dannyi

..here's a few more progress pic's.....the upper area was a small parts business that's been long gone.....machinery and tooling have all been removed....

..thanks Mike, I thought about leaving the upper floor unpainted, but I wanted to try a painted one...... ...P.S.......I'll let ya know how the show goes...

..thanks Chuck, I decided to leave it the way it is. Like you guys have said, there were floors that were put down this way....

....a couple up date pics...started the weathering on the sub floor boards, hope to have that done by tomorrow. Then it's on to the main floor boards.....the show is this coming Sunday. Trying not rush through this but I'm hoping to get a lot done this week.....

..thanks Tony!...one of the reason I made this dio is because I just love old building like this. There's a lot more character and history in them as opposed to most of the modern ones of today. I really do appreciate your background information, the more I learn the better builder I can become. So please don't shut up! Besides, my long term goal is to keep adding to this, sort of like a modular railroad layout. One day this will sit on a table with multiple building, and having things look period correct would be great. So any info you care to share will the well received!

...I decided to do a little research on the flooring. Didn't get a great lot of info but there was plenty of pictures with them done both ways, diagonal and perpendicular. Perpendicular was definitely the most common. I just might have to reconsider the floor after I discovered that the diagonal flooring in all the pics I found had flush cuts not angled cuts. Looks like I've learned a couple of valuable lesson here...first..don't rely on just your memory if your like me and can't remember sh..stuff...and second.."take the time to research!" if you what to be fairly accurate. The plan is to enter this at the Detroit DAAM show April 3rd. But with so much to do to get this ready by then, it looks like a new floor will have to wait till after the show.....at least I have some experience at gluing hundreds of coffee stirrers!

Thanks Tony, I appreciate you mentioning this. The way your describing the construction does make sense, and being an architect, I have no doubt your right. Gotta admit I didn't research this much. Just went off memory from the plant I worked in. That complex had over 45 different buildings most being constructed around 1911 to 1913. For what ever reason there were certain areas of the plant where the floors were diagonal and I always thought that looked pretty neat, so I went with it on this. Now I wish I would have inquired about this before stating my floor, would definitely do it the other way. But after gluing over 600+ boards I don't have the gumption to change it!..lol For now anyways I'm just going to hope most people don't notice this detail flaw!

....got the ceiling/upper floor started. I angled the floor boards like the ones I remember from the factory I worked in, and that was constructed around 1911, so the time line is close. I have the ceiling boards running perpendicular to the ceiling joists. Those boards will get the peeling paint effect like the joistshave. Not a 100% sure yet what I'm doing with the upper floor yet. Thinking about an abanded small parts factory that is now a storage area for car parts, we'll see..........thanks for looking...

..thanks Randy, appreciate that!

...this looks fantastic Lanny! ....there is so much to look at, tons of detail, great job!

Mike, your way too kind my friend!! ..one of the benefits of these model forums is learning from a huge pool of talented people!

...fantastic idea guys! ...instead of bringing back the Big Three to Detroit, you fellas can give us the "Big Four"!

..thanks Mike and Vaughn for the kind words! ..Vaughn, the brake shoe assemblies I make and sell on my web site and E-bay. They don't come with the springs but are not hard to make. I use .008 brass wire for the main return springs, .005 brass wire for the adjuster spring and .003 magnetic wire for the cable to the adjuster lever. I simply wrap the wire around different size piano wire then cut them to length. The pin at the top of the assembly is a standard straight pin with the head filed flat. For new looking sets I just paint them, for weathered ones I use rust colored paints and powders. The over all dimensions are 25" long x 12" deep x 10" high. Here's a couple of pics of the brake assemblies.....

...thank you Charlie! ..got started on the detail work for the '41 Plymouth. It's going to be poised having a brake shoe change. The front shoes have already been swapped out. To save money the mechanic used the old springs and hardware. I guess the owner is a money miser! The rears are next. The front spindle and rear axle shaft will be put on once I get them weathered. Still need to weather the car a little more with some dust and a bit of road grime. The plan is to have the wheels and tires, tools, old and new shoes and other detail items laying around the car also. More to come, thanks for looking in.........

...thanks George, I'd like to see those pictures! Love these old buildings!......see ya Friday. P.S...I'm bringing some parts with me too..... ...thank you Chaz, I'm glad you were inspired to work a little on your dio. The same thing happened to me, watching all these great dio's being worked on made me want to get back into mine. ...thanks Mike, you are my official PR man!..checks in the mail!..LOL.. ...thanks Tony, I really wasn't sure how all the lights being on together were going to work, but was pleasantly surprised at the effect.

...got the lights temporarily hooked up....took a couple quick shots..... ...thanks for look'n...

..thank you Mark, I really appreciate that!.....the method I used for the peeling paint was mastered by Chuck Doan. I did a variation of his exact procedure though. After the wood is cut and lightly sanded you apply an India ink/alcohol wash to age the wood. The rest of the process is basically one board at a time. I applied a thin coat of thinner(mineral spirits), just when it starts to lose it's sheen I put on a coat of latex paint. Timing here is kinda critical. The paint has to dry a bit but not fully. With a piece of Scotch brand Magic tape I laid it on the fresh paint, "lightly" pressing it down then slowly pulled it up. If your timing is good it'll peel the paint like you see in the pictures. If you apply the tape too soon it just smears, too late and very little if nothing will come up. I must have practiced on a half a dozen pieces before I got the hang of it. But if you would like the exact technique that Chuck developed, go to his Fotki page, go to Odds and Ends album, there he has his peeling paint description. Believe me, his work makes mine look like a kindergartner's finger painting! The man is off the charts with vision and talent!

...thanks fellas! ..appreciate the kind words.....Tony, your right, the straight pipes are 3/16 tubing from Evergreen. All the other pieces I made from scratch. I'm going to offer these and other pieces on my web site. Should have them ready sometime next week. These pipes make an interesting and uncommon detail item.........

..thanks Kris!

...thanks Jim, Chuck and Tony, appreciate the feed back! It feels good to be working on this again. I'm taking advantage of the spark, so I got the cast iron drain pipe started too. Not sure yet what's going on with the second floor so this is all I'm going to add for now. The pipes will get some light weathering because their inside the building as opposed to outside. Some dust, a little rust and maybe a leak or two..........after the lights and pipes get weathered it'll be on to the second story floor boards.....

.....for those of you who where interested in the Ivanhoe style light shades, I have them available. They will be made on a "make to order" basis for now until I get stock built up. The original one I made had a .063 dia. hole in the top of the shade. But a friend of mine made a good point by suggesting that the hole not be there because the modeler may want something different. So the top is now solid and can be drilled to what ever you need. Here's a pic of them in my dio....... ..these are the standard style(left), I also have the 6" deep ones available(right)......

.....finally made some time for this dio. Got the ceiling joists in place and the lights installed. I really couldn't find good clear photograph's or information on the electrical boxes of the day, but what I did see was that a lot of the junction boxes and fixtures were round. So that's what I went with. The conduit and fixtures on the ceiling will be painted the same white as the joists. Saw this practice a lot from my days in the plant where I worked. The painters, after being tasked with repainting, didn't mask anything, if it was in the area it got painted! .....the plan is to run conduit from the boxes on the back wall to a main box that will go next to the service door. From there outlets and light switches will be put in once I make them........till next time.....thanks for looking in.............

...thanks Tony!

..thanks George, appreciate that! I sent you a PM, just let me know if you want to meet up somewhere for your parts.

..thanks Jody, appreciate that!