Hello everyone! In 2021 I began building a Sierra West Scale Models kit called "O'Neil's Fabrication". I like this manufacturer for reason's you'll see as we go along. In 2021 I was diagnosed with kidney cancer, and had to step completely away from the hobby and devote what energy I had to my job, and getting better. That happened, but career still kept me from doing much with this project. I retired last year, and that was it, no more excuses! we were remodeling the house, which cost me even more time but that's all done, and I've been gathering up the kit components, finished pieces, and the necessary tools to get going again. I completed that this afternoon when I located my rail spikes which had eluded me for a good while.
Here is a link to the manufacturer's page on this kit. I recommend you take a look and especially look at the two videos at the bottom of the page, the diorama walk through and the unboxing video. It looks intimidating, but I can promise you that if you follow the manual and watch his "How To" videos, you can get great results. This was not my first craftsman kit, but it was the first one this complex.
https://www.sierrawestscalemodels.com/211.html
First, what you get in the box:
Note that Bag 1 is next to Bag 2 and I have already started coloring wood. One thing you need to do is keep your lumber sorted by size. In HO scale several sizes look alike at a glance, so I separated everything into bundles and tagged each bundle with the size. If you don't do this now, you'll lose time going back and doing it later. Guess how I know.
Check out the manual above the numbered lumber bags. It's a spiral bound notebook and will be the Bible for the project.
You start by distressing the lumber as a first stage to the weathered look. This is done with wire brushes and razor blades. Then you paint with a technique called "Damp Brushing" to get this effect:
For some structures you get cardboard templates, and for others, the framing is laser cut.
You get full size templates to work on, which makes things easy.
The windows and doors are made of a special resin impregnated cardboard which is very durable and allows doors and windows to look very realistic:
There are no plastic doors or windows in this kit.
Here is a link to the manufacturer's page on this kit. I recommend you take a look and especially look at the two videos at the bottom of the page, the diorama walk through and the unboxing video. It looks intimidating, but I can promise you that if you follow the manual and watch his "How To" videos, you can get great results. This was not my first craftsman kit, but it was the first one this complex.
https://www.sierrawestscalemodels.com/211.html
First, what you get in the box:
Note that Bag 1 is next to Bag 2 and I have already started coloring wood. One thing you need to do is keep your lumber sorted by size. In HO scale several sizes look alike at a glance, so I separated everything into bundles and tagged each bundle with the size. If you don't do this now, you'll lose time going back and doing it later. Guess how I know.
Check out the manual above the numbered lumber bags. It's a spiral bound notebook and will be the Bible for the project.You start by distressing the lumber as a first stage to the weathered look. This is done with wire brushes and razor blades. Then you paint with a technique called "Damp Brushing" to get this effect:
For some structures you get cardboard templates, and for others, the framing is laser cut.
You get full size templates to work on, which makes things easy.
The windows and doors are made of a special resin impregnated cardboard which is very durable and allows doors and windows to look very realistic:
There are no plastic doors or windows in this kit.
Last edited:
