Finishing Diamond Plastics

I always find it interesting how a scratch building structure project seems to really come together once it gets painted.  Before paint, it's just a collection of white styrene without much character but after it's basic paint job it begs to be finished and I find it hard to put it aside until it is finished.  The basic paint colors I used for this project were a pale green for the building sections and a sand color for the bins both from the Testors acyrllic line of paints.  While I have not been particularly happy about what Testors did combining all their paint lines and eliminating some colors I have been happy with the results I get with this paint and have found that it cleans up more easily.

Prior to painting the 3 building sections I had added some details of the pneumatic piping to the side of the section that would have the storage bins for the plastic pellets.  Piping such as this would be secured with steel uni-strut and clamps.  I simulated this with plastic channel and copper wire.  The copper wire goes through holes drilled through the channel wall and is twisted and glued on the inside of the building.

When building the structure I had aligned the pins on the bottoms of the bid stands with holes in the base, the discharge piping at the bottoms of the bins with holes in the side of the building, and drilled holes near the top of the bids to match the position of the input piping.

With the base held flat on a steel plate with magnets, the bins are eased into position.  Some adjustment was made to to intake piping at the top by bending it so that the bins would fit naturally.    After everything was aligned, the three points were glued.

On the two sections of the building that are where the covered hoppers would be spotted for unloading, I added some vacuum hoses put up on hangers and feeding into underground piping.

On the internet I captured the image of a sign on the side of one of this companies buildings and printed my own paper sign.  I sealed both front and back with Scotch tape and glued to .020 styrene.  This was then glued to the side of one of the building sections.

So here is the newest industry on the layout.  Next I will be adding a bit of weathering and maybe some safety signs to the building and also work on the foreground scenery.

Building the Diamond Plastics Company

Diamond Plastics is an actual company that manufacturers large plastic pipe at several facilities around the United States including a plant in Golconda.  They ship the finished products by truck but receive plastic pellets by rail car.  For the purposes of modeling I am re-locating this industry from it's actual location to Battle Mountain.

This is a satellite view of the Diamond Plastics facility near Golconda.  There is a manufacturing building plus a very large area where finished pipe is stored outdoors waiting to be delivered.  I am only going to model the side of the building where the rail siding is along with some storage silos for the plastic pellets.

This is a photo the company has on their web site of the Casa Grande, AZ facility.  The facility in Golconda looks similar to this. 

Here is my scratch built shallow relief representation of this industry as it looks on the layout today.  This is three separate pieces held onto the layout with magnets.

For the plastic pellet storage silos I am using the Faller industrial silos kit.  It had been quite awhile since I built a Faller kit and noticed quite an improvement in the quality and details.

I also plan to include some of the pneumatic piping and hoses that would carry the pellets from the covered hoppers to the silos.


So I have now started to paint and finish the details on this industry that I had started last November before the Battle Mountain section was even installed in the layout.  I will post on this industry again when it's finished.

On the road again - Kennesaw, GA

Have not been working on the layout or posting on this blog for a couple months.  Had a week long exhibit in April with the Japanese layout then my wife and I took a long cross country driving trip to the southeastern US.

Our time in the Atlanta area included a visit to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History.  It is located at the site called Big Shanty which is where Union raiders hijacked a locomotive and that started what has been called "The great locomotive chase"

Here is Nona and I in front of one of the main attractions at this museum.  This is the original General locomotive. 

This museum is full of exhibits on the civil war and railroading and we really enjoyed it.  Thanks to our friend Susan who we were staying with and who took us there.

Before visiting this museum,  I was not very familiar with the story.  I now have a greater appreciation for this important episode in US civil war.

When we got to the museum it was raining but after finishing touring the inside we came out to clearing skies and sunshine.

The museum is located in what is called the Big Shanty historical area.  Across the road from the museum is an old station that was built in 1908.  It is also a museum but was being used for a private function so was not open to the public when we were there.

Hopefully soon I will be getting back to work on the layout.