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M Graff

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  1. M Graff
    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. M Graff
    "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. M Graff

    Part 72: Why, oh why ....

    By M Graff,


    On30
    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!
  5. M Graff

    Part 70: Water tank

    By M Graff,

    Hi all.
    I just built this. 

    Limited edition kit #168.

    I've had it for a very long time, and each time I looked at the manual, I just put it away again...
    The big issue was the tapered tank and the bands.
    I just bit the bullet now and built it!
    The base was rather easy to build.

    To solve the tapering of the scale 8"x 2" planks, I made a fixture in my 3D printer.

    The planks was to be reduced by 1/64" on one end... So a good fixture was crucial.

    I taped the planks before removing them from the fixture. That's so I didn't mix the small and big ends.

    I stained them while taped.

    The wood was then glued to the cardboard tank base.

    I only had to trim some of them to get good vertical alignment.
    Finished tank:




    All in all a very nice kit.
     
  6. M Graff
    I really like the Rail line kits!
    Sure, they have a bunch of miniature parts to be fitted, but the results are so worth it! 
    I started on this D&RGW 3000 series boxcar the other night.

    I painted it with Testor DRGW freight car red and then Microscale gloss before adding the San Juan decals.

    It took a LOT of MicroSol to make the decals conform to the planking.

    I used my own designed/printed trucks with Kadee wheelsets. They are very suitable for this car, as the couplers went on at perfect height with no shims.

    I weather the car with oil paints that I dab on and then streak with a flat brush moistened with turpenoid.

    When the oils have dried I add a brownish black oilbased filter all over before the detail weathering. I add some rust with Lifecolor acrylics and then some airbrushed dust.

    Weathered and finished. 

    The roof did turn out quite good.

    It's always nice to have doors that can be opened. 
    I use Sergent couplers on my fleet, and they sure look good.
    Now I have 4 more to finish.
  7. M Graff
    Hi all, I've made a control panel for my layout.
    I used 10 mm thick MDF.
    It's 18" x 6.5" in size, which was the minimum I wanted.

    I drew the plan and then drilled all the holes for the LEDs and push buttons.

    I counter drilled the holes from the backside to make it possible to add the LED and the nuts for the push buttons.

    I primed it with cellulose first and then black Badger Stynylrez primer.

    I then airbrush painted white where the track lines were going to be.

    I masked the lines with 1/16" automotive masking tape. I painted over the tape with white to minimize the risk of bleeding.

    The panel was then painted with dark green acrylic paint. Around the tracks I shaded with black.

    This is how it looked when I removed the masking tape.

    I added texts with Microscale decals.

    The panel is clearcoated with Alclad matte.
    Now it's the fun part; installing all the electrical bits.

    I use the panel control system from MGP Here in Sweden, a very competent system with its own programming app and uses Loconet for communication.
  8. M Graff

    Part 67: New workshop

    By M Graff,

    I built a new workshop next to my layout room.
    The layout is in the back of my big garage (1700 sq.foot), and I really needed a warm clean space to build models in....
    This is how it looked on the 5th of January:

    I had new doors installed last year.


    Some of the lumber.

    New door to the workshop.


    I framed the walls with 2 x 4 lumber.
    The room will be 17' x 15'.

    OSB sheets over moisture barrier.

    Door installed and sheetrock finished.

    Walls painted and electrical work done.

    Floor painted with 2-part epoxy.

    The room in front is also getting there...

    Bench tops are installed on special wall brackets screwed to the wall studs.

    Storage shelves and work table.

    Special place for the Anycubic printer...

    Paint booth with filter.

    The 14' long workbench getting ready for work.
    I use LED armatures all over. LED tubes in the roof and LED strips over the workbenches.
    Thanks for watching.
    The project didn't take more than 3 weeks from start to finish.
  9. M Graff

    Part 66: trees

    By M Graff,

    Spruce/fir trees 2.0
    Faller's fir trees are really not at all good looking, but with a few minutes of work their appearance can be much improved.
    I use Polak model turf and some spray adhesive for this project.

    They are very coarse as they are...

    I trim the armatures to avoid the cone shape.

    Less is more...

    I applied some spray glue and two layers of turf.

    This group of five trees took me 10 minutes to do, a time that can be reduced severely if made in a series.
    I have over 1000 trees to do, so any savings of time and money are very welcome.
  10. M Graff

    Part 65: Mountains!

    By M Graff,

    I've started with the plaster work on the mountains.
    I use a mix of WS moulds, home made latex moulds and alu foil.

    The plaster is regular plaster of Paris.


    I prefer to cast in situ. I wait until the plaster shows small wrinkles in the mould before placing it on the mountain.


    I carve the surface with WS rock carving tools.
    May need some more plaster in places.

     
    I test painted the mountain...

    I use regular acrylics and WS earth pigments.

    First ochre.

    Then burnt sienna.

    And finally (?) gray stone pigment.
    As it is supposed to look Colorado-ish, I hope this is the way to go.

    It will lighten when dry.
    Then some dry brushing.
    I'm trying to match some photos I have of the Colorado mountains.
    The color lightened a bit when it dried.
    But the dry brushing went well.

  11. M Graff

    Part 64: Stone wall roller.

    By M Graff,

    Hi all! 
    I made a tool for embossing stones in DAS clay.

    The tools and stuff needed. DAS clay, an empty sugar dispenser, rolling pin, knife, glue and a good supply of small pebbles.

    Roll out some clay with the rolling pin, it should be large enough to cover the plastic tube and be around 1/8" thick.

    Emboss the clay with the pebbles.

    Wrap it around the plastic tube, seal it together by pressing it. Then emboss stones at the seam.

    When dry, seal the clay with varnish.
    Roll out some DAS clay and then roll the stone tool over it, firmly!

    Then lay it to dry.
    You can drape it around objects to shape it while drying. 
    Next installment will be painting it.
  12. M Graff
    Hi all!
     
    I'm building on my layout again after the summer months. 
    The town of Holy cross on my HOn3 layout is slowly taking shape. 
    But, I realised that the station took up too much real estate. 
    I therefore decided to move it to the aisle side of the rails.

     
    The space was a bit narrow though. So, I decided to cut the building in half lengthwise.

     
    That makes it possible to see the interior of it and make it a bit of a show point.

     
    The starting point was an Atlas station.
    I cut it in half and used the remaining pieces to make the interior walls. 
    The cut was painted red to highlight it.
    What do you think? 
  13. M Graff
    I have built one of these before, but that one got sold.
    This one is built more or less as it was out of the box, as the former one was heavily modified to match the original blueprints...
     

    The kit contents.
     

    The new parts added, turnbuckles, stirrups and couplers with boxes.
     

    The frame started.
     

    The subframe for the body and roof. Notice the paper strips glued to the frame sides to shim it to the correct width.
     

    Sheeting added.
     

    End sheeting.
     

    Painted, all the parts installed.
     

    The dry transfer decals added, I just love how the dry transfers look painted on the surface even when it's as uneven as here.
     

    The end with brake rod and decals.
    Only trucks, couplers and weathering left to do.
  14. M Graff
    I got this very old Kemtron kit from a friend of mine.
    It is etched from very thick brass and had to be filed to shape....
    I will use plastic trucks as the brass ones included wasn't of the caboose sort with leaf springs.

    The amount of heat needed to solder this kit was daunting....
     

    The shape of the roof had to be shaped with a mallet over a wooden form due to the thickness of the brass.
     

     
     

    Finished and ready for paint.
     

     
    It was a fun kit to build, albeit a bit dated.
    It will be fun to paint and weather it.




  15. M Graff
    Made a little more progress on my LaBelle boxcar.
    Only a few brake parts and coupler pockets remain to be mounted before painting.
     

     

     

     
    I also finished a reefer marked for my railroad company.

     
    Painted and decaled the boxcar.
    I had a little mishap... I was going to add the handbrake chain, and I took a piece out of the box and soldered it in place.
    Then I realized that it was the wrong kind of link!
    I had taken a piece of an old gold chain....
    Well, it is probably worth more than the kit...


    The decals are dry transfers from Woodland scenics and some old ones I had in a box.

    Started the weathering. I begin by painting flaked paint, i.e. paint on grayish wood color.

    The markings are for one of my mines on my layout; the Yvon Gold Mining company.  Named after my late mother.
     Because there is genuine gold on the car, it suits it well.  My mother would had loved this one.  
     
  19. M Graff
    I built a LaBelle HOn3 gondola kit, and decided to make a honorary car for my late mother Yvonne who died last year of cancer.
    I have already a mine on my layout called the Ywon mine.
    So this became the Yvon/Ywon Gold mine Co. car number 47 (as in her birth year).

    Weathered to represent a well used car that has shipped a lot of gold ore.
     

    The text are dry transfers. The boggies are 3D printed from Shapeways with Kadee wheels.
     

    The couplers are Sergent Sharon-couplers.
     
    I'm very satisfied with it.

  20. M Graff
    My Westside models C25 in HOn3 will be getting some upgrades.
    It already has new gears installed and will now get sound, lights and a good paint job.
    I will also improve the power pick-ups with added wipers on the tender and the locomotive.
     

    The parts involved (well, at least some of them...).
     

    Disassembly of the locomotive.
     

    The main parts cleaned with soda and repaired. Some loose solder joints that had to be fixed.
     

    AO blasted, ready for paint. As can be seen it isn't air blowed clean yet as some of the blasting medium is still on the model.
     

    More blasted parts...
     

    Painted and decalled. The paint is Scalecoat 1 engine black that has been baked in the oven.
    The decals are from San Juan decals. The number was easy to choose as the D&RGW only had one C25; #375...
     

    The smokebox is painted with Alclad silver.
     

    The tender shell.
     

     
    All in all a good start on the project. 
    Now I have to install the decoder, light and speaker.
    Then some light weathering... I'll be making it look like the photos of the original.

     
  21. M Graff
    https://youtu.be/FFFUjBlHnA0
    The track laying continues, I have only 12' of dual gauge tracks left to do....
    [youtube]FFFUjBlHnA0[/youtube]
    <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FFFUjBlHnA0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
  23. M Graff
    Westside models K-27 #460 in HOn3 dismantled in preparation for painting.
    These engines are like Swiss watches in their build quality.
    A pure joy to work with.
    I have prepared it for LED lights in both the front and rear headlights.
    It will get a Soundtraxx DCC sound decoder with a sugar cube speaker.
    The D&RGW #460 is a very odd engine. It was never modernized to piston valves, neither did it get a shortened smokebox.
    The version I'm painting will represent how it looked in the mid -30's.
    It will now get a bath in some acetone before being sandblasted.
    I will then paint it in Scalecote 1 engine black that will be baked in the oven for an hour or so...

     
    Here it's painted and decaled. However, there were no correct number stickers on my decal sheet ...
    I found an old decal sheet with numbers, it was unfortunately so brittle that the first decal I tested was disintegrated when I put it in the water...
    I sprayed dullcote on the sheet, and then there was no problem with the decals anymore.
    The locomotive is test run in analogue and works as well as it did before painting. Now it's time for weathering it, installing the lights and a sound decoder.
     

  24. M Graff
    Some of my favorite builds in HO/HOn3.
     
    Coach in HOn3

     
     
     
    Combine in HOn3

     
     
     
    Caboose in HOn3

     
     
     
    Boxcar HOn3

     
     
     
    Paper model scratchbuilt.

     
     
     
    Miller & sons diorama.

     
     
     
    Station close up.

     
     
     
    Station

     
     
     
    20 t Shay in HO

     
     
     
    Bi-level station

     
     
     
    Gas station

     

    Leadville building in HO

     
     
     
    Modified Lindbergh tug in HO

     
     
     
    Weathered brass C-19 in HOn3

     
     
     
    FSM engine house for HOn3

     


     
     
     

     
     
     

     
     
     
    Scratchbuilt paper model in HO

     
     
     
    Roundhouse for HOn3

     
     
     
    Sierra Hotel in HO

     
     
     
    Detailed and weathered Swedish Sb locomotive in HO. (Tenshodo)

     
     
     
    Drugstore in HO

     
     
     
    Store in HO

     
     
     
    Auhagen building

  25. M Graff
    Finally some progress!
    I've actually managed to clear out the space for the layout.
    The room as it looked...

     
    Insulation and moisture barrier installed.

     
    Sheetrock... We all love to do some sheetrock and mud and sanding, and mud and sanding....

     
    I rounded two of the corners. I made a backing from two layers of 1/8" hardboard.

     
    I used 1/4" sheetrock that I wetted and bent to shape in the corners.

     
    The backdrop is now the next step (almost..)
    I need to install the lighting first.
    I painted a test piece just to see the colors and tonal values.

     
    It needs to be toned down a bit though.
    More like this test:

     
    I've ordered the carpet and all the LED light fixtures, so it's finally getting there.
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