E.J. Scudder Foundry & Machine Company

[DKS]

For my entry, I've chosen the E.J. Scudder Foundry & Machine Company in Trenton, NJ. I've started a project web page here:

http://davidksmith.com/modeling/rw_01_18.htm

[Kentuckian]

Great looking prototype. A mini table saw would be nice, especially when I ripped the HO scale crane beams.

[DKS]

Got started. But I can tell in advance I'm not going to be very happy with this. My fine motor skills have deteriorated substantially, and I shake uncontrollably--I can barely hold a brush still enough to apply cement. Anyway, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Here's the subject:



I started with the end walls on the main part of the building at the left end. It took two kit walls for each of the finished end walls in order to simplify the roofline.



Above, unmodified wall to the left; separated parts to the right (cut from two wall parts).



Glue together, trim brick, trim center part, and glue together. Repeat.

 

[wazzou]

Looks great to me DKS.

[DKS]

Looks great to me DKS.

Thanks, but I kept the images small for a reason. This level of work would not have been acceptable to me before, but now it's about as good as it gets.



Good thing the real building is covered with ivy. The model will probably have even more.

 

[Chris333]

If you rub that with a wire brush a lot of that fuzz will go away.

[Dave V]

Wow!  That structure looks tailor-made for the Vulcan kits!

[DKS]

The side walls were considerably easier. Since one will be mostly covered by an extension, it won't need any modification; the other is made up of parts from two side walls in order to do away with the section that has the door, toward the upper left.



Meanwhile, because the roof of the original kit fits behind the end walls, as opposed to over them, the tops of the end wall assemblies needed to be trimmed back to match the side wall height. I also added the center brick parts, along with some Evergreen I-beams, to the street side end wall.

[DKS]

Next up was the office on the far left end. This was made from DPM Modular wall parts, plus an extension made from a single piece of the Vulcan kit. The cornice parts were swiped from DPM Bruce's Bakery kits. Unfortunately it meant sacrificing three kit fronts, but I have loads of spares, as this is a favorite of mine. Also, the side facing the street to the left has only two windows instead of three, but this is an error I'm more than willing to overlook.

[dougnelson]

Very cool.  I will love watching this one.

[DKS]

Progress is very slow, but at least it continues. The DPM parts had to be trimmed down to achieve the correct height for the office section; then the cornices were attached and trimmed.

[DKS]

If you rub that with a wire brush a lot of that fuzz will go away.

Thanks, I've tried that in the past, but found it can create new fuzz, or at the very least add scratches to the styrene surface. What I've found works a little better is to lightly apply some MEK to dissolve the fuzz. It too causes damage, but not as much.

[DKS]

After cutting some corner braces from plain styrene scraps, I "erected" the office addition, and filled in the gaps at the corners of the cornice parts with bits of plain styrene.



The third structural element I addressed was the first extension to the right of the main building. The lower brick part was made from a single Vulcan end wall with a center part offset vertically to create three matching window openings. The brick strip across the top came from a Walthers' Allied Rail Rebuilder wall, the least useful part from this kit.





The next element to model is the second extension to the right. I started with four of the filler panels for the Vulcan end walls, and joined them with vertical brick strips cut from leftover wall parts.

[DKS]

Modeling halted for a while. Typing this with one hand. Just had accident with mini-table saw. My uncontrollable shaking of late caused me to overreact when a part I was cutting kicked back. Left index finger landed on blade hard, instantly cut down to the bone. Blood sprayed everywhere. Would need stitches if I went to hospital, but I have no insurance, so I'll just have to tie it up tight in bandages and hope for the best.

I've used this tool for years without any incident, ever. Now, with my shaking, I'm having second thoughts. Will be a while before I can get back on this horse.

[learmoia]

Ouch.. that sucks!..

Get better soon....

~Ian