The same hopper after the weathering job in the Grimeshop - ready for delivery to the customer. |
Monday, January 23, 2012
GN Covered Hopper - Weathering Job
Friday, January 13, 2012
Scratchbuilding a Chemical Delivery Covered Area
Recently on www.nscale.net a group of my train friends and I were discussing good ideas for chemical delivery to plants and mills. A friend of mine posted these pictures - once I saw them I knew I had to build one and that I had just the right spot for it on the layout:
Using pieces from a Bachmann Engine Inspection Facility, some see through brass walkway grating and some spare styrene, this is where I am at with the build:
Plenty still to do on it - a nice break from wiring, scenery, and weathering train cars! I hope to work some more on it this weekend. In the future, I hope to run pipes directly from the delivery rack to the chemical storage/receiving building.
A Grand Stack - Home-made!
I needed to add some height to the left side of my mill. Late last year I decided the main warehouse and mill/factory needed a huge smokestack. My inspiration came from the huge stack at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
In stead of buying stuff to make this stack, I looked for ideas around the house. I ended up using a heavy duty cardboard roll from a Saran Wrap or Tin Foil box. These heavy duty rolls are awesome. They are rigid, straight, and don't have huge seams in the roll like TP or paper towel rolls.
I hit the roll with some concrete colored spray paint. I then masked off the top and painted it white to make the top more apparent and for a background color for the huge GP logo (hand painted). Last, since it is the tallest structure on the layout, I added a bright red LED light on a pole atop the stack so we don't have any unforeseen accidents by low flying aircraft....
As always....last step...a good accurate weathering! Might add some more soot to the top.....
In stead of buying stuff to make this stack, I looked for ideas around the house. I ended up using a heavy duty cardboard roll from a Saran Wrap or Tin Foil box. These heavy duty rolls are awesome. They are rigid, straight, and don't have huge seams in the roll like TP or paper towel rolls.
I hit the roll with some concrete colored spray paint. I then masked off the top and painted it white to make the top more apparent and for a background color for the huge GP logo (hand painted). Last, since it is the tallest structure on the layout, I added a bright red LED light on a pole atop the stack so we don't have any unforeseen accidents by low flying aircraft....
As always....last step...a good accurate weathering! Might add some more soot to the top.....
The Paper Mill at Night
NIGHT SHIFT AT THE MILL
As promised, here are some pics of the paper mill at night - more to come:
I have a few more lights to hook up and will get to those soon. I think lighting adds so much, especially to an industrial scene like a mill or a factory. It is well worth the cost and the time to light any scene.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Chemical/Chlorine Delivery Area
Recently, I decided it was time to finalize the right side of the plant and get to finishing off the chemical delivery area. This is a scratchbuilt/kitbashed portion of the complex that has really added a lot to this module/layout. Not only is it another area to switch, but it really completes the large feel needed for a paper mill.
She is finally gorilla glued in place and the scenery has been completed around her so that she does not look like a a building sitting atop a layout - but instead it is part of the layout. This is important to me in terms of realism....
Originally, this delivery area was just bare walls. It looked more like an engine shed vs. a delivery area for tank cars, especially at night when you turn on the interior lighting. Thus, I added some extra parts that I had laying around to create the illusion that this interior space has piping/valves, gauges, etc.
These are the ground storage tanks that come with the Walther's Cornerstone Paper Mill kit. I like where they ended up at the mill. I heated and bent the piping so that I could make it go underground into the mill.
My entire mill complex has a light colored gravel roof. It too is weathered to show grime and effects from Mother Nature. There are also plenty of roof details to include AC units, ventilation, fans, blowers, etc. Here I added some aerial lighting to illuminate the chemical storage tanks (chlorine).
Stay tuned for more shots of this area as I get it finished.
Recently, I decided it was time to finalize the right side of the plant and get to finishing off the chemical delivery area. This is a scratchbuilt/kitbashed portion of the complex that has really added a lot to this module/layout. Not only is it another area to switch, but it really completes the large feel needed for a paper mill.
She is finally gorilla glued in place and the scenery has been completed around her so that she does not look like a a building sitting atop a layout - but instead it is part of the layout. This is important to me in terms of realism....
Chemical Delivery Area & Chlorine Storage Tanks |
Interior of the Delivery Area (it is lighted too) |
Ground Storage Tanks & Piping |
Roof Detail & Area Lighting |
Tomytec 1/150th Cooling Towers
I was hesitant to purchase this kit since it is slightly bigger than N scale (1/160th), but I had to have these at the plant. The Leaf River Plant has a set of cooling towers and most big scale operations (to include the military hospital on my base) have these towers. They are huge in real life - so this kit was fitting.
I made some modifications --
I made some modifications --
- I built my own concrete base with safety railing
- Added some piping
- Changed the height of the railing by clipping off a segment on each piece - (1/150th) railing is an eye sore in N scale
- Built a custom crossover bridge between towers; needed due to piping that runs over the unit
- Added a 1/160th ladder and used the 1/150th ladder to make a safety cage
- Custom weathered & painted
I recently placed them in this location; the base is glued in place. I found the toughest thing with this plant is where to put everything! I am finally at the point that I am just going for it...no more hesitating!
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