TY'S MODEL RAILROAD: Model Kits

Water Tower Kit by Atlas

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 10/03/2012 07:52:00 PM

Completed Atlas Water Tower Kit installed onto a model railroad layout

I purchased an HO Atlas Water Tower kit quite a while back, even though I originally had no intention of using it on my layout. This was mostly because my layout wasn’t going to be set in the steam-era, and lack of space on my layout. However, now that most of my structures are situated, I decided that that maybe I could make room for it after all. And as for it being from the steam era, well that hardly mattered as there are still many original water towers standing today, some still even currently being used. The water tower will stand in front of the turntable, directly to the left of the signal tower and will service directly on the main line track.

Unconstructed and unpainted plastic pieces from an Atlas Water Tower kit

The first step was to paint the components that made up the main structure. The Atlas Water Tower kit shows the completed model painted with a light green tank, however I opted for a more generic look by painting the entire structure brown. I started by spraying each piece with Camouflage Brown Krylon paint, letting them dry for 48 hours. The brown base coat was quite dark, so I mixed several washes of brown enamel at different consistencies and randomly painted different pieces of the superstructure with the varying washes. These slight colour variations add a more realistic, natural look to the overall wood structure. The same process was also used on the vertical planks that make up the main water tank.

Various parts of an Atlas Water Tower kit under construction and getting painted

Assembling the pieces was quite straight forward and they all fit snugly together. I needed to scrape off paint on every joint of the tank’s support structure to ensure the pieces slid completely into each other. For the roof, I painted it flat black then dry brushed it with satin aluminum enamel paint. I finished it with orange powdered pastels to represent the presence of rust. Once the entire structure was together, I weathered it with various powdered pastels and sealed everything with 2 coats of Testor’s dull-coat.

Chain and water spout detail on a completed Atlas Water Tower Kit

A final detail that isn’t included in the kit but is highly recommended is the chains and counter-weights that support and raise/lower the water spout. You can represent these with black thread, however chain link has the most prototypical look. I found some small chain link in the jewelry clearance section at Walmart which I then cut to length and painted black before installing it onto the model. Even though the chain is a bit larger than a prototypical sized chain, the look is quite convincing. Now that the model is complete and installed on the layout, I’m definitely happy that I decided to use it.

Completed Atlas Water Tower and Signal Tower kits installed in a rail yard in a model railroad industrial scene

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Model Kits

Northern Light & Power Kit by Walthers

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 6/28/2012 11:10:00 PM

Completed Walthers Cornerstone Northern Light and Power kit

One of the last and largest structures for my layout is my Walthers Cornerstone Northern Light & Power kit. I immediately fell in love with this model due to its style and large, round-top windows. The building will be installed in the vacant space between the track leading into the right lower mountain tunnel portal and the road passing around the turn-table area. Instead of a power plant, the Pioneer Press Daily Advertiser will be the tenant. The model will be complete with custom lighting and a printing press. I’ve always had an interest in press-printing and journalism and because I already had the company name on a Woodland Scenics dry-transfer sheet, I thought it was a good fit.

Northern Light & Power kit partially painted with Humbrol brick red enamel paint

Like all Walthers Cornerstone kits, all pieces are precision molded with quality materials. Besides the 4 walls, roof, one-piece chimney, and base pieces, the kit includes an under-track hopper kit, roof support trusses, an internal firewall, roof vents, and separate windows and doors. I always prefer detached windows and doors as they make painting much easier and convenient as there is much less masking required. I carefully cut each piece off its plastic carrier structure and trimmed and sanded off any spurs. I then washed each piece in warm, soapy water. This step is always very important for proper paint adhesion.

I started by carefully assembling the 4 main walls, ensuring the structure was kept level and the walls joined at a perfect 90 degrees. I painted the main structure with brick red Humbrol enamel, thinned 3:1 with paint thinner. I also used the same paint colour on the chimney and firewall pieces. At the same time, I sprayed the windows and doors with Testors light aircraft gray. I didn’t remove the windows at this point from their carrier, making them much easier to paint in one easy step. Other small components such as the roof vents and trusses were painted with metallic aluminum paint.

Northern Light & Power kit with green masking tape around windows and building trim

After the main structure dried for 24 hours, I masked the entire building to prepare for painting the trim and foundation. I used the same light aircraft grey colour that I used on the windows for the trim, which took about three coats as I was brush-painting them. Once the trim had completely dried, I made any necessary touch-ups with either the brick red or light aircraft grey paint using a fine detailing brush. I then weathered the entire building with powdered pastels and sealed it with two coats of Testors Dull-Coat.

Partially constructed Northern Light & Power kit with trim painted in light aircraft grey enamel

I felt that the roof pieces lacked detail so I used trip styrene to make a paneled look. I first divided each roof panel into four equal sections and glued on 1mm x 1.5mm strip styrene. I then glued a piece of the strip styrene along the total length of the edge of one roof section. I made sure this piece overhung the roof panel slightly, thus covering the gap between the two roof sections once they were assembled on the structure. The entire roof was then spray painted flat black.

Northern Light & Power kit roof panel modifications with strip styrene

For the large double door, side entry door, and overhead bay door, I used dark green enamel to add a bit more interest to the colour scheme of the building. I masked off the door frames and transoms so they would remain the light grey colour I had originally coloured them. The last step was to weather the doors with dark powdered pastels and seal with a final coat of dull-coat. The windows were also weathered and sealed with the same method.

Painted and weathered windows for a Northern Light & Power kit waiting to be installed

The window glazing included with the kit is thick and oddly obscure, so I opted to use clear styrene from Evergreen. This product is thin and almost perfectly clear so it looks a lot more like real glass. After removing each window from its carrier, I carefully glued it to a clean sheet of the clear Evergreen styrene. I glued each window side by side to get as much use out of the styrene sheet as possible, leaving only a large enough gap between each window to accommodate a razor blade. After the glue had dried, I carefully cut each window with a sharp hobby blade and trimmed off any overhanging styrene. This process was very quick and before I knew it, I had a nice pile of glazed windows ready for installation.

Firewall and roof support trusses inside of a Northern Light & Power kit

Before installing the windows, I painted the interior walls with dark grey enamel. I also scraped the paint off the surfaces of the windows and window openings where glue would be applied for better adhesion. I then applied a small bead of glue around each window and mounted it to the inside of each opening, pressing down for several seconds to ensure it was properly seated. Once the windows were all installed, I added the three roof support trusses and the interior wall. Though the interior wall could be optional, there is no additional roof truss to replace it if it isn't used.

Light bulbs and rigid steel power leads inside a Northern Light & Power kit

Lighting was next. I didn’t use the styrene light diffuser box method used in previous models due to the fact that this building’s interior is completely open and visible due to the large amount of windows. I instead wired two automotive 12v bulbs between the roof support trusses using rigid steel wire to support each bulb. I originally wired the bulbs in series but changed to a parallel circuit as they were too dim. The wire leads run down the back wall and exit out of two small holes in the foundation.

Scratch built printing press made of styrene for interior scene of a Northern Light & Power kit

Scratch built machinery made of styrene for interior scene of a Northern Light & Power kit

The interior was quite a lot of fun to build. A staple piece of equipment for any press company is the printing press, so I immediately went to work scratch building it scrap styrene. Once the press started to look somewhat realistic, I sprayed it flat black and detailed it with metallic aluminum rollers and highlights. The final and most imperative detail was the print itself, which I created in Photoshop and printed as a long strip on standard printer paper. I then glued 2 printed strips directly to the press, weaving it in between the rollers.

The remainder of the interior is mostly just random pieces, shapes, and parts thrown together in an attempt to make it industrial and factory-like. The large box structure with the grate on top sits behind the interior wall and serves to fill the large void. Its purpose is completely up to the imagination! Just remember, the interior will be mostly out of view but getting just a glimpse of any interior parts scene makes it entirely more realistic and believable to the viewer.

Painted a weathered roof panels for a Northern Light & Power kit

Finishing the roof was the last step. I glued on the vents and added weathering effects. My first attempt at weathering with powdered pastels failed as they almost completely dissolved when I sprayed them with dull-coat. I instead opted for dry-brushing the roof with steel and rust enamel paint. Last, I placed the two roof panels to the main building. They sit snugly on the roof trusses so there is no need to glue them. This allows future access to the interior.

This kit was undeniably a lot of fun to build. It is currently the largest structure I have ever put together. I might still be able to fit one or two very small structures on my layout but definitely nothing as large as this one. I must say that the feeling is almost bittersweet that this kit is finished. Guess I will just need a larger layout.

Completed side of a Walthers Cornerstone Northern Light and Power kit

Completed Walthers Cornerstone Northern Light and Power kit with interior lighting effects

Illuminated interior scene of a scratch built printing press inside a Northern Light and Power kit

Completed Walthers Cornerstone Northern Light and Power kit showing roof panels and smoke stack

Completed back side of a Walthers Cornerstone Northern Light and Power kit

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Model Kits

Scratch-Built Garage

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 6/11/2012 08:23:00 PM

Scratch built styrene garage building with blue walls and white doors, windows, and roof

I’ve accumulated a small collection of scrap styrene over the last year or so, mostly from bulk bags of assorted styrene pieces from Evergreen. A couple of the larger scraps I had consisted of various corrugated patterns, so I decided to try my hand at building an entirely scratch-built structure. I decided to keep the design simple for my first attempt. I planned out a small garage/workshop measuring about 2.5” x 5”. The design includes three overhead bay doors, four office windows, and two single entrance doors. There are also two small windows on the front and back. I kept the size of the building to a minimum as my layout is quite limited for real estate at this point.

4 hand-cut styrene walls for a scratch built garage structure

I started by first planning the design of my building on paper, noting the real-life dimensions of each wall, door, window, and the roof. I then converted these measurements down to HO scale. Using a new blade, I carefully marked the measurements on the backside of the styrene sheet and scored the outline of the wall using a straight edge. I used a square and ruler to double check the measurements after every score line I made, ensuring that the walls were kept square and equal. I then gently flexed the styrene to break each piece apart. I fixed any rough edge with sand paper and a hobby knife.

3 painted styrene overhead doors and 2 entry doors for a scratch built garage structure

The overhead doors were cut from scrap v-groove pattern styrene and the entry doors from standard smooth styrene. For the main entry door, I cut a half-length opening for a window and added strip styrene for the insert trim. I masked the very outside edge of all the doors so I could easily add glue to these unpainted areas when attaching the doors to the backside of the walls. The doors were then all sprayed with light aircraft gray paint.

Trim being installed around scratch built windows and doors using thin strip styrene

4 complete scratch built garage wall panels prior to assembly

I hand painted the corrugated steel walls with a mix of blue and steel gray enamel paint, mixed 1:1 with thinner. After letting the three coats of paint dry for 24 hours, I glued the overhead and entry doors to the backside of each wall. I then added trim to the doors using 1.5mm x 1.0mm strip styrene. I used the same strip styrene for the window frames and on the base of the building to represent a foundation.

4 complete scratch built garage wall panels assembled together prior to roof installation

I then glued the four wall pieces together. I added extra styrene support pieces to the interior for extra rigidity. The roof was a single piece of v-groove styrene, scored and carefully angled down the center to fit the slope of the building. After airbrushing the roof a light gray, I carefully glued it to the main structure. After making a couple touch-ups to the paint and trim, I weathered the walls, doors, and roof with a variety of powdered pastels. Lastly, I sealed all the weathering details with two light coats of dull-coat.

Scratch built styrene garage structure with blue walls and white doors, windows, and roof

Once the structure was dry, I added clear styrene pieces to the backside of the walls for window glazing. The final step was to add a black paper divider and floor to the interior of the so no white plastic could be visible through the windows. I am quite happy with how this little project turned out and can’t wait to mix it in with my other model buildings.

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Model Kits

Cutting's Scissor Co. Kit by DPM Landmark Structures

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 3/28/2012 11:21:00 PM

The Cutting’s Scissor Co. kit is my second structure kit from Design Preservation Models. My layout does not have much more room for commercial or residential structures, but I do require a couple more industrial structures to fill some empty real estate. I started by removing any edge spurs left from manufacturing with a sharp knife and sanded the edges of the wall pieces so they were a perfect 90 degrees. This ensured a good fit when gluing the model together. This step is required on most DPM kits as the structure joints are not at a perfect 90 degrees and constructing the model without sanding will result in large gaps in the corner joints.

An unpainted model of a DPM Cutting’s Scissor Co. kit without the roof installed that shows roof supports

After sanding the required pieces, I washed them in warm, soapy water to remove any oils that my hands may have left on them. Once dry, I glued the walls carefully together on a level surface, ensuring the wall pieces fit together perfectly and evenly. I made sure each corner was square by using a square wood dowel on the inside of each corner joint.

An unpainted constructed model of a DPM Cutting’s Scissor Co. kit with roof installed

Once the structure had dried for an hour, I cut 2 roof sections from a sheet of supplied styrene. I also glued on the roof supports which were also supplied in the kit via a bulk length of strip styrene. I did not glue the roof panels on at this point as I needed the roof open to add window glazing and interior details later on. The kit also calls for awnings over the loading bays using a leftover piece of styrene from the roof structures. I opted for a textured styrene awning that I had left over in my scrap bin, which looked more authentic. I also added horizontal supports for the awnings using narrow strip styrene.

A partially painted DPM Cutting Scissor Co. kit with masking tape around windows and building trim

After two coats of brick red paint had dried, I masked the structure so I could paint the building trim, windows, and doors. Masking takes time, and as hard as I try to paint free hand, I can never achieve the same crisp lines and accuracy as I do when I mask. I use a small flat head jeweler’s screwdriver to press the masking tape into tight corners and on narrow edges to make sure paint doesn’t bleed underneath. Bleeding paint isn’t 100% avoidable, but is easy enough to touch up in the final steps of painting.

Fully painted Cutting’s Scissor Co. kit with decals that read Velikovsky’s Distributers

Once the model was painted, I weathered it lightly with pastel powder and applied a dry transfer decal (Velikovski’s Distributors) to the exterior wall. The last paint layer was a final spray of dull-coat to seal everything in. I applied clear styrene for window glazing then cut and applied printed paper blinds to the inside of the windows (click here for my printable blind templates).

Scratch built removable interior showing a light bulb and electrical wiring for a DPM Cutting Scissor’s Co. kit

As most previous structures I have built, the interior is completely removable from the building structure. By simply sliding the exterior shell off, I can easily access the lights and add interior details in the future. The interior structure is built in such a way that once fully inserted into the building’s shell, the building looks as if it is full of separate rooms when looking through any of the small windows. This prevents a 'see through' look. Craft paper was used for texture and colour on the floors and walls.

Scratch built removable interior made from styrene and cardstock for a DPM Cutting Scissor’s Co. kit

Two small automotive bulbs light the structure. Since the interior walls only rise as high as the tops of the windows and don’t go right to the roof, I installed the bulbs above the interior rooms so one bulb could light multiple rooms. Aluminum foil installed on the underside of the roof structure helps reflect the light downward into the rooms and keeps heat from melting the roof structure. I used narrow bare steel wire to supply power to the bulbs. I also used this type of wire to support the bulbs so they wouldn’t have to be attached directly to the styrene structure. Just be careful the bare wires don’t get crossed or you will have a nasty short on your hands.

The last step was to attach the roof structures to the model. Once the styrene roof was glued to its supports and had dried, I applied a thin layer of medium cinders on top of the roof and leveled it with a folded piece of paper. Using a small pipette, I gently soaked the cinders with isopropyl alcohol. I then used the a pipette to apply white glue thinned with water. After drying overnight, the cinders were securely fastened to the model.

Scratch built interior being inserting into a completed Cutting Scissor’s Co. kit structure

Completed DMP Cutting’s Scissor Co. kit with illuminated interior

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Model Kits

Kate’s Colonial Home Kit by Atlas

By Ty’s Model Railroad - 1/29/2012 01:37:00 PM

With a 4’ x 8’ layout, there is very limited room for structures, especially after you factor in track space and terrain. As I don't have the real estate for a full-sized town and residential areas, I instead have to represent these zones with only one or two structures. For the residential aspect of my layout, I have room for one house. For this I chose the Kate’s Colonial Home kit by Atlas.

I liked the buildings yellow and forest green colour theme so I used very similar colours when I painted the exterior. I did however change the roof shingle colour to a dark brown instead of the recommended light grey. The great thing about Atlas kits is their injection mold process results in high quality, detailed, and precise parts that fit together easily with little to no prep work.

Construction of a small styrene light diffuser box for a Kate’s Colonial Home kit by Atlas

First floor custom interior scene for a Kate’s Colonial Home kit by Atlas

The window coverings are printed on photo paper which I glued to the inside walls. Because I wanted to light the house, I had to add a layer of dark cardstock to the inside of the walls so light wouldn’t shine through the plastic wall. To light the structure, I used the same method as in my Walthers Merchant’s Row I kit by building a small light diffuser box out of styrene. I built the interior walls around the light box with thick cardstock, allowing light to glow through small doorways.

First floor custom interior scene with installed styrene light diffuser box for a Kate’s Colonial Home kit

Second floor custom interior scene with installed styrene light diffuser box for a Kate’s Colonial Home kit

Once the first floor was completed, I added a styrene floor for the second level. I used the same cardstock wall method that I used for the first floor, building around the light diffuser box. I then added a cardstock ceiling to the second floor rooms to prevent any light from glowing though up to the attic windows and into the roof section. This ceiling can be removed (along with the actual roof) to access the light diffuser box in the event of a burnt out bulb.

Second floor custom interior scene cardstock ceiling for a Kate’s Colonial Home kit by Atlas

The kit was weathered using a semi-soft paintbrush and dry pastels that I ground up into a fine powder. I made sure almost all of the pastel was off of the brush before applying it to the building as it isn’t very forgiving. A final spray of Testors dull coat sealed in the pastel weathering. The chimney and foundation mortar were coloured using thinned black and white washes.

Completed Kate’s Colonial Home kit by Atlas showing interior lighting effects

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Water Tower Kit by Atlas

Northern Light & Power Kit by Walthers

Scratch-Built Garage

Cutting's Scissor Co. Kit by DPM Landmark Structures

Kate’s Colonial Home Kit by Atlas

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