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R.L.W.

Pioneer Oil Refinery: California Star Oil Works kit #RLW-1680

Working With Laser-Cut Wood
The laser-cut sheets may look like pieces are missing, but these holes are intentional. The opening for windows, doors, etc., are removed by
the laser to make building this kit easier. These waste pieces, called drop outs, may still be clinging to the sheet, and fall out when touched.
Save them for use as clutter and scraps when doing the final detailing.
The laser-cut wood parts include many very thin parts; handle carefully. Also, three thicknesses and two types of wood materials are used
for the laser-cut parts: 1/64” (.016”) plywood, 1/32” (.032”) plywood, and 1/16” (.063”) bass wood. The latter is not plywood, and care
must be taken not to break these parts.
It is recommended that the wood parts receive an initial staining prior to removing from the carrier sheets. For the model photographed,
the wood parts were first airbrushed with a thinned (1:1) mix of Floquil Railroad Tie Brown solvent-based paint. The Warehouse deck
and the Tank Car Loading Platform deck received a lighter coat than other parts. The inside of the Condenser received an additional coat
of full-strength brush-applied Floquil Railroad Tie Brown. Rafter tails and the underside of roof overhangs should be brush painted the
color you decide to use for trim on the affected structure.
Remove the pieces from the carrier sheets with a sharp hobby knife as they are needed, and lightly sand off the remainder of the tabs. On
the thicker pieces, there is a slight draft angle caused by the laser. This angle can be removed with a pass or two of a fine sanding block.
Identify all the parts, checking them against the parts list. Most wood parts have a number either on them or nearby. Do not remove the
parts from the carrier yet!
Wood and paper products are effectively live materials on which humidity and temperature changes will change the size of parts slightly.
Our climate is moist so you may find minor changes in the proportion of the parts when moved to a dryer climate.
Working With Metal Castings
All the metal parts should be handled with care as denting and breakage may occur if they are dropped. Cleaning the metal castings is
quite easy. Several jewelers’ files and a sharp hobby knife work well for this procedure. After you have completed the initial cleanup of
parting lines, sprues and flash, wash all the castings in lacquer thinner, or denatured alcohol, and allow them to dry. Handle these after
washing by wearing gloves to avoid getting them contaminated with the oils from your hands.
Sometimes the metal castings in the scene were treated with Blacken-It per the product instructions. The chemical reaction between the
Blacken-It and the metal creates a very realistic weathered-metal finish. Additionally, all metal castings can be treated in this manner to
provide greater paint adhesion.
Painting the castings is quite easy and can be accomplished with a brush or airbrush. A good base coat will be created by airbrushing your
castings with Floquil Earth or light gray paint. Krylon gray primer in a spray can works well as an alternative to an airbrush. Choose
relatively dull colors for your castings. Models tend to look more realistic using shades such as Mud, Grimy Black, etc. by Floquil, or
similar dull shades. Rarely should you consider using bright colors in model scenes. Vallejo acrylic (Microlux from Micro Mark) water-
base colors work well for this
Working With Resin Castings

Some resin castings may contain minor flash or small bubble holes. There may be small bubbles inside recesses. Otherwise good castings
will NOT be rejected for small flaws; it is assumed the modeler will have the skill to fix these small flaws. It is recommended you make a
paste filler for this purpose from styrene shavings dissolved in liquid styrene glue. Wash resin castings with soap and water or isopropyl
alcohol prior to painting. Examine the drawings, and drill holes where required. Glue resin castings together with CA adhesive or two-
part epoxy. Urethane parts may be sanded and filed easily, but the dust should not be inhaled! The base of each casting should be flat. If
not, dress the surface on a sanding board. (Make a sanding board by gluing a piece of 200
grit emery cloth to a flat piece of wood.) Urethane parts may be directly painted with
Floquil solvent-based paints or Vallejo acrylic paints.
It is recommended that all the resin castings be sprayed with an undercoat of flat black
acrylic modeler’s paint such as Vallejo NATO Black. For steel vessels and tanks, then
airbrush lightly and randomly with Badger Modelflex Weathered Black to create subtle
highlights. The apply a few drops of Rustall which will settle into joints and around rivets.
For brick structures: airbrush with Vallejo 71.080- Rust (Micro Mark 29015X2 – Box Car
Red). After this has dried for 24 hours, use a 20-00 brush to randomly paint bricks with
burnt umber and burnt sienna. When thoroughly dry, sprinkle small amounts of talcum
powder (such as Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder) on surface and wipe across brick
joints. (See images below.)

© 2016 Republic Locomotive Works 1680 – pg. 6