Kirkby Luneside

[Alister_G]

I've never been a fan of the Wills sheets, due to their thickness and small size, and I've always preferred to use the larger sized sheets from the likes of Slaters and SE Finecast, which are much thinner and easier to cut.

 

However, you've made a top job of cutting those out and joining them - it is easy to see Jason's tutelage, which is not to take away anything from your workmanship, Jeff.

 

The Wills sheets do give a satisfying feeling of chunkiness to a model, though.

 

Nice job so far Jeff, I'll be interested to see, at the end, which you plump for.

 

Al.

Edited July 29, 2017 by acg_mr

[Physicsman]

I've never been a fan of the Wills sheets, due to their thickness and small size, and I've always preferred to use the larger sized sheets from the likes of Slaters and SE Finecast, which are much thinner and easier to cut.

 

However, you've made a top job of cutting those out and joining them - it is easy to see Jason's tutelage, which is not to take away anything from your workmanship, Jeff.

 

The Wills sheets do give a satisfying feeling of chunkiness to a model, though.

 

Nice job so far Jeff, I'll be interested to see, at the end, which you plump for.

 

Al.

 

Evening Al.

 

I've always used Slaters sheets - for the viaduct, tunnel portal, bridges etc. However, in this case, the Wills sheets are the closest in appearance (by some considerable way) to the stone used on the shed. I've actually stocked up with Slaters sheets for the station building, and prefer their sheet size and thickness. But I'll just try my best with what's available here.

 

As for Jason's "tutelage". No such thing exists - he simply comes out of the woodwork and nags me when I do something wrong!!  

 

To be fair, if it wasn't for Jason I'd still be building train sets.

 

YOUR opinion on the 2 sheds will be interesting to see. I'm very surprised with how the DAS shed turned out. If I could make much finer bricks - and handle them - I'd do the station building from them.

 

One final comparison, though. It took me 8 DAYS to fit over 4000 DAS bricks onto the main bit of the shed (exclude the small office). It's taken me about 8 HOURS to cover shed #2 in the Wills sheets. "But I still love my DAS, I do!!"

 

Jeff

[teaky]

S E Finecast do larger sheets: http://www.sefinecast.co.uk/Building%20Materials/Building%20Materials.htm

[Physicsman]

S E Finecast do larger sheets: http://www.sefinecast.co.uk/Building%20Materials/Building%20Materials.htm

 

Thanks for the link, Rob.

 

I know that SE do a "dressed stone" in 2mm and 4mm variants (FBS 217/417 respectively), and the 14" x 9" sheets are far preferable to the Wills ones. However, none of the SE products have the stone arrangement/pattern that I need for the shed. So I'm caught in the "Wills trap".

 

Cutting the Wills sheets isn't TOO bad, but the sheet size IS a real pain.

 

Jeff

[jukebox]

Geesh, I hate to be the killjoy - where's Jason? - but that join doesn't work for me, Jeff.

 

The problem is the edges of those vac-formed sheets distort (I know from trying to match up rows of stone on the big viaduct for Stockrington) so you end up with a misalignment.

 

You'd minimise that effect if you made the join above the arch of the windows, and cut the sheets  in a stepped fashion, not a straight line.

 

 

The thing that isn't helping you, is the join now has butt-joins creating mega-blocks - three in a row in the middle of the wall.  And there's a distorted mega block 3/4 way up the top that really catches your eye.

 

They look out of place to my eye.

 

I'm assuming this is an experimental structure, and the DAS one is the one that will grace the layout?  That being the case, it's a useful experiment at any rate for if you use plasticard in the future.

 

Keep up the inspirational work.

 

Cheers

 

Scott

Edited July 30, 2017 by jukebox

[Physicsman]

Evening (Perth time) Scott.

 

I agree with you about the "mega blocks". I've been looking at the photos from last night for a while now and, although I don't mind 2 or 3 in a cluster, I really don't like the distorted one. I hadn't thought about cutting in a diagonal way.

 

This structure is a practice, but I'm hoping it'll look good in the end. So I'm quite happy to experiment. I've plenty of sheets available and I've already ripped 3 off that were fixed on Friday night and looked crap on Saturday.

 

I'll see what I can come up with. I regard this kind of thing as a challenge and a LOT of fun. My attitude is that if it looks rubbish in the end, well, I already have an adequate DAS replacement, so who cares?! BUT, you know me - I don't give up easily!

 

Jeff

[jukebox]

Another tip I can give you Jeff, is save the off cuts - if you cut and shut the sheets, you can then leave gaps if they don't quite work, and pick individual stones, or small sections to fill the gaps in.

 

In fact the more random cut and shutting you do, the more it will be like your DAS work - think of the plasticard stones as DAS bricks, but just in groups - and then cut up the sheets to make best use of the space.

 

If you look at the blockwork, the rows are not continuous, so it should be easy to make something look right.

 

But yes, I trust that you are like me, and if it doesn't look right, it's bug you enough that you'll repair or redo!

 

Cheers

 

Scott

[Icknieldrobin]

Evening (Perth time) Scott.

 

I agree with you about the "mega blocks". I've been looking at the photos from last night for a while now and, although I don't mind 2 or 3 in a cluster, I really don't like the distorted one. I hadn't thought about cutting in a diagonal way.

 

This structure is a practice, but I'm hoping it'll look good in the end. So I'm quite happy to experiment. I've plenty of sheets available and I've already ripped 3 off that were fixed on Friday night and looked crap on Saturday.

 

I'll see what I can come up with. I regard this kind of thing as a challenge and a LOT of fun. My attitude is that if it looks rubbish in the end, well, I already have an adequate DAS replacement, so who cares?! BUT, you know me - I don't give up easily!

 

Jeff

Jeff

Have you seen Karl Crowther's Hebble Vale Goods? I've seen it at exhibitions and his method of joining Wills sheets together produces an end product which is superb. He did an article in MRJ explaining his methods about a year ago [sorry don't have the precise date] but http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/ will give you an idea what he's achieved. Not sure how you will mount the plastic on your ply frame, I've had a lot of success using narrow strips of double sided tape on foam board as well as ply. Just a thought.

 

Doug

[Alister_G]

With regard to Scott's post on joining the stone diagonally, here's an interesting photo:

 

 

I apologise for the quality, it's a crop of a larger shot.

 

What it shows is a join between two sheets of SE Finecast dressed stone. From ground level, up to the top of the lower windows, I did a vertical join, and you can see it's readily apparent.

 

From the top of the lower windows, to the bottom of the upper windows, I cut out a diagonal following the stone courses, and you can see (or not) that the join is much less visible. Then, continuing on above the upper window, I managed to balls it up completely

 

However, a dash of filler made it look better.

 

This is the same area after the base coat of paint:

 

 

You can just about make out the vertical join (on the right of the photo) but the diagonal, notwithstanding my hamfistedness, has disappeared.

 

An interesting example, I hope.

 

Al.

[Physicsman]

Doug, a quick Google search suggests Karl Crowther's MRJ articles to be in issues 224 and 247. A glance at the stonework in your link shows what can be achieved - inspirational.

 

Al, thanks for your illustration. It clearly shows the benefits of cutting the sheets in different directions. I must admit, I hadn't even considered doing that. I might have done so with a Slaters sheet, with which I'm familiar. But concentrating on getting the door and window positions correct, and cutting something that is much thicker (and smaller, sheet-size) took my whole concentration.

 

I'm going to do some real "experimenting" now. It's only 6 main sheets' worth (3 on each long side), so if it takes a week to achieve something then so be it.

 

Jeff

[Jason T]

Karl cut his vertically, as did I on the Mill; cutting diagonally would be a pain in the backside, as would stepping it.

 

What I did was similar to Karl although he went slightly further (I have chatted to him about it on a few occasions). The sheets sort of match up but MEK on its own isn't enough to hide the joins so after MEK I plastered Sqadron green putty over the join and scribed in new stones, including verticals. Where the horizontals were off, I filled one side of the joined sheet and scribed in a new vertical for that stone. I then sanded the area (when dry) and gave it a base coat of paint, which showed up where you could still see the join, so took the paint back with further sanding, added a skim of Squadron and scribed again. It took a fair bit of effort but to date, nobody has spotted where the joins are without me pointing it out.

 

Karl's are better than mine but I am happy I put the effort in.

[Jason T]

There is a join on this length...

 

[Physicsman]

I'm back over at dad's in the morning - he has a hospital appointment and I'll drive him there.

 

I've loaded up lots of gear to keep me busy over the next few days. I'll take plenty of photos but I'm posting nothing else on here - image-wise - until I've come up with my own solution to the Wills sheets.

 

Please continue the discussion/suggestions. All are potentially useful. And it really IS impossible to spot the join on The Mill - even when it's pointed out.

 

Jeff

[Rowsley17D]

Apparently the great Allan Downes files a chamfer on one of the Wills sheets to be joined. Wills sheets do have a "right way up" but this is probably teaching grandma........

[Sasquatch]

Hi Jeff.

Dunster's good shed is getting on for 10 years old now so if my memory is correct the join is just a butt joint. I must have used my simple method of rubbing water based wood filler in the join and wiping away excess with a damp paper towel until I was happy with it. This was done with Humbrol enamels back when I first moved in with my wife in her studio flat while waiting for my green card. The paint hides most of the join. It's not perfect, after 10 years I forgot it was there. All the other joins and those on the station have been hidden above doors and behind drain pipes. Just wish I could do a better job with the Wills slates!

 

Regards Shaun.

Edited July 31, 2017 by Sasquatch

[Physicsman]

Morning Shaun.

 

Nice work on the shed. And I see you used the Wills quoins. I bought a pack - effective but didn't match the block size and surface I needed.

 

Having looked at a lot of plastikard-covered sheds in the last few days it makes me wonder how many thousands of Wills sheets have been sold....

 

Jeff

[Sasquatch]

Morning Jeff. (just off to bed actually)

Me too! I must have used about 50 packs over the years. Now I've switched to scribing foam board, it's easier on the wallet and hands! I doubt it would be up to your engineering standards though!!

 

Regards ...ZZZzzzzzz  (edit)   zzzZZZ The Wills quoins are on the small side, more suited to their dressed stone!

Edited July 31, 2017 by Sasquatch

[Physicsman]

A request, if anyone can oblige....

 

If anyone has a copy of MRJ 247 and a scanner, could you email me a copy of Karl Crowther's article on stone building to:

 

jeff_grainger@hotmail.com

 

Note the "underscore" in the address.

 

I don't expect a response, but who knows?

 

Jeff

[MarshLane]

Morning Jeff,

I think I've got that one, I'll have a look tonight.

 

Rich

[Physicsman]

Thanks Rich.

 

I've made a fair attempt with the sheets; it may look acceptable once done. However, I'll be interested to see what the article has to say.

 

And for reference....Diagonal cutting on sheets is effective. But unless you're prepared to freelance a lot of joins, you still end up with verticals.

 

At the end of the day, it's a model. So no big deal if perfection is out of reach!

 

Jeff

[Killybegs]

Has anyone suggested locating the joints behind the rainwater downpipes? (I have been away for a couple of weeks).

[Physicsman]

I've come up with a method of joining the sheets that works for me. I'll post some pics later today when it's light enough to take some clear photos.

 

I've tried a number of things and finally arrived at a very simple method that, I think, will always give consistently decent results - though some may judge it a bit tedious.

 

Details by lunchtime.

 

Jeff

[Physicsman]

Has anyone suggested locating the joints behind the rainwater downpipes? (I have been away for a couple of weeks).

Decent enough idea, John, but not always possible to arrange given the small size of the Wills sheets.

 

Jeff

Edited August 2, 2017 by Physicsman

[PeterBB]

I've come up with a method of joining the sheets that works for me. I'll post some pics later today when it's light enough to take some clear photos.

 

I've tried a number of things and finally arrived at a very simple method that, I think, will always give consistently decent results - though some may judge it a bit tedious.

 

Details by lunchtime.

 

Jeff

 

Will await with interest - your solutions are always useful.

[Physicsman]

Will await with interest - your solutions are always useful.

 

It's nothing spectacular. In fact, it's as basic as I could make it....

 

Jeff