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M Graff

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    http://https://sites.google.com/site/graffairbrushart/home/in-english

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  • Location
    Sweden
  • Interests
    Model railroads with a US prototype.

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  1. I got this kit cheap from China. This is the box art: It's actually a very uncomplicated kit, but it has a lot of potential! The contents of the kit, it seems to be made of ABS. The walls are shiplap siding, but a bit plain and will be woodgrained. I added some wood grain on the planks. I used an Xacto blade to scribe the plastic. I scribe with the side of the blade, and when it makes nice corkscrews of plastic, you got the right technique. I added some nail holes and plank ends while I was at it.... Measure out an imagined framing on the surface, I did it with 2' centers. I embossed the nails with a tool I made using a wooden handle with a sharp compass needle mounted in it. I had to fill some joints after gluing the main structure together. I used thin plastic cement to get a really good joint. I primed the structure with grey spray primer before painting the walls with an old wood color, a mix of Vallejo cement and sand. That makes the walls ready for paint. The walls were painted with old wood color, so I started with a layer of hairspray to prepare the topcoat for the weathering. I mixed a light greyish green color with paints from AK. I airbrushed the walls with a thin, but covering layer. Then I chipped the paint to make it look like peeling paint by revealing the old wood underneath. That's achieved by moistening the dry paint with water and then removing the paint with a toothpick. The text was painted with a hand cut mask that I very lightly airbrushed with a light green paint, just enough to see the text. The letters were then filled in by hand, adding the serifs and shadows. I named it "The San Miguel Herald", the newspaper that gives the term SMH (Shaking My Head) a meaning! The next step was to paint the foundation, shingle the roof and add a fire platform. I also added a tar paper roof on the porch. Almost finished! Just some small details left to do. The hoist was a challenge to build with the blocks carved from wood. This kit was a real enjoyment from the beginning to the end. It was fun to see what parts needed extra details or alterations. Thanks! I made a sign for the front entrance. Cardboard and wood with decals from micro scale. Touched up some areas as well.... I'm really satisfied with how my wood blocks turned out. Some bits and pieces on the floor as well. The chimney was made by covering a balsa core with cardboard bricks. Added flooring in the office. Now it's only some interior detailing and lights left to do. Some better pics... The San Miguel Herald (or SMH for short, as the content always make you shake your head...). I´m quite satisfied with the guy with the block and tackle. The old man proof reading todays edition.... The chimney that I made from a balsa core covered with cardboard bricks.
  2. "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." So, here I am. Born anew. My journey in model railroading is a continuous one, and after building a layout in HOn3 the last couple of years, I've now jumped headfirst into the dark side of model railroading; On30! As some may know, I live in Sweden and work as an artist/cultural heritage consultant. My former freelanced layout: the Minturn-Kings divide & Eastern was a Colorado based empire built in HOn3. The turning point was a realization that even though my eyesight actually has improved , my fat fingers aren't getting any nimbler.... A good friend of mine decided to dismantle his On30 layout and sell me a bunch of the stuff. How could I say no? So, with a MMI K-27, a Goose and a bunch of other On30 stuff, I'm going to rebuild my layout into a On30 layout. The new layout will be based on the south western part of the narrow gauge circle, and be named the San Miguel Central RR. So, if anyone has any good pointers on how to be successful in this new (to me) scale, please chime in!
  3. Oops .... I do not get younger with age. In addition, most things get pretty small in HOn3, which has been my scale the last 5 years. Now it so happened that I jumped straight into the O-gauge swamp .... The track plan I have will be largely the same, but the tracks will be replaced with Peco On30 track. Geez how much bigger everything is in O scale! Today's purchases: MMI K-27 in On30 with sound, heavy!!! Yorke's Bordello in O. I've built it before in HO. Precision Craft Goose #5. With sound. Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes!
  4. I built a Timberline kit I had in the stash. The Hardware store: An old kit with some small faults. I had to true up the walls, as they were leaning and too wide. The shop windows, built from wood strips and plastic castings were a challenge as the templates were wrong and the windows too wide to get a good fit.... But it turned out pretty good. I added the awning as I didn't plan to have a lot of interior in this one. Needs some details, then it's finished. I'm considering which signs I should add to the huge sides....
  5. Isn't Fugates TOMA more of the old Domino layout rather than the Chubb design? What actually differs them? I think I agree that conceptual designs like those mentioned are not for everyone. I actually thought of the TOMA when starting on my layout, but the drawbacks with sizes and joints were kind of prohibitive to me.
  6. Painted the new rockwork today. WS pigments. I have now soaked the surface with diluted Modpodge so I can add the black/raw umber wash. The rocks will now change character from iron rich to more granite.
  7. I'm confused. So if I share updates on my build, there's no base for discussion? I share quite a lot of various build techniques and the results of those (especially on the blog). I may be silly, but I kind of thought that others were interested in that, and might have an interest to discuss these?
  8. I made a retaining wall out of Depron foam that I scribed with a pencil before painting it with gesso and some paint. I glued it in place with hot glue. I surrounded it with my homemade Sculptamold.
  9. Good to see some input. Yes I read and like a lot on the forum. The thread from Allegheny I must have missed though. And no, I am not only in it for the likes, that's what Facebook is for. Discussions, questions and exchange of information on the other hand is my great reward.
  10. Is there really a point to continue making updates here? Or should I stay with my blog only? My thread here has just a couple of thousands of views, where's my other threads on other forums has 10-20 times that. With discussions and comments in accordance with the number of views. Is it maybe so that the small US/Canadian subsection on this forum just hasn't enough interest? I don't know, what do you think?
  11. I made some utility poles today. It's an Auhagen kit. I installed them temporary on the layout. I will add E-Z line later.
  12. Tested the new turnout control. I'm really satisfied.
  13. I installed the new lights over my layout today. I use 6 W LED bulbs with 2 feet gaps in between them. It's a LOT brighter now!
  14. I installed lights in more of the buildings and connected them on the layout. Now I'll have to see what else needs lights.
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