In-ko-pah RR: The Dos Manos Depot

[wing_nut]

Your skills are awe inspiring. All the little details added to the surface really brings it to life. can you come and carve the wall around my fireplace? Let me know so I can go out and get a fireplace.

[deafpanzer]

Beautiful work! Now I have to see this in person one day...

[Ray Dunakin]

Here's how I filled the gap in the foundation...

First I taped waxed paper to the lower part of the building. Then I added a few layers of masking tape, so that the final opening in the foundation would be just slightly larger than the building itself. Next I coated the masking tape with petroleum jelly, and placed the building on the foundation:




I used a blend of high strength mortar mix and vinyl concrete patcher. This was spooned into the gap around the building. I used an old zoo membership card to spread and smooth the mortar, however a scrap piece of styrene sheet will do. I couldn't get it as smooth as I wanted but it's close enough:






As you can see, I just barely finished by the time it got dark. Due to the cold, the mortar set very slowly and I had to wait several hours before removing the building from the foundation. Even then, the mortar was still not fully cured, and a small section broke off. However, this will be easy to repair. For now I just set the broken piece back in place:




I sanded the top of the foundation to get it a little smoother. It's still not perfect but it will do. Here's how the depot looks with its new foundation:






This close up shot shows what a great spot for photos the depot will be when it's finished:




I've also added lintels to the door and window openings. These were made from strips of 1mm Sintra:




And I've started adding the capstones (I think that's what they're called) along the top of the walls, beginning with this wall on the west end:




That's it for now. As always, thank you for your comments and for following along!

[Leon]

Nice work on getting the foundation down Ray! Making nice progress on the rest of the detail.

[John Everett]

Love it!

[armorguy]

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful Ray !

[wbill76]

Should look right at home in that spot Ray! Now you just have to watch out for racoons taking selfies in the lobby.

[Ray Dunakin]

The lower portion of the building will have a sort of wainscot of stone blocks. I started on this by adding a strip of 1mm Sintra along the top of this area:




Back when I made the first building in Mineral Ridge, I had made a mold of hand-carved stone block pieces, and had cast a lot of extras for future use. (For details, go here: www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Mineral_Ridge_1.html )
Anyway, those are what I'm using on this project. I'm just gluing them to the Sintra. Some are cut to fit, or to create corners:




Then I fill any gaps with styrene putty, let it dry, and carve off the excess putty. Here's how it's looking so far:








I'm almost halfway through making the wainscot.

[John Everett]

WOW!!!

[Leon]

Beautiful work Ray!They look so real.

[wbill76]

Now that's some sharp work for sure Ray...definitely gives it a lot of character.

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks, guys!

BTW, yesterday I came home and discovered water seeping out of my mountain:




Apparently the neighbors behind us, on top of the hill, have a leak in their sprinkler system. I told them about it and they said they'd get someone to find the leak but so far that hasn't happened, and it's still leaking. I'm a bit concerned because I don't know how long that slope can hold up with water constantly flowing through it, and we've got rain coming tonight.

[deafpanzer]

Hope they fix the leak ASAP!!! Just remind your neighbor you will bill him for the damages...

[John Everett]

Should be OK, though? The larger stones are set into mortar, right?

[Ray Dunakin]

The stone and mortar work is very sturdy, but it's not a dam. If the hill turns to slush, I don't know how well it would hold.

[John Everett]

Having grown up in Kearney Mesa, I would guess that your hill is old riverbed conglomerate, lots of largish, rounded granite stones held together by a soft sandstone matrix. (SDSU Geology Department to thank for that last sentence.)

With all the weight of your sculpted hillside pushing against their damp, porous sediments, I'll bet you'll do better than you think. So long as you don't start to see loose sand and gravel channeling out underneath your bridges and drain lines, I would gamble that your train layout will survive well past doomsday.

[Leon]

Hope your neighbors get the problem fixed soon Ray! You don't need a disaster after all the time and hard work you have into this project.

[Ray Dunakin]

I finally got a little modeling time the past few days, and the depot is progressing nicely...


Adding the blocks to the pillars was kind of tedious due to the need for custom fitting many of the blocks:






After I finished the pillars, then I installed blocks on the south side of the depot:




With the blocks finished, I could finally put the roof on over the waiting area. I started by gluing styrene strips on the inside of the north and south walls. These were sloped just slightly towards the end, for drainage purposes:




The roof was cut from 4mm Sintra sheet, and styrene rafters were added:




Then the roof was glued in place. I added short strips of styrene between the rafters, at each end:






The terra cotta tile floor was made to look less perfect, and more natural, by carving cracks, pressing in irregularities, etc:




I also finished adding the capstones along the tops of the walls. These were mostly made of 2mm thick Sintra strips which were scribed, then bent to fit and glued in place:




I added a few other details too, such as the rafter "tails" under the eaves, and support beams under the balconies. Here's how it all looks so far:










I installed two styrene tubes to drain the flat roof over the waiting area:




The foundation on the south side needs some work. Some parts aren't level with the floor of the depot, and there is a large crack that needs to be filled with mortar:






At the west end, I need to extend the foundation to create a sidewalk around the end of the depot:




I'm using some large, fancy brass buttons to represent decorative concrete castings on the depot:




Here's one with a quick coat of concrete color paint, just to get an idea of how it will look:




I was going to work on the Spanish tiles for the roof next, but I want to try casting them in resin and my mold compound has gone bad, so I have to wait to order some more. In the meantime I'll work on making the doors and windows. I still need to make the interior details too.

[Leon]

Beautiful work Ray! Great idea for the concrete casting.
The depot is shaping up very nicely.

[TRM]

Yeah Ray......WOW! LOL, just some amazing work! A real treat to follow along with this!! Happy New Year!!

[ossie262]

Hi Ray
Happy New Year
wow thats some build you have going on there , well done keep it up.
ossie

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

I got a little work done making doors and windows. On the freight doors, I started by scribing planks and wood grain onto pieces of 4mm Sintra:




The trim was built up using styrene strips. Here's one of the finished freight doors temporarily installed on the building:




Next I made the small windows for the west wall of the baggage/freight room. The windows are all made from styrene strips, scribed with simulated wood grain:






The windows for the main part of the depot are a bit more involved. My standard method simulates the appearance of a sash window, but uses a single piece of glass. I start by putting together the frame that fits into the opening, then add the "bottom" layer made from wider strips. The sash details are then added:










And here is one of the finished windows, temporarily installed:

[Leon]

Excellent work Ray!

[deafpanzer]

Outstanding as usual! I showed my neighbor who is into trains too and he was blown away by your work. You should have seen how his mouth dropped... keep up with the outstanding work!

[Ray Dunakin]

Thanks! Got a little more done...

The doors were built up from styrene strips, in much the same way as the windows:






Here's one of the doors temporarily installed on the building. I haven't added the doorknob yet:




I added the structural components for the bay window:




The window frames were built separately. Here they are temporarily installed:




The silicone molding compound I ordered arrived yesterday, so it looks like I'll start work on the Spanish tiles next.

[k1w1]

Looks fantastic. Enjoying seeing this come together.  

[wbill76]

Just keeps getting better and better Ray! Those doors and windows are impressive in their own right even before any painting or detailing.

[Leon]

Very impressive work Ray!

[Ray Dunakin]

The next stage of the project was a bit of an adventure…

I made some Spanish tiles using 7/16" (.438") diameter styrene tubes. I marked lines on the tube lengthwise, dividing it evenly into thirds. Then I scored these lines with a sharp hobby knife. I used the extruded aluminum rail on our patio door as a guide to draw and score the lines. Then I cut the tube into 3/4" segments:




After sanding the ends of the segments, I snapped them apart along the scored lines. This gave me three tiles per segment, each about 3/8" wide:




Next I sanded the edges to a slight taper, making them narrower at one end:




Now, I could have just gone ahead and made all of them like this. However, I wanted to try making a mold and casting them in resin. Although the shape is simple enough for a one-piece mold, the tiles are so thin that it's not possible to pour the resin in and get all the air out. So I would try using a two-piece mold.

I built a small box which is held together with screws. Most of the box was made from 6mm Sintra. Only the top piece is styrene:




The tiles were glued to the inner side of the styrene top, using a solvent:




To make the first half of the mold, I had to fill half the box with sulfur-free, plasticine clay. I held a piece of Sintra against the tiles to support them while I pressed the clay around them. I had set the clay in front of our small, electric space heater for a few minutes so it would be soft and supple:




Then I used the blade of a small screwdriver to press tiny bits of clay into the gaps and smooth it around the tiles:




The styrene top was secured on the box, with one side open. Then I finished filling the box halfway with the clay, again using the screwdriver blade to smooth it:






I used the end of a paintbrush handle to press small dimples into the clay. These will form "keys" in the silicone to aid in aligning the two halves of the mold:




I taped the corners of the box to prevent any possible leaks, then filled the box with silicone molding compound. (The brand I use is Oomoo 30.)




After the silicone had set, I removed the bottom and one side of the box so I could access the clay. The clay easily pulls away from the mold, especially if it's not warm:




I cleaned out all bits of remaining clay, then replaced the bottom piece of the box. Next I brushed petroleum jelly onto the silicone, thinning it a little with paint thinner. It's very important to cover the silicone completely to prevent the two halves becoming one. Then I poured in the second layer of silicone and let it set:




After the silicone had set, I disassembled the box and pulled apart the two halves of the mold. These were coated with a mold release spray that I bought at Michael's (craft store). The spray was allowed to dry:




The resin was dribbled into one half of the open mold. The mold was then closed and quickly set upright. I used two bricks to keep the halves of the mold pressed together. Extra resin was poured over the top to replace any that leaked out. This method worked, but it's very messy and wasteful, getting resin all over everything. It also required a few tries to get the best results. After an evening of making castings, I had about 80 useable tiles.


The cast tiles had a lot of flash that had to be sanded off, as seen on the left and middle tiles in this photo:




Here are several tiles after sanding:




Sadly, I came to the conclusion that although the tiles could successfully be cast, the process was too slow and labor intensive. I can make them individually from styrene tubes just as quickly, if not quicker, and with a lot less mess and waste. Which is a real shame, because that two-part mold sure turned out nice. But at least it provides a good "step-by-step" on the mold-making process.

[adt70hk]

Wow!! A real labour of love.

Keep up the amazing work!

Andrew