Pushing Back .......
- Thread starter toto
- Start date
Never even seen the namcave today.
Unfortunately my mum is still having issues with the old ticker so doing some running today off and on. All settled down again. Fingers crossed.
Back up to Dounreay in the morning until Friday, all going well.
I'll be ready for another attack on the diorama by then.
Cheers
Toto
Unfortunately my mum is still having issues with the old ticker so doing some running today off and on. All settled down again. Fingers crossed.
Back up to Dounreay in the morning until Friday, all going well.
I'll be ready for another attack on the diorama by then.
Cheers
Toto
Sorry to hear about your mum.
Pete
Pete
Well ...... back home after another exciting week at work ..... not. Everything settled down on the home front ....... So ..... back in the mancave and cleared the diorama away to make space for some more brick wall moulding.
all set up and ....
The first moulds are starting the curing process. I reckon I will need to mould around two dozen moulds for what I need keeping in mind these walls are double sided.
The wall around the cafe perimeter might be turned into a stone wall and carved from " blue foam " we will wait and see what mood I am in at the time. this wall would have been lower ..... around half to two thirds of the height of the brick wall. More on that later.
Anyway .... good to be back in the mancave and getting something done.
have a good weekend folks.
toto
all set up and ....
The first moulds are starting the curing process. I reckon I will need to mould around two dozen moulds for what I need keeping in mind these walls are double sided.
The wall around the cafe perimeter might be turned into a stone wall and carved from " blue foam " we will wait and see what mood I am in at the time. this wall would have been lower ..... around half to two thirds of the height of the brick wall. More on that later.
Anyway .... good to be back in the mancave and getting something done.
have a good weekend folks.
toto
Beautiful work.
OK ..... mould casting is well underway ..... the slog continues.
The wall I am casting for at the moment .....
Is for this corner .....
It's just a short corner but none the less it will give me my first attempt at constructing the right angle. The right angle probably does not have to be perfect as I will be " blowing at least part of the wall out and maybe augmenting with a few sand bags etc. I am also starting to think about how I tackle the gateway. Do I have it intact ..... or severely damaged ...... our blown out all together ?????
plenty of time for that.
cheers for now ...... back to my moulds.
cheers
toto
The wall I am casting for at the moment .....
Is for this corner .....
It's just a short corner but none the less it will give me my first attempt at constructing the right angle. The right angle probably does not have to be perfect as I will be " blowing at least part of the wall out and maybe augmenting with a few sand bags etc. I am also starting to think about how I tackle the gateway. Do I have it intact ..... or severely damaged ...... our blown out all together ?????
plenty of time for that.
cheers for now ...... back to my moulds.
cheers
toto
I have to admire your patience I have cast cobbles and bricks in the past and it is a slow laborious process.
Absolutely Scottie.
you could increase production and cut down the whole process but you are governed by the curing time in order to release the mould and cast another. I have eight brick wall panels and can't go any faster otherwise you start to try and release the cast to early and break the mould.
However ..... for the purposes of this first wall build, I think I have enough with some to spare and allow for breakages along the way. Any left over will do the second wall build.
work surface all cleared up and ready to go again ....
enough full wall section casts .... a couple broken but won't be seen behind the card " stucco " layer.
plenty specials and Slim Jim's as I have the knack of casting and releasing these now with a far higher success rate. It's all in the way ( and order ) in which you release each side of the mould.
I have went from a ..... say 15% success rate ..... to a 75% success rate and getting better. If you get the water / plaster mix slightly wrong ..... you also pay for it dearly. I have adjusted the ratio from nearly 50 : 50 to closer to 65 : 35 plaster to water. Huge difference.
So Next up ...... start constructing my first wall for actual use on the diorama. I have plenty of lintels cat for the coping stone but have been debating whether or not I should have used the actual " coping stone " mould which is more decorative but smaller in length ..... so you would need a significantly increased mould production.
The lintels look ok for now.
I have plenty " Daler " board for the " Stucco " layer so no woriies there. The copings don't need to be added until the rest of the wall in constructed so if I change my mind ..... Lintel versus coping stones, it won't hold the main build up.
Very very slow progressed due to working away and " mumsie duties " but hey ...... there is no rush ..... is there ??????
The ongoing tasks are numerous but I am looking forward to giving them all a bash ...... Stone wall in " Blue foam " around the Cafe area being the next.
Once I get these walls done and get a better feel for the way the walls / perimeters are going to fall in with the buildings ..... I can finally decide on the buildings exact location in relation to everything else. I can start thinking about fitting the buildings out ..... floors, ceilings and roofs etc. Groundworks etc will be last. Vehicles / artilliary etc have been started but are a distant thought right now...... then the explosion zone and electrics ....... seems never ending but the mojo is as strong as ever ..... it's all down to time at the moment .....
Hope you are still onboard with me despite the slow progress.
cheers for now
toto
you could increase production and cut down the whole process but you are governed by the curing time in order to release the mould and cast another. I have eight brick wall panels and can't go any faster otherwise you start to try and release the cast to early and break the mould.
However ..... for the purposes of this first wall build, I think I have enough with some to spare and allow for breakages along the way. Any left over will do the second wall build.
work surface all cleared up and ready to go again ....
enough full wall section casts .... a couple broken but won't be seen behind the card " stucco " layer.
plenty specials and Slim Jim's as I have the knack of casting and releasing these now with a far higher success rate. It's all in the way ( and order ) in which you release each side of the mould.
I have went from a ..... say 15% success rate ..... to a 75% success rate and getting better. If you get the water / plaster mix slightly wrong ..... you also pay for it dearly. I have adjusted the ratio from nearly 50 : 50 to closer to 65 : 35 plaster to water. Huge difference.
So Next up ...... start constructing my first wall for actual use on the diorama. I have plenty of lintels cat for the coping stone but have been debating whether or not I should have used the actual " coping stone " mould which is more decorative but smaller in length ..... so you would need a significantly increased mould production.
The lintels look ok for now.
I have plenty " Daler " board for the " Stucco " layer so no woriies there. The copings don't need to be added until the rest of the wall in constructed so if I change my mind ..... Lintel versus coping stones, it won't hold the main build up.
Very very slow progressed due to working away and " mumsie duties " but hey ...... there is no rush ..... is there ??????
The ongoing tasks are numerous but I am looking forward to giving them all a bash ...... Stone wall in " Blue foam " around the Cafe area being the next.
Once I get these walls done and get a better feel for the way the walls / perimeters are going to fall in with the buildings ..... I can finally decide on the buildings exact location in relation to everything else. I can start thinking about fitting the buildings out ..... floors, ceilings and roofs etc. Groundworks etc will be last. Vehicles / artilliary etc have been started but are a distant thought right now...... then the explosion zone and electrics ....... seems never ending but the mojo is as strong as ever ..... it's all down to time at the moment .....
Hope you are still onboard with me despite the slow progress.
cheers for now
toto
And ...... so we continue ..... brick walls it shall be .....
not too concerned with the slight gaps in mortar courses as this area will be cut away to create the damaged corner where hopefully some sandbags and fire power will be situated .....
and the other side ...... second time around as I had the brickwork facing inwards on the first attempt ..... what a twat.
once that has dried good enough to handle , I will carry on along towards the gate and look at forming some kind of post / column to which a gate would have been attached ..... This will be created using some of the specials.
Working on that now whilst I am in the middle of drying time.
cheers
toto.
not too concerned with the slight gaps in mortar courses as this area will be cut away to create the damaged corner where hopefully some sandbags and fire power will be situated .....
and the other side ...... second time around as I had the brickwork facing inwards on the first attempt ..... what a twat.
once that has dried good enough to handle , I will carry on along towards the gate and look at forming some kind of post / column to which a gate would have been attached ..... This will be created using some of the specials.
Working on that now whilst I am in the middle of drying time.
cheers
toto.
Something like this maybe .....
I appreciate the sections are not tied in tight yet but it's just a dry run.
I could actually tie this in with the end of the wall where it will meet but wonder if its worth the effort and faff. As long as I ensure a nice tight fit ..... nobody would be any the wiser ..... I f I hadn't just spilled my guts about it here in this post .....
lets see.
toto
I appreciate the sections are not tied in tight yet but it's just a dry run.
I could actually tie this in with the end of the wall where it will meet but wonder if its worth the effort and faff. As long as I ensure a nice tight fit ..... nobody would be any the wiser ..... I f I hadn't just spilled my guts about it here in this post .....
lets see.
toto
Getting there .....
A couple of bricks broke off the specials but they will be covered so rather than waste the cast ..... soldier on .....
and another for now .....
I have a section to add between the main wall and the gate post so the additional section will be cut flush to give a good interface .....
I think it's just about tea time so hopefully get the other section measured and made up after tea then maybe onto the Daler board " stucco " layer ..... see how it goes.
cheers for now
toto
A couple of bricks broke off the specials but they will be covered so rather than waste the cast ..... soldier on .....
and another for now .....
I have a section to add between the main wall and the gate post so the additional section will be cut flush to give a good interface .....
I think it's just about tea time so hopefully get the other section measured and made up after tea then maybe onto the Daler board " stucco " layer ..... see how it goes.
cheers for now
toto
So .... fed and watered ..... and on we go ......
The magic mix of Plaster, PVA and some white acrylic paint ...... don't know why ..... I just do it and it seems to work for me.
and the first victim ....
and on it goes .....
and off it comes again ....
and the inside of the wall is next ....
and off it comes ..... I could adjust the amount that I take back off but most of this surface will remain invisible .... it will only be exposed on certain sections so not to much thought or effort going in here.
the outer side gets the same treatment ....
and back off ......
A shot roughly in place .....
and this gives you an idea of how much more I need to build in order to bridge the gap.
So its off to look at the next section to complete this part before hitting the Daler board.
cheers for now
toto
The magic mix of Plaster, PVA and some white acrylic paint ...... don't know why ..... I just do it and it seems to work for me.
and the first victim ....
and on it goes .....
and off it comes again ....
and the inside of the wall is next ....
and off it comes ..... I could adjust the amount that I take back off but most of this surface will remain invisible .... it will only be exposed on certain sections so not to much thought or effort going in here.
the outer side gets the same treatment ....
and back off ......
A shot roughly in place .....
and this gives you an idea of how much more I need to build in order to bridge the gap.
So its off to look at the next section to complete this part before hitting the Daler board.
cheers for now
toto
We are progressing along ....
The next part to be cut to an exact length ....
A little bit of skullduggery to be done where the wall meets the pier.
not forgetting the Blue Foam of course ....
and the other end ....
a bit fragile and " at risk " being so close to the edge ..... thinking cap required I think ....
and here we are again .....
sort of like that ..... Now ..... just to glue it all together and catch up with the stucco layer ....
back later
toto
The next part to be cut to an exact length ....
A little bit of skullduggery to be done where the wall meets the pier.
not forgetting the Blue Foam of course ....
and the other end ....
a bit fragile and " at risk " being so close to the edge ..... thinking cap required I think ....
and here we are again .....
sort of like that ..... Now ..... just to glue it all together and catch up with the stucco layer ....
back later
toto
Still going .... after a couple of glasses of Merlot .... not sure the walls be be exactly straight though ...
never mind .... we can live and hope ....
now glued in place ....
and from the other side .... still to be stucco'd ....
took the edge of this wall as it is just crying out to get caught in someones jersey ...... like mine.
and from the other side ....
its amazing how just putting these walls in place gives an idea of proxinity to the building .
In this case .... in my opinion .... the building needs to be pushed back a bit ..... more on that later .
hoping the glue dries to let me get started on the Daler Board layer tonight. right now ..... the whole structure is too floppy and I'd just end up with a mess ...... Patience is the watch word here ..... and I don't have much .....
back later
toto
never mind .... we can live and hope ....
now glued in place ....
and from the other side .... still to be stucco'd ....
took the edge of this wall as it is just crying out to get caught in someones jersey ...... like mine.
and from the other side ....
its amazing how just putting these walls in place gives an idea of proxinity to the building .
In this case .... in my opinion .... the building needs to be pushed back a bit ..... more on that later .
hoping the glue dries to let me get started on the Daler Board layer tonight. right now ..... the whole structure is too floppy and I'd just end up with a mess ...... Patience is the watch word here ..... and I don't have much .....
back later
toto
And ..... at the risk of boring you ...... and I am trying my hardest ..... we go on ....
I have moved the building back a tad to give clearance all round .... rightly or wrongly ....
still have enough space at the back to detail out .....
and the sides still have a bit of room as well ..... for a very small vehicle or a machine gun squad to set up .....
things are going to be a bit more compressed though so I hope I haven't done myself out of too much space ....
and the next section of wall with an other pier section still to build .....
how is it looking so far ...... answers on a postcard please .....
and that is the last shot for now ....
more as it comes ....
toto
I have moved the building back a tad to give clearance all round .... rightly or wrongly ....still have enough space at the back to detail out .....
and the sides still have a bit of room as well ..... for a very small vehicle or a machine gun squad to set up .....
things are going to be a bit more compressed though so I hope I haven't done myself out of too much space ....
and the next section of wall with an other pier section still to build .....
how is it looking so far ...... answers on a postcard please .....
and that is the last shot for now ....
more as it comes ....
toto
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