Eastern Seaboard Models White Tower Restaurant Kit Review

[wm3798]

Bryan, thanks for that analysis.   It pretty much jibes with what I was thinking.  Given the cost of the model, I'm not going to go too far out on any limbs in terms of experimenting with new techniques.

I could do without lighting, but then you should have chosen a prototype that's not open 24 hours!!

As for LED's, I'm thinking I might paint the inside of the ceiling with a coat of silver or white, and simply putting a small LED pointing up in the bathroom.  The bathroom window won't be visible, so I'm certainly not worried about modeling the interior, and I would suspect that would be one place where you could get loose with the CA and "fog" the window for a privacy glass effect.

Anyway, I'll use the anode on the LED as a 'stalk' so I only have to run one wire.  I've got some small resistors, too, but I won't put that on-board, I'd be worried about heat from the resistor doing bad things to the amazing space age polymer of the model...  Another option would be to permanently affix the White Tower to an adjoining building, and run all the electronics through the wall.  That's probably the most logical approach.

I'll be fooling with it this week, and will provide my usual avalanche of progress photos to keep you abreast of my progress.

Lee

[tom mann]

snagged a photo today:

[Chris333]

I just picked up some Bestine ($$$)

Does it really dissolve the wax or do I need to do a little scrubbing?

[DKS]

I just picked up some Bestine ($$$)

Does it really dissolve the wax or do I need to do a little scrubbing?

It really does dissolve wax, but you'll still need to do some work in crevices and areas with lots of detail. Don't be afraid to soak it a good long while, and repeat the process as needed.

snagged a photo today:

OK, I'm hooked. That really does look so much better than the Shapeways print.

[bbussey]

David beat me to it.

You may need to do some gentle scrubbing with a soft toothbrush.  The Bestine removes any wax film on the model and turns any residue clumps of wax into a soft goo.  What I've done is perform repeated soakings, removing gooey wax in between soakings.  A dental tool or toothpick for the delicate areas such as the window treatments.  But if the acetate works on the Shapeways FUD, it will work on this as it is the same material.  The "FUD" notation is simply Shapeways' name for the material in order to obfuscate what it is actually named.

Another observation - there seems to be more residue wax on these models than what arrives from Shapeways.  I believe this is due to the desire of my contractor to prevent warping of the model during the wax-melting process by not cranking the heat up as high as Shapeways does.  The melting point of the wax and the resin is very close, so it seem my contractor prefers to error on the side of caution.

Also, the tower portion of the building is extremely strong.  If you handle the building by the tower, you're less likely to inadvertently grab the building in the window treatments areas.

[Chris333]

Cool. There is not a lot of wax on mine, it is soaking now. 

I know acetone turns FUD to a white color.

[DKS]

I know acetone turns FUD to a white color.

The Bestine does as well.

I believe this is an effect of wax removal, and not any change in the resin. I have a feeling that the wax renders the resin semi-translucent, and when it's totally removed, the natural surface color is revealed. But this is just a guess based on what I know about heptane.

[bbussey]

The Bestine does as well.

I believe this is an effect of wax removal, and not any change in the resin. I have a feeling that the wax renders the resin semi-translucent, and when it's totally removed, the natural surface color is revealed. But this is just a guess based on what I know about heptane.

I agree.  When cleaning other XHD models, if I smeared wax over surfaces that had been "cleaned," the surface changed from white back to translucent.

[bbussey]

... What do you recommend for coloring in the lettering?  I'm afraid that A) the base coat of paint will fill in the tiny letters, and B) there isn't a dry brush in the world dry enough to touch the surface without some blotching...

FYI, Frank Giacobbe from N Scale Limited posted on the ESM Facebook page that using a Sharpie on the raised letters worked perfectly with no bleed.

[Philip H]

Cool. There is not a lot of wax on mine, it is soaking now. 

I know acetone turns FUD to a white color.

So did the acetone work?  This I have with out having to look for something new.

[Philip H]

never mind . . . I found a place four blocks from my office that has it . . . .

[Ian MacMillan]

It really does dissolve wax, but you'll still need to do some work in crevices and areas with lots of detail. Don't be afraid to soak it a good long while, and repeat the process as needed.

How about putting it in a mini ultrasonic cleaner, like the ones you can get at Harbor Freight, filled with Bestine? Might do a pretty good job of cleaning it off.

[wm3798]

... and shaking enough Bestine vapors to blow up your house...

Lee

[C855B]

... and shaking enough Bestine vapors to blow up your house...

Holy cow! You got that right! Very volatile... just this side of gasoline!

(My wife and I both had early careers in the printing biz. We knows ALL about Bestine! I'm positive there's still a can of it hiding somewhere in our antique art supplies. Nasty stuff.)

[Philip H]

Holy cow! You got that right! Very volatile... just this side of gasoline!

(My wife and I both had early careers in the printing biz. We knows ALL about Bestine! I'm positive there's still a can of it hiding somewhere in our antique art supplies. Nasty stuff.)

SO I should strip this thing in the far back corner of the yard?