Foundry Track Structure - Plant #4

Wanting to take a break from track laying and wiring, I recently started building Plant #4, a Walthers background building, as a structure for the foundry track at Willow Springs. While the building itself is a stock kit, I did design a scratchbuilt loading dock for it as a replacement for the supplied concrete steps.

The brick structure was fairly easy to build and has nice details. As the sides were molded in a different color from the front panel, a first step was to paint the wall panels. I used Rust-Oleum 2X Flat Red primer, which covered well without obscuring the molded brick details. The mortar wash was a combination of white and raw umber acrylic along with water and a spritz of window cleaner. The next time I apply a mortar wash, I plan to try 70% alcohol instead of water. After the wash dried I scrubbed the brick surface with a pink eraser to remove excess white.  As a final step in painting the brick walls, I toned them down with a slight application of Red Iron Oxide Pan Pastels. Before assembling the building, I painted the window sills and foundation parts with Concrete Flat Model Master. I painted the windows and door with Poly Scale Empire Green (actually a greyish dark brown). I ended up painting the roof panels this same color as I was unhappy with the coverage with Model Master's Grimy Black Flat. It would be excellent used as a weathering wash, but did not cover as a base color over the plastic roof panels. Other than modifying two of the windows, so that they appear to be open, I followed the instructions for construction of the model.

The loading dock for this structure was a simple introduction to scratchbuilding techniques. Basically, I used a process described by Gerry Leone in a Dream, Plan, Build video. The Walthers building parts and the existing cork on the layout provided the necessary measurements to draw up a plan. The scale size of the lumber for the dock was partially determined by what I had on hand: 6" X 12" for the framing, 3" X 12" for the decking, and 9" X 9" for the posts. I precut the pieces to length on my Northwest Shortline "Chopper".



Having a scale drawing to use as a template is key to this project. After cutting sufficient wood for the entire project, I stained it with my Prego Jar mix, 70% alcohol, India ink, and raw umber acrylic paint. While the pieces dried I taped the drawing down on my work space's plate glass with blue painter's tape. Then I covered the template with wax paper, also taped in place. The first step was to construct the frame directly over the template drawing. I used Aleene's Tacky Glue to glue the parts together. After the framework dried, I set up a backrest or jig as seen in the photo to the right. Then it was a straightforward process to apply glue to the top of the frame and attach five or six deck pieces at a time. After the decking dried, I turned the dock over and glued the posts in place. I later added the bracing to the front of the dock as a final flourish.

With the basic building and dock now constructed, the next step will be to add some additional detailing. At this point I am considering several options:

• Filling the interior with a black construction paper curtain to hide the blue backdrop
• Signage on the building
• "Stuff" on the loading dock
• A shadow box interior for a second floor "office"
• A light over the door