Town tavern complete

The tavern is complete and I am pleased with the result.  I added a metal emblem above the front door - it is a pin I acquired long ago and it adds to the image.  There is also a wood front porch.

The roof was made with card stock with paper strips for tar paper.

Above is a rear view.

Above is a view of the interior which has tables, benches and figures, and alas as usual is hard to see now that the roof is on.

The tavern will be located on the layout next to the hardware store with an alley between them.  None of the street structures are yet installed.

As I have said before, most of my painting is done using craft acrylic paints.  I used to store them on a shelf in my shop but that was inconvenient as I had to walk over there each time I needed a different bottle.  Thus I cleared out two drawers in my modeling desk and now store the paints close at hand - much more convenient.  As you can see in the photo below I painted the bottle tops with a dab of the paint so I can tell at a glance what color is in the bottle.

And now again I need to decide what my next model will be.  It will be another structure for my town street.

Town tavern model start

My next model is a small tavern for the town I an building.  I am calling it Paul's Tavern as my son Paul some years ago was considering opening a tavern - until he came to his senses and decided to stay with the job he already had.  The tavern will be adjacent to the hardware store with an alley between them.  I have started by building the tavern front.

I added beer and whiskey signs to the windows.  I will probably add some minimal interior details since the windows are rather large.  The rest of the structure should be fairly easy, the complex part being the front.

Map

Many years ago I bought an old map at an antique store in Maine.  It is an 1800's Southern Pacific railroad map with no date I can find.  The map includes the Central Pacific railroad which was eventually taken over by the Southern Pacific.  It preceded the transcontinental railroad which include the CP and SP.  The map hangs on a wall in my basement and has become very brittle and cracks easily.

The map has old advertising around the edges.  I find this map fascinating.

Small horse barn model

This is a model of a small horse barn which will be placed near the small town street I am building.  The barn is for one horse - Georgie - who is used to haul wagons in the town.  You can see Georgie entering the barn after a day of work.  The person assisting him into his stall was a cheap plastic policeman figure which I modified.

I did some interior detail which as usual is not very visible - but I know it is there.  The floor in the barn is littered with "hay" which I made from small paint brush clippings from an old paint brush.  They actually look good.

The barn is sitting on a section of folder cardstock so I could add some scenery, which would be difficult after it is installed on the layout as it will not be near the layout edge.

The roof is made from pieces of corrugated metal which was painted, stained and then dusted with chalk.

My next structure will be another building for the street scene but I have not yet decided what it will be.

Hardware store model complete

I have completed the hardware store model and attached it to the old house.  These models will be part of a street scene with structures on both sides of the street.  I added a variety of hardware items on the front porch of the store.  Sadly, the details I added inside are barely visible through the windows.  I added a figure on both the lower and upper porch.

Above is a rear view of the structure.

And above is an angle view of the structures.  The railings and porch columns are all commercial products from my parts boxes but I have no idea of the manufacturer.  The details on the lower porch are also commercial parts.

I am still thinking about what to b build next - always a challenging process.

Various vehicle kits built

Over the last few weeks I have assembled four vehicle kits.  The two vehicles on the left are cast metal kits acquired from an estate of a friend who had a bad habit of removing the instructions from kits, so I have no idea of the manufacturer.  The blue auto is a kit produced by Greg's Garage, and is a solid resin casting with a yellow tint.  It is not a great kit but came out OK.  The 4th kit on the right was made by Williams Brothers - a manufacturer apparently still in business.  It was cast in clear plastic and is hollow.  It had a lot of casting ridges that needed to be removed.

These will be placed at various locations on the layout.

The hardware store model is progressing and should be finished some time next week.  I just finished the roof which is shingled - a tedious process.  I am now constructing the front porch roof.  I spent a lot of time constructing interior details for the inside front thinking they would be visible through the large windows - not so much - oh well.

Below is a drawing I made years ago for my 2005 Christmas card.  I used to draw and paint Christmas cards and cards for other occasions but not so much any more.  Sadly many of my friends I used to exchange cards with have passed away - a result of getting old.

There is a fold  across the image since I folded it to store it.  I also painted some cards using oil or acrylic paints.  I used to watch the Bob Ross videos, he was an interesting guy.

And below is another cartoon cut from a newspaper year ago