H.J. Heinz Salting Station (AMB Dill's Pickle's)

Re: H.J. Heinz Salting Station (BIS Sassen Pickle Works)

Looks great Manny - cool as a cucumber!

Bob

Lenexa, KS

 

Re: H.J. Heinz Salting Station (BIS Sassen Pickle Works)

The pickle is a brooch pin that Heinz offered over 75 years ago. I got it off of eBay. I am getting molding clay and will press the pickle half way into the clay to create a mold. The pickle will be cast in resin. Once dry it will be painted green and the HEINZ letters that came with the SALTING STATION 57 will be attached.

The secondary signs are the HEINZ logo. These were on the walls of the station in various strategic viewing points. I am having those decals made and will make them next.

More to come.

 

Re: A teaser...

You ain't just whistlin' Dixie! Should be barrels of fun! LOL...

 

Re: H.J. Heinz Salting Station (BIS Sassen Pickle Works)

Hey Y'all,

Today I sanded and then stained with Dr. Ben's Weathering Stains my Heinz Salting Station 57 sign. After it was all together, I weathered it with Instant Age from Dr. Ben's. Not bad for the first time. I'm pleased. I think it came out pretty good. What do y'all think?

Next is molding the pickle.

Manny

 

Today was a very exciting day for me. Today I cast my first part in Resin.

After doing some research I found a company called Alumilite. They produce easy home based resin casting kits. My local Hobby Lobby had the starter kit in stock and using a 40% off coupon, I only had to invest $20.00 to get started.

After reading the packaging, I was a little perplexed because every instruction called for making a silicone mold. I only needed the front half of the pickle, so this would be difficult. The kit comes with a silicone clay, so I decided to try using it as a mold. As you can see it worked flawlessly! The pickle came out great!

I trimmed all the excess flash, which wasn't much and now the green paint is drying. Just have to do the lettering and then glue it to the sign and the sign for the most part is done.

Here are some pics.

Manny

 

In a pickle!......Heinz Salting Station 57 that is!

 

Thanks Jim. I can't believe how easy it is to cast your own stuff. I will definitely try more of it. On what I do not know, but there are a few things I have in mind. Just waiting on the kit now to come in and I can get started on that.

 

Re: A teaser...

Manny - Play Doe makes a good mold too!
For tiny parts - after the medium sets up - just soak it in water and the Play Doe dissolves.
An old tooth brush helps too!

 

Re: A teaser...

Hey Sherrel,

I used an old toothbrush to clean the casting. We're on the right page. Didn't think about Play Doh as a mold maker. Hmmm....

Starting construction on the second sign...

 

Second sign is built. Second pickle has been cast and painted.

 

Double for your trouble. Oh what a pickle to be in!



I did learn a valuable lesson about Dr. Ben's Weathering Stains. I shook the cans too much before I stained the second sign. The Basswood went on a little thicker and then it dried real fast. It took up a lot of the woods capability to absorb, sort of, and the Realistic Rust wouldn't easily absorb into the wood. It was an interesting affect and as a result, once Instant Aged, I had a little heavier of a weathering job on the sign. No big deal. That sign can just face Northward as the North winds would pummel it more than the other directions. I was doing the sign at 3:00 AM in the morning so I didn't bother to look at the barrel directions Dr. Ben wrote, which I used to do the first sign (top). I thought I remembered, but apparently I didn't. His instructions were to shake very lightly. Can't say I did that. So that's what caused the heavier wash of Basswood. I'm happy. They look great.

Lesson learned. Only the second time I've used Dr. Ben's and I'm totally pleased.

 

What would a salting station be, or a Lone Star Brewery, or any kind of industry for that matter be, without some skids? Well, that is exactly what I've got: skids.

Now one would think that a wooden pallet is a pallet, but actually, that thinking is so far from wrong. Just like anything over time, pallets have had their fair share of industrial improvements. I did a lot of research on the history of wooden pallets, and lets just say, it is very interesting. The 1880-1910 period was the introduction/refining first stage era and there were a lot of different designs. It was during that time that the pallet jack in its very primitive design was also developed.

Having said all that, I had to find a manufacturer who was making period pallets/skids. I found them: GC Laser Innovations.

GC Laser Innovations

GC's pallets come 36 in a package and are made out of wood card stock. The two legs of the skids are separate pieces that you have to cut out and glue to the back of the skid planks. Now for some this may be a little tedious, but in the end you get a great looking period skid for the early 1900's!

You must make sure that you have glue on the entire length of the skid legs because when cut from the sprue, the legs are all that hold the planks on, just like the real deal.

Below are the pictures of the process.

I used Dr. Ben's Consortium Weathering Stains and Instant Age on all the skids.

Dr. Ben's Scale Consortium

On twelve (12) of the skids, I did a base wash of Natural Basswood, followed by Hardwood Maple, and then finished with Instant Age.

On twelve (12) of the skids, I did a base wash of Natural Basswood, followed by Realistic Oak, and heavily washed with Instant Age.

On the last twelve (12), I did only a wash of Realistic Oak and a very light touch of Instant Age. This was to imply the skids were fairly new and had little usage.

I was very pleased with the results. Dr. Ben's stains are easy to work with and a pleasure to clean up after. No offensive odors or stains.

Once all the washes were dry, I sealed with a coat of Testors Dull Coat. The rest is history. I have another 36 to make and will have to do more since one of the kits I have in the proverbial closet is Bar Mills Pinkham's Pallets. Oh joy!

Thanks for looking. As always, your comments are welcomed!

Manny

 

Thanks Jim. I just got a bug and pulled out a bag of "xxx" sacks from "xxx" farm. I stacked them on the pallet. I thought this pic was neat. Now I have a bug to paint the sacks and create some mini loads.

LOL...Thank God Model Railroading as addicting as it is, isn't considered a drug. If it was I would have the ATF, FBI, CIA, and every police agency after me! How addicting is this, or what???

Manny

 

Just some piddling around today. Went to Hobbytown USA and picked up some Buff, Khaki, and Earth Tamiya Acrylics. I put two stacks of "xxx" bags of "xxx" product together. One full pallet and the other half full ready for a scene with men loading the pallet up. I also stacked some of the pallets loosely to see how high I could realistically go.

The feed bags were done in Khaki to represent Burlap, and Buff to represent dirty cotton. They are both too plain. They need some kind of label. I was thinking of going to OfficeMax and getting some Ultra Thin Sharpies in Black, Orange, Blue, Red, and Green to make mock writing on the bags. Just that added touch. Then I would ever, ever, ever, so lightly instant age them to tone the Sharpies down. I think I'm going to try this on an experimental piece before I do the stacks. Anyhow, here are some pics from today.

Manny






Oh, I also got a huge lot of pickle barrels compliments of Wiseman HO Scale Models. (Photo Wiseman image)