Shifted gears a little bit and decided to do an American Model Builders Glenwood No. 2 Oil Derrick w/ Walthers Oil Pump, mechanized. I will be putting a small oil field of about 5-7 of these on my layout. What is Texas without oil? C'mon now. The kit is not too difficult, but if you don't pay attention to orientation, like I didn't, you mess up. I had to rob a second kit to provide parts for the first attempt. Here is the tower, built, painted a rustic brown. She's wood, and will be weathered and oiled. I've already built the pump and am in the process of working that up with detail. I'll post up pics a little later on that. Moving on to build the platform.
Thanks Jim. That's just the tower part. I still have to build the platform and the three out-buildings. I just gave the tower an India Ink-Alcohol bath. Now she's dirtied up. I still need to add some weather powders, oil stains, etc., for when the well blew. I'm going to add some small sand barrels onto the platforms. I take pictures of the weathering in the morning when there is better light.
Just a suggestion: If you are going to have as many as 7 of them: Leave the mid skirt off of a couple and leave off the bottom 5 sections -so they are not all the same height. (Many of the 'shorter ones' that I worked did not have a crown at the top either.) For a neat scene on your layout- You might even have a part of one under construction with little guys hanging on the girders. Don't forget to have tubing standing in one being serviced with a work crew and another crew laying pipe to tanks or pits. There is so much of details that can go with an oil field. You can really make it a focal point of the layout! Great choice!
Hey Sherrel, Just so you know, these are wood towers, not steel. I like the idea of changing the heights of them. I also like the idea of construction. I like leaving the crown off. By mid-skirt, I'm thinking you are talking about the middle platform? As for the bottom, I can't leave the five bottom sections off because then the walking beam pump won't fit underneath. I could leave the pump out, just install the base. I like your ideas. I didn't know you worked for oil Sherrel. Your help is really appreciated. I'm really trying to figure out how to stain these like the well blew, then got capped, before the pump was installed. Sorry if my terminology is correct. The kit comes with pipe wracks. I intend to build those, and use brass tubing, or styrene for the pipe. What other details would be on an oil field besides pipe, tools, barrels, lumber? I'll take any help I can get! Thanks!
Just quickly looking at a few pics - those look like California derricks around Hunnington Beach. Any derricks I grew up around did not have the middle skirt, but I am sure that there were prob many in Texas that did have.
Here's a picture of Beaumont, TX in 1903. You could literally walk across the towers and not touch the ground. I'm going to try and use this as a guide. I do have other pictures of Texas horizons that look like this and more. I noticed that there are no mid-platforms, or any platforms for that matter. These appear to be drilling still, not pumping. Sherrel can correct me or give more insight.
That's what I'm saying! I was trying to find some pics of Kilgore .. Remember going there with my dad in the forties to get something for a pumping unit. That's a great photo.
I'm going to see if I can incorporate that into a background somehow. I have a better picture which is much longer. Panoramic I think they call it.
I just finished up the platform. I added a few detail parts. On many of the joints I used straps with bolts to firm up the joints. These were Grandt Line Corner Straps (Part 5106-B). I just kept them straight and they did the job. Next I added NBW's to the big posts and on the trim work to make it look beefed up. I think it really adds to the overall affect as without them, the framing would look quite nekkid. Here are pics of the finished platform. I have temporarily laid the decking on. It will not be painted. I want to leave that raw, then weather it up. Overall, I really like this kit. Fun to build and it is unique. The next one I build will be a tower under construction, or different, missing it's crows nests. Crown here. Crown not there. Many choices.
This picture is of the famed Spindletop Field; the discovery well, the Lucas Number 1, came in during during January 1901, which triggered the Texas Oil Boom. The discovery occurred in the Spindletop Salt Dome cap rock. Later development produced from sands on the salt dome flanks, which trapped the petroleum against the salt.
Great information Karl. You are a walking encyclopedia. Being in the oil business, maybe you could help me with ideas on how to weather this rig. Grant it, that there is no oil gusher since it will have an operating pump, but I'm sure that when the gusher came, that the inside experienced some oil stains. I'm trying to figure out exactly how to replicate that. Any ideas? The platform is painted. I just need to weather it. I also started working on one of the three support shacks. I had a hard time deciding whether to close the doors or keep them open and build a little shop inside. This time, I decided to keep the doors closed. I have to weather it and paint the windows. I opened up the windows so that I could use Tichy windows. I painted the shack Soo Line Red, which is supper bright. I need to dirty and stain her up. Here are some pictures so far...
Can't sleep. I decided to weather the roof. Pics don't do it justice. The rust is really heavy. Maybe it came through.
Manny - That is such a great looking kit that I am going to have to break out the exacto knife, razor blades, and glue. Just going to have to get one .. or maybe get Bob's welder and some steel for a large scale one (7.5 gauge). You have touched a nerve, my friend. The rust on the tin looks great - to me anyway. Boo-Yah! Please remember that during the oil boom days that Karl mentioned - very little paint was used .. just naturaly weathered.
Thanks everyone for the support. The camera didn't get the total depth of the rust. I'm thinking I have to Dull Cote the corrugated steel and do some more weathering. I need to knock the shiny aluminum off. I'll be working on weathering the building today. Sherrel, I hear you on the very little paint used. Unfortunately, because of the thinness of the wood used in the AMB kits, and this is not a complaint or criticism, it is very difficult to leave it "plain" or use weathering stains. If you use an India Ink/91% Alcohol mix on the pieces, the wood curls worse than a banana and trying to straighten them takes a lot of patience and ingenuity. If you don't sanding seal the wood, then they will expand due to the moisture in the air and will buckle and bow. If you sanding seal, you can't use weathering stains because the lacquer sealer repels them. I've learned that will AMB Kits, the only thing you can do is sanding seal, paint, and then weather. Stains will not work.
Got the window frames painted in the red shed. I'll be weathering that tonight. Also built the tiny out shed for the platform. She's painted and will be weathered, set up, canvas hung, and tools added tonight. Pics later...
I weathered the supply shed and I India Inked the tool shed, soon to be weathered. Here are pictures of the supply shed. I need to get window glazing from Tichy. My windows did not come with them. Back to weathering...
I got some Rusty Rails resin castings for the oil derrick scene. Here is the raw casting that will sit in front of the shack. I need to paint it. It has barrels, tools, gears, acetylene tanks, oil tank, and various garbage. Perfect for oil well use!