Postby G3750 » Tue Aug 01, 2023 8:36 am
Thank you Wayne and Paul.
I really did try to focus on the details. From what I have seen of HO models, they are very clean and simple. HO is blessed with tons of readily available buildings (the Walthers steel mill kits) and detail parts (roll stands, ingots, motors, cars, cranes, etc.) but they do all come across as relatively sterile and formulaic. Anything in O scale must be scratch-built. Fortunately, Plastruct and Evergreen do make structural shapes (walls, roofs, ladders, safety cages) in O. And a friend 3D printed the ladles and bailers (ladle hooks).
The basics of the lighting came from Evan Designs. The overhead lights (in the trusses) are attached to shades. I think they mimic my impressions of the interior lighting of these structures - bright in spots and darker corners in others.
I weathered the hell out of this model because of my own experience in the mill. Everything is filthy. I worked 3 summers at Weirton Steel ('72 - Tin Mill, '73 - Blooming Mill, '74 - Strip Steel). The Open Hearth was shut down in 1967, replaced by the Basic Oxygen Plant, but the sight of those smoke stacks belching multi-colored smoke was a childhood memory that stayed with me.
One of the things that really helped was my ability to consult with people who actually worked in an open hearth. I had several contacts who provided me with impressions and hard information that would otherwise be lost. Most of these people are in their late 70's or older; that information is going away and I was fortunate to capture some of it. The other thing that helped immensely was the Weirton Area Museum's digitization of Weirton Steel's monthly Bulletin magazine (1934-1989). The 1950-52 issues contained a lot of photos and information that assisted with the build.
George
What is a 'Conservative'? "Someone who wants society and policy to recognize objective reality- economic, biological, and historical."
—Katy Faust
