Levi Barry Coal Co.

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
excellent work as usual, thanks for sharing.


I love working with the foam, it carves so quickly and has some smushability (my spell checker doesn't like that word). the sloped foundation will really improve the look of the building, too many of our buildings set on flat ground, and any deviation from that really helps make the scene look real, as opposed to a model building set on a flat table.


Bill Nelson
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Beautiful workmanship

Wow, this is really beautiful. I am enjoying seeing what you and Bill have been doing with carving foam. It looks like an enjoyable medium (media?) to work with.

On another website they talk about using styrene liquid glue to help "etch" and carve the surface of the foam and to round corners. Like you said you would have to be careful with this technique.

Sorry I missed your post about Diane Sawyers and Harlan County. That was not the program I saw on PBS. Sounds like DS and crew sensationalized the poverty and did not do balanced reporting. Thank you for your personal insight in to this fascinating region of the country and its history.

Looking forward to more education from your beautiful modeling.

Doc Tom:thumb:
 

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Mountain Man

Active Member
Don't glue back that knocked off corner. Leave it as a natural occurrence caused by some sort of accident, which will enhance the realism. :cool:
 

Sawdust

Member
Hey Bill I like your word smushability, it fits the product very good. I use it a lot because between my own work & scavaging it from jobsites I keep a good supply. There is one thing I have not seen mentioned is the fact that most of the 1/2" foam board has a plastic membrane on one side & should be removed by simpily peeling back & pulling.

Hey Doc Tom I tried the etching method with a sewing needle dipped in acetone & worked good but very time consuming. You might try it with some hypo needles & have a steady flow of acetone because I was having to dip it every few seconds but I liked the results. I don't think the rubber IV hoses would work. My thought was to set it up like the old Parker fountain pens instead of ink use the acetone fed with a glass bottle. No time for that now though :eek:

Hey Mountain Man been wondering where you've been. I did push that corner back only slightly & I agree it gave some character. I also bent one of the porch posts over & put a few waves in the gutter last night. I don't understand when I want a flaw it comes out perfect wall1

Thanks guys for your responses
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
. I don't understand when I want a flaw it comes out perfect wall1

Thanks guys for your responses


The only way I can hand lay straight track is to try to make it crooked.


I have made some concrete foundations for trestle bents out of some kind of packing they would sues in some auto parts packaging, the smushability would hide irregularities in the hight of the vertical members, making my life much easier.

Bill Nelson
 

Sawdust

Member
I'm going to wrap this little build up. I'm not detailing it much until I place it on the layout. I saw a Commisary in a picture where it sat in the forks of 2 roads. There was a blacktop road with the RR going past the right side of the building. On the other side was a gravel road going up into "The Holler". This could be modeled with the road disapearing around some trees against the backdrop.

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My next phase for the mine project will be some camp houses. I want to build about 8-10 & maybe more. I have made my patterns & will be ordering some windows from Tichy Trains. Most of these will look the same with some exceptions. Sometimes half the porch was enclosed to create another bedroom for a growing family. Thanks for viewing & don't be shy if you have a question or comment.
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
We all mat be weeer yu frum?

We Be frum round cheer, Jus iffin you drink enounh of this well water downstream of the mines you cain't spell no mo. Durn hard to keep an eye on that water glass too.


Bill Nelson

(I once had a George's Iorn Ciry tavern in Bumpass TN.) It had Bumpass on the sign, so the sign got removed when Bumpass got reworked to become Dead Grass/Montgomery Furnace
 

Sawdust

Member
Just for you Mountain Man

I managed to come out of the hills the other day & bought myself a couple of esses just for the sign. There kind of hard to get so sometimes we just use one when we have to.:mrgreen:

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Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Jim,

That is a beautiful building and grammatically correct too.

I like the subtle weathering on the white boards. Very well done!!!
Doc Tom:thumb:
 

Sawdust

Member
Tunnel Portal

Here is my first post in a long time of a tunnel portal for the coal mine area. This will be used coming out of the tunnel behind the coal tipple.
First I made a pattern out of some pieces of cardboard from a box.
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I then transfered this to some 5/16" plywood I had from some cabinet backs.
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Here you can see I scribed some lines to simulate stacked timbers.
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Here I added the framing timbers.
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I then stained them to bring out the wood grain & the scribed lines.
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I crumbled some heavy duty aluminum foil to simulate the rock surface inside the tunnel & painted with gray primer then misted some brown & black on.
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Thanks for viewing & any comments or questions are welcomed.
 

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Beautiful tunnel and portal

Hey Jim

THe tunnel and portal are beautiful. The crumbled aluminum is the way to go for a simple effective tunnel interior. Once again your wood working skills are very evident in this small scale. Very impressive. You could make a RTV mold of the tunnel and mass produce beautiful plaster or resin castings. Very nice detail and workmanship!!!
Doc Tom
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
It is good to see some progress.

Else where, doing your rock be sure to tilt the strata some, too may horizontal lines get visually boring, up in the mountains the strata gets tilted, bent and broken. My dad studied geology before he got into forestry, and he made me look at rocks a lot.


Bill Nelson
 
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