John, I really like like all the details you're putting into this. Anything that would be in the REAL thing you're putting them in. Most folks might be satified with the bare essentials, your piece will have that lived in look, so to speak.~Gary

Woodstove
Here are a few of the steps in making my version of a woodstove in 1/16th scale.After making the various parts I underpainted it with Gesso.Then I took some silver and added a bit of black gesso until I got kind of a gunmetal color.
Before weathering I like to bring back the finish to what I think it may have looked like when new ,and then weather it from there ,in what I think may have been the natural process.From here I will finish it with washes of acryilics and then use pastels but before that I have to figure out the placement of the legs for the stove and the chimney.

Why we do the things we do?
While making this old bashed up woodstove I got to thinking ,why is it that I get so much fun out of creating old ,worn,bashed up objects as opposed to bright ,clean and modern?
Lets face it my dios are basically the same thing that the doll house guys and gals do with a big subject matter change. Yet if I was asked to build one I would refuse ,why? although I love and appreciate the art and wonderful craftsmanship involved ,I would prefer making the old barn out back than the precise Victorian structure.And if that old barn contains an old car or airplane so much the better!
I know that a lot of my fellow modelers feel the same way.It just isn't finished if it hasn't been weathered in some way.Sometimes I think this is almost an artform in itself.I have even been known to take expensive,new, limited edition, vintage diecasts and make them into beat up hulks. Collectors think I am nuts but I think that they are beautiful in their oldness.
I even enjoy taking precisely made wooden airplane structures and weathering them ,as you guys who follow this thread already know.
It is a question that intrigues me and one that I have never been able to find an answer for..

John - Incredible! Believe me brother, you should have no trouble doing a figure from scratch. You have got skills! Please keep up the WIP (complete with philosophy lessons ! )! This is a fun one!

All the best,
Dan

John, Great job on the stove. I think you more than have the ability to scratchbuild a figure. Give it a shot sometime. The first one may not be to your satisfaction, but you'll see improvements over time.~Gary

The red bricks are the base upon which the woodstove will rest.They are made of wood strips laid side by side ,glued to a piece of wood and then scored at regular intervals to look like bricks.After they were sealed with laquer ,I then painted on thin coats of Red Earth acrylics.Next will come the weathering.

The woodstove feet were made from flatten aluminium tube cut to length then pinned and glued to the drum.A hardwood dowel was shaped and added as a stovepipe.
I have begun to do a little weathering by flicking on ,with an old toothbrush , very thin sprays of Raw Umber to tone down the silver.Black and Burnt Sienna pastels were used for shading and the rusty look.I will finish the weathering the stove after I attach it to the brick base.

Thanks Dan and Gary! I am really looking forward to giving it a go in the fuure but for now I just want to finish what I have already started.

Here I have randomly selected a few bricks for lightening or darkening .Using a very watery Raw Umber mix I toothbrush sprayed the entire surface.Then I took a small brush and painted on Raw Umber washes on individual bricks and also darkened the spaces a bit between the cracks.I then took a little Burnt Sienna chaulk pastel and lightened a few bricks for contrast.
Because of space requirements in the engine shop I think that I will now only show the Mercedes engine being worked on .I will find a spot in the main hangar for the second OX5,probably somewhere close to the bastketcase Jenny.

Mercedes engine stand.
Speaking about space in the engine shop,I guess that it is about time to build the Mercedes engine stand and then figure out where to put the workbench and shelves etc... If anyone has pics of an engine stand for an inline engine from this period ,please advise.It would have to be of a design that allows for easy access to the engine and would either be mobile or have some sort of block and tackle arrangement for lifting the engine. Any ideas?