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bagpiper
12-25-2010, 01:41 PM
Well I thought it about time to start another build. It is The Phantom Manor by Rey Keim. Another splendid model that is free.
So here we go with the videos. Sorry about the camera shake. Yes I know I can get rid of it. I need to check to see if I have the camera shake setting turned on - will do that later.
So lets get started

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peter taft
12-25-2010, 01:53 PM
Hey..... This is brilliant matey ! Great to see you back at model building. The effort for the windows is well worth it ;) And yet again i play the videos time and time again - Your voice is very relaxing.... you should have been a Blue Peter Presenter, doing all those Blue Peter Makes - Yes i still watch them on You Tube :rolleyes: Look forward to seeing the next instalment :)

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 02:14 PM
Having built the Bates House I was familiar with Rey Keim's wonderful models. I gave it to one of my friends who is into classic movies. Having been away from modeling for a while I decided it time to build another of Rey's fine models and chose The Phantom Manor.

I chose to print out sheet 31 which has the optional windows. If you don't print these out you will just have the flat windows - which look just fine. But I wanted to use these. The only thing to remember here is that if you use the optional windows you need to put the shutters on first.

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 02:14 PM
You need to make mountain and valley folds on the windows so I use this pin to mark the line. Then I can score the line on the opposite side by joining up the dots so to speak. Lastly is that if you are going to go to the trouble of using the optional windows then make sure you hide the dotted orange lines. I use my favourite derwent water colour pencils for this.

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 02:15 PM
In addition to hiding the orange fold lines - remember to colour the edges of the shutters and the slots as well. Last thing is the black and white fold lines need colouring too. Just be aware of how the part is going to fit and see if the white is going to show.

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 02:16 PM
I sanded the back of part 1A to remove any debris from the slots and window frames. The sanding stick is held flat on the paper so as to not rip the window frames. Next I used the CA glue. This, if you have never used it, gives the paper an extremely rigid and firm feel to it when the glue sets - which is very quickly. I did this to protect the slim window frames when I was colouring the edges.

Shown here is the glue and the applicator. Just drop it on the paper. Do a trial run if your not sure about using it. :)

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 02:16 PM
Edges sanded, window frame has CA glue applied, slots and edges coloured in. Last thing I did was to use a wallpaper roller on the long edge to give me a sharp and clean edge to join to the next piece.

This took me about 6 hours in total due to going with the optional windows - but it is going to be worth the extra effort.

So until next time - happy modeling and see you all around.

And before you ask yes this is aimed at beginners and if I can help, then whey not. I have had a lot of help so this is my way of paying back and hopefully this will be of help to others.

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 02:25 PM
Hey..... This is brilliant matey ! Great to see you back at model building. The effort for the windows is well worth it ;) And yet again i play the videos time and time again - Your voice is very relaxing.... you should have been a Blue Peter Presenter, doing all those Blue Peter Makes - Yes i still watch them on You Tube :rolleyes: Look forward to seeing the next instalment :)

Thanks Peter. Appreciate your comments as always. I was watching Only Fools and Horses clips from the BBC on their YouTube channel. Then there was Porridge - another classic.

See you around mate.
Cheers
Jim

kenlwest
12-25-2010, 02:58 PM
Great Videos! Those windows are very realistic-looking! Well worth the effort!

Ken

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 03:01 PM
Thanks a lot Ken. It adds a lot of extra time doing each window but as one of the gurus here called Yogi said "it is not a race - it's an adventure".

Looking forward to seeing you around.

Cheers
Jim

B-Manic
12-25-2010, 05:45 PM
Those windows look great James. Thanks for the CA glue tip.

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 05:57 PM
Those windows look great James. Thanks for the CA glue tip.

Well thank you kind sir. I appreciate your kind words. It makes the paper almost rock hard and all you do is put a few drops in place. Let me know when you get a chance to try it out.

All the best
Jim

SCEtoAUX
12-25-2010, 06:14 PM
The build looks real good so far. The extra effort on the windows really sets it off.

The CA glue stuff is great for what you describe. I have used it to stiffen gear teeth on some models. :)

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 06:19 PM
The build looks real good so far. The extra effort on the windows really sets it off.

The CA glue stuff is great for what you describe. I have used it to stiffen gear teeth on some models. :)

You know this is what makes this whole place worth while. :) The simple little bits of encouragement means a lot to me and all the people in here. Thanks troops. Just please don't ask about the Gee Bee OK? lol

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 11:48 PM
This second part took about 7 hours total. But I am taking my time more with the cuts. Yesterday I was hacking away - today I am taking multiple slow strokes on each cut. Makes a much cleaner edge on the slots and less slipping with the blade. So for this we need part 2A and sheet 31 to cut out a further 5 optional windows. You have probably seen image 3 before but if you haven't this is my scribing tool. It is a rounded off blade. Very smooth and round and cuts nothing. It makes a really good tool for scoring fold lines and is very narrow. The blue ice cream lid is my glue tray. What I like about it is that when the glue is dry - as you can see here the glue pulls straight off in one go and I can re-use the lid.

The knife handle I use is the Olfa. I have Olfa blades but still working through my x-acto and Excel. I re-started a thread today to see if I can get some tips on how people are finding their blades.

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 11:48 PM
I showed a picture of the slots because they need to be cut out and not just slit with a blade. You need to make sure to give enough room for a piece of card to be pushed into the slot and if you don't make it big enough it will buckle the card stock.

The light with the magnifier is one wonderful tool indeed. For cutting the slits and most precision cuts I used this. Lot of pennies but well worth it in my opinion.

Next three just show the sanding stick as before to smooth out the back of the card after cutting all the holes. I turn the card over so I can see where I have missed cutting on the other side.

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bagpiper
12-25-2010, 11:49 PM
Part 2A with the windows and slots all cut out - same as in part 1A.

These Westcott scissors come in a pack of 3 different sizes. These have a curved blade and I used these to trip up the windows after I had done the major cuts with the blade.

And again you see my roller pressing down the edges prior to gluing.

If you read my Gee Bee thread you will have seen me do this before but I use my x-acto box as a base to help me hold card in place while colouring the edges.

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 11:50 PM
Other than a little bit of ripped paper at the top this window came out OK. To me the cut out looks just fine.

Part 2A with all the shutters attached. It is starting to take shape now. Again just remember if you are going to use the optional windows then the shutters must go on first.

Both my rulers have cork on the back as well. Standard hobby rulers but I found that the ones without the cork slipped all over the place. With these you also have a lip to see under so you can follow the line by leaning on the edge of the ruler. The ruler no longer blocks the line you are cutting.

And again using my x-acto block as a former to hold my window prior to colouring the edges.

bagpiper
12-25-2010, 11:50 PM
And after the colour has been applied.

Now this is one place I really need a hand. I have part 1A and 2A squared up but I have a heck of a job gluing long edges. Any tips on how you do this would be much appreciated.

Both parts seen glued together with a total of 11 cut out windows - so far.

Progress has been good due to hammering away at it and having an understanding wife.

Just be prepared for the extra work if you do the optional windows - but it is well worth the extra effort. Had I thought about it more I would have used some plastic in the windows as well to look like glass.

APA-168
12-26-2010, 12:03 AM
Wow Jim, those windows are phenomenal. Truly adds that extra "flare" or whatever you want to call it. Sorry I can't help you with your question (something I've struggled with myself) but I'm sure there are others who can.

Can't wait to see more! :)

bagpiper
12-26-2010, 12:05 AM
Wow! your quick. lol. But flare sounds as good as anything. Thanks for your comments and again I am behind on mail as I was too busy building and posting I guess. But I will check it out soon - I promise.
I just added another video if you care to see it. Nothing exciting but may not have been here when you checked a moment ago.

Cheers
Jim

Cartonator
12-26-2010, 07:05 AM
Great work and great idea presenting it with a video!
Greetings from Vienna, Austria
Manfred

airdave
12-26-2010, 08:19 AM
since you have added the 3D window interiors, why not go one further and double or triple the outer Window Frame parts?
simple matter of reprinting the window frames and laminating the extra layers.

I can't tell you how much I have wanted to build all of Ray's designs!
I found the Haunted Dimensions site a couple of years back...
and I have dreamed of assembly every one of the models!

Alas, the lack of room issue comes to the front again!

I'm glad someone else is doing it for me!

after watching so far, I am thinking I might be able to tackle a reduced scale version of this and other Haunted buildings!

*suggestion Jim....that Gee Bee could always be used as a wreckage...
crashed into the Haunted Mansion or in the front yard!?
I'm just saying, if you didn't want to finish the plane?!...LOL

bagpiper
12-26-2010, 08:44 AM
Great work and great idea presenting it with a video!
Greetings from Vienna, Austria
Manfred

Many thanks for your nice comment mate. Appreciated Sir.

since you have added the 3D window interiors, why not go one further and double or triple the outer Window Frame parts?
simple matter of reprinting the window frames and laminating the extra layers.

I can't tell you how much I have wanted to build all of Ray's designs!
I found the Haunted Dimensions site a couple of years back...
and I have dreamed of assembly every one of the models!

Alas, the lack of room issue comes to the front again!

I'm glad someone else is doing it for me!

after watching so far, I am thinking I might be able to tackle a reduced scale version of this and other Haunted buildings!

*suggestion Jim....that Gee Bee could always be used as a wreckage...
crashed into the Haunted Mansion or in the front yard!?
I'm just saying, if you didn't want to finish the plane?!...LOL

Some nice tips there AirDave. Thanks. Very nice idea about laminating the window frames.

I think that the Gee Bee may end up that way though. I do want to finish it but - well you know the story mate. I'm still looking for tips on gluing long edges as that is one area that is a real pain for me. So any help would be appreciated on that front.

Cheers guys and see you around.

p.s. looks like we got a party going on in the B*****ing Corner if anyone wants to join in. Must bring food or drink though. lol

bagpiper
12-26-2010, 09:48 AM
I MUST REMEMBER THIS IS THE PHANTOM MANOR AND NOT THE HAUNTED MANSION. Sorry I keep getting the name wrong - This is The Phantom Manor. sheesh!

Anyway just another video to recap on the text and pictures. I need to stop saying "um" :):):)

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bagpiper
12-26-2010, 03:49 PM
No major builds here but starting on wall 3. I have another video done and wall 3 is completed at the time of posting this. Will put some pictures up soon on that.

Cheers
Jim

ll-PeekzIGo

bagpiper
12-26-2010, 05:01 PM
Last update for the day. I have this part completed and added to the other parts. Just got the final wall to finish the base of it. So far it's been a lot of work but a lot of fun too.

Cheers
Jim

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cardist
12-26-2010, 07:26 PM
Hi Jim,

Good to see you back with a modelling thread and a very fine one at that too.

With regards to you problem on gluing long edges, my solution is to use UHU general purpose glue. As it is solvent based it dries slower and has more working time and so allows more 'jiggling' of the joint. I also find that if you are not happy with the positioning, if you are quick enough, you can gently pull the joint apart before the glue sets-up.

I hope this is helpful to you and I look forward to enjoying the rest of your build.

Happy modelling,
Bernie

bagpiper
12-26-2010, 07:31 PM
Hi Jim,

Good to see you back with a modelling thread and a very fine one at that too.

With regards to you problem on gluing long edges, my solution is to use UHU general purpose glue. As it is solvent based it dries slower and has more working time and so allows more 'jiggling' of the joint. I also find that if you are not happy with the positioning, if you are quick enough, you can gently pull the joint apart before the glue sets-up.

I hope this is helpful to you and I look forward to enjoying the rest of your build.

Happy modelling,
Bernie

Thanks Bernie and good to be back. I never lost my love of this medium just had a lot on my mind. ;-)
My problem is holding everything in place. But I guess I need to practice on non-critical scraps of paper. lol

I like the idea of trying the solvent based glue as it would probably not cause the paper to wrinkle up.

Thanks for the tips and looking forward to seeing you around.

Cheers
Jim

peter taft
12-26-2010, 09:04 PM
Very nice Jim - love the Videos mate. The tip for the edge gluing from Bernie is a great tip. I use nothing but glue sticks - One of the newer ones has a longer drying time, but seems not to wrinkle the edges {depends on card stock thickness} If push comes to shove - Try this... Get some double sided adhesive tape {you can get this in various widths} and it is REALLY strong and pliable. Once you are happy with the positioning of the LONG joint press it down firmly - i have used this method and it tends to do the trick. I also put a band of card over the back of the long joint after the line up is done {using your standard white tacky glue} This joint is then well and truly stuck - and STRONG. Look forward to the next up-date mate. :)

ghshinn
12-26-2010, 11:18 PM
Jim, I use self clamping tweezers for long joints (some small ones, too.) I put together a castle from FG for my granddaughter that had extremely long joints, and they seemed to work very well.

Garland

bagpiper
12-27-2010, 03:22 PM
Very nice Jim - love the Videos mate. The tip for the edge gluing from Bernie is a great tip. I use nothing but glue sticks - One of the newer ones has a longer drying time, but seems not to wrinkle the edges {depends on card stock thickness} If push comes to shove - Try this... Get some double sided adhesive tape {you can get this in various widths} and it is REALLY strong and pliable. Once you are happy with the positioning of the LONG joint press it down firmly - i have used this method and it tends to do the trick. I also put a band of card over the back of the long joint after the line up is done {using your standard white tacky glue} This joint is then well and truly stuck - and STRONG. Look forward to the next up-date mate. :)

Wonderful! Thanks Peter. This was one thing I could not figure out on my own. Appreciate the tips

Jim, I use self clamping tweezers for long joints (some small ones, too.) I put together a castle from FG for my granddaughter that had extremely long joints, and they seemed to work very well.

Garland

Hi Garland. Long tweezers is something I don't have. I have one small pair of clamping tweezers so that is not helping.
I need to site down and take on board everyones very helpful tips and see what works for me. Thanks again everyone.

Cheers
Jim

SCEtoAUX
12-27-2010, 04:04 PM
Here is a picture of a set of squeeze to open tweezers I use.
71637

I also have a 1/4" acrylic seam guide used by quilters that is around 12" long to help in reaching inside and holding down long glue joints.

bagpiper
12-27-2010, 04:04 PM
:):):):):) I just have to share this news with all of you. I just got this message from RAY KEIM - the GREAT MAN HIMSELF no less.

"Jim, this is FANTASTIC! Not only are your tutorials and tips very good, your on-air style is relaxed and fun! I wish everyone who builds my Phantom manor would watch these first! Thank you!"

Wow! This has really made this build something special to me. I am just so pleased that Ray has said these kind words on this thread. It has pleased me more than I can say. Thanks Ray. OK I may be getting over excited but why the heck not. :):):):):):)

He also put this up on his face book page:
‎"Bagpiper" Jim, from papermodelers.com is creating a fantastic tutorial on the building of my Phantom Manor paper model! He is combining video and photos of his construction process and it is full of thoughtful tips. If you are planning to build the Phantom Manor, please follow this tutorial! This is just one video ...<Ray links to YouTUBE here>

I just had to share this with everyone here.

Cheers
Jim :):):) (Am I smiling too much?) :):):):):):)

bagpiper
12-27-2010, 04:06 PM
Here is a picture of a set of squeeze to open tweezers I use.
71637

I also have a 1/4" acrylic seam guide used by quilters that is around 12" long to help in reaching inside and holding down long glue joints.

Nice. Sorry I was typing at the same time you were. Sounds like some more trips to the local hobby store are in order real soon.

Thanks again.
Cheers
Jim

cardist
12-27-2010, 04:42 PM
Hi Jim,
Further to my previous suggestion, I also use a piece of square ABS stock for getting into the inside of the joint. This has the added advantage of lining everything up square and applying pressure to the joint too. I've supplied a couple of pics to illustrate, hope they say it better.
Bernie

bagpiper
12-27-2010, 04:51 PM
Hi Jim,
Further to my previous suggestion, I also use a piece of square ABS stock for getting into the inside of the joint. This has the added advantage of lining everything up square and applying pressure to the joint too. I've supplied a couple of pics to illustrate, hope they say it better.
Bernie

Wow! You guys and girls are just fantastic with the tips. Shopping trip here we go. Thanks Bernie. I know that yours and the rest of the teams tips will come in handy for many people and not just me. Wonderful stuff. Can this day get any better I ask myself.

Cheers
Jim

p.s Bernie. My Brother pinged me on facebook because I was mixing a single malt Whisky (without the E) with diet soda. I think I am becoming Americanised with my drinking. Robert Burns will be turning in his grave. lol

cardist
12-27-2010, 04:58 PM
[QUOTE=bagpiper;184413
p.s Bernie. My Brother pinged me on facebook because I was mixing a single malt Whisky (without the E) with diet soda. I think I am becoming Americanised with my drinking. Robert Burns will be turning in his grave. lol[/QUOTE]

Shame on you Jim! Tut,tut. Its all right to dilute the American stuff (with an 'e'), in fact I think it tastes better with soda!

SJPONeill
12-27-2010, 05:27 PM
Looking great, Jim...and some great tips here...adding a little 3D has such a great effect!!!

SCEtoAUX
12-27-2010, 05:29 PM
And I thought it was sacrilege when someone put some ice cubes in a glass with a 15 year old Laphroaig single malt. But diet soda with a whisky??!!!http://undergroundfreakz.com/s/otn/shocked/Wow1.gif

Hang in there, bud, you'll get over it. :)

ghshinn
12-27-2010, 05:52 PM
Jim,

If we could but see ourselves as others see us. (Sorry, I can't do the dialect.) I suspect Mr. Burns would be gracious.

Garland

peter taft
12-27-2010, 05:53 PM
:):):):):) I just have to share this news with all of you. I just got this message from RAY KEIM - the GREAT MAN HIMSELF no less.

"Jim, this is FANTASTIC! Not only are your tutorials and tips very good, your on-air style is relaxed and fun! I wish everyone who builds my Phantom manor would watch these first! Thank you!"

Wow! This has really made this build something special to me. I am just so pleased that Ray has said these kind words on this thread. It has pleased me more than I can say. Thanks Ray. OK I may be getting over excited but why the heck not. :):):):):):)

He also put this up on his face book page:
‎"Bagpiper" Jim, from papermodelers.com is creating a fantastic tutorial on the building of my Phantom Manor paper model! He is combining video and photos of his construction process and it is full of thoughtful tips. If you are planning to build the Phantom Manor, please follow this tutorial! This is just one video ...<Ray links to YouTUBE here>

I just had to share this with everyone here.

Cheers
Jim :):):) (Am I smiling too much?) :):):):):):)

Hey.... Good on you Jim ! The guy is right.... this is an excellent thread - and very well put together - I'd smile alot too.

SCEtoAUX
12-27-2010, 06:04 PM
Yep, it is a good thread on the contruction of the building showing how a little extra effort really pays off in the final product. :)

bagpiper
12-27-2010, 07:11 PM
Hey.... Good on you Jim ! The guy is right.... this is an excellent thread - and very well put together - I'd smile alot too.

Yep, it is a good thread on the contruction of the building showing how a little extra effort really pays off in the final product. :)

Thanks gents. I appreciate your comments and help along the way.

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
12-27-2010, 09:46 PM
Part 4a at last. The first 3 walls had a lot of windows but today is easy street. Last wall for the main section and it is part 4A. The first image is out of place with this update but I tried the Pitt Pen using a ruler as a guide in order to cover up the orange and white lines. It worked but it feels rushed. You have to move the pen so quickly otherwise the ink will bleed. Anyway thought I would try it - it worked.

OK Wall 4A. Today after the splendid tips both here and in other threads - I went shopping. Rather than just get the excel blades or the x-acto blades I got all 3 and bought a box of Olfa blades as well. I just cant make up my mind what I prefer.

I used a UHU Glue stick to coat the edge with glue rather than trying to use Almer's or Aleene's glue. It did a great job of covering a large area without drying out. Thanks for this tip guys. The 4th and 5th pictures show I have the edge done resting on the former I used to support the paper to give me something firm to hold it against.

I used a box of DVD cases as they were at hand but I will make a better one later. So as to not crush the windows I used my blade boxes to support the former. Put some glue on the edge then using the former glued both parts together. I have never had this go so smoothly before so this is a technique I will be using in future.

Last 3 pictures are just where we are as of today.

I guess the biggest thing I learned today is when trying to glue long edges use a glue stick. Have a former to hold the edge stable while you glue against the paper. And check that each wall is the right way up before gluing it in place. Common sense but check twice and glue once.

I have 2 more videos and will put them up tomorrow.

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
12-28-2010, 11:32 AM
I mention an earlier video that I decided to not use. It was too repetitive. But this is where I leave the build for today. After reviewing the video I will go around all the corners and windows with my pencils as there are still a lot of white edges. It is more visible with the camera that when your looking at the model though.

S3is-UpcWbg

Doubting Thomas
12-28-2010, 12:23 PM
Jim,

Great videos going there. Looks really cold there in MO. Good for model making time!
Didn't think the guys here (on the forum) would be so interested in architectural models. Since they are in technical/engineering, aerospace and military fields and graphic arts.

You might want to put a vertical foamcore foundation on the inside edge/bottom to give the house some more rigidity. Also a base with outside decorations might be to
your liking too. (ie: spooky trees, tombstones, etc.)

Jefferey

bagpiper
12-28-2010, 12:41 PM
Looking great, Jim...and some great tips here...adding a little 3D has such a great effect!!!

Hey! Thanks Simon. I am amazed myself at how this is all coming together. And adding the windows has made this model come alive that's for sure.

All the best for 2011

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
12-28-2010, 12:56 PM
Jim,

Great videos going there. Looks really cold there in MO. Good for model making time!
Didn't think the guys here (on the forum) would be so interested in architectural models. Since they are in technical/engineering, aerospace and military fields and graphic arts.

You might want to put a vertical foamcore foundation on the inside edge/bottom to give the house some more rigidity. Also a base with outside decorations might be to
your liking too. (ie: spooky trees, tombstones, etc.)

Jefferey

And let's not forget the understanding wife too. lol. I love the spooky stuff so that's how I ended up finding Ray Keim's work. I think that if it involves paper there will be someone interested in it. lol

Nice idea about the foamcore too. Don't have any but sounds like yet another shopping trip real soon.

As always thanks for your support and ideas.

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
12-28-2010, 06:37 PM
Did you know that you can create a setting in your printer settings and save it? If you didn't then this is a great time saver. I have a setting and saved it as Card Models. It uses best quality and has all the settings I use for card modeling. Anyhoo just thought I would mention this.

Part 5A and 6A are the top and bottom of the main building. For this I used my 110lb card as I it tends to sit idle in the drawer. It is a great card but it is too heavy for some smaller parts if you need to put folds in place. But it is a nice weight of card for hidden parts such as this. Points to remember are that both parts use valley folds so mark them with pin holes and score away on the other side to get your fold marks.

Remember to cut the corner out in image 4 and 5. I also cut all the smaller cuts first then go for the long cuts. That way on the small cuts the paper has a lot of support from the remaining card and your not trying to cut a piece without any support. Make sense?

One thing I highly recommend is to do a dry fit on these parts. Ray has done a fantastic job on the fit and if you happen to make it even slightly too big it will be a struggle to get it in. I had to cut the corners of the top piece to get it in place. I suggest you score the lines on the inside of the orange dotted line. It will make the pieces just a fraction smaller but then the edges are folded it will fit snug but not too tight - which is what happened to me as the folds ended up on the wrong side of the line. Using the thicker card also added to the extra thickness of the fold line.

I put up the measuring cube so you could see the size of the clothes pegs. They are tiny and were bought in a scrap book shop. They work great for holding long edges like this in place while I mess around and fiddle with the peice. I tried to use liquid glue but managed to make the pieces soggy. I just wanted to try a different glue on the long edges. I will be going back to the glue stick again. I just wanted to have a comparison and after a couple of goes with both liquid glue and glue sticks - the glue sticks are coming out way ahead. For long edges at least. Have not tried them on small pieces but will try that next.

cCXTk1gGb80

peter taft
12-28-2010, 07:17 PM
Nicely done Jim. The pegs you are using - my wife has packets of these for making Gift cards and the likes, i NEVER thought of these has a TOOL for this job - well, well, well.... my life on the long edge is much easier now - Thank you

PS... I just tried one of the pegs, i didn't realise they were this strong... Hey hey, guess i will have to get some of my own {or borrow them from her on a permanent basis ;) } Thanks again :)

bagpiper
12-28-2010, 07:26 PM
Nicely done Jim. The pegs you are using - my wife has packets of these for making Gift cards and the likes, i NEVER thought of these has a TOOL for this job - well, well, well.... my life on the long edge is much easier now - Thank you

PS... I just tried one of the pegs, i didn't realise they were this strong... Hey hey, guess i will have to get some of my own {or borrow them from her on a permanent basis ;) } Thanks again :)

Hi Peter. Yeah! And your tip on using the glue sticks helped me as well. Looks like between these clothes pegs and glue sticks we have both learned from each other here. Sweet. ;-)
I also took Bernie's tip on trying the UHU glue as well. Looks like I may end up using UHU Glue sticks a lot more. I will let you guys know how I get on.

Thanks again Peter. Now! Over to Valery Singlton who is going to show you how to make a space ship from a washing up bottle and a stick of dynamite. :eek::eek::eek::eek:

Cheers
Jim

peter taft
12-28-2010, 07:37 PM
Hi Peter. Yeah! And your tip on using the glue sticks helped me as well. Looks like between these clothes pegs and glue sticks we have both learned from each other here. Sweet. ;-)

Thanks again Peter. Now! Over to Valery Singlton who is going to show you how to make a space ship from a washing up bottle and a stick of dynamite. :eek::eek::eek::eek:

Cheers
Jim

You made my day... i was just taking a nip of Glenfiddich when i read this :eek: CHOKE, CRY, LAUGH but not in that order, ta very much you bugger :)

bagpiper
12-28-2010, 07:41 PM
Here is a picture of a set of squeeze to open tweezers I use.
71637

I also have a 1/4" acrylic seam guide used by quilters that is around 12" long to help in reaching inside and holding down long glue joints.

Hey Doug. I went shopping yesterday but could not find the seam guide. Do you have a brand or trade name I could look for or a picture please. They had quilters pin guides but not sure if that is what you meant.

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
12-28-2010, 07:42 PM
You made my day... i was just taking a nip of Glenfiddich when i read this :eek: CHOKE, CRY, LAUGH but not in that order, ta very much you bugger :)

And as it's 7:30pm its time for my 12 year old Single Malt too.

cheers mate. "Ching ching"

Jim

peter taft
12-28-2010, 07:50 PM
I stood you a round in the cardboard lounge.... enjoy {wish i could in reality} Off to bed soon, so goodnight and God bless mate. Laters.

bagpiper
12-28-2010, 09:13 PM
I stood you a round in the cardboard lounge.... enjoy {wish i could in reality} Off to bed soon, so goodnight and God bless mate. Laters.

One of these days mate I will get back over there. Then watch out. lol
All the best. And as an old time comedian used to say "may your God go with you" Remember who that was? His show used to be on late at night in the 1970's. Thanks for the drink.

Cheers
Jim

peter taft
12-29-2010, 05:20 AM
One of these days mate I will get back over there. Then watch out. lol
All the best. And as an old time comedian used to say "may your God go with you" Remember who that was? His show used to be on late at night in the 1970's. Thanks for the drink.

Cheers
Jim

That would be nice :) and the answer is...... Dave Allen - one of THE best ;)

CbgqtvJOJus

GaryPilsworth
12-29-2010, 06:33 AM
That would be nice :) and the answer is...... Dave Allen - one of THE best ;)

CbgqtvJOJus

ROTRLMAO .......
I had forgotten about Dave Allen, a classic

SCEtoAUX
12-29-2010, 07:57 AM
Hey Doug. I went shopping yesterday but could not find the seam guide. Do you have a brand or trade name I could look for or a picture please. They had quilters pin guides but not sure if that is what you meant.

Cheers
Jim

Here is a website with a 7" guide to give you an idea of what they look like.
COLLINS QUILT 1/4" SEAM GUIDE 7" LONG CLEAR ACRYLIC (http://www.amapparelsupply.com/servlet/the-8263/COLLINS-QUILT-1-fdsh-4%22-SEAM/Detail)
The one I use is 12" long made of clear acrylic. They come in assorted sizes apparently. You can probably find them at quilting and fabric stores. I forget where I snagged the one I use. :)

Here are a couple of pictures of the one I use. The first one shows the length.
71799

The next one is an end shot showing the 1/4" cross section. The scale is 1cm squares.
71800

bagpiper
12-29-2010, 09:24 AM
I knew that you would know it was Dave Allen Peter. Agreed Gary! Dave Allen was indeed a classic. I am not sure his shows travelled across the pond as they were a little politically incorrect even by liberal British television standards. Heck just look at some of the early Carry On Movies. :eek: :):):)

Thanks Doug for the pictures too mate. This is not what I was looking at in the hobby store so I am glad I held back on my purchase. Either way it looks like I need to get myself this or something similar. Bernie showed me a block of acrylic so it looks like this is what I am missing in my arsenal of tools.

Thanks again everyone.

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
12-29-2010, 07:12 PM
I decided to name the update with the part number I am working on. So this update is called "The Phantom Manor - Ray Keim - Part 7A, Part 8A and Part 15D" Thanks to those on YouTUBE for your subscription to these videos also.

One thing I wanted to mention is cutting out the slits. I found it very hard to cut the short edge of the slit so what I do is turn the blade around so it is facing away from you. That way when you push the tip down it does not cut the paper towards you but away from you. As the paper at the back is going to be hidden then a little extra cutting towards the back will be invisible. I also found that hold the blade this way did a really good job of cutting the small sides. Try it out and see what you think. This is shown in the second picture.

As I mentioned in the video, now were at the stage of cutting, scoring and gluing with nothing really different to talk about. Very much more of the same until we get to the roof I feel. So here we are already at parts 7a, 8a and 15d. I did what I said in the video and glued them all together in one piece first. Then this was glued to the base of the model. Really it should not matter but make sure you keep each of these parts flat when your gluing them in place or you will get a wobbly base. The camera is really good at seeing things I missed with my edge colouring so will be catching up on that as well.

I have some minor gaps but anyone who knows houses understand that gaps occur in real life so I am fine with that.

I really need to get myself an acrylic block to glue against as this is one thing that is really causing me a headache. I used the glue stick entirely for this part and it is really starting to work well for me with large areas.

Again! Another great big thank you to everyone for your support. With over 1000 viewers already I am sure it is not just me who is finding the tips that you guys add very helpful indeed.

G0nSiu31KrA

peter taft
12-29-2010, 07:29 PM
Jim... This is fast becoming one of THE cleanest and PRECISE builds here. I was so pleased you used the Glue stick idea, and that it worked for you. Nearly all {98%} of my builds are made using this glue stick - and they are still STUCK, infact, the first model {a Scratch built Fireball XL5} on the other Forum is still in good shape {same Glue} but some of the tiny parts were put on using the white tacky glue.... and when really needed, some CA glue. All in all Jim, this is a damn fine build and thread ;)

bagpiper
12-29-2010, 07:41 PM
Jim... This is fast becoming one of THE cleanest and PRECISE builds here. I was so pleased you used the Glue stick idea, and that it worked for you. Nearly all {98%} of my builds are made using this glue stick - and they are still STUCK, infact, the first model {a Scratch built Fireball XL5} on the other Forum is still in good shape {same Glue} but some of the tiny parts were put on using the white tacky glue.... and when really needed, some CA glue. All in all Jim, this is a damn fine build and thread ;)

Your always there with your words of support Peter. Thanks. I also have the double sided tape that I may try soon but getting a lot of good feeling about the glue sticks I may "stick" with them. (sic) I have 3 different types. Which ones do you use Peter. I know Bernie spoke about the UHU glue but I have those plus two kinds of Elmers glue sticks.

Cheers and I am really enjoying this build. While I am learning others are too. Then you guys come out with the helpful hints and tips. It is a win win for everyone mate.

Hey! You've made me miss my 7:30pm drink - back in a moment. :eek::eek::eek:

Cheers :):)
Jim

bagpiper
12-29-2010, 07:53 PM
Ahhhhh! That's better. Johhny Walker Black Label and ice. Much better. Sorry I had to dash Peter. lol

peter taft
12-29-2010, 07:57 PM
Your always there with your words of support Peter. Thanks. I also have the double sided tape that I may try soon but getting a lot of good feeling about the glue sticks I may "stick" with them. (sic) I have 3 different types. Which ones do you use Peter. I know Bernie spoke about the UHU glue but I have those plus two kinds of Elmers glue sticks.

Cheers and I am really enjoying this build. While I am learning others are too. Then you guys come out with the helpful hints and tips. It is a win win for everyone mate.

Hey! You've made me miss my 7:30pm drink - back in a moment. :eek::eek::eek:

Cheers :):)
Jim

Just had mine :cool: :) The sticks i use are SOOOOOO cheap, but SOOOOO good to use are the PRITT POWER STICKS - the one in the grey tube. The others they have are normal sticks, but don't work has well as the Power ones. I tried several tests with them, and when the power stick sticks - it stays stuck. I tried pulling a joint apart after it had fully dried, the glue kept the joint together, but the rest of it fell apart :) Great holding and gives time to line things up {like you have found}. I can't remember the year i put the XL5 together {the 1st one} have al ook on the other forum, but she is still held steadfast. Some guys won't use it, saying it goes lumpy underneath parts - i never had this problem, but it could be that it happens in colder climes - i always agitate it's surface before applying it to the card stock {warms it up a wee bit}. I have also used a WILCO brand of stick, and found this to be a fare one - and really cheap too, i have used it on test builds and it works ok, but not quite as good as Pritt Power Sticks.

bagpiper
12-29-2010, 08:09 PM
Just had mine :cool: :) The sticks i use are SOOOOOO cheap, but SOOOOO good to use are the PRITT POWER STICKS - the one in the grey tube. The others they have are normal sticks, but don't work has well as the Power ones. I tried several tests with them, and when the power stick sticks - it stays stuck. I tried pulling a joint apart after it had fully dried, the glue kept the joint together, but the rest of it fell apart :) Great holding and gives time to line things up {like you have found}. I can't remember the year i put the XL5 together {the 1st one} have al ook on the other forum, but she is still held steadfast. Some guys won't use it, saying it goes lumpy underneath parts - i never had this problem, but it could be that it happens in colder climes - i always agitate it's surface before applying it to the card stock {warms it up a wee bit}. I have also used a WILCO brand of stick, and found this to be a fare one - and really cheap too, i have used it on test builds and it works ok, but not quite as good as Pritt Power Sticks.

Well!!! Go get another one. Sheesh! :rolleyes: I recall the Dave Allen always had a drink on television. Ah the good old days of political incorrectness. :rolleyes: I forgot all about Pritt Sticks. Not sure if they sell them in the USA or not but either way I think that I am converted. So far so good. I agree that it goes lumpy but it is all down to application. I found very quickly that multiple small layers worked far better than trying to put on a thicker layer in one go - it went lumpy. I still need to get a "feel" for how it reacts with the paper but so far things are going well. I have to admit that I never really got used to the liquid glue but I also know it works for many. Never heard of Wilco brand either.

lol. I just counted all the glue I have and there is 21 glue dispensers/types on my desk :eek:

Hope we get out of work early tomorrow that's all I can say.

See you around I am sure mate.

Cheers
Jim

peter taft
12-29-2010, 08:24 PM
Hey.... time for bed said Zebbidy {i think that's the spelling} I will bid you a very goodnight Sir Jim and God Bless. Take care mate.

bagpiper
12-29-2010, 08:28 PM
Goodnight said Doogle. lol

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ92s8B-l76NKC_6cJt-ffsO4ggp233plI3CXvDH-C9LvF48oYvKQ

My goodness we're showing our age. lol

Nh3ave2009
12-29-2010, 08:33 PM
OK everyone pay attention!!! This is why I LOVE this hobby and this forum! Fantastic, selfless and inspiring people like Jim here. He and others like Bomarc, Billy L., cotlet, Doris just to name a few. You can tell they love what they do and love to share their knowledge on just what works for them. I have been building models sense I was about 8, building Pl@$t!c, Balsa wood, rockets and never saw the real potential for paper. I do remember seeing in the movie the Elephant man the model he made of the cathedral and thinking how beautiful it was but still never made the connection. I am now 48 and in end stage heart failure and just discovered this hobby not too long ago. and I feel like a kid in a candy store! Thank you Jim very much for your Humility and inspiration!

A fellow white disliker
Dennie!

bagpiper
12-29-2010, 08:57 PM
OK everyone pay attention!!! This is why I LOVE this hobby and this forum! Fantastic, selfless and inspiring people like Jim here. He and others like Bomarc, Billy L., cotlet, Doris just to name a few. You can tell they love what they do and love to share their knowledge on just what works for them. I have been building models sense I was about 8, building Pl@$t!c, Balsa wood, rockets and never saw the real potential for paper. I do remember seeing in the movie the Elephant man the model he made of the cathedral and thinking how beautiful it was but still never made the connection. I am now 48 and in end stage heart failure and just discovered this hobby not too long ago. and I feel like a kid in a candy store! Thank you Jim very much for your Humility and inspiration!

A fellow white disliker
Dennie!

WOW! what can I say my friend. Thank you so very much for your kind words. Goodness me I am very moved by your kindness. I am deeply sorry to hear of your health problems. Gosh! I am just lost for words. Thank you Dennie indeed. Peter Taft has kept me going on many occasions so I owe a lot to him. But to know that one person such as yourself is getting enjoyment and fun from my thread means a lot to me. Peter doesn't count as he is the lead cheerleader of my fan club) lol. The people here inspire me as they helped me so much and as you have read still do. It seems that no matter how long you do this great hobby there is still more to learn. If there is anything I can do better (other than stopping the ums and ahs) then please let me know. I too came from plastic but never had the seem connection. It was more of a glue, build, paint (when I could afford the kits that is) but there was no real connection for me with the plastic models. You know I am 50 years old and my wife just thinks it's paper models and we are all a bunch of kids. But hey! Great to see you in the sweet shop Dennie.

Please look after yourself and thank you again. :)

Cheers and hope to see you around the forum.
Jim

Zathros
12-29-2010, 09:22 PM
Your house, all the bits you've added, really make it special. Is it a house of a home? I think it is fast approaching a home, with all that care into it. There have been a few buildings popping up around here. They are really great and round out the who hobby. The windows, I don't care how much Photoshop someone uses, those windows speak volumes about real texture. I like the videos also. They really give a lot of eye candy.

bagpiper
12-29-2010, 09:35 PM
Your house, all the bits you've added, really make it special. Is it a house of a home? I think it is fast approaching a home, with all that care into it. There have been a few buildings popping up around here. They are really great and round out the who hobby. The windows, I don't care how much Photoshop someone uses, those windows speak volumes about real texture. I like the videos also. They really give a lot of eye candy.

Thank you so much Zathros. I am enjoying doing this. Adding the pictures, text and video adds a lot of time to the build but I think it is worth the effort.

Cheers and see you around.

Jim

Art Deco
12-30-2010, 05:43 AM
Hey Jim! Wonderful work so far! Nice to get a detailed look at this fine model, and I'm very much enjoying your build of it!



One thing I wanted to mention is cutting out the slits. I found it very hard to cut the short edge of the slit (...)
I saw a tip from one of the guys who builds those "eggcrate" internal formers so common in cardstock ship models. Those eggcrate formers have lots of slits to cut.

His technique was to use a punch to cut a small round hole at each end of the slit. Not only was it a lot faster and easier than making those really short inside cuts with a knife, but the round hole was also more resistant to tearing than a standard slit with corners.

I haven't tried this yet myself, but it sounded like a good idea. For a narrow slit, maybe you don't need a punch, maybe an awl or similar tool (a large nail?) will work just as well. A quick test on a piece of scrap card should prove the feasibility for the type of paper and size of slit you are dealing with.

Good luck, keep up the great work!

bagpiper
12-30-2010, 07:24 AM
... His technique was to use a punch to cut a small round hole at each end of the slit. Not only was it a lot faster and easier than making those really short inside cuts with a knife, but the round hole was also more resistant to tearing than a standard slit with corners.

Thanks for this tip mate. Another fine example of what Dennie is talking about. All of us here sharing our knowledge with each other. I love this idea. :) I will let you know how I get on - when I get a punch that is. lol (more shopping)

All the best to you and yours in 2011 ArtDeco.

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
12-30-2010, 11:44 PM
Not too much progress today but got some work done. The pictures really just show a wonderful method for removing the paper from the short side of the slits. Use a hole punch! Then cut two lines from the holes at each end. This was kindly suggested in this thread and works a treat. My thanks to Art Deco for that tip. I am not sure if you call this a hole punch or not put you get the point (sic) :)

I also put up a couple of videos with some tips but you can watch those without me having to babble on about them here.

I also used the Scotch glue sticks. They have a completely different feel that than the UHU glue sticks. They are very sticky and clumpy if your not careful. But the glue goes on very well indeed. Nice thicker layer. It could be because the house is a little hot inside but I do like them so far.

I also used the 1/4" acrylic bar for pushing the flaps against the edges that were glued. The bar has two flat ends and this was a great little tool. And it only cost me $3.49. This was another great tip provided in this thread.

But these videos would not be the same without your kind input. Just in these two videos I have 3 tips that were given to me in this thread so many thanks indeed.

Didn't get away from work as early as I had hoped so did not get much done today. I am trying to get at least a little work done each day on this model or just some tips as I have up on this update.

Cheers
Jim

Eda_VL4o64k Z_oL7ZOTvjQ

Art Deco
12-31-2010, 10:39 AM
Jim, I'm so glad the punch idea worked out! Excellent! I want to give credit where it's due - I did a quick search and found the original post: over in the Tips and Tricks section, Shrike posted this in his thread Easier notches (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tips-tricks/3169-easier-notches.html).

Happy New Year to all! :)

cardist
12-31-2010, 11:09 AM
Hi Jim,
Just love the videos, the Edinburgh accent is unmistakable:). Another thing you have shown us is that you can't have too much glue!
Happy modelling and all the best for the New Year.
Bernie

bagpiper
12-31-2010, 01:18 PM
Jim, I'm so glad the punch idea worked out! Excellent! I want to give credit where it's due - I did a quick search and found the original post: over in the Tips and Tricks section, Shrike posted this in his thread Easier notches (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tips-tricks/3169-easier-notches.html).

Happy New Year to all! :)

Such a simple idea that I had not thought about with the punch. ;-)

Hi Jim,
Just love the videos, the Edinburgh accent is unmistakable:). Another thing you have shown us is that you can't have too much glue!
Happy modelling and all the best for the New Year.
Bernie

I need to clear some of the glue away though as it is taking up too much desk space. lol

Thanks again guys and:

A HAPPY 2011 TO ONE AND ALL.

Jim

SCEtoAUX
12-31-2010, 01:54 PM
Glad to see the 1/4" seam guide worked for you. It has helped me out a lot over the years.

A tip about that rotary leather hole punch is that after a while it starts to need a lot of force to make a clean cut in the cardstock. Sometimes the circle will cut only part way. I have found that some sort of pad on the circular metal plate helps in cutting all of the way through. You can use a small piece of lead or piece of leather or even a corner of a cutting pad. I have used lead plates and hole punches to cut the bolt holes in gasket material when making pipe flange and pump casing gaskets. I use the corner of one of my cutting pads with that leather hole punch. Works good. You have to use just enough pressure to make the hole through the cardstock and not the cutting pad. You leave circular marks on the pad. A source of lead would be the lead flashing used at the top of windows or on roofs around a chimney. You could also flatten out a lead fishing weight. Wear gloves. :)

bagpiper
12-31-2010, 09:21 PM
Glad to see the 1/4" seam guide worked for you. It has helped me out a lot over the years.

A tip about that rotary leather hole punch is that after a while it starts to need a lot of force to make a clean cut in the cardstock. Sometimes the circle will cut only part way. I have found that some sort of pad on the circular metal plate helps in cutting all of the way through. You can use a small piece of lead or piece of leather or even a corner of a cutting pad. I have used lead plates and hole punches to cut the bolt holes in gasket material when making pipe flange and pump casing gaskets. I use the corner of one of my cutting pads with that leather hole punch. Works good. You have to use just enough pressure to make the hole through the cardstock and not the cutting pad. You leave circular marks on the pad. A source of lead would be the lead flashing used at the top of windows or on roofs around a chimney. You could also flatten out a lead fishing weight. Wear gloves. :)

That makes a lot of sense about padding out the back of the hole punch. Thanks. I have been busy today with this model but it will be tomorrow or very late tonight before I get an update done. Was a bit busy today but have several parts that are ready to glue in place.

All the best and thanks again for your valuable tips.

Cheers and have a wonderful 2011

Jim

bagpiper
01-01-2011, 12:28 AM
I decided to complete the entire base first which is a little bit out of sequence but nothing too bad. The reason behind this is that I wanted to make sure I had a good firm base to build upon. So I built parts 9A, 9B and 16A and glued them as well as did the edge treatment.

I did another dry fit of these parts and when I was ready I glued part 9A in place. One thing I have found that the old blade boxes are good at and that is as a weight to hold pieces in place while the glue dries. I ran out of boxes so used some new boxes of Olfa blades as well. But they do a nice job without marking anything.

Once that was dry I glued part 9B to 16A and then put the whole block on in one piece. This is not necessarily the correct way but it was the method I used.

This last piece I held in place with a couple of Irwin grips. Even though I tried to get this all even and straight I still have a couple of overlapping edges. No big deal as I treated every edge and while it is not a smooth edge it has a clean edge.

I used the glue sticks yet again and the only place I needed regular glue was when gluing the stairs on part 9B. This was very fiddly to glue. I also found a couple of places where I missed some more edge treatment but that will be done tomorrow.

This is really last years update. OK then 31 December, 2010 but I wanted to get a proper update before heading off to bed.

Take care and look forward to another exciting year ahead at papermodelers.com

Jim

bagpiper
01-02-2011, 12:34 PM
You are probably wondering why the first picture is of my two stainless steel rulers! Well, I was getting sick of the glare from my light so I sanded the 6" one to see if it would produce less shine - it did. I just used some sandpaper to create a cross hatch but after looking at this picture I will be doing the same with the 15" ruler.

After reading the tips on using acrylic blocks I got this acrylic picture frame from the wife. She got it for 50 cents at a yard sale. All edges are sharp and not rounded. The two pieces are held together with earth magnets so I can use it as a former to glue on, hold paper while I edge treat it, a clamp to bend paper and so on. She got 3 of them so I am very pleased with that.

Yup! You guessed it! More glue sticks. Just trying out the various brands.

The pictures are all explained in the video but the main point here is to cut a slot so the paper will not buckle up when you fold it over. One thing to note is when you are rolling the pieces flat - do it from the side away from the slit. Otherwise the glue will end up on the roller and make a mess of the image.

More updates on the progression are in the video. (sorry I babble on a bit at the end too. lol)

Cheers
Jim

mef65pGmbek

peter taft
01-02-2011, 06:43 PM
Hi Jim. Pleased to see that you are back at it, and you weathered the storm - phew, that was a close call mate. You may have forgotten about this thread :
http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tips-tricks/5962-cheap-hollow-punches.html I had a look round and i think these would be your best bet. Have another look. Your build is looking great thus far Jim - Bye the Bye... can you get the original PRITT STICKS where you are ?

bagpiper
01-02-2011, 09:10 PM
Hi Peter I revisited the link you suggested already but appreciate your suggestion. This is the only one I have seen to my liking. Not had a chance to buy one and test it out yet:

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn91/bomarc_99/IMG_2989.jpg

I have the punch set that you hit with a hammer but I still feel there has to be a more delicate way to make holes in paper. I hope you understand what I mean by delicate. The punch just seems so much like brute force and ignorance rather than any finesse. But I am very intrigued by the one in the image. And it goes down to 1mm which is a lot less than 1/8". Well OK not that much but it is still smaller.

Some person who was selling this one for $99.00 on ebay :eek::eek:
I know that you can buy it for a lot less than that. Time to do some shopping - again.

In answer to your question I have not seen Pritt sticks over in the USA and I have been to some very large hobby shops.

Cheers and speak to you soon.

Cheer
Jim

ghshinn
01-02-2011, 11:20 PM
Jim,

I immediately recognized your problem with shiny rulers. I have two six inchers that are so shiny I gave up using them. But I'm going to apply your sanding tip, since they are very convenient for shorter cuts. Thanks!

BTW, some time ago I found a twelve inch ruler from C-THRU that was made of buffed aluminum. With it there is absolutely no glare.

Garland

bagpiper
01-03-2011, 06:21 PM
Jim,

I immediately recognized your problem with shiny rulers. I have two six inchers that are so shiny I gave up using them. But I'm going to apply your sanding tip, since they are very convenient for shorter cuts. Thanks!

BTW, some time ago I found a twelve inch ruler from C-THRU that was made of buffed aluminum. With it there is absolutely no glare.

Garland

Nice. But that is what this place is about - sharing ideas and helping each other out. Indeed, thanks for telling me about the C-Thru ruler. I will look that one out too.

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
01-04-2011, 10:45 PM
Hi team
Well not much to say at the moment. I need to finish the upstairs bathroom. i.e. put the walls back up and get the tiling done so we can get the evaluation finished.

So will be busy for the next few days.

One thing I wanted to mention is that I have really changed my mind about using the pencils. The more I messed around with the Pitts pens, and I have 19 of them, the better I got using them. Then when I went back to using the pencils I found that I needed to use more pressure or had to wet them. Like most things in modeling, it does not mean the pencils are bad by any means. But my preference has switched over dramatically to the Pitts pens. You just have to use a light touch and they work very well indeed. I think before I was trying to use them like the pencils or crayons and they are just not the same beast.

I also practiced using the Pitts pens with a ruler to do valley fold lines in the middle of a piece before folding the paper and again they did a splendid job. I know that you can just use shades of grey for most things but I am very picky and like to try and match the hue as well as the shade. I am also impressed with the fact that you can go over most colours with gray to darken the shade if needed. But! And there is always a but. The Pitts pens are not very opaque so you may need to go over fold lines more than once to cover them up. Where these pens stand out is for edge colouring. They do a great job without crushing the paper edges.

Yesterday I bit the bullet and ordered the entire set of Pitts Pens (Brush Tip) in every colour they have from Blick. Or rather the ones I didn't have. So I ordered 38 of them to add to my collection.

No! I haven't told the wife. She never checks the bills and only pays them so I'm safe. :)

Cheers and happy modeling.
Jim

treadhead1952
01-05-2011, 01:12 AM
Hi Jim,

I am looking at the Long Run #1125 Punch set with 6 blades from Koyo Industries in Japan, the same one as in your picture above. There has to be a better price than $99 from some evil ragamuffin on Evil Bay. I like the idea of hand pressure to punch out holes as well. I have Tandy Leather's Mini Punch and Maxi Punch sets, ut they require smack with a hammer to do the deed. See what I can come up with.

bagpiper
01-05-2011, 09:49 AM
Hi Jim,

I am looking at the Long Run #1125 Punch set with 6 blades from Koyo Industries in Japan, the same one as in your picture above. There has to be a better price than $99 from some evil ragamuffin on Evil Bay. I like the idea of hand pressure to punch out holes as well. I have Tandy Leather's Mini Punch and Maxi Punch sets, ut they require smack with a hammer to do the deed. See what I can come up with.

Oh yes there is a much better price on this. The one pictured can be got here for $21.95 T10164 Hole Punch Set (http://www.grizzly.com/products/Hole-Punch-Set/T10164) Thanks to GrimPirate for the link.

And in case you missed this thread. There is some good information here too. http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tips-tricks/5962-cheap-hollow-punches.html

http://cdn3.grizzly.com/pics/jpeg1000/t/t10164.jpg

tazman3
01-05-2011, 11:50 AM
Since you guys are former plastic builders...you might try shooting your rulers with a light primer, or some matte/dull coat spray. I have noticed that if I flip my rulers over, I can see the lines better...HOWEVER, be warned, it will make scratches if the paper if you are not careful!

bagpiper
01-05-2011, 11:52 AM
Since you guys are former plastic builders...you might try shooting your rulers with a light primer, or some matte/dull coat spray. I have noticed that if I flip my rulers over, I can see the lines better...HOWEVER, be warned, it will make scratches if the paper if you are not careful!

Funny how we sometimes miss the obvious. Thanks for the tip Tazman.

Cheers
Jim

tazman3
01-05-2011, 11:55 AM
You are most welcome Jim...and I am thouroughly enjoying this thread! Great tips...glad you pursued the line on long joints...I have trouble with those too...but now I've got some new things to try! Thanks again!

treadhead1952
01-05-2011, 01:40 PM
Cool deal, thanks for the heads up. I will have to order one up.

airdave
01-05-2011, 04:55 PM
Jim I am amazed by your tidyness...
haha I don't know how you guys work with such clean and organized areas?!!
when I am building, my little workspace looks more like a warzone!
with a lot of paper and parts casualties!
not to mention the pools of glue and severed knifeblades!
my area is so messy that within only 12 square inches of space
once I lost a pair of scissors, two exacto knives, a 12" rule, a pair of tweezers and a cup of coffee!

peter taft
01-05-2011, 06:17 PM
Jim I am amazed by your tidyness...
haha I don't know how you guys work with such clean and organized areas?!!
when I am building, my little workspace looks more like a warzone!
with a lot of paper and parts casualties!
not to mention the pools of glue and severed knifeblades!
my area is so messy that within only 12 square inches of space
once I lost a pair of scissors, two exacto knives, a 12" rule, a pair of tweezers and a cup of coffee!

Dave...... you missed out the BOAT.... gotta be in there somewhere :)

bagpiper
01-05-2011, 11:26 PM
You are most welcome Jim...and I am thouroughly enjoying this thread! Great tips...glad you pursued the line on long joints...I have trouble with those too...but now I've got some new things to try! Thanks again!

Thanks. We all have to learn from someone and as much as I learn from others I hope that I can repay the help.

Cool deal, thanks for the heads up. I will have to order one up.

I will be getting one of these myself just not sure when. Either way let me know how it works for you. I will do the same if I beat you to the purchase. lol

Jim I am amazed by your tidyness...
haha I don't know how you guys work with such clean and organized areas?!!
when I am building, my little workspace looks more like a warzone!
with a lot of paper and parts casualties!
not to mention the pools of glue and severed knifeblades!
my area is so messy that within only 12 square inches of space
once I lost a pair of scissors, two exacto knives, a 12" rule, a pair of tweezers and a cup of coffee!

I just got sick of not finding anything. The same happened in my workshop in the basement. Once I got that built I found I have 43 screwdrivers. Because I kept losing them and buying some more. :)

Dave...... you missed out the BOAT.... gotta be in there somewhere :)

You don't think he's lost his boat do you? Dave! Check your coffee cup mate.

Cheers everyone and no building for a couple of days due to needing to finish the bathroom to get the house re-financed. Build will resume in a couple of days.

Jim

jobeaux
01-12-2011, 06:13 PM
I just got sick of not finding anything. The same happened in my workshop in the basement. Once I got that built I found I have 43 screwdrivers. Because I kept losing them and buying some more. :)


AH HAH! That's where my screwdrivers keep going... I always suspected they might be migratory... ;)

I'm really enjoying your build mate.

ghshinn
01-12-2011, 06:34 PM
Hi, there. I sprayed my shiny ruler with Testor's Dull Cote. Worked perfectly. One side only, though, just in case. Great tip!

Garland

bagpiper
01-15-2011, 01:39 PM
Hi Team
This is the reason for my lack of updates. Another sort of modeling. :) As mentioned before we are refinancing the house. They told me that I needed to get the bathroom completed and I had 10 days to get it done so here is some pictures of the before and after. Huge amount of work but well worth it as we've gone from 7.5% to 3.875%. Also dropped from 30 to 15 year. Anyhoo will get back to this build soon.

Cheers
Jim

jobeaux
01-15-2011, 04:05 PM
VERY nice work on the tile walls Jim. I know from way too much experience that vertical tiling is no fun, and you have done an excellent job there. Congrats also on the re-finance, that's way more than a drop in the bucket. Now the real question... Did you pass the inspection? Your inspector looks pretty tough! ;)

airdave
01-15-2011, 04:55 PM
hahahahah
I see your post "This is the reason for my lack of updates..."
And I catch site of a photo of the Toilet.
And I'm thinking "what? he was taking a dump?"
LOL
then I read further and see the pretty job you did on the remodel.

Okay, we let you off the hook.

Jim...you don't know how much I was hoping you would get further on the Haunted House
I have been checking this thread every day!
...so I could ask for a pic for the calendar!!
But, alas, the calendar is basically done...you didn't make it.
...maybe next year we can get you in it!

peter taft
01-15-2011, 07:37 PM
Hey Jim - Great job on the house, the tiles look really good. Glad to hear the finance is better for you too. Take care and catch you back at the Manor soon hopefully.

bagpiper
01-15-2011, 08:36 PM
VERY nice work on the tile walls Jim. I know from way too much experience that vertical tiling is no fun, and you have done an excellent job there. Congrats also on the re-finance, that's way more than a drop in the bucket. Now the real question... Did you pass the inspection? Your inspector looks pretty tough! ;)

Thanks mate. It was a bit of pressure but yes we passed all the inspections. :);) We close on Tuesday next week. Really excited about that.

Cheers and glad it's out the way though.

Jim

bagpiper
01-15-2011, 08:41 PM
hahahahah
I see your post "This is the reason for my lack of updates..."
And I catch site of a photo of the Toilet.
And I'm thinking "what? he was taking a dump?"
LOL
then I read further and see the pretty job you did on the remodel.

Okay, we let you off the hook.

Jim...you don't know how much I was hoping you would get further on the Haunted House
I have been checking this thread every day!
...so I could ask for a pic for the calendar!!
But, alas, the calendar is basically done...you didn't make it.
...maybe next year we can get you in it!

Thanks a lot AirDave but sadly no further. Hey you could take a picture of my Gee Bee. Oh no wait! That too is not finished. How about the bathroom? At least that's done. lol

Hey Jim - Great job on the house, the tiles look really good. Glad to hear the finance is better for you too. Take care and catch you back at the Manor soon hopefully.

Oh yes Peter and it is a huge weight of my mind. heck! Having 25 years left of a 30 year mortage at 50 years old is not something I was pleased with. I feel blessed that I am able to do this as I know others are not so lucky. I feel fortunate indeed.

Cheers Dave and Peter and hope you both are having a nice weekend. We have Monday off as it is Martin Leuther King Day.

Jim

Art Deco
01-16-2011, 02:48 AM
Jim, you did a terrific job on the bathroom! Very clean build, the seams all look straight, no glue marks, and your edge coloring matches perfectly. ;)

bagpiper
01-16-2011, 11:23 PM
Jim, you did a terrific job on the bathroom! Very clean build, the seams all look straight, no glue marks, and your edge coloring matches perfectly. ;)

lol. But man trying to do a valley fold on those tiles was a pig. lol. I tell you it is a huge weight of my mind. Now I can relax and get back to this model. ;-)

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
01-16-2011, 11:48 PM
Not too much to talk about here but I decided to try out the transparency parts for part 14B. It was not that hard to cut but I had some issues along the way.

I printed out both sheets of the transparencies so I guess that is the way I am going to finish this model. I think it looks good and I don't want to be mxing between card and transparency.

OK I am sorry but I am not very good with names so my appologies here. I want to thank whoever it was that suggested scoring card on the reverse side so that the score line is on the valley side (the inside of the fold). I was wondering how I was going to do that but I bought a merry-glo-round at Michaels. It was on sale for $19.00 and has a tempered glass top. So instead of using pins to mark the plain side of the paper I put it on here and score away. You can see from the pictures how clear it shows up the lines are to follow without having to use pins which I never really liked doing. I need to score the card a little differently than I am used to but it does give a very smooth fold. Something that I will need to experiment with to see what works best for me. The part shown being scored is part 15B which I will attach on the next update.

One mention of Ray Keim's facebook page by Richard mentioned strengthing the transparency at the edges. I did this with a 1/16" brass rod. I used liqued cement in the little bottle with the built in metal dropper. (sorry forgot to take a picture) I layed a single track of glue then put the brass rod in place.

I set the printer to transparency but it looks too transparent through the ink. Perhaps that is the way these things turn out. But the settings were correct and I used best quality with maximum ink.

The glue stick on top in the last two pictures is just a little weight to keep the rood in place. While the brass rod can be seen because I did not paint it with my black sharpie enough, I am happy with the experiment. I did not cut out any of the plastic in the middle of the piece as I wanted it to remain as rigid as possible.

One thing that I really would suggest is the use of foam board. This was already suggested by a kind person but I don't have any yet. When you push against the walls at any time to glue a piece in place the walls buckle under the pressure. Perhaps in the interest of keeping it as much paper as possible.

Needs some edge treatment but other than that I shall not be removing any of the pieces and moving on.

Cheers

Jim

hancocp
01-17-2011, 09:08 AM
Fantastic thread and build, Jim - much better (and more involved) than my own attempt at reduced scale. And kudos on the special mention at Haunted Dimensions - my 'other' favourite site. Nice tip about the fine brass wire - will give that a try.

bagpiper
01-17-2011, 09:13 AM
Fantastic thread and build, Jim - much better (and more involved) than my own attempt at reduced scale. And kudos on the special mention at Haunted Dimensions - my 'other' favourite site. Nice tip about the fine brass wire - will give that a try.

Many thanks for your comment mate. I have to give credit to Richard on Ray Keims facebook page for the suggestion about the wire. The only reason I did not cover it with my sharpie is that the tip is fine. I need a larger one to make it easier to colour in the brass rod after it is glued in place. But I am looking at my model now and unless you are looking for it it really does not detract from the model any more than the transparency. In other words it is minor.

Appreciate your kind words and hope to get at least one part done each day - depending upon when I get home from work that is.

Cheers
Jim

cardist
01-17-2011, 01:35 PM
Hi Jim,
Good to see work progressing on this. Excellent tip on the use of a 'Light Box' by the way. Its one of those "why didn't I think of that before" moments. I shall certainly use this technique whenever it is called for as I have several of these at work.
Cheers mate and happy modelling,
Bernie

peter taft
01-17-2011, 04:40 PM
Hey Jim... Good to see you back in action. Great ideas and you just gotta love the light box - me gonna make one of these someday :) It's looking great my friend. When i read any of your up-dates, i read them with your voice inside my head - Your videos did this :) Look forward to seeing and hearing you again Sir Jim.

bagpiper
01-17-2011, 05:22 PM
Hi Jim,
Good to see work progressing on this. Excellent tip on the use of a 'Light Box' by the way. Its one of those "why didn't I think of that before" moments. I shall certainly use this technique whenever it is called for as I have several of these at work.
Cheers mate and happy modelling,
Bernie

Thanks mate. I have to admit that the score lines are very easy to create using the light box thingy. Also the lines are very crisp due to the glass plate at the back. It has a completely different feel to scoring on my cutting mat and something I need to practice with. The other big plus is there is no guessing where the score line ends - you can see it very clearly indeed. I think this is going to help me get my score lines more precise.

Hey Jim... Good to see you back in action. Great ideas and you just gotta love the light box - me gonna make one of these someday :) It's looking great my friend. When i read any of your up-dates, i read them with your voice inside my head - Your videos did this :) Look forward to seeing and hearing you again Sir Jim.

Cheers Peter. I think I am going to have to get more a a Sean Connery sound though. lol.

Take care guys and thanks as always for you support.

Jim

jobeaux
01-18-2011, 05:11 PM
Looking good Jim. I have been waiting to see if you used the transparency option since I am considering using this material for windows in an upcoming build. What did you use for glue between the paper and transparency parts? Did you have much trouble with "fogging" where you used the CA to attach the brass rod?

bagpiper
01-18-2011, 08:37 PM
Not going into too much detail here as it has already been covered. This is just more of the same kind of stuff. Only thing that was a little tricky was the gluing of the steps. Some turned out better than others. The gaps seem to look so much worse in the pictures but they are very small indeed.

bagpiper
01-18-2011, 08:45 PM
Looking good Jim. I have been waiting to see if you used the transparency option since I am considering using this material for windows in an upcoming build. What did you use for glue between the paper and transparency parts? Did you have much trouble with "fogging" where you used the CA to attach the brass rod?

Thanks for your kind words and the question. The glue I used is the liqued cement as shown in the last two pictures. I did not even try the CA glue but it might be worth a go on a piece of scrap to see what happens. ;) I used the liqued cement to attach the transparency to the card and to the brass rod and it seems to hold just fine.

The other pictures are just random shots of part 14B (transparency). I took these to give you a close look at how it looks. I think you'll agree that there is no clouding at all. Most of what you see that is reflections and shadows as well as the flash gun. Anyhoo I hope this allows you to see that clouding is not a problem with this glue. I cannot comment on any other.

Thanks for asking and hope this helps.

Cheers
Jim.

peter taft
01-19-2011, 07:35 AM
This is looking mighty fine mate - The steps and rails really look the business ;)

jobeaux
01-20-2011, 04:28 PM
Whoops! I saw the word cement and just assumed it was CA. We all know what one makes of himself when he assumes. (Insert embarrased smiley here.) Thanks for the great info and pics Jim. Looking forward to seeing the big finish.

bagpiper
01-20-2011, 04:52 PM
Whoops! I saw the word cement and just assumed it was CA. We all know what one makes of himself when he assumes. (Insert embarrased smiley here.) Thanks for the great info and pics Jim. Looking forward to seeing the big finish.

No worries. To be honest every question helps more than just the asker. I am really enjoying this build as I have learned a huge amount from many people. I think the one thing I have not covered at all is how to glue the edges of the parts of each section. So far all I have used is the tabs but next piece I am going to give the double sided tape a go. When I say next piece I mean anthing that is attached with tabs and is longer than an inch or so. I am still learning myself. But this is a lot of fun building.

I think the next major part will be the roof pieces. until now it is just more of the same. But the roof has compound curves so that is going to be interesting.

Thanks and look forward to hearing from you to ask a question or just drop in a wee comment.

Cheers
Jim

Doubting Thomas
01-21-2011, 10:29 AM
Jim,

Don't worry about the roofs next. I've done several house models
with the "Mansard roof " which is named after a French architect.

As long as the top flooring is firmly glued, it is a matter of following
the formers to give the concave shape. Might have to use tape or
straight pins or map pins until the glue dries.

The super glue or CA / Cyanoacrylate would be faster...but hard
to adjust the fit if the roof part moves out of position. Unless
you hold the part in correct position while someone else drips
the super glue from the back sides.

Picture is a 1/12 scale wooden house. I reviewed your video
to be sure you were talking about the Mansard roof. Used Aileens
"tacky glue" and lots of masking tape. I remember that
one of the roof panels "popped" away from the former too.
Had to use a coupe of small nails to hold it in the correct curve.

Jeff

bagpiper
01-21-2011, 04:47 PM
Thanks for the tips Jeff. i think if I can manage the steps then the Mansard roof should be a breeze. Thanks for telling what it was called too. i like the idea of holding it in place and dripping the CA glue on the back. I think I just need to stop thinking that this is card and just treat is as a modeling medium and experiment a bit more.

Nice model there too mate. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
01-22-2011, 10:27 AM
After reading the last few comments I decided to try using the CA glue on the transparency parts and try and see if I could get away from using the brass rod to support said piece. Guess what? I manged to do both with no problems. So for those that are interested I thought this worthy of an update to the thread.

There is two things to keep in mind when using the transparency. First is that they are a pig to see the score lines on the cutting mat so either place a lighter piece of card underneath or use a light box as I did. You can see how clear the score lines show up. Second thing is if you score on the printed side it will destroy the ink. I tried scoring on both sides and to be honest do what works for you. If you score on the printed side then you will have a clear line you will need to cover with a sharpie. For this piece it was on the mountain side of the fold. If you score on the unprinted side then you will have a dotted line to cover up. Both of these worked fine and I had no problem folding either side of the piece.

The top of part 14C does not need to be folded over much. The fourth picture shows just a slight bend.

OK! I told you that I did not use the brass rod this time round. I got away from this by using CA Glue when ready to glue and also doing a dry fit of all the parts. I decided what parts needed to be glued and which parts to leave a little loose. I don't think I cut the parts wrong but a little fold here and a little twist there all mounts up. But by doing the dry fit I found that I could get this part done without any extra support. If you look at the images the top set of railings and posts use CA glue and no brass rods. The bottom set of railings and posts use the liquid cement and brass rods. Preference for me is to complete the build of the rest of the transparency parts using just the CA glue. I dribbled a little glue along the edges after the parts were in place. I made a little hole in the end of the tube and I was able to put a thin line of the stuff where needed. And for those that have used the CA glue knows how strong this stuff is. Until I was asked about it I had not even considered it an option. Now I think it is the best thing for the transparency parts.

Two things I want to mention about the transparency pieces. Make sure you score all fold lines. A straight score line will help reinforce the corner to keep it straight. Secondly is the long clear strip at the top of the piece. I did not glue this as it was a fraction too far away from the card but due to the fold in the piece it helped keep the entire piece from colapsing in the middle. Make sense? If not let me know and I wil try and re-explain what I mean here.

You may be wondering what picture 9 is all about! Well it is all about edge treatment. If you have followed this thread you may recall I used to use pencils. After much going backwards and forwards I ended up with the complete set of Pitts Pens. They really are fantastic. They need no pressure on the piece so don't crush the edges. You do have to be careful not to over do it but these are all I use now for edge treatment. They are expensive but I bought them a little at a time (so the wife would not notice) <laughing> ;)

I think that with the combination of the CA glue, doing a dry fit, NOT gluing every single edge and doing an edge treatment I now have a method I feel will work for the rest of the model. There is two very large transaprency pieces, part 12A and part 11A that I will try this method with.

peter taft
01-22-2011, 10:58 AM
Hey Jim - All that typing when you could be making another video :rolleyes: I like the explanations you give, and i am happy that you have found Pitts Pens to be THE ones for you, they sound great. Many Many thanks for the set of DERWENT WATER COLOUR PENS you have sent me, when i am able to re-commence paper model building, i will give these a go - You SIR, are a real Gent, thanks again :)
Keep up the great work mate, i hope you have another build lined up for when this Manor is complete, your build threads are GGGGGGGREAT :);)

bagpiper
01-22-2011, 11:07 AM
Hey Jim - All that typing when you could be making another video :rolleyes: I like the explanations you give, and i am happy that you have found Pitts Pens to be THE ones for you, they sound great. Many Many thanks for the set of DERWENT WATER COLOUR PENS you have sent me, when i am able to re-commence paper model building, i will give these a go - You SIR, are a real Gent, thanks again :)
Keep up the great work mate, i hope you have another build lined up for when this Manor is complete, your build threads are GGGGGGGREAT :);)

Good day Peter. I hope that you and yours are doing well. I am looking to do another video to show the model as it is now. The pictures are good but to be honest, too good. lol. They seem to pick up every single piece of white it can find.

And you are very welcome Peter. It was my pleasure. I have a Tiger 1 tank coming from AirDave but having seen a build thread here on it I may put that off a little bit but I have some builds in mind.

I have had such good feedback from many people on the style I use. As you said before "...Blue Peter style..." While I am learning others are too. The help I am getting from everyone and the tips I am able to pass on makes this a win win for everyone.

Thanks for removing the dupicate mate. I was going to ask for that but you beat me to it - as I was typing this out you jumped on it. lol

Will try and get another video up today but have a huge gig tonight. This is one of our biggest events of the year. Robert Burns Birthday coming up so it's the local St. Andrews Society Burns Supper.

Take care and thanks again.
cheers
Jim

peter taft
01-22-2011, 11:17 AM
No probs mate. I wish i could be there to here you play {are you doing a video of the event ?} will keep an eye open for it on good old You Tube ;) better still, link it here for all the guys and gals to see. Look forward to the next VIDEO up-date for the Manor.

bagpiper
01-22-2011, 02:08 PM
Here is a video update of recent work. I did this because I think it gives a clearer image of the model at it's present state much better than the pictures do.

Cheers
Jim

VywWDN5H_wc

bagpiper
01-30-2011, 07:22 PM
I will start with part 19H. This is just another set of steps but I think I am getting the hang of them now. What I found to be very important is the score lines. Everything must be nice and clean otherwise your steps will be all over the place. When gluing them I did one step at a time - let it dry, then moved onto the next step. You can see that I am using the acrylic blocks as formers to hold the part as well as push the glued parts together.

Part 11A, Part 11B and Part 12A I did at least 3 times in places. I started with the card, then moved to the transparency. I cut round holes in this to see if this would look OK. It did but then I had problems gluing it. I then tried using the transparency with the card as a backing which I did not like either. I then went back to using card only. It took a lot of time to cut out each of the gaps but it was another effort that was worth it.

The video explains what I did but to recap, all the card has been edge treated. The back was coloured in using a sharpie.

After putting the top on this part I will be moving up towards the roof and the end is closing in.

HQRTwxMUPCI

Cheers
Jim

peter taft
01-30-2011, 08:02 PM
Hi Jim. Great to hear your dulcet tones again, and to see this wonderful build continuing. The way you try different methods to get the desired effect you require is brilliant. Once again, i look forward to your next up-date. All the best. Pete.

Doubting Thomas
01-31-2011, 10:46 AM
Jim,

It's looking great, the transparencies was an easy way for
Ray Keim to achieve the top filigree brackets at the top of the
porch posts. Especially the New Orleans style houses.

The clear plastic is perfect for those, unless you are like me
and use my exacto knife to cut the curly filigree brackets out
of lightweight card.

Ideally, in making the porches more realistic would be to "fold" square
posts, or round tubes with layers. Much like the landing gears on our
planes, the cannon barrels on the ships/tanks. Using the brass is a good
short cut as well.

A square tube glued to the back of the porch posts would give some
3d effect and might eliminate the need for the bottom tabs.
But then to complete the effect one would have to make handrails &
spindles-the lower cut outs below the handrails. Which = more time/work.

Opening up the front porch panels was the perfect move. Leaving the
clear one on the side porch makes it feel like it is a "sun porch" or a
screened in one off the kitchen area. If it were a real house.

Looking forward to seeing the roof on top.

Jeff

APA-168
01-31-2011, 11:24 AM
Been a while since I've dropped by this thread, I just spent that past few minutes catching up. As always your work is fantastic, and the videos are excellent! One thing I really like about the videos is how it gives you a real sense of the whole model, while photos just give you a glimpse of one little part-much like the proverbial elephant. The extra work you're putting into this keeps paying off. Keep it up, I'll be watching!

Take care,

bagpiper
01-31-2011, 12:24 PM
Hi Jim. Great to hear your dulcet tones again, and to see this wonderful build continuing. The way you try different methods to get the desired effect you require is brilliant. Once again, i look forward to your next up-date. All the best. Pete.

Thanks as always Peter. I want to get this done right and still a lot to learn hence the many trials of various techniques.

...unless you are like me
and use my exacto knife to cut the curly filigree brackets out
of lightweight card....

Jeff

Thanks Jeff for your great Ideas and tips. I tried to cut out the filigree several times and that's why I ended up with the blank areas you see in the video and pictures. I used the standard 65lb HP card stock but could not for the life of me cut the pieces properly. Would have happen to have some tips or pictures of this process please. I would love to get this done properly.

...One thing I really like about the videos is how it gives you a real sense of the whole model, while photos just give you a glimpse of one little part-much like the proverbial elephant. The extra work you're putting into this keeps paying off. Keep it up, I'll be watching!

Take care,

I like doing the video as it gets my head around what I'm trying to do and it also gets me thinking more.

Thanks to all of you for your kind words of encouragement and great tips and ideas.

Cheers
Jim

KCinKC46
01-31-2011, 01:14 PM
Jim,

You might try making the filigree parts as transparencies and then gluing them in place. On old houses like these the filigree does tend to get a bit excessive but is nice to see. Really enjoy the videos. Very informative. Also, about the railings being blank. Double printing those pieces and then gluing them together would solve the blankness problem. Just cut out the spaces between the rails and posts. This should make the alignment easier.

KCinKC46

bagpiper
01-31-2011, 01:38 PM
Jim,

You might try making the filigree parts as transparencies and then gluing them in place. On old houses like these the filigree does tend to get a bit excessive but is nice to see. Really enjoy the videos. Very informative. Also, about the railings being blank. Double printing those pieces and then gluing them together would solve the blankness problem. Just cut out the spaces between the rails and posts. This should make the alignment easier.

KCinKC46

Thanks for the ideas. I tried the idea with the filigree as transparency but did not like the look. Really because of my cutting skills on the transparency. But I also don't like the fact that it is missing. For me that is too much detail to lose. I know that I am not going to leave it as is. I had thought about making them out of think wire but will see how what I end up with.

I also thought about double printing to remove the white back but until I get my Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) this week I am holding off. But I think that would appeal to me better than the solution I chose by using a sharpie. While this would involve a lot more cutting it is probably not much more than an hour added.

I am still learning this paper modeling stuff so all and any tips and hints are accepted with thanks.

All the best and thanks again.

Cheers
Jim

airdave
01-31-2011, 05:24 PM
I like doing the video as it gets my head around what I'm trying to do and it also gets me thinking more.

yes, but can you try to sound a little more like Sean Connery in the next one?

bagpiper
01-31-2011, 05:32 PM
yes, but can you try to sound a little more like Sean Connery in the next one?

Sorry AirDave. I don't have the money around me to create the same sound. :rolleyes:

And I love the Tiger 1. Have spent a huge amount of time cutting out repetative bits but I agree with your comment that this is not a simple model. I found a build here but not much description. If you know of any others that would help the build I would be most greatfull.

Cheers Jim "shaken not stirred" How was that? Well I thought it sounded just like him. lol

See yah :)

airdave
01-31-2011, 05:43 PM
well I might have asked for a real Scot accent...

you know, like Mel Gibson does?

LOL

haha I bet that has Jim's kilt in a knot!

bagpiper
01-31-2011, 05:48 PM
well I might have asked for a real Scot accent...

you know, like Mel Gibson does?

LOL

haha I bet that has Jim's kilt in a knot!

Nah! After seeing the movie I got over it several years ago. ;)

".....FREEDOM......":rolleyes: Sound any better with the Australian accent. lol

Doubting Thomas
02-01-2011, 02:50 PM
Jim,

Took some shots of a project I did. Some miniature shelf brackets.
Photo 1 shows them actual size on the left.

I usually use my #11 exacto knife and make little poking cuts
around my draft lines. The movement is like a chicken does when
pecking on the ground.

I think KC from yesterday's post is probably the best way to go.
print on the transparency and cut the part out. Much like the
last photo. The white areas would be left as the clear transparency.

With the size of what you are working with the "impression" that the brackets are cut out would suffice.

Besides it looks like there are about 30 filigree brackets that would have
to be cut. It's a lot different than just cutting out 8 for shelf brackets.

I laminated 3 layers of bond paper to thicken the brackets before cutting them out. After they were cut I colored the fronts & backs with markers, then hit edges with acrylic black paint.

Looks like you'll be done very soon.
Jeff

bagpiper
02-01-2011, 03:07 PM
Hey Jeff. Thank you so much for explaining what you were talking about and explaining your process. I tend to agree with the suggestion on printing out the filigree on transparency to get the visual effect.

I am learning more every time I pick up this model and read another comment in this thread. I know that my next Ray Keim build will have so much more detail that I put into this. I especially like the idea of creating pillars too.

I am almost ready to start on the roof later today. I am gluing a lot of the long edges to steady up the model - this is where there is just no replacement for Aleene's or Elmer's glue and cocktail sticks to apply the glue in tight places.

Hoping to have the model finished this week.

cheers and thanks again.

Jim

hoffernsp
02-05-2011, 06:18 PM
Jim, thanks for all the detailed steps on the Manor project. I look forward to your progress reports.
Please excuse my ignorance but I assume that you are working in the original scale from the Ray Keim plans?

Keep moving forward - there is no advantage in looking backward.

regards

Keith

bagpiper
02-05-2011, 06:51 PM
Jim, thanks for all the detailed steps on the Manor project. I look forward to your progress reports.
Please excuse my ignorance but I assume that you are working in the original scale from the Ray Keim plans?

Keep moving forward - there is no advantage in looking backward.

regards

Keith

You are indeed correct Keith. This is printed to scale. I am almost finished to be honest. Just got the final part of the roof to complete and I will have an update probably tomorrow.

Glad your enjoying following this build.

Cheers
Jim

hoffernsp
02-05-2011, 07:08 PM
You are indeed correct Keith. This is printed to scale. I am almost finished to be honest. Just got the final part of the roof to complete and I will have an update probably tomorrow.

Glad your enjoying following this build.

Cheers
Jim

Jim, being from Mn I truly enjoy your out front pics of the ongoing weather - with almost 7 months of winter here it gives us time to also involve ourselves with inside activities (modeling).
In regard to scaling, do you have a suggestion on how to expand the manor to a larger scale (from 1:66 to 1:48)?
Also, being a dog person I appreciate your comments and including Gizmo (sp) in your videos!

keith

bagpiper
02-05-2011, 08:15 PM
lol. I have to be so careful with Gizmo as he always sits right behind me. Would hate to run him over with my chair. As far as scaling the one problem is you would need to rearrange the parts on the paper. As you can see with if you check out this model, almost every inch of paper is covered. If you rescale this I think you would need to scale the image 137.5% in the printer settings. I think I have the maths right. But many people here do it all the time and can probably advise better than I.

Cheers
Jim

peter taft
02-05-2011, 09:07 PM
lol. I have to be so careful with Gizmo as he always sits right behind me. Would hate to run him over with my chair. As far as scaling the one problem is you would need to rearrange the parts on the paper. As you can see with if you check out this model, almost every inch of paper is covered. If you rescale this I think you would need to scale the image 137.5% in the printer settings. I think I have the maths right. But many people here do it all the time and can probably advise better than I.

Cheers
Jim

Hey Jim... nothing wrong with your maths here my friend, but Keith will have a job on squeezing all the parts on the pages - Keith, you may have to think about doing a cut and paste sheet {1 page = several depending how much bigger you want to go} If you want it really big - like a dolls house size {that would be cool} but get plenty of ink :)

hoffernsp
02-06-2011, 09:05 AM
Hey Jim... nothing wrong with your maths here my friend, but Keith will have a job on squeezing all the parts on the pages - Keith, you may have to think about doing a cut and paste sheet {1 page = several depending how much bigger you want to go} If you want it really big - like a dolls house size {that would be cool} but get plenty of ink :)

Thanks for the info. I'll try and play with the drawings using Photoshop or maybe a draft program and see what happens on a couple of the pages.
I'm using an iMac/Canon printer and see how far I can push the envelope.
regards:)
Keith

Doubting Thomas
02-06-2011, 08:22 PM
In regards to the last post, an architectural/engineering
plotter would be the best to scale up the sheets.
If one could get the original drawings on a 24"x 36" or
36" x 48" or larger would be something to see.
But I'm afraid the images might get pixelated too much.

Some of the guys here on the forum have made larger
airplanes by piecing 8-1/2" by 11" sheets together and
matching up the images. In effect, making poster size
sheets. Every time I try to do this I get the white boarders.
I think one needs to have a printer that prints across
the full width of page for the best results.

I was at a design firm once and they plotted out a Hotel
column with fern plants life size. The sheet was like 4' or
5' wide by 8' or 10' long and in color.

It looked realistic at 6' or more...but when you got within 4'
the image became blurry and you saw the individual pixels.
Sort of looked like a mosaic on the wall though.

A dolls house size is usually 1/12 scale or (1" = 1')
A six foot tall person would be 6" tall.

Hope this sheds some light.

Jeff

airdave
03-28-2011, 03:50 PM
James? James?

Moneypenny...can you find James?
Its been over a month...and still no word on Blofeld
or that blasted Haunted Mansion project!

bagpiper
12-04-2011, 01:16 AM
Well without wanting to be dramatic I am back and working on the model. Last steps in fact. To say I had a year from a "nasty place called..." well I will leave that be as that is not my way but saying it was not nice would be an understatement. But, like many of us here, we prevail and move on. I am very excited to have energy that I have not had since 2010. But I digress. I will be finished with this model this week and photographs will follow when my battery charges up. lol.

I cannot believe how long it has been but it is good to be back and building models again. Excited is indeed the correct word to use at this time.

I had several things go bad this past year and could not make it back home to Scotland so I hope you will forgive my absence. Anyhoo sorry for the drama.

Glue is setting as we/I speak and will be finished in the next day or two.

Peter! You are indeed a star and I thank you just for being you. :)

Ok glue is set so next steps is to get it all together and get some pictures.

Updates to follow soon.

Cheers
Jim

airdave
12-04-2011, 08:08 AM
I, for one, am happy to see your return.

bagpiper
12-04-2011, 10:16 AM
I, for one, am happy to see your return.

And I had a strange feeling you would be around mate. :) But thanks a lot Dave. I even found that kit I bought. The tank was sitting on top of a cupboard covered in dust! Looking forward to getting around to that. Looks very cool.

So a very short update. I have a total of 3 pieces to cut out and glue in place. Then some edge treatment, a bit of glue in places where I did not glue it right first time and we're finished. So today is the day when we see this model finished.

Cheers
Jim

cardist
12-04-2011, 11:31 AM
Good to see you back on the saddle Jim. I look forward to keeping up with your posts.

All the best and happy modelling,

Bernie

bagpiper
12-04-2011, 11:35 AM
Good to see you back on the saddle Jim. I look forward to keeping up with your posts.

All the best and happy modelling,

Bernie

Wow! It's been a while mate. Hope all is well back in Scotland mate.
Cheers

Jim

Art Deco
12-04-2011, 01:41 PM
Hey Jim! Delighted you are back, and very glad to hear things are turning around for you! Looking forward to more progress on this project. :)

bagpiper
12-04-2011, 02:03 PM
Hey Jim! Delighted you are back, and very glad to hear things are turning around for you! Looking forward to more progress on this project. :)

Many thanks mate. As I mentioned before, i can't believe how long it's been. :) But I lied about finishing this today. lol I just found out that I have lost some parts and there is some strange gaps on the model. Hmm! looks like I need to get some more work done after all.

Anyhoo great to hear from you mate and an update will be forthcoming on the model progress later today.

Cheers and see you around
Jim

peter taft
12-04-2011, 07:08 PM
The BAGPIPER returns :):) THE one and only Jim. It's so frikkin good to have you back. Now then.... oh yes, UPDATE ! Now don't you dare do an up-date without a Video mate, we LOVE those. See you soon Sir :);)

bagpiper
12-04-2011, 07:25 PM
Haha. I was in the process of doing an update when I saw your input Pete. It's great to be back to mate. Amongst old and dear friends :) Sorry though! No video. I managed to even get the camera settings wrong this time. lol

OK As usual Pictures with a description.

First few images again just show edge and back treatment with my Pitt Pens. The second image shows the back of the window which I also do - just to make sure it does not show any white from the back. Then it is hard to cover so do it before you fit the windows.

Again for the railings I have went for the transparency. It looks bad in the photograph but from a distance it looks fine. I am still not sure if I like the transparency or the card railings.

Several pictures of the tower and at first it looks a bit bad. I showed this because by the time I'm finished it looks fine. Again I coloured the inside before gluing. Glued it up, more edge treatment, bit of trimming and I think you'll agree it looks just fine in the last image. And this is close up so you will never see any of the bad bits.

I took some shots just to show how it looks. I got the white balance off in the camera but just left it alone. Now! Why am I showing the camera lens brush and puffer? Well I found that my model had so much dust on it that these worked great to remove all the dust from the model. You know when you blow with your mouth you can sometimes get some moisture on the model without trying and it will mark the ink. This worked great.

So need to print out 4 small windows for the roof and attach the railings and I will be done. THEN you get your video Peter. lol

All the very best and until next time.

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
12-04-2011, 07:28 PM
The BAGPIPER returns :):) THE one and only Jim. It's so frikkin good to have you back. Now then.... oh yes, UPDATE ! Now don't you dare do an up-date without a Video mate, we LOVE those. See you soon Sir :);)

Now that's what I call a welcome back. Thanks Peter. :)

peter taft
12-05-2011, 06:02 PM
This is great to see being finished Jim. Your work and methods inspired many guys, well... just read this thread. You took ideas and tried some - you gave ideas and tips too "Good on you Sir Jim" Look forward to hearing your dulcet tones again on the Video Finale :);)

bagpiper
12-15-2011, 09:22 PM
Well it has taken a while to actually figure that I had not printed out the whole model. So! This is the last sheet printed out and ready to go.

First image shows the parts and the next picture with one of the pieces on my light box and the reverse scores can be seen through it nicely. I love doing the reverse scoring as it does not cause the paper to rip but you have to do it deep enough for the paper to fold and not bend.

Next is a before and after edge treatment. I used 5 different pitts pens and I think you will agree that edge treatment is worth the effort. Also don't think that edge treatment has to be just one colour. I tried to paint it in a little so it matched the colour scheme of the paper either side of the seam.

This is just a small update but I have 11 small parts left from this sheet to cut out and glue in place.

I thought I would have had this finished but work and band have slowed down the progress but not much left to do.

Cheers
Jim

peter taft
12-16-2011, 06:49 PM
Now that's patience for you - every different brick edge colour has been matched - nicely done Sir Jim ;)

bagpiper
12-16-2011, 08:55 PM
Now that's patience for you - every different brick edge colour has been matched - nicely done Sir Jim ;)

As always Peter, thanks a lot mate. It really was not that accurate and I just "bounced" the pens off the edges one at a time until it looked good. So I really did not spend that long on it ;)

9:00pm so got to get ready for a band gig in the morning but got a bit more done tonight. More tomorrow.

Cheers and thanks again
Jim

B-Manic
12-16-2011, 09:52 PM
It is good to see you back Jim. The Manor is lookin' mighty fine.

bagpiper
12-17-2011, 07:43 AM
It is good to see you back Jim. The Manor is lookin' mighty fine.

Many thanks mate. I am so pleased to be building again. It took me a long time to figure out what I was missing. I was also checking out AirDave's very nice GeeBee build from eariler this year so who knows! Might get back into that when I get this one done.

Anyhoo thanks for your kind words. Getting ready for my band gig so got to dash.

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
01-26-2012, 07:41 PM
Well I am nearly done. I don't know what it is but both of my big builds have sadness attached to them. For this model I am sad to report my little building buddie "Gizzy" is no longer with us. His bed is with me though and he will always be remembered. The first picture is his regular sleeping pose. Yeh! He was spoiled. ;-) He was a rescue dog and was blind but he was top dog and took no messing from our other dogs.

As you can see I have two pieces left to cut out. Glue the remaining pieces in place and this model will be done.

Once this is all in place I will take some final pictures. Going to be a few days as I have had 3 band gigs this week and then I have an 8 hour Astronomy class on Saturday.

Cheers
Jim

Vermin_King
01-26-2012, 09:49 PM
Sorry about Gizzy. I just lost my Maxine a short while ago, she'd have been 19 in March. You are going to have an excellent model to remember Gizzy by, though.

peter taft
01-27-2012, 06:02 PM
Hey Jim, So sorry to hear of your loss - i would be gutted if it was my dog too, REALLY gutted, can't imagine the place without my Kimi going bonkers. The build should bring back the "Good and Happy memories" with your pet ! Great to see you back with this great model my friend.

bagpiper
02-07-2012, 06:39 PM
Final Photographs of The Phantom Manor

bagpiper
02-07-2012, 06:43 PM
Well at long last this model is finished. Sadly the flash brings out any errors but that's fine with me. It has been a long build but loved every minute of it. I hope you have enjoyed the detail I have put into this build.

I dedicate this model to Gizzy who was my modeling companion as you have seen in the photographs.

Thanks for following along.

Now it's back to the Gee Bee and start another model I think

Cheers
Jim

kingjason14
02-07-2012, 07:46 PM
Awesome build!

Texman
02-07-2012, 07:59 PM
That is totally cool Jim

Art Deco
02-08-2012, 03:57 AM
Wonderful work on this major project, it's really impressive! Congratulations, Jim! Thanks for sharing all the photos along the way! Bravo!

peter taft
02-08-2012, 05:28 AM
Great Job Jim. Love the shot with the moon :) I really enjoyed following this build, and especially the banter - oh and not forgetting the Video up-dates, they were cool ! Good to hear you are going to be building something else soon.

bagpiper
02-09-2012, 06:16 PM
Awesome build!


Thank you

Jim

bagpiper
02-09-2012, 06:17 PM
That is totally cool Jim

Hey Texman. Thanks mate. Very enjoyable build. Now it's time to get the gee Bee finished. Still not sure what I'm going to build next though ???

Cheers
Jim

bagpiper
02-09-2012, 06:20 PM
Wonderful work on this major project, it's really impressive! Congratulations, Jim! Thanks for sharing all the photos along the way! Bravo!

Thanks mate. I think I took over 200 pictures and video on this build. Lot of fun. This year is going great so just need to figure out what's next, other than getting back to the GeeBee that is.

Great Job Jim. Love the shot with the moon :) I really enjoyed following this build, and especially the banter - oh and not forgetting the Video up-dates, they were cool ! Good to hear you are going to be building something else soon.

Thanks for your support Peter. This was a lot of fun.

Cheers
Jim

mystic1642
03-04-2012, 01:53 AM
Great Job Jim!!
I'm a newbee to the world of paper and was looking for helpful hints on putting another Ray Keim and found this thread. Loved the videos and pics! Learn something every time I read this forum.
BTW I live in St. Louis also... where did you get the Pitt Pens??

Cheers
Cherie
PS. Watch out for the tornadoes this year!

bagpiper
03-04-2012, 09:24 AM
Hi Cherie. Small world as they say. :) Thanks for your nice comments. I got the pitts pens from Blick online but I think there is a shop in St. Louis now. You can get them one at a time or in sets. But you can find them easily. You just have to be careful when using them as the ink runs a little but like anything else, you need to learn to use them too.

All the best and hope that helps
Jim