Bull Chute Part 6 - Completion

The Bull Chute diorama has had several days to dry.  I made a mess of the weeds (modeling in a hurry NEVER works) so I did a little repair work before I got started.

Using a pair of fine tipped tweezers I removed strands of long weeds that I had glued on.  One of the big problems I've had is getting the weeds to stand up straight.  If you have ideas, I'm all ears.  Probably I'm cutting them too long.  After I weed-eated the diorama, I got out the Tacky Glue and tried again.  The thicker glue and shorter weeds made it look better, but I'm still not happy with the results.

 Using Woodland Scenics Clump Foliage Dark Green I glued some shrubs to the areas where the grass and ground didn't stick.  My whole philosophy of modeling can be summed up like this:

"It's not the modeler's skill at building that makes him good, but his ability to cover up mistakes."
- Scott Perry

 Next I'll add some light green ground foam and some twigs found in the yard.  The track, like the Bull Chute, is abandoned so I put some green on the track as well.  After that I dusted the area with fine green grass to help blend the scenic elements. 

 We'll set the diorama aside to dry for 6 hours.  The thick glue will need that.  After waiting I did one last touch up of anything that didn't stick when I turned the whole diorama upside down.  Looking good.  More dry time.

 Here the glue is still drying, but it is looking good.  In reality the chute would need more weathering, but since I want it clearly visible for the class, I left it alone.

 Just another shot.

 Here is our finished project. 

And another shot.  This is fun!  Soon I'll finish the clinic slide show and post it here for you to use at your NMRA Division meeting!  Hands on clinics are the best way to learn!

Bull Chute Part 5

Some people don't have the ability to see things as they would look on the layout.  So I'm going to put together a little display to show them what this model might look like on the layout.

 The camera is getting blurry again.  I need some better lighting.

 First I start with a small plaque that is stained.  I keep these around for just this purpose.  Then I trimmed and glued a portion of HO track to the base.

 A good coat of Floquil Aerosol Reefer Brown was applied to the track.

 Using weathering pigments from Dr. Ben's Scale Consortium I put a good coating of rust on the rails and tie plates.

 Next I glued the bull chute to the base and added dark ballast underneath the model.  Around the model I added a base mixture of green and brown ballast.  This is just to get us started.

I ballasted the track with fine gray ballast and soaked it in wet thinned white glue.  We'll put it aside and let it dry overnight, then add the vegetation.

Bull Chute Part 4

The uprights are good and dry, so let's keep building.  This is a fun little project!  I hope the Division enjoys the clinic.

First, let's install the ramp supports.  They should be angled back toward the back. 
This is actually harder to do than it looks.

Each of the three largest uprights has two ramp cross beams to support it.  Using the drawing I lay the upright next to its counterpart on and place the front support.  This support is higher than the rear support.

Then I flip it over and put on the lower support.  Normally I'd have made a separate CAD drawing to do this step, but I want to keep with the plan for the clinic.

Here I put the front support on the front upright.

Next we'll add the cross brace on the front upright as shown on the drawing.

Here they are; four uprights with cross supports.

Using just a very small dab of glue I glued each of the uprights in place, per the drawing.

Next I installed the three ramp supports.  You can start to see the shape now!

This time I'm putting the walkway boards on before the runners.  I'll put about a 1/2" of glue on the three runners, then install the walkway boards one at a time.  You might could use some masking tape and install the boards all at once, but doing it this way gives it character.

I love my tweezers!  Each board is dropped into place and then nudged by the tweezers to fit.

There!  Thirty boards.  Notice the different colors of wood boards. That is because I stained each wood strip separately.

The side braces come next.  With more glue in the pot I dip the part (holding it with the tweezers) in the glue and put into place.  Put the long cut in place first, then push the other end of the board down to the base board.

There!  The first one is in place.

This side is done.  Notice that there is some leaning on a few of the boards.  We'll cure this with the runners.

Now we add the runners.  First, let's add the top board.  We aren't using the drawing because it has five boards and we're only using four.  Follow the drawing as a guide. 

Than add each following board by eye.  I used a toothpick to keep the boards aligned.

When you have one side done, just complete the other side.

Yeah!  She's all built!

The final step is to add one last coat of weathering to unify the model and cover up any cut marks that were not previously stained.

Done!

Front view!

Side view!

There!  We're done with the Bull Chute...but there is MORE TO COME!

Bull Chute Part 2

The plans for the Cattle Ramp come from an article in Railroad Model Craftsman, June 1973.  It is one of the famous One Evening Projects (back when you couldn't take it right out of the box) and was written by Harold Russell.

 You'll need to get a copy of this long out of print article.  I'd suggest you contact the Kalmbach Library, which is where I got my copy.

 You'll need four (not three like pictured here) of HO scale 2 x 8 lumber in 24 inch lengths.  You'll also need about a foot of 8 x 8 lumber.

 For cutting I'll use a razor blade which has a thinner blade that is much sharper than a hobby knife.

 I'll also be using a scale rule, but I don't really need it.

 My favorite assembly tweezers for wood!  Very sharp and precise points.

 You'll also need some weathering stain.  This is india ink and alcohol in a dark mixture along with two dedicated weathering brushes.

 Actually the weathering goop was not dark enough so I added more India ink.

 I brushed a liberal coating of the mixture onto all sides of the boards.

 I let the boards dry thoroughly under a pane of glass to keep them from warping.

 I normally work on a 1/4" glass plate.  It is very easy for cutting and paint/glue won't stick.  This is a very easy to clean surface.

I cut out the drawings from the print and checked them for accuracy.  Mainly I look for copying distortion.  All good!

Normally I work on glass, but in order for the stained wood to show up better, I'm using foam board.

First we'll tape the drawing down to the foam board using regular office tape.  Oops...you can see my first Bull Chute in the background!

Next I cover the drawing in wax paper.  This keeps glue from sticking to the surface.

There!  All taped down and flat.

Our first job is to cut four bases for the model.  I do this by laying the board down and setting the blade on the board, then SLICING...not breaking.

When you make a lot of parts you have to keep them separate.  I name them and put the quantity, then draw a circle around it on my work space.  That way I know what it is.

Some of these cutting shots are bad.  I am a righty, but the camera is a righty, so I cut lefty, and that is not good for me.  Here I'm cutting the 8 upright posts, 2 of each of 4 sizes.

Not much better, this shot.

Here are the uprights, in size order.  Keeping parts sorted is critical to keep from having to cut them again.

There are six ramp supports.  I measure them on the plan and cut them out.

Here they are...all the same size.

The angled supports are very tricky to cut.  First, cut the sharp angle up top, then cut the bottom cut that matches to the base.  There are 2 each of 4 sizes and are tricky to cut uniformly.

In order to match them up I cut them out and then put them here back to back to check the size and the angle of the cut.  You can do this much more precisely but this is a hands on clinic with limited tools so we'll do it this way.

Next we need one diagonal brace.  This piece requires some trimming.

You'll have to use the blade to trim it to the plan.

There are actually 10 side boards (runners), but the model and me are going to use 8, 4 on each side.  These have a tapered cut on each end.

Here you can see the four side boards.

There!  The runners are cut out.  Tune in tomorrow as Scott Perry stars in "30 Minutes of Fun per Day".