# In-ko-pah Railroad -- Ione, NV miner's cabin



## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I just completed a new structure for my In-ko-pah Railroad. It's a replica of an old miner's cabin in the little town of Ione, NV. Here's a photo of the prototype:










As you can see, there are some unique features that really give this cabin a lot of character, particularly the homemade metal awnings over the windows, the stovepipe with its fancy clay cap, and the window cut into the original door. One of the awnings appears to be made from part of the roof of an early automobile.

I only had a couple of photos, taken from a distance, and the the cabin is surround by tall weeds and junk. So I had to "fill in the blanks" using my knowledge of other cabins similar to this one. I also added a window to the blank wall on the opposite side.

The model is made of styrene, textured and painted to look like old, weathered wood. The awnings and corrugated roofing are made of brass. The door and door frame are modified Grandt Line castings. 

Here are some photos of the model:










I replaced the saw mounted on the front of the cabin, with a bighorn sheep skull. The skull was sculpted from polyclay...


















The rear of the prototype cabin was not visible. On my model, I opted to give it a different style of siding -- a common practice on many of these old buildings. I also painted it with grayer, more muted colors, to represent the shaded side of the cabin... 









Here are some close up detail photos. The window shades were made from Tyvek, cut from an envelope and painted a yellowish tan. The curtains were made from lace, saturated with acrylic matte medium and then painted grungy off-white::


















Here's the cabin temporarily in place on the layout. I still need to do more work on the site, to bring the concrete "soil" up around the cabin. I also need to add plants, an outhouse, and other details:










The cabin is located in an area without wiring, so I installed an LED powered by two D cell batteries. Here's a test shot of the cabin at night:









As I complete the cabin's site on the layout, I'll post new pics:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Miners_Cabin.html 


Enjoy!


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## up9018 (Jan 4, 2008)

Another EXCELLENT structure Ray!!!! Keep up the good work. 

Chris


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice little cabin with a ton of character! Thanks for posting Ray.


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Awesome, Ray.......... That's fantastic...









Got a sneak of the article in the new GR. Awesome as well...


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Beautiful cabin Ray. I like the lighting idea. Looks very good at night.


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## Bob Baxter (Jan 3, 2008)

Outstanding work, Ray. When you told me about it this afternoon I never dreamed it would be so beautifully done. I've captured all the pic's in this post and will use them to inspire a future addition to our layout. You don't mind if I just flat out copy it, do you?


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## R Snyder (May 12, 2009)

Very nice work!


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks guys! 

Bob, go right ahead, it's a structure that begs to be modeled.


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

For town number 2?


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Yes, this is the first building in what will become the second town on the layout, the town of Grandt Cliff. I don't have a lot of room there so there will only be a couple cabins, a depot, and maybe 2 or 3 stores/commercial buildings. 

Town #3 will be a bit more substantial, with several commercial buildings and a couple small houses, a depot, a mill, and some interesting mining structures. I haven't settled on a name yet but I'm leaning towards "Mineral Ridge".


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## chaingun (Jan 4, 2008)

The detail on this is just wonderful ! Real fine job Ray ! 

Ted


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

I agree with everyone Ray. Your ability to build with such realism is amazing.

Doc


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Ray, simply gorgeous! I'm glad that someone else works in styrene, which the late Al Armitage said was the prefect medium. Your aging methods are tops, as is your attention to detail. Of course you've raised the bar even higher, which means I'll have to tread water harder to even approach the level of your work. Wonderful.


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## Gravy Train (Mar 6, 2011)

Ray:
Very nice!


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks! 

Joe, when I started modeling outdoors, I remembered Al's articles in the Gazette and other mags, promoting the use of stryrene. I was skeptical that it could be a good substitute for wood, but his models always looked pretty good even in a much smaller scale. Now, after having used it for a while, I'm a big fan of styrene! It's a breeze to work with.


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

The old shirt hanging from the window awning brace is the crowning touch! The old coot will be right back after he finds his mother load!


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Ray, I was wondering, how did you paint your walls to make them look like aged wood? Did you prime them first, then apply various colors of paint? Did you rub off some of the paint? 

Me, I sometimes apply various shades of acrylic right over the thoroughly washed white styrene, since the paint seems to streak in a "looks like wood grain" manner. At other times, I first spray everything with gray automotive primer out of a rattle can, and apply the color afterwards. I don't keep track of the process very well, so I am constantly relearning the proper technique. 

Anyway, how did you do it?


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I first apply a light coat of white primer from a spray can. This gives it more "tooth" for the acrylics to grab on to. Then I apply the acrylics (Apple Barrel flat craft paints), using thinned washes. I start with light colors, streaking a little on here and there, and gradually build up layers, letting each layer dry before adding the next. 

That's my paint technique in a nutshell. I'm writing up a magazine article with much more detail covering both the texturing and the painting.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Some superb modeling as usual Ray! And again very inspirational! 
Looking forward to see how Grandt Cliff develops further !!!


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

Ray - I just became aware of your railroad and your talents with the Garden Railways article. Excellent work and an awesome railroad !

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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks Del!


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I just finished making an outhouse to go with the miner's cabin. Like the cabin, this outhouse is made of styrene which has been textured and painted to resemble aged wood. The "tin can" shingles and the metal patches are made from brass.

I still haven't placed it on the layout yet, but here's how it looks by itself:






























The interior includes an old toilet seat, some toilet paper, and a strip of flypaper. 

You can see more photos starting here:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Miners_Cabin.html#14

Enjoy!


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Apparently there's a server problem that's preventing my cabin page from updating. So if you went there and couldn't see the rest of the outhouse photos, please try again later.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

I really thought this picture was a reference picture of the real outhouse... 







http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Miners_Cabin_files/Media/IMG_5710/IMG_5710.jpg


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## dieseldude (Apr 21, 2009)

Wow, Ray, Awesome as always!!!!! 


-Kevin.


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

Wow! that looks great...but...I...I gotta go.... Don't lock me in! 

I like the touch with the old tin cans for the roofing material.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the tour and description of your railroad, and the name, in Garden Railways.


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

I enjoyed your Garden Railways article Ray---thanks for sharing! It is a very cool and unusual railway!


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

So howdja make the flypaper?


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

The flypaper is a made from a very narrow strip of Tyvek, cut from an old envelope. One end was pinched together and glued into a 1/16" diameter brass tube. I painted the strip and the tube with Apple Barrel flat acrylic paints. Then I used a cutoff wheel to cut the tube off (it's easier to handle if you don't cut the tube down to size until after painting). Then just sand the end smooth and cover the exposed brass with paint. The "flies" are just tiny specks of black paint. 

BTW, I also used Tyvek for the loose ends of the toilet paper. The "roll" is styrene tubing.


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Great modeling, very realistic!! I like your shades with the lace curtains. I'll probably have to use that idea somewhere down the road.


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## KGierman (Jan 21, 2008)

Nice!


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

I can look at those photos for hours. Love all that [email protected] url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Providers/HtmlEditorProviders/CEHtmlEditorProvider/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

congrats on your GR article


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## Dennis Cherry (Feb 16, 2008)

! was in San Diego the last part of September.

Bummer


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## K&NWLR (Dec 9, 2011)

Another good one, Ray! Andrew


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## rsmproductions (Jan 5, 2008)

Wow!! That is really nice...


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

I remember using those back in WV. 

and it wasn't that long ago!


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Been a long time since I last updated this, but I finally have something new to show... 

First off, I built a small water tank to provide water for the cabin. It's supported by a "wooden" platform made of styrene. The rear of the platform will rest on a stone ledge:











The pipe is made of brass rod with slices of 1/16" styrene tube added to it. The faucet handle is a snap fitting from the fabric store. The hose is a length of solder attached to a short piece of brass rod, which fits into the styrene faucet. A slice of heat shrink tubing forms the "brass" connector on the hose:






















I now have the cabin, outhouse and tank permanently installed on the layout. I still have to add plants and some clutter:


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

Just amazing how real that tank looks Ray! Great job.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

The sun is finally starting to reach the area where I placed the cabin, so here are a few pics with most of the plants and junk installed. Still have a few little things I want to add later:















































Enjoy!


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## Rod Fearnley (Jan 2, 2008)

Ray, Outstanding. Museum quality outside.

It would be nice if you could run a masterclass on how to make the Plants too ?


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Ray; 

WOW! Just WOW! I love the touch with the big horn sheep skull. It looks so real. Even though the cabin is weather beaten, it still looks cozy. 

Best, 
David Meashey


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## Burl (Jan 2, 2008)

How did you make the barrels?


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## Bob in Kalamazoo (Apr 2, 2009)

Posted By Burl on 11 Apr 2012 08:35 AM 
How did you make the barrels? Ray, it all just looks so real it's hard to believe that it isn't. And I have to ask, like Burl did, how did you make those barrels, they look so fantastic. 
Bob


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Outstanding! This is a perfect example of a model railroad in a garden, vs. a garden railroad. Not that there's anything wrong with either one. I'm just sayin...


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

Ray-- 

great work as usual! 

As Burl wonders, how about those barrels, mine are turned wood, which of course wouldn't look the way your do. did you make them or are they purchased?


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks guys! 

I started with a couple "G scale" steel drums that I bought on ebay a while back. These are open on one end, with nice molded detail on the other end. But the sides were overly thick. Also, I wanted to be able to crumple some of them to look battered and/or decayed. So I used them to make my own two-piece silicone mold, then cast a bunch of them in urethane resin. For unopened drums I just filled them solid. For the open ones, I used the Dremel with a cylindrical sander attachment to grind out the interior and reduce the wall thickness. I heated them in boiling water to soften them, making it easier to add dents and deformations.


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## d_sinsley (Mar 29, 2011)

What did you use for hinges on the out house if you don't mind me asking?


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I used dollhouse hinges: 

http://craft-inc.myshopify.com/products/6500-dollhouse-hinge


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Posted By Rod Fearnley on 11 Apr 2012 01:20 AM It would be nice if you could run a masterclass on how to make the Plants too ?


I have some info on my website showing how I make my plants:

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Plants.html


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## Rod Fearnley (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Ray. Just what I needed.
Rod


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