dannyi

Thanks Tony! ...the bulbs I used are "grain of rice" from Model Power #252, the conduit is made from 1/16 aluminum tubing. I could of used larger diameter tubing to make wiring easier but the thinner tubing looked more to scale. First I drilled a hole in the top of the lamp shade to fit the tube. The problem with the 1/16 tubing was that both wires would not fit through it, so I removed the insulation from one of the wires(the one I was using for ground/common) and then wrapped it around the other wire in a loose spiral. Once thought the top of the tube I separated them and soldered them to their prospective "bus" wires running along the top edge on the back side of the ceiling joists. From the side of the dio they went to an HO train transformer.

...now this is really nice work!..your attention to detail is amazing!!

..thank you Joe, Jim and Ryan... ..Joe, the only foam board I know of is the kind with the paper backing which has to be removed to scribe the foam. You could use rigid insulation foam board, the kind found at big box hardware stores but the thinnest I could find around here was 1 inch thick and only comes in 4x8 sheets. As for the hobby foam board, the paper backing has to be removed on the side that your going to scribe the brick on. Some brands the backing can be peeled right off with ease. But the brand I got (Elmers) has to be dampened with water to loosen the glue. First I cut the desired size I need then put it in a pan of water for about 15 minutes. The paper backing comes off with no problems. Let it dry thoroughly then scribe away....

...now that's just too cool!..

...thanks Terry.....the brick columns are three separate pieces each of foam board. I made an extra panel just for those. The front and side pieces are cut on a 45 degree angles so the bricks on the corners look like full bricks. I made the front piece a full 3 bricks wide. The side pieces need to be cut so they match the full brick, half brick on the front panel. Then I used a tooth pick to add Elmers glue to the sharp edges. After the glue dried I lightly sanded the edge to round off the bricks. Making the columns was a bit time consuming but I really liked the effect once finished. The foam board is 3/16" thick and I got it at Hobby Lobby but most stroes that have graft/hobby section carry it.. The panel side use to scribe the brick on needs to have the paper backing removed. Some brands of foam board you can just peel it right off but other brands it needs to be dampened to loosen the glue on the paper. Once the paper backing is removed the panel becomes pretty flimsy. So I glued another section of foam board to the back of each panel for strength. The back and side walls are tied together with 3/8" pine trim boards. Once it's all screwed and glued together it's a pretty strong set up. Case in point was after it was dropped from nearly 6 ft., just the upper left corner split open. The rafter/joist are actually bass wood, 3/32" x 1/2". It's a bit stronger and has a cleaner finish the balsa wood.

Congratulations Patrick! ...your Nova definitely looks worthy of an award..very nice build....

...way too cool Red! You did a very convincing job on this, nice work!

...thanks Bill, I do plan on taking it to a couple local shows and possibly NNL East next year. I'll also be using it to showcase some of the parts I make on a '41 Plymouth and a '50 Ford pickup. Got a feeling this will never really be done..lol, it will probably be getting constant additions...... ....thanks Mike!....I called ya a few days ago, give me a shout when you get the chance....

...I have to agree with Junior, love to see one that you really got into..lol...because this is really nice!

..thanks guys for the kind words! ....crazyjim, it originally started out as a photo backdrop with side walls and a half roof. Once I got the walls up and started the roof, it became a full on dio. Decided to go with an upper story and now possibly an elevator......maybe... .....Tony, as for the flooring I'm going with the original one I made. I know that the most common method for this type of flooring is like you said, diagonal sub-floor and parallel finished floor. But I seen quite a few diagonal finished flooring at the old plant I worked and thought it looked pretty neat....

..fantastic work Manny, I must say the night shots are very impressive!

..too cool! ...very nice work Rob!

..very nicely done Robert, the rust and faded paint are very convincing!

....got all the ceiling joists in place again. The lights are back to their original possitions and still working...still can't believe that....

...thanks guys! ...Ricky, definitely go for it! ..you'll be amazed at how easy it becomes after you get a couple basic techniques down...

..that is definitely some impressive work.....the water dio's are amazing!

B!...how the heck are ya?......where have you been?

..now that the major plumbing and electrical work is finished along the back wall I started on the I beams and ceiling joists. Had a bit of a mess on my hands because some of the ceiling were joined by the wiring for the lights. Took a while to untangle them without damaging the wire connections. To my surprise all the lights still work! I still have to straighten out the lamp shades and the conduit, hopefully they'll all light up afterwords......

..thank you Casey for the kind words. I was thinking the same thing you were about the visual length. The stairs were an after thought. Because I was virtually starting over due to the accident I started to add and change a few things. Came across a photo of a building similar to my dio and it had a stair case in it. I thought that might be pretty cool to add. Because of where the hoist is located I was pressed for room if a car was on it, so it's just wide enough for one person. That in it's self is not unusual, saw plenty of them at the factory I worked but like you said it's a bit steep and long. I've been thinking I might not even use them but if I do keep the stairs, I will do as you mentioned and make a right angle set going up the opposite direction. As for the tread height it's a bit deceiving in the pictures, but their a scale (1/25) 10 inches. Higher then the normal 8" of residential tread height but not that uncommon in these old factory buildings. I used a 1/24 scale figure I have for reference also. Thanks for the suggestion, it looks like we were both thinking the same thing!

...got some of the conduit in place and finished the gas valve for the heater......

..thanks Mike, appreciate the kind words. ..thanks Tony, gotta love those old buildings..if only the wall could talk!

...unfortunately your right Tony about 1/32 scale. Since I've been doing resins I've had only one person ask about it. Same thing for 1/18 scale, maybe two or three people.

..great work on this Tony! ..it's coming along very nicely....look forward to seeing more.