# C. M. Oates Company



## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

When I put in Buchanan Tool & Die, (http://www.largescalecentral.com/LS...p?id=13987) I had hoped to just move Miracle Chair Company to a new location. 







http://www.largescalecentral.com/LS...p?id=14179 )

It was time to start a new building. Mike Oates lives quite close and has been a frequent attendee at my operating sessions, so I decided it was time to name a building in his honor.

I was able to salvage most of the windows as well as the loading dock and some other pieces.









I built a quick mock up using some old foam board.









Even though I salvaged a bunch of windows from the old building, it became clear that I would need many more. I started to build some using my jigs.








The brown one is a Grandt Line window from Miracle Chair. It was originally maroon. The white ones are the ones I made from styrene strips. Six are shown here, but I ended up making an even dozen.

I'm using 1/4" Sintra (Kemotex PVC Board) for the walls. This is one of the sides after I laid out the windows.









The Sintra cuts with a knife, though it takes a number of passes. After I get a nice groove, I found it easier to use a razor saw to cut out the opening.









The windows look good, though there will be some clapboard siding on the finished side.









After the windows are cut, it's time to glue the walls together.









The clamps help to hold everything in place while the glue dries. I use Weld-On 16.









I had originally thought that I would NOT do a front, as it will not be seen, but I figured that I might move it someday and the front would be visible. 








I'll put a sign in the middle part.

I do have a problem. The front is over 20" wide, but the siding is only 15". Thus, I will have a seam. That's not an issue on the other sides - the left side is just 14.5". I would have liked some feature on the front, such as a vestibule, but I really couldn't come up with something that looked good. I'll have to see if I can disguise the seam...


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

Bruce 
You can make a 1/2" extension on each side or corner about 2-1/2" wide, so the siding is installed in the inset. The corners can be brick or stone or siding. Magic sculp rock would look real good. 
Good looking building. 
Dennis


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

Bruce,

Your new building is looking pretty good. I'm sure it will make Mike proud. See you at ECLSTS.

Doc


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## Mike O (Jan 2, 2008)

Bruce, 

Check is in the mail. I tried to get the naming rights to FedEx Field, but it was already taken. Having a named building on your layout is almost as good, maybe even better in some respects. 

Mike


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Ok. I see your handy little window jig, but how do you assemble the window without gluing it to the jig? Perhaps solvent "Welder" doesn't stick to wood?


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

I spray the jig with Krylon clear to help seal it. I use Tamiya cement, which has a nice tiny brush. When it does stick (and it does), I run a knife around the edges of the window to separate it.


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi Bruce,


What do you think of my favorite board(Sintra). For windowsd I generally use a fetsaw (scroll sat) of a small low violtage jigsaw xcould be used - drill a hole to start off from and just start a cut for the indow shape: the blade the follows the cut.

I add some srap strips inside the corners and possibnly some small right angled traiangles as well to give some more sremgth and added glue area.

Glad that the indows etc have been re-used - its looking very good.

In between other things I will have to make another building -I have the locatian for it - but a loco, and a flatcar have to be brought to their conclusion first!


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Peter, I really do like working with it, I think it's becoming my favorite as well. I tried my miniature scroll saw, but it still melted the Sintra, even at low speed. I seem to get better results with the knife. I might try the inside triangles idea.


In the meantime, some progress has been made.

Got the windows and door cut in the last wall and glued that in place.









I'm glad I have the window openings to allow my shorter clamps to work.

It's bigger than Miracle Chair, but still a small building: about 40' x 24' in F scale.

I decided to make some vents out of styrene. Also got a start on the roof top shed, though it's obviously only held together with tape. I decided to plop the windows in just to see how it looks.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Finished the vents today.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Bruce, I like your vents. How did you make them? 

About window jigs: I thought about going to shop specializing in stained glass window making supplies and having them cut me all the little squares I would need for each pane, plus the stuff to go around the edges. I already use plate glass to glue on (although with wood panels) and I find it relatively easy to pop the finished window off the glass with the tip of my Xacto knife. BTW, I use MEK as a "gluing" or "welding" medium.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Joe,

I started with some .060" styrene. Made a pattern and then used it to create the other sides.









I had some .187" square strips that I used as spacers.
Top:









And bottom:









I probably should have used something thinner at the openings, but that will have to wait until the next set of vents.

I covered them with .020" sheet styrene.

Next, I built a frame for the vents. It is made of .100" x .125" styrene. The vents are made from .020" strip. I also cut some spacers from .015" x .080" strip.









The vents are cut to just fit inside the frame. After I put a vent in place, I glue in the spacers. Not only do they provide equal spacing, they also provide a bit more support for the glue to hold the vent in place.









Once that was complete, I made a second, and smaller, frame for the screen from .100" square strip. This should help to keep the bugs out. I haven't glued the base sheathing in place yet, so I can slide this in place and glue it.









I added a few strips around the base, a couple of other strips and sheet on the sides and the top. I guess it adds some visual interest. The vent is framed with some 5/32" angle.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Bruce, you are my kinda modeler. I love the smell of MEK or Number 16 in the morning! Can't wait to see how she comes out. Can't wait to stick my finger together soon (if I ever stop working).


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

I've got a LOT of thin scraps. I used some of them on Buchanan Tool & Die, but I wanted to use some more. They're thin and cut easily. I figured if I glued three of them together, I would have a nice size for a step.

After the 3 layers dry, I cut them to size and glue them together to form my stairs.










Wanting to hide the interior, I decided to paint it with some gray primer I had on hand.

I started putting the clapboard siding in place. It didn't take me too long to realize that I really didn't have enough sheets.








I started using scraps to do around the upper windows. This will help stretch out my supply, and may make it so I have enough to finish the front as well.

I got some blue-gray sample size paint over at Home Depot and tried it on the roof top shed. I also cut out the windows and tried some out to see how they look. The windows will be painted off white. Both roofs are painted with textured black paint.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Once painted, the steps look pretty good. I used some of the Rustoleum textured spray paints. One light colored coat to start, then a darker one, followed by the black from the roof - just a quick spritz.









Even though the front of the building won't show, I may relocate the building some day, so I decided to add a bit of detail. A trip to Home Depot and I have some non-wood molding. I sliced it up in the saw and glued it to some styrene. This will go along the top front of the building.









I drilled the holes for the drains, and cut some brass pipe to length. Then I glued the vents and small building on to the roof top. Haven't decided where to place the chimney yet, so it's not glued.


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

It's coming along great Bruce!! Good job!!!!


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

I repainted the old loading dock. It was still in pretty good shape; just needing a bit of glue here and there.









Even though the front won't be easily seen, I decided to build a nice door. Just some strips of .040" styrene on top of some Sintra scrap; a few escutcheon pins for the door knobs. 









Earlier, I had purchased some 1/32" polycarbonate...I've been using that to glaze the doors and windows.

On the down side, I've had some adventures in printing the signs.








The first try on the left, I had "borderless printing" checked...so I guess that was a sign for Windows to go ahead and enlarge everything.

The next attempt, on the bottom, I followed the directions to wash liberally with water. Obviously, I had the wrong ink setting. I set it to transparency for the next batch, but the sheet had a fold in it, so that smudged the print. I think I used about 10 sheets of the vinyl to finally get my signs. Arrrrrrgh. 

This is the front, with the sign in place. It's a bit difficult to get the vinyl to lay down on that clap board.









And the back, which is the side that will face the operator and the siding.


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## Mike O (Jan 2, 2008)

Bruce, 

Looking good. 

Mike


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Yup i agree,

It looks great Bruce,

All the buildings you have posted

on this forum have come out great.

Ive learned alot from your building threads

thanks for posting them.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks, guys.

Got the first coat of paint on it today. Need to touch up a bit after this one dries...and I find all the spots I missed.


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## Robert (Jan 2, 2008)

Bruce 

Looking nice. Curious as to why you applied your signage prior to painting? I've noticed you left some unpainted areas around each which is probably a clue such as another detail such as framing to go around them, but what's the real answer? 

Robert


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Robert, 
The signs went on before the paint so they would stick to the plastic. I figured it was either mask before or after. That's supposed to be a white border around the signs.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Added a picture of Mike from an ops session way back when:
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Put all the trim work on. Just need to put it outside, but snow and ice came last night. 

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I'm still painting the figures for the loading dock, so there will be at least one more here
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I used the black glue (E-6000) to seal the roof and "hide" the seams.
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Jean says she really likes the front and that I need to place this somewhere where it can be seen. 
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## Mike O (Jan 2, 2008)

That really turned out great. 

Mike


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Hey Bruce, maybe you mentioned this, but I am too lazy to scroll through four pages of stuff, so here goes: where did you get those korbels? Are they wood or what? BTW your building looks great and the lettering fits right in. IMHO, one of the mistakes some folks make when they print signs for old buildings, is that many modern fonts didn't exist back then. But yours seems appropriate for the era, whatever it is. Anyway, keep on building them structures. I love an interesting read. And something to add to my bulging "save" files.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks, Joe. I can't take too much credit for the signs. I sent Mike some ideas and he just ran with them - and I ended up with a much better set! 

As far as the corbel, I went over to Home Depot and found some synthetic molding. I sliced it on the table saw and spaced the pieces on a strip of styrene. Added some thin Sintra and styrene on top. Pretty easy to make and I don't have to worry about it rotting away. Painted it with some Rustoleum spray paint.


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

Bruce,

Great job. I like your idea of using the molding. I"ll keep that one in mind. I wish I had your enthusiasm.

Doc


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## Dave Ottney (Jan 2, 2008)

Bruce, 
Pure wizardry again!! The contrast between the wall color and the signs is really eye catching. Where do you get this Sintra stuff and is it expensive? 
Dave


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## Mike O (Jan 2, 2008)

Joe, 

The font is Bookman Old Style 

Mike


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Dave, 
The Sintra is available online or at a local sign shop. I bought a bunch of 2' x 4' x 1/4" sections at about $30 each.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

As I recall, Sintra was the modeling flavor of the month a while ago (I believe there were threads about it). I think it's one of those materials that can be carved. Drat! Now I'll have to Google it and find out. 
Bruce, thanks for the name of that type font. Duly noted.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Actually, that was Mike.









But, you're right about Sintra carving. This is one of the first buildings that I made with it - carving out the relief between the columns.


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## dieseldude (Apr 21, 2009)

Wow!! Bruce. Nice job on the new building. -Kevin.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

I second Kevin's comment. So how did you do it? Using a CVC or whatever milling device? There appears to be a lot of fine routing/carving involved. Maybe you could make a mold, cast it in resin and sell copies to MLS-ers and become fabulously wealthy. Or join all the other model kit entrepeneurs who tried to do so and failed.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By joe rusz on 25 Feb 2011 05:45 PM 
I second Kevin's comment. So how did you do it? Using a CVC or whatever milling device? There appears to be a lot of fine routing/carving involved. Maybe you could make a mold, cast it in resin and sell copies to MLS-ers and become fabulously wealthy. Or join all the other model kit entrepeneurs who tried to do so and failed. 
I think I've mislead all!







Nothing so involved. I "carved" the rectangles on the front of the bank, just to about 1/16" depth. The relief was done with some washers and Magic Sculpt. The pillars are from the cake decorating section at Michael's - about $5 for 4 pillars. The other "details" are just strips of styrene.


See this building log for more details.


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## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

I finally got around to getting the building in the right location. I decided that I wanted to view it from all sides, not just the back. It's been outside since I completed it, but not in the right place.


Unfortunately, I didn't have a good place on the railroad for this. But, I do have a nice little down-town area, but no track goes there. I decided to remedy that situation. 


First, I got a crossing from Rodney, then put in a new siding. It will be switched from Green Springs yard (just visible behind that oak tree, just before the trains heads out to Occoquan; or just after for train #2.










I finished a Hubley Chevrolet Roadster kit to put out front and added some gravel to keep the dirt from splashing up.










Track side is still visible by walking behind. This will be a path to allow switching access.









There's room in town for some more buildings, and perhaps another industry or two along this long siding.









My next project might be a nice 3 story brick hotel to go on one of the corners.


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