Before heading to the Scale Reproductions (My LHS), I did the rock wash on the other side of Ravine #1 and went over it a couple of time to catch any misses. This first step looks ugly, but it will be fine. I can still see some white spots in some of the strata cuts. I catch them when I do the next coat tomorrow.
At the hobby shop I bought four packs of Evergreen 0.040" X .188" strips that will form the planking on the freight loading dock, and some color for the exterior painting.
I then added more details. The porch posts for the freight door connect through the loading dock floor down to the base (at least it looks like that on the plans) so I added a plate to bind the poles to. The Grandt Line porch posts were about 3/16" too short. I thought about just gluing a block underneath them to provide a purchase, but then decided to graft a piece of 1/8 square stock onto the end.
To make a secure joint I again drilled and inserted .032" brass wire with some CA and then used liquid cement to bind the styrene parts. When cure it was stronger than the base plastic.
Here's the added graft. Notice also the little extra pieces added to the sides of the post that adds more relief. This detail is also seen on the plans. The posts are not the same contour as the prototype, but it's the best on the market, and I was not going to turn my own... at least not this time.
Here's the posts installed
The NWSL Precision sander is a great tool for gradually removing stock to get a perfect fit while keeping the ends perfectly square.
Now shown with the remaining gingerbread. This gingerbread too is not exactly as original, but it was commercially available from Grandt Line and looks terrific.
Before I forget, I have to drill the 2mm hole in this porch's roof to accept the warm white LED that's going there. When the 2nd story ceiling is in place this spot won't be accessible.
Just to show you how the posts will intersect wit the freight floor I took the liberty to make another "artist's" impression.
Since the posts are already in place, I'm going to have to fit the planking around the posts... tricky, but not impossible. The end is in sight!
Styrene construction has one terrific advantage. With the highly volatile liquid cements it bonds and welds instantly. Once dry the welded joints are as strong as the native styrene. It make it very easy to make nearly invisible joints. I've worked in bass wood also and the dry times are much longer unless you're using CA. When working in wood I use both Aleen's and CA depending on what it is and how much time I want to spend.
