Craftsman kit advice

[mrhedley]

I'm planning to begin building this craftsman kit to replace my scratch built station. 





I've previously built only one wood kit, a Gloor Craft National Box factory.  That was many years ago.  I assembled it before painting, and one of the sides warped a bit.  The Bergen kit was quite pricey ($125) so I don't want to mess it up.  Should the wood be treated with wood sealer before assembly, or should I just paint the interior and exterior first before assembling?  I've watched a few videos on building wood kits, but there was no mention of how best to treat the wood to limit warping.  I have a couple of heavy steel machinists squares I'll use to square the joints for gluing, and I was thinking of covering the painted parts with wax paper and putting them between books to dry. 

Any help is appreciated.  Thanks in advance for your recommendations. 

[wazzou]

It depends really. 
I usually judiciously brace the inside walls with strip wood of enough mass to stay rigid enough to eliminate warping.
Ive also painted both sides with some success.
Bracing requires some pre-planning and test fittings so you don't stymie yourself where a wall intersects.

[Kentuckian]

See this website: http://www.janbouli.com/?p=structures.html&title=STRUCTURES

[Tom Todd]

I have found that oil based paints do not usually cause warping.  Water based paints are more likely to do so.  Either way I paint both sides, at the same time, and have had no warping. 

(How do you paint both sides at once?  I have attached wooden clothes pins to a frame work that allows me to paint, most of the piece, with the exception of the attachment poit with the clothes pins.  This requires a second shot after the forst one is dry.)

And the use of strip wood is a great idea that I use as well.

Tom Todd

[Spades]

I will fold some painters tape so there is sticky side up and place the exterior wall side face down on the tape.  Interior wall side ready for paint every bit of the wall is in contact with the tape.   Once dried flip and repeat.  I use both acrylic and solvent based paints.  I wish I knew what will warp and what won't,  Interior bracing sometimes is the only solution.

[mmagliaro]

Brace the dickens out of the insides of the walls and roof with sturdy strips of basswood, and paint both sides of all the walls and roof.  I've got about 10 wood structures on my layout: some laserkits, some old-school craftsman kits like Gloor, and some scratchbuilt.  My experience is that the extra bracing is a must if you really want the walls to stay straight for years.  I use 1/4" x 1/4" piece of basswood.  Put glue the strips on, put weight on the wall so it doesn't warp from the glue, and let it get completely dry.    In fact, now that I think about it, the laserkits I've built all include that bracing just for this reason.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

When I built the Worcester Union Station, I did a few things:

Everything was spray painted with enamel primer - several coats on both sides.

All parts were reinforced with brass strips or angle stock.

I used liquid CA on all parts, applied liberally from the back/interior.

The model has withstood several knocks and bumps without any significant damage and have had no warping issues.

[nkalanaga]

In some cases, interior floors and walls can be used as bracing.  This can also be handy if you plan lighting, as it's easier to light individual rooms, without special lightblocks.

[randgust]

Something I've discovered the hard way is that if you have any styrene involved where you are layering it onto either wood or more styrene - the styrene has it's own warp factors from various solvent cements.

If you use ACC for any long lamination layers it doesn't happen, but you have zero time to make any alignment corrections.

For all wood kits, yes, brace it up with stripwood and paint on both sides.   I miss Floquil original stuff, never had a problem with that.

[sd45elect2000]

When I built the Worcester Union Station, I did a few things:

Everything was spray painted with enamel primer - several coats on both sides.

All parts were reinforced with brass strips or angle stock.

I used liquid CA on all parts, applied liberally from the back/interior.

The model has withstood several knocks and bumps without any significant damage and have had no warping issues.

You and I may be the only ones to have the Worcester union station. Mine is unbuilt.

[peteski]

You and I may be the only ones to have the Worcester union station. Mine is unbuilt.

I have one too (still unbuilt).  I'm sure others have that kit too.  I even tried to get Russ (from N Scale Architect) to laser etch the name of the station on the facade (since he didn't do that, I guess to make the station generic), but he wasn't too keen to do that for me.  His excuse was that he lost the blueprints. Bummer!

[BobRunty]

I built the Bergen grain elevator a few years back and braced the heck out of it with strip wood. Airbrushed with oil based paints and had no problems with warping even though I painted only one side.
I really liked his kits.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I have one too (still unbuilt).  I'm sure others have that kit too.  I even tried to get Russ (from N Scale Architect) to laser etch the name of the station on the facade (since he didn't do that, I guess to make the station generic), but he wasn't too keen to do that for me.  His excuse was that he lost the blueprints. Bummer!

Didn't it also have s list of every railroad it served at the time it was built too? Maybe a half etched metal strip or something thin can be 3d printed and lamented to the existing facade.

FWIW I believe there are 4 not kits in the wild including mine abs the pilot model used for product shots. I think my kit was #37 out of 100 (the boxes were signed).

[peteski]

Didn't it also have s list of every railroad it served at the time it was built too? Maybe a half etched metal strip or something thin can be 3d printed and lamented to the existing facade.

FWIW I believe there are 4 not kits in the wild including mine abs the pilot model used for product shots. I think my kit was #37 out of 100 (the boxes were signed).

I should have been clearer.  As you suspect the letering spells out the names of 3 railroads the station serviced.  The letters appear debossed, the best and easiest way to represent that would have been to laser engrave them in the kit's facade.Installing a photoetched panel might work, but the panel will addt hickness (since it has to be thick enough to make the etched letters visible after painting).  3D printing also doesn't seem to be a good option.

I checked the box of my kit and it is not signed or numbered.  I bought mine from BLW.

[sd45elect2000]

I didn't see any numbers or anything on mine either. I got mine from Russ at the Springfield train show.