Korber Lionel Factory Build

The water tower was fairly straightforward (good instruction sheet) with the exception of the tank and bottom which contained some chip outs. I used Squadron Putty to fill in the chip outs and went on from there.

I will post more pictures as the construction proceeds.

Joe

Joe

that has to be one of the hardest korber kits to build. It is very easy to get out of square during construction. I have built four or five of them. Each one has been a challenge.

alan graziano

Alan:

Any notions about the wall sections 11 and 12 between the office complex and the factory?

"attaching the office complex to the factory. I understand placing the office walls in the notches in walls A and B but placement of the two upper wall sections 11 and 12 (long narrow walls with notches at one end) is confusing."

Thanks

Joe

Joe,

it is a little confusing. I will look at a copy of the directions I have and get back to you.

alan

Did some more work on the factory

Added some more bracing to the office complex

I decided to make the second story floors concrete also. I am using 1/8 inch hardboard. It is sagging a little in the center so I will need to add some bracing.

I stared gluing in the floors for the factory section. I also added partitions to the center section.

Did some more work on the factory, mostly interior framework for floors, flat roofs and the skyline / sloped roof sections.
I included pictures of the two narrow back walls for the office complex. As you can see there is a gap between the two that will be seen with the finished building. I am not sure what the design 'function' was but will need to figure out how to cover the gap up. I am thinking either extra wall sections which I really don't have or maybe duct work.............

I need to install lights so may have designed myself into a corner with the factory section since with the floors glued in and the skylight / sloped roofs to be glued in it will be almost impossible to get inside the two wings to change out lights.

You can see the gap in the photo below

Huge factory!!!

I hope you will complete this building successfully!

jpv in France

I gotta say for a kit this one is a struggle. Poor instructions (kit is from the 80's I think), warped plastic, broken walls etc is making it interesting. Without all the extra interior wood bracing it would be a nightmare to ship this structure.
I have discovered something new. I use Gorilla Glue (light blue cap) for plastic to plastic/wood joints and a product called 2P-10RT (wood super glue) for wood to wood. I have used 2P-10 for a long time in my woodworking. I contacted the manufacturer and asked if it can be used to bond plastic and the rep said sure. I used it on all the new wood bracing posted above and it seems to be working great. 2P-10 stands for two part 10 second cure though the 2-part is really the glue and an activator if you want to use it. The RT stands for rubber treated which makes it even better for plastic kits. Just be warned if you use the activator the bond is as advertised - INSTANT. The neat thing about the activator is whether you spray it or brush it on, even if the carrier evaporates the working chemicals remain so you can walk away and come back later and the part is ready to go.

Wow - that’s a big one.  Looks like fun, more so with the challenges maybe.  After it’s done of course.  If it was easy, anyone could do it, right?  Keep up the good work.

Model Structures posted:

I use Gorilla Glue (light blue cap) for plastic to plastic/wood joints...

I use styrene cement (in a tube) for styrene to basswood. It allows some time to position the parts and the bond is strong but not instant.

MELGAR

Wow!  That is a big unit, a bit of a layout shrinker. I was wondering where in the building the F units where assembled?  Very nice work. 

Ran a little experiment  - glued two walls with first the gorilla glue and then with 2P-10. After cure I dropped them on the floor. Both test samples broke apart. Alan Graz is correct in saying that something else is needed like hot glue to reinforce the joints.
If you are building for your own layout the hot glue is probably not necessary but shipping stuff is a different story. I like building Korber kits but I hate shipping them.

Joe

I use hot glue almost exclusively for joining inside corners. Quick, easy, strong, forgiving, and cheap. 

Made progress on this build.

I came up with a solution to covering the space in the back walls for the office complex. I used some wood to continue the roof ridge and cut up a piece of Korber wall I have used in the past for make up work. Hopefully when everything is painted it will blend in.

My second major issue was the skylight panels. I had use interior bracing to strengthen the roof panels but could not figure out how to brace for the skylight panels. These panels were in pretty bad shape wrt warpage and breakage. My solution was to glue wood square rods to the bottom of the panels. Turns out the wood straightened them up just fine and will add stability to the panels once glued into the walls. If i need more glue support I will use some corner bracing as each panel is glued in place.

This building is now ready for paint!

Joe

These skylight panels will brighten up this building.

jpv in France

The building is now painted. I have over-sprayed it with Testors dullcote in preparation for mortar. I use Roberts Brick mortar but instead of wiping it off with a damp rag I use a stiff brush to wipe the mortar off the tops of brick. The dullcote protects the paint finish.

Started to wipe down the mortar from the bricks. As mentioned before my technique is to use a stiff brush to clean the mortar off the bricks. This technique was developed in making quite a few building fronts using OGR panels. I could never develop a technique with a damp cloth on these panels without wiping away the mortar from the mortar lines.
For this Korber kit I started out brushing but decided to try a damp rag for clean up. the damp rag worked on these panels.

These are the walls with the initial coat of Robert's Brick Mortar

These are the brushes I use. The bristles start out a lot longer but wear down with use.

This is after using the brush. If you are looking for a weathered look you could probably stop here.

This is after the damp cloth. Don't attempt to clean out the corners with the rag. Instead leave them for a damp micro-brush later on. Some areas of missing mortar can be touched up with another application of Robert's or light weight Spackle (I use my finger for Spackle).

Before using any kind of weathering wash be sure to spray the mortar with Dullcote or equivalent otherwise the wash will move the mortar everywhere!

Joe

It has been a while since I posted on this build.

Since I cleaned up the mortar I have:

1. Sprayed several coats of Dullcote to protect the mortar.

2. Used a combination of India ink wash and powders to tone down the white mortar and take the shine off the paint. One thing I have learned here; even with several coats of Dullcote if the India ink wash is made with alcohol the wash will go through the Dullcote and push the mortar around. So it is best and no issue with plastic to use the ink mixed with water.

3. I painted all the details. I stuck with dark gray so I could match the window color.

4. The lettering on the main entrance was highlighted using a Humbrol wash. I just basically dipped a needle nose brush into the jar then barley touched the letters. Capillary action took care of the rest.

Next up is to clean up some spots with touch up pint then a few more coats of Dullcote. Then I will install the lights and windows. Since the interior is wide open I plan on using vellum for the window panes to give a 'frosted' appearance.

Joe

I wonder what the floor plan was when Lionel was in the plant.

There are a few YouTube videos but it is impossible to know what was where.

https://www.youtube.com/tv#/wa...Hz5PfA__s&resume

https://www.youtube.com/tv#/wa...0fUr3ifKg&resume

Great videos. They obviously tested each item as it was built--what an idea.

Very nice work on the factory, I wish I has your patience, and the room for a building that big on my layout...8-)

Jeff

Needed to figure out how to let customer get to lights in case replacement is needed. So far I have come up with the following for the two sections with the skylights and angled roof sections. I crafted a removable 'light bar'. This will mean angled roof section immediately above the light bar will need to be loose or glued with rubber cement. I will mount LED light strips under the removable sections and run wires through the holes and then down the sides. The bars have already been painted red oxide over black to blend in with the walls.

Along with making the light bar re-movable I needed to figure out how to make the LED strips also removable without resorting the cutting wire or using a solder iron. I found some pigtails that fit the LED strips. This is a mechanical attachment. So if it becomes necessary to replace a strip the customer need only open the socket remove and replace the strip.

I did some more work  - will show photos tomorrow.

Good idea for these LED strips!

The building of this big factory is really interesting!

jpv in France

JeanPaul - thanks

Joe

You're welcome!

It's Jean-Patrick, not Jean-Paul! but no problem ! "errare humanum est"

jp

Apologies anyway!

Got the lights installed - still need to drill holes in floor board.
I had some issues with connectivity since I did not solder the LED strips into their sockets. Ended up using 'shims' on top of the metal fingers to press them down onto the strips.
Next up is to attach window panes. I am going to use vellum to get a frosted window effect.

I bought this kit for my new layout and getting ready to build it. I have most of the supplies needed but can't find flo quil polly s paint cement for the windows. What did you use to glue the windows in place 

windows to wall - I always use super glue gel

Window 'panes' to window - Formula 560 Canopy glue

Joe F.

Inasmuch as the building is a FACTORY, are your considering placing a sound system inside -- with general factory noise on an endless loop?  Even better, provide a "Quitting Whistle" on a separate control button to signal the end of a work day.

Your customer should provide a Hall of Fame award to you!

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12394
mottlerm@gmail.com 

Mike:

Not this building but I have a OGR  Factory I built for my layout. I bought a Lionel "Steel office with Work Sounds". If I can I will take the electronics out of the building and install in the factory otherwise I will figure out how to hide the small building inside the factory.

Joe

How are you going to ship that monster of a building.  ?? Its absolutely beautiful and so much work you put into it.

Joe I know it has been a while but do you have any info on the LED pigtails?

Fantastic work, it’s going to be very nice and your construction techniques are awesome. Thanks for posting. 

E-UNIT-79 posted:

How are you going to ship that monster of a building.  ?? Its absolutely beautiful and so much work you put into it.

It was a big box! I fashioned foam cushions and used plenty of peanuts. One fear I have with Korber structures is that since super glue is needed for assembly it's inherent brittleness makes shipping dicey. I try to pack so the structure is held rigid in the box to keep it from moving and banging around. Even then I always tell the customer to alert me to any shipping damage.

Alan Graziano has a technique where he adds a bead of hot glue to all joints to further re-enforce them.

coach joe posted:

Joe I know it has been a while but do you have any info on the LED pigtails?

Joe - don't laugh - The company is called WE HONEST. Ebay
Don't know how they do it but they are cheaper than dirt. A friend of mine uses their light poles and never has had an issue. Same with me for the LED strips. I bought a couple of their dwarf signals but have yet to try them out.
As for the pigtails I do have some issues with the metal inside the pigtail lining up with the metal tabs on the LED strips.

Larry - thank you
Joe