Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Victorian house model complete

I have completed the victorian house model.  It was a complicated model and took longer than I thought to complete.  It will be the largest structure on  my town street.  The roof was made using metal ribbed seam roofing material.


On the left is an attached garage.  I may add a car when I install it on the layout.


I added a bench on the upper deck and a couch on the lower deck.  I will probably add figures at several locations.


Above is a view of the rear of the building.  I added a porch at the back door and a shed.


This model was interesting to build and somewhat challenging.

Now I need to decide what my next model will be.



Sunday, February 18, 2018

Victorian house model progress

I have made some progress on my victorian house model.  The front is mostly done and I have added the right side.  The porch area was complicated and I debated for some time on the railings.  The upper part of the front is a metal casting.


Below is a view of the right side.


The windows on the right side are scratch built from wood to match as much as possible the plastic windows on the front.  I did this since I do not have enough matching commercial windows for the model and the right side will likely be next to the tavern separated by a narrow alley.  The left side will have an extension slightly back from the front.  I am still doing planning on where this is going.  
I wanted to do this update to keep the blog fresh.

Deteriorated tank car

I took this photo in 1982 but since I did not add any info I am not sure where it was.


I find deteriorated and weathered models to be interesting.



Sunday, February 11, 2018

Victorian house model start

My next structure on the town street will be an old victorian style house.  I did some research and got some ideas and created a sketch that is the basis for this model.  This is only part of the front of the house.


The upper porch will have a railing and a roof with a peaked house roof above that.  The windows and doors are all Grandt Line parts.  The posts are cast metal parts.  I am still debating on some of the features of the house - I just make up this stuff as I go along.  Sometimes that makes for problems but they all seem to work out somehow.  Thankfully there will not be any interior details.

Below is a vintage 1920 or so truck hauling a tower.  There is a trailer at the back to support this fairly tall tower.  I expect getting the tower upright was fun.


I assume the guy standing on the top was only there for the photo.  This would make for an interesting model but I do not think I will build it.




Monday, February 5, 2018

Tank truck model

While planning my next structure, I have assembled a tank truck which is part kit, part scratch. The rear tank part of the truck is a cast metal kit.  It contained no wheels, cab or engine compartment.  I have a lot of truck and auto wheel commercial parts so I used those.  The cab and engine were scratch built from card stock and wood parts.  I used a commercial radiator casting from my parts box which established the size of the front end.


In the process of looking for parts for this model I again spent time sorting some parts boxes - a time consuming process but one which ultimately yields items I had forgotten about.

Below is a photo I took in 1992 during a railman trip - I believe is was in Ohio.


It is an interesting house built from two boxcars.  There is a nice chair on the porch so the occupant can sit and watch the passing road traffic.

Next Model

My next model will be another house for the street I am assembling.  It will be an old victorian style house.  I have done research and sketched the model.  Construction begins tomorrow.