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In-ko-pah RR: The Dos Manos Depot

29K views 145 replies 35 participants last post by  OldNoob 
#1 ·
Back in May I did a foam core mockup for the Dos Manos depot:







Since then I haven't had much modeling time and have only just now 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!
 
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#59 ·
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.
 
#61 ·
Thanks, Dwight!

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 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:

 
#62 ·
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.
 
#66 ·
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.
 
#67 · (Edited)
Ray, Sorry that didn't work out for you. Your method does give me some ideas about how to cast some railings for a building I want to make. I got some 7 minute resin from MicroMark but it seems very weak in comparison to the 3 minute stuff I have been using for window frames. I'm not sure casting is the way to go in my case either but with the intricate shapes involved I don't know how else it could be done.

Here is a photo of the balusters and finials for the railing before pouring the RTV. I made a 2 piece mold but it didn't work very well so now I am trying figure out a different method. I think your method of filling the mold half full with clay might work better than filling it half full with the RTV. One problem with that was the surface tension made the RTV stick up around the edges so it wasn't flat and had feather edges around the brass part.
 
#68 ·
If that is your pouring box, might I make a couple of suggestions for a two part mold.

Get some plasticine (kiddie's modeling clay, the type that does not harden). Fill the box half way with the clay. Now embed the pieces to be molded and any sprues you want half way into the clay. Be sure there are no places where the mold material will flow under the masters. Make a couple of dents in the clay (we used marbles) for indexing the two halves of the mold. Now pour the first half of the mold on top of this.

When the first half has dured, remove it from the box. It shouldn't stick to the clay. Strip out the masters and clean up any problems.

Now take the clay out of the box. Place the half mold in the bottom, coat it with a release agent, and put the masters and sprues back in it. Now pour the second half of the mold. This should give you a good two part mold. That;s the way we did it when casting tin soldiers.

Hope it helps.
 
#70 ·
Ray,
Rather than cast individual tiles, had you considered making up a say 3" x 3" section of roofing with the styrene tiles, and then making an open mold of that to cast roof sections.
Then butt them up together in place.
Maybe make it with finger joints to hide the joins if you see what I mean.
The only problem with doing that is the keen eye will see a pattern if there is anything obvious.
It's looking great.
All the best,
David Leech, Delta, Canada
 
#72 ·
Ray .. You are the MAN,, I bought a sheet of the sintra, and played around with it. used some hand tools
used a dremel, used a air powered extremely high speed air engraving pen, used the laser, (no comment on being PVC, ) I make a living cleaning air). My thing is I can't (no won"t ) take the amount of time you work with hand tools to get the quality and results you do. You are among a few people who lead the world in the highest quality of a modeler. So I tip my HATS to you because you are really good. So now I have tried sintra and I will stick with other products.
and now you are creating tile roofing, wow, you the man,
Dennis
 
#73 ·
After spending a few days cutting up styrene tubes and turning them into Spanish tiles, I was ready to start gluing some to the main roof of the depot...

I'm using Dynaflex 230 paintable sealant to secure the tiles to the model. Naturally, the concave, "bottom" rows of tiles must be put on first. I began by gluing a single tile at the beginning of each row, in order to test that the spacing was correct. I determined that spacing them on 1/2" centers would be just about perfect:




The bottom rows must be placed with the narrow end of the tile facing "downhill" on the roof. I goofed and did the first row, on the right, the wrong way around. Since it's on the end and not very noticeable, I just left it that way:




After all of the bottom tiles were glued in place, I left it to dry:




Then it was time to add the top rows of tiles. First I used more Dynaflex 230 to fill the spaces between the bottom rows. I only worked on 2-3 rows at a time:




Each of the top tiles was partially filled with sealant prior to placing it on the model:




The top tiles are placed with the narrow end "uphill". Excess sealant can easily be cleaned off with water and a small, cheap, craft paint brush:




This side of the roof is now complete. It took 200 individual tiles for this. I figure in total, it'll take at least 1000 to do the whole job:

 
#74 ·
Looking great - and you got them the right way too.
It reminds me of a friend years ago when our daughters were young, he bought a dolls house kit and put it all together very nicely, but he started the cedar shakes from the ridge of the roof.
It never dawned on him until someone looked at the roof and commented that the rain wouldn't roll off very easily.
Cheers,
David Leech, Delta, Canada
 
#78 ·
Photo looking through open waiting area across to Hotel is indeed a nice photo. May be a close call as to whether this qualifies as a labor of love, an obsession, or something else, but it is a grand project, and grand in several senses of the word.
If I were any kind of artist I'd make you an advertising sign for some kind of product name Proyecto Grande to put up near/on it.

(that's what Google translate said project is in Spanish: has been multiple decades since I've had occasion to remember any)
Hey, there we go, on one of those folding "A" frame signs like sometimes found on sidewalks in front of restaurants and the like, except this time on the depot's patio, for play or something by that name appearing in town, "Proyecto Grande, an architect's life dream ..."
 
#80 ·
Thanks, guys!

I finished putting tiles on both sides of the main roof, and capped the ridge. The gaps under the ridge tiles were filled with Dynaflex to simulate mortar:




I managed to tile most of the north side of the baggage room roof, then ran out of styrene tubes and couldn't make any more tiles for a while. So while I waited for an order of tubes, I went to work detailing the interior. I built some stairs out of 4mm and 1mm Sintra, plus some .020" styrene for the baseboard. Here's a shot of the stairs under construction:




A few years ago I bought some 1/24th scale balusters from a dollhouse supplier, and put them away until I found a use for them. Much to my amazement I was actually able to find them now that I needed them. I drilled a hole in the bottom of each, and glued in a short piece of brass rod:




The handrail was made from a 1/8" styrene tube. I sanded two sides of it flat, and plugged the end. Then I drilled holes into the underside and fit it over the tops of the balusters. BTW, the floor is a photographic image printed onto self-adhesive vinyl:






After I built the stairs I sprayed them with white primer, followed by a very pale, yellowish color to match the walls. When that dried I masked it to paint the dark trim color:




The interior walls will have wainscot. These were made from .020" thick, V-groove styrene sheet, with trim made from styrene strips. This one is designed to fit the stairs. The wainscots were not glued in place until after they'd been painted:




Here's how the room looks so far. The stairs are finished and painted, though not yet glued into place. The wainscots and other trim have also been painted and installed:






I still have to make the crown molding, the ticket counter, and other furnishings.
 
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