one picture? I really like it.
Carlo

[Lawton Maner]

The Kerosene barrel needs a hand painted "no smoking" sign on it.  Even better if smoking is misspelled like one I say while rail fanning on the Clinchfield RR in the 1980's where the painter spelled smoking as "smokeing".  A bit of bubba touch.

[Stuart]

Thanks everyone for your kind remarks.

Barney - You are exactly correct in your criticism of my winch cable.  I am currently using a piece of scale ship rigging rope but it is too "fuzzy".  I colored it with brown and black shoe polish and tried to reduce the fuzziness with wax but it hasn't molded itself to look as real cable should.  So, I am looking at a couple of other sources for actual scale sized wire rope.  It looks like there may be a possibility with either fishing cable or jewelry line used for making necklaces and such.  I need to look at these further.  If anyone has other suggestions or sources for actual scale wire cable I would be glad to hear of it.

Carlo - Here's a closer look at the air compressor.  There is still work that needs to be done on it and yes, this and other items on this model are 3D printed.

Lawton -  I actually have a "No Smoking" sign posted just above the door to the gas station which I hope would serve as a warning for all petroleum products on the premises.

[Bernhard]

The compressor is really well made, especially the fittings.

Bernhard

[Barney]

Steel cables the easy way -use picture hanging wire comes in various thickness - normally brass but can be dipped in brass blackening liquid  and dry brushed with a steel or gun metal colour

[Barney]

Second way use fine wire strands (phone wire or alarm wire works well) cut to a length longer than what you want - knot each end -put one end around a solid handle or knob the other end in a hand type drill and turn to get the desired type of wire rope you require less turns gives a more open look - more turns gives a much tighter look to the cable
if all fails consult the the cable charts !!!!
Barney 

[Barney]

Phone wire or alarm wire strip to get fine stands - tie at ends - 1 end in drill and one end around handle of knob
and turn - and it should happen !!!!

[Hydrostat]

Stuart,

your garage is some impressive work. I do especially like the toilet!

There are some vendors in Germany offering scale steel rope, for example: Fohrmann

Cheers,
Volker

[Stuart]

Barney - Thank you for your tutorial on cable making.  After I made my last post I started looking a little deeper into possible sources of scale steel cable and found that there are a number of suppliers who provide just such an item for model builders.  I found a seller on Ebay who had just what I needed and have already placed an order. But, as I say, thank you for taking the time to respond to my plea and offering a worthwhile suggestion.

Stuart

[Lawton Maner]

Have you ever thought of using steel fishing leader?  It comes in rolls and in a number of sizes from fine to size large enough to handle large enough to make saltwater rigs for landing sharks and other off shore game fish.  Then there is the wire you can buy at arts and crafts stores in the jewelry aisles.  I run it through a butane torch flame (normally used to solder copper plumbing) to blacken it.  A swipe of motor oil finishes it.

Not my original idea, I learned it from a modeler who was modeling a high lead skidder once used by a West Virginia logging company.  The prototype can be seen in pieces at Cass State Park up on Whittaker Knob.  A great excuse to ride behind a Shay locomotive.

[Stuart]

Hello forum family.  I really haven't fallen off the face of the Earth.  Over the past several months I have diverted my attention to learning how to use my recently acquired 3D printing equipment. (See my posts under Military Modeling/figures.)  Consequently, work on Luke's Gas Station and Garage has not progressed significantly.  But, as I come out of my 3D detour I have managed to work on one small aspect of the project.

In the side yard, next to the garage and under the hoist gantry I have placed several short pieces of tree stumps serving as blocking for the two screw jacks.  The blocking and jacks are for lifting and making repairs to needy automobiles and farm equipment.  On one of the stumps I've placed a screw jack (castings from Ozark Miniatures) and an oily shop rag.  The painting and aging of the screw jacks was pretty straight forward using Vallejo acrylics, washes and weathering powders.  The oily rag was another matter, however.

I wanted the rag to resemble the typical orange shop towel which became quite prevalent in machine shops and mechanics garages beginning in the 1920's.  But has anyone out there actually tried to make a realistic looking scaled down piece of fabric tossed haphazardly onto the top of a work bench, table, or in my case, a tree stump? For me it presented quite a challenge. 

First of all I needed to consider the material I was to use.  My first attempt was with a small piece of industrial paper towel, the kind one would find in a public restroom.  I thought with a thinned down solution of white glue the paper would become soft and pliable enough to fold and mold into a convincing shape.  I came up with something that was adequate but not fully what I had in mind.  Plus, the texture of the paper was far too rough and way out of scale.  My next thought was to use tissue paper but as I played with that material it did not want to mold into a pleasing representation.  It seemed too stiff and unresponsive and did not want to stay in the shape I placed it.  My next effort was with polymer clay which was sufficiently pliable but I could not roll it out thin enough to look realistic so I scratch that technique.  My forth try was with thin sheet copper.  The material was sufficiently thin at .003" and would hold its shape but not nearly soft enough to create realistic folds.  I needed something thin, smooth, very flexible and that would hold the shape I placed it in without the assistance of messy glues.  Then it dawned on me, maybe thin lead foil could be the answer.

I went on-line to find a supplier of lead foil.  It took some searching to find a vendor who would sell a small sheet.  Most suppliers provided sizes and quantities way more than I needed or wanted to pay for.  I finally found a source and made the purchase.  The piece I ordered was .003" thick and the sheet measured 6" x 6".

Using my hobby knife I easily trimmed out a piece at a scale 14" x 14" (1/12th scale) and carefully bent, twisted and folded the lead into what I felt was, at last, a pleasing representation of a tossed away rag.  It took a few attempts to get what I wanted.  Lead is very soft, especially at .003" thickness and if not careful it can look like a mashed soda can one would find in the middle of the road.  At any rate, with care, I was able to form the rag I wanted.  Before making the folds I painted the piece an orange color typical of shop towels.  With the towel folded and in position on the wood stump, I added the oil stains with various washes and weathering powders.  The finished result is pictured below.

As others in this forum have expressed, it can be an interesting adventure as we try to invent ways to do what we do.  It may seem to others, and even ourselves, that the time and effort to fashion one little aspect of a model is way and above what may seem appropriate or warranted.  But it's the attention to details that make this art form so intriguing. 



The white area under the stump and jack is not meant to be snow.  It is Styrofoam which will eventually be landscaped with soil and weeds.



Typical shop towels.