In-ko-pah RR: The Dos Manos Depot

[Ray Dunakin]

Back in May I did a foam core mockup for the Dos Manos depot:




Now I've finally started to work on the actual model of the depot. First I disassembled the mockup and worked out the size and position of doors and windows for each wall. As you can see by my scribblings this involved some trial and error:




Then I laid out the final design on a 16" x 20" sheet of 6mm thick Sintra PVC board, and cut it out:




Before going any further, I wanted to work out exactly what kind of stone and masonry the building would have. I decided on light tan sandstone in random courses for the bulk of the structure. Then I did a small test piece to see if I could successfully replicate that look using Sintra PVC board. Here's how the test piece turned out. I'm pleased with it:




With that settled, it was time to start texturing the first wall of the building. The first step in this process is to lightly sand the surface using a sanding block and horizontal strokes. This removes the sheen, and the fine scratches add a very subtle texture. Next, I used sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. This was applied with a scrapping motion, horizontally across the face of the wall. This added some more prominent scratches:




This close up view shows the scratches. Most of them will be obscured by the rest of the process, so they don't have to be perfect:




The next step involves tapping on the surface with a rock to give it a rough, uneven texture. For this you need a rock that isn't too rough or too smooth. Here's the rock I used:




After going over the entire surface with the rock, I used a t-square and pencil to lightly draw a series of horizontal lines on the wall. These will be used as guides when scribing the stone courses. Because I'm simulating random courses, the lines don't have to be evenly spaced:






That's it for now, more later. Enjoy!

[John Everett]

I love the mission style architecture. You should do a replica of the building which houses the train museum in Balboa Park. Oh! You could copy the tiled dome on the Santa Fe station downtown!
However you design it, it will be a pleasure to watch.

By the way, what's the best way to buy the Sintra board? I really want to try a sample of the stuff before undertaking my next large, structure-based diorama.

John

[Ray Dunakin]

John, I usually get Sintra from this online source: www.foamboardsource.com/sintra-pvc-foam--sintra-pvc-board.html

They have it in thicknesses from 1mm to 13mm, and a wide variety of sizes. Since my buildings are pretty big I usually get 16" x 20" sheets. If you have a plastics dealer in your area, you might be able to get it from them but it will generally be a single large size, such as 2' x 4' -- and they might sell it under a different name.

The glue I use with it most of the time is Weldon-16. On the rare occasion when I need to laminate two sheets, I usually will use PVC pipe cement from the hardware store.

[deafpanzer]

Another fun build for us to follow... count me in too!

[S e r z h--Rest In Peace]

With great pleasure I watch your work. It is very interesting and there is much to learn!

[wbill76]

I love the fact that used an actual rock to help create a scale rock texture. Looking forward to seeing the depot come to life!

[Ray Dunakin]

Time for a quick update!

I began scribing the stones on the first wall of the depot. The stones are scribed using an ordinary, carbide-tipped metal scribe from the hardware store. The tool is pressed firmly into the surface -- with Sintra, you're not really scratching it, you're indenting it. Here are a few photos of my progress:









I still have to scribe the upper area of the wall (the second story portion). When this wall is done I have several more walls to do. By the time I'm finished with this building I'm going to be pretty tired of scribing stones!

[John Everett]

It's a lot of work, but it's turning out well so far. It looks from the photo that your horizontal pencil lines have worn away. Are you able to keep nice straight courses without line guidance?

[Ray Dunakin]

Yeah, the pencilled guide lines keep getting rubbed off, so I have to redraw them periodically. They need to be light in order to avoid marring the surface.

[Leon]

Ray that looks fantastic! I really admire your work and level of detail your doing.

[Ray Dunakin]

Well, I finally finished scribing the first wall:






But there are still a few things to do that will give the wall more depth and realism. First off, some of the scribed stones are a bit flat and could benefit from additional texturing. For this, I'll use a small scrap of old patio flagstone:




Here's a "before" shot of a small section of the wall, showing some of the stones that need additional work:




I tapped those areas with the piece of flagstone, and here's how it looks now:




Another little trick to add depth is to carve out a few random stones, using a sharp #11-blade hobby knife, as I've done here:




There is still one more thing I want to do, which will extend some of the stones out a little from the surface of the wall. However, I have to wait until after the walls have been assembled. Also I need to scribe some mortar lines in the edges of the door and window openings, and touch up a few cut marks, etc.



That's it for now. Enjoy!

[John Everett]

Fabulous! I'm curious to see your painting technique for stone vs mortar. My buildings tend to have trouble with one blending into the other.

[Ray Dunakin]

I spent quite a bit of time on the second wall today. I got the door and window openings cut out, sanded the surface, applied scratches, tapped the whole surface with a rock, and made a good start on scribing the stones:




Then I realized something… I'd done all this on the WRONG SIDE!

Doh!!!

I had to scrap it and cut out a whole new wall. But I'll save the bad one, and maybe I can cut off sections of it for use elsewhere.

[John Everett]

It's like when you build two left wings for your new RC airplane. Shame about the lost day's work. You may be able to use the reject as a mold pattern. It would be good for areas where you just need a hint of texture without going whole hog.

[gerald44]

WOW !!! Thank you for sharing !!
Your technique is great !!!!!!!!!!
Bravos Ray

[wbill76]

At least you discovered the DOH! before you got all the way done with it. Consider it good practice to ensure a stellar finish on the actual viewed side.

[Ray Dunakin]

Hooray! I finally finished scribing the (new) second wall, and got it right this time:






Still need to use the X-acto to carve out a few random stones, then I'll go to work on the third wall.

[TRM]

Labor of love!! Awesome work there Ray!!

[wbill76]

Nice! I would find it so hard to avoid doing things in regular lines vs. keeping it somewhat random as you've done.

[Ray Dunakin]

Progress continues a piece at a time...

On the end wall for the west wing, I drew guidelines on the wall's edges, roughly matching the positions of the mortar lines on the north and south walls:




The finished west wing end wall:




After the walls are glued together, I'll need to use a bit of filler on the joints. At that time, I can do any necessary adjustments and touchups on the mortar lines across the joint:




Next I did the west wall of the central, two-story portion of the building. Most of this wall will be hidden by the west wing, so only a small area at the top of the wall had to be scribed:





That's it for now. Enjoy!

[Leon]

Really enjoying your progress Ray! The walls are looking great.

[deafpanzer]

You nailed on the texture... keep it coming as I enjoy all of your posts.

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks! Deafpanzer, you're in luck, I have a new update to post…

I finished scribing the east wall of the two-story, central portion of the depot:





I also created a special piece which will be laminated to the back of the west wing's end wall, to increase the wall's apparent thickness:





Here are all of the pieces that I've completed so far. These are enough to begin assembly:





Woohoo! I've assembled the walls and it finally is starting to look like a building! The east wing, which will be an open, shaded waiting area, will be assembled separately. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to build it:





Here's a view of the south side. I still need to build the bay window:





Here's the top of the west wing's end wall, showing the special piece that was added to make it look thicker:





A view of the northwest corner:





One of the next things to do, is blend together the mortar lines at the joints.

That's all for now!

[John Everett]

You'll come up with something for the open waiting area. It might be a nice chance to have a go with more wood, like a trestle but for people, not trains.

Is your build progress being slowed at all by this infernal heat?

[Leon]

Building looks great assembled Ray!

[k1w1]

I really like your Stone work - Fantastic. Looking forward to seeing it painted.

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks guys!

John, yes the severe heat we had over the past few days did slow me down a little bit! The worst was Friday and Saturday, when it was 102F and 101F, respectively. It gets pretty stuffy in the house so normally I'd do some of the work out in the shade on the patio but with that much heat even the shade was hot.

At least scribing the stones is something clean and simple enough that I could take some of the work with me to places with AC. I did some at Chili's after having dinner there, and did some in the waiting room while my wife was getting an ultrasound.

[Ray Dunakin]

Remember that wall I goofed up and had to reject? Well, I used the top of it to make this piece, and laminated it to the rear of the south wall:




BTW, I've moved my website to a new web host, and this update is only on the new host. So if you can't see the above photo please let me know.

[John Everett]

Photo looks just fine.

Good use for the extra part. We can almost always find a way to repurpose things we create but don't need at the time.

[Ray Dunakin]

I've been working on blending together the joints at the corners of the building. In the past, I used an epoxy putty made by JB Weld, sold under the name Kwik Plastik. Apparently this is no longer available, at least under that name. So I've had to do some experimenting...

First I tried a product called Magic Sculpt. This is a two-part epoxy putty available from art and craft suppliers, and commonly used for sculpting. It's light gray. I applied some to a couple of corners, and after it cured I scribed mortar lines into it. It's a bit harder than the Kwik Plastik, and was a little tricky to scribe. In thin areas in sometimes flaked off during scribing:






Next I tried a JB Weld product called "Water Weld". This turns out to be very similar to Kwik Plastik, and may even be the same product under a new name. It too is a two-part putty. It is almost white when cured. It's a bit softer than Magic Sculpt, making it slightly easier to sand and scribe. It also flaked off in some spots, but not quite as badly:




The results of both products in this particular application were very similar, but I'd say Water Weld has a slight edge. Neither one is ideal for use on a semi-soft material like Sintra. But considering that these are supposed to be rough, random stones, the defects are not significant and will be pretty well hidden when painted.