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Finished up the Journal newsprint dock, with some weathering, downspouts for the rain gutters, etc... I got some GHQ forklifts in the mail, and need to build a newsprint clamp for one of them.Here is the final weathered dock.I then moved on to working on sidewalks, driveways, and pavement. The parking area near the dock and Lincoln warehouse, while the streets are asphalt. I am pleased with the initial results, but got hung up on sewer grates and manhole covers. I know that there are some etched brass ones, but they are expensive. I tried to cut some sewer grates with my Silhouette digital cutter, but had issues with various materials. Tape, vinyl and paper tore too easily, and I couldn't cut all the way through styrene. After a couple of days of failure, I came upon the solution....vellum drafting paper. For those that are too young to remember drafting paper, modern vellum is a plasticized cotton product, that has a frosted surface on one side (shiny on the other). The Silhouette machine uses a tacky cutting mat to feed the paper through it, so I just pressed the paper to the mat. After cutting it, I just pealed them off the mat. I stuck the grates (about .20 by .185 inches for the large ones) to some tape, painted them roof brown, and them dusted them with rusty chalk. After they dried, I attached them with spray adhesive to some .010 styrene that I painted flat black. I used some dull coat to seal them, cut them out, and painted the edges with some weathered black. Here is the final product, not yet inset into the gutter.I think these turned out pretty well, so manhole covers are next on the list. Best wishes, Dave
You're welcome Bruce.The brick on my Pabst Shipping building is the Monster Modelworks 1/32 Basswood N Scale clean brick. I also have the N scale concrete block foundation that I will use on this building. Probably stipple on some modeling past to give it more of a limestone texture.The sidewalks are just styrene that I scribed with the Silhouette. Here are the parts I used to make the driveway. The bricks on the Milwaukee Journal loading dock and the Lincoln Warehouse are the eBay link that I listed. They are slightly oversize but a decent product. The Monster HO bricks are slightly larger than these. I will take a photo tonight showing the comparison between the three. As I said, the ABS bricks take more work to score and snap. The Silhouette can cut clear through .010 to .015 styrene. Anything thicker and it is score and snap (for the most part).The (partly complete) Lincoln Warehouse (eBay ABS bricks). I used the Silhouette to cut the thin concrete "grid" for the side. Really easy and fun to watch (like seeing your kid shoveling snow). Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.Best wishes, Dave
Just for reference, the N Scale Architect sheets are styrene, if that's what you're looking for:http://www.thenarch.com/products/american-bond-brick-6th-row-end-nThey have several styles.
Yeah, D is of course to scale but at that level I wonder if half the detail will vanish with paint.
Thanks Mike. I have some of their stuff, and I can't recall at the moment what my issue was with it. Is this the stuff that looks vacuum formed with relief on both sides of the sheet? I need to dig it out and have another look at it.The detail remains after painting, as seen in the Pabst building on the previous page. However at normal viewing distances of a foot or two, it is hard to see the detail. That is why I ordered the HO scale bricks, to see if a slightly exaggerated size looks better at a distance. As I noted, I am not sure that D is the MM "Clean Brick". They offer a couple of aged brick sheets as well and it is hard to imagine how much rougher it could be made. I have an email into them asking for clarification. The A brick is actually a nice size in my opinion and mainly suffers from the overly large mortar lines. I am happy with the results with it to date, but it is difficult to cut.Best wishes, Dave
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Topic: Building the Beer Line in N Scale (Read 49202 times)
