Re-work/re-paint of New River Mining Co

Nazgul

Active Member
This is a project that I have been wanting to do for a while now.

I bought this structure "as-is" (except for the "Twin River" and NP signage) at a show when I was just starting out 2 1/2 years ago. I thought it looked great!:eek::gaptooth:....... what was I thinking:rolleyes:.



Picture270.jpg



Picture273.jpg



Picture275.jpg


Believe me, it looks even worse in person!!!!!
This baby need a lot of work. The position of the inner support beam has been changed (probably to work with the previous owner's track spacing). Unfortunately it interferes with the coal chute opening. That must be fixed. And of course, putting the slack loader on the roof is problematic at best:cry::rolleyes:. Whether or not I can remove the problem areas and re-work them without destroying the model, remains to be seen.
Regardless, Lots of work...Lots of paint!

I bought a new "New River Mining Co" a while back and did a kitbash of it just like "Turtle Creek Coal":
http://trains.com/mrr/default.aspx?c=a&id=1206

Here's my version:

photos306.jpg


Since it was smaller than the orginal...I have a few parts left over that I may be able to use on this project.........

I hope to get started over the weekend :winker:

Take care:wave:
 

jesso

Member
Good luck, I'm sure that if it can be saved, you're the one to do it. Remember, at the very least, put a sign on that door that says the next step is a loo-loo.
 

Nazgul

Active Member
Remember, at the very least, put a sign on that door that says the next step is a loo-loo.

Scott... Great point! That was kind of a running joke when this Mine was on my layout....it never had stairs!:eek:

I have set of stairs left over from the kit bash....so i need to get another....or cover up one of the doors:winker:
 

Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic
I thought it looked great!:eek::gaptooth:....... what was I thinking:rolleyes:.

You were thinking that to your novice eyes, it was great. Now that you've been in the hobby awhile, your experience and tastes and standards have grown and changed, so now you recognize it as being less than you're capable of now, and below your standards.

And good for you! At the risk of sounding snobbish, I find far too many people in this hobby never even try to raise their level of "good enough".
 

doctorwayne

Active Member
............[snip]......... At the risk of sounding snobbish, I find far too many people in this hobby never even try to raise their level of "good enough".

Not snobbish at all.;):-D Even though this is "only a hobby", that's no excuse to not do your best: when you do so, your "best" is bound to get even better.

Wayne
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
If it was put together with a liquid solvent cement like Testors, you may be able to disassemble it by using a little solvent cement to disolve the joints one at a time. Once you have it back to a "kit", you can build/bash it to meet your newer standards of good enough; and it will be acceptable until your standards go up even more with even more experience.
 

steamhead

Active Member
It ocurred to me the other day to do just what Russ suggested...I was tearing an old building apart and a light bulb come on...If liquid cement dissolves the plastic...it should also dissove the glue that was used to put it together in the first place. Sure enough...I applied a little liquid cement, waited a FEW seconds, and the thing literally fell apart..!!
 

Ralph

Remember...it's for fun!
Your version looks great Steve. I'm sure you'll make a jewel out of that used mine!
Ralph
 

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
YES!:mrgreen: , a NEW Steve project!:thumb::thumb:

Steve, this mine SEVERELY needs a makeover, cant wait to see every step of the way:winki: .

QUESTION, you seem to be doing things NOT related to your plans for the NEW layout:confused: , will this stuff be sold off and the money used for new layout projects?:confused: ENQUIRING ( :119: ) minds want to know:winki: .
 

Nazgul

Active Member
Ralph...Thanks for the confidence builder :thumb:. BTW, since you got that new camera, I have just been in awe of your modeling:eek:....you have done BEAUTIFUL work :thumb::thumb::thumb:.

Squidbait, Wayne...I agree with both of you :winker:.
We all say that this hobby is about having fun, and I have found my greatest enjoyment in taking my time and doing things as good as I possibly can.
It doesn't have to be the best, just MY best.....now that's fun!:mrgreen:

Russ, Gus....I have no idea what was used to glue this thing together wall1, I have tried solvent cement and when that didn't work, laquer thinner (that worked slightly better). Many pieces have been marred by the original gluing process (putting the loader and scattered coal on the roof for instance). I really thought about scrapping this project (and model) because of it. Then I thought about buying some styrene siding and redoing some of the walls and roofs, but if I do that, I might as well scratch-build one and do it myself. Well, I have decided to use only what I have laying around and try and see if I can improve it that way.....

Deano...
you seem to be doing things NOT related to your plans for the NEW layout:confused: , will this stuff be sold off and the money used for new layout projects?:confused: ENQUIRING (
mysmilie_34.gif
) minds want to know
mysmilie_57.gif
.

Well, my friend, I was going to sell the Idaho Springs Mine, but after all the work that went into it, I just can't sell it............and I don't think anyone is going to be willing to pay for this thing I'm doing now. :rolleyes::mrgreen:

The layout will be the next project :winker:


Hopefully, I will have some pics tomorrow:cry::rolleyes:

Take care :wave:
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Steve, you may need to give the solvents more time to dissolve the old glue, or it may be that you need to disslove more of it at one time. If a section of wall or roof is glued on 3 or 4 sides, all of the sides need to be dissolved at the same time. You might also want to try Plastruc cement, it dissolves abs plastic as well as styrene.
 

Nazgul

Active Member
Russ....I think I was attacking the very worst of the overly glued parts of the Mine. As I moved on to other areas, it was easier. That has not helped the fact that the original glue job was sloppy and now the plastic is very visibly marred in some very obvious places.

Here are a few pics:

Picture285.jpg


Picture278.jpg


Picture282.jpg



I am going to hide the roof imperfections with Campbell's corrugated roof panels...I have some here, so I won't have to buy any. I am hoping that it won't look funny having them on the roof and not the walls.

I am also going to take the slack loader off the roof and have it stand alone from the main structure as was originally intended. That will mean making supports, chutes, and a bottom to the loader (it is missing) :curse:

I never really intended to to get this carried away with this, but....:rolleyes:


more next time

Take care :wave:
 

Nazgul

Active Member
Any one that knows me.......knows that I have a bad habit of changing my mind:rolleyes:...........

I didn't have enough corrugated panels to cover all the roofs, so I bit the bullet and went to the LHS and bought a styrene corrugated sheet that closely matched those on the model. Also, after closer inspection of the slack loader (what's left of it) I will not be using it. I can salvage the corrugated sections and re-use it to make a shed or something else later.

Progress?.......



This pic shows the new roof section and also a smaller roof (to the right) that I borrowed from my previous kit-bash. I also moved the steel supports back to there proper places and added a third. The last support on the right is a stand alone column that I also borrowed. Oh yeah...finally have a set of stairs as well:eek:

Picture291.jpg






I really wanted to take the windows out, but I couldn't do it without destroying them....so I had to tape all (most) of them off :curse:

Picture295.jpg





I made the two outside chutes from wood (that's all I had) and the hangers from styrene rod. Theres a black plastic one in the middle that you probably can't see too well........you guessed it, I borrowed that one.

Picture290.jpg





You'll notice that I didn't tape off all of these windows. I am going to try a little experiment and paint them...........see what happens.
I don't have another set of stairs, but I needed to do something about the second door, so I made a narrow platform and a set of rails That will be painted black and will run from the door to where the wall juts out.

Picture289.jpg



I may get it painted this weekend, but it is supposed to rain, so I'm not sure...........that's it for now. :winker:

Take care :wave:
 

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
Steve, i don't know much about mines:eek:ops: , but i know in factories sometimes windows would be boarded up or have sheet metal put over them, another thing, Fairbanks-Morse painted the glass sections different shades of green on a couple of their buildings, i am guessing it was to reduce the amount of bright sun going through them. not really sure if any of those ideas could apply, but thought i would throw it out there:winki: .

BTW, i like your railing idea:thumb: .
 

steamhead

Active Member
Looking better 'n better....You've just got magic in those hands of yours....Wish some would rub-off on mine. That would be a first for the internet..!!! :mrgreen:
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
WOW Awesome Project Steve!!!

Your Making some GREAT progress!!! Im liking that new roof, and that walkway you made looks cool too :thumb: :thumb:

This building looks like my old buildings used to look, and by that i mean TONS of glue lol, back when i did not know that only a TINY bit of glue was needed to hold the pieces together, a little more fragile this way, but a heck of a lot better in looks!!! :mrgreen:

Looking forward to seeing more :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 

Nazgul

Active Member
Deano...We are on the same page :thumb:. I was hoping that it would look like they painted the glass, and I also have a sheet of wood cut to cover up a window (I'll cut more if I don't like how the painted windows turn out).

Gus....You've have enough magic in your own hands!:mrgreen::winker::thumb:

Josh...Thanks! You may have gotten too much glue here and there in the beginning, But I'm proclaiming you "THE KING OF PLASTIC KITS" TM
You have put together sooooo many in the last couple of years....and each one better than the last!:thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:
Keep up the excellent work!!!!



I painted the Mine and have started the weathering.....just a couple of pics........I'll post more when it is all finished:




Picture302.jpg



Picture3102.jpg


Take care :wave:
 

Nazgul

Active Member
Finished........sort of :mrgreen:

I just need to paint the cement footings and paint the edge of the open window. The weather was nice for pictures so let's just pretend that I did those two things.......and call this project Finished!!!:winker::thumb:

All of the weathering was done by brush, with paint, ink-wash, and chalk.

Picture338.jpg



Picture343.jpg




Looks like a tree is ready to fall in my neighbor's yard.....:eek:

Picture331.jpg




I added a long pipe to the back of the Mine.......just thought it would look good :twisted:

Picture335.jpg




Picture341.jpg



Although I am pleased with how it turned out....I learned that it is much easier to do it right the first time than trying to fix your (or somebody else's) mistakes.:winker:

Take care:wave:
 

beamish

HO & Steam Engineer
That looks great! I really like the walkway. I might do the same on a kit i got that is missing some bits.

Mike
 

Ralph

Remember...it's for fun!
Looks great Steve! I like the rust highlights. I'm looking forward to seeing it on your layout.
Ralph
 
Top