General store structure complete

I have completed the general store structure but not the model.  There is still work to be done such as a roof over the front porch, lots off signs, weathering and a fenced in side yard where the outside stairs are.

The store is made using clapboard siding for the main building and scribed siding for the rear shed.

The stairs are a commercial product but the railings are strip wood.  All doors and windows are commercial products.  The shingled roof was made using the venerable Campbells paper shingles.

Above is the rear view.  Lots of work yet to be done on this model.

I thought my "tool" for holding down roofs while the glue drys might be of interest.

It is made of a flat piece of wood with two triangular strips glued to it.  It is upside down in this photo tp show the item.  It is resting on a metal weight just for the photo.  It is 4 inches long by 2 1/2 inches wide.  I find this to be very handy.  When I place it on a roof I add weights on top.

General store model start

I have started a new model which may be the last structure on my street - I am running out of room.  This will be a general store.   I have so far constructed three walls with more detail to be added.  There is a lot more work to be done.

I will be adding a foundation under the structure to enable the addition of a front porch.  There will be a peaked roof behind the front wall.

On this side you can see an upper floor door, which will be reached by outside stairs.  There will also be a fenced area on this side which will be detailed with lots of "stuff".  I also plan to add lots of signs.

My work on this was delayed because I was out of town for several days attending my grand daughter's college graduation.   A very important event.

Dentist office model

My dentist occasionally views my blog and at my last visit she suggested I build a dentist office, so I have done that.  It is a very small structure - about 1 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches.  It is all wood with commercial windows and doors.  I added a tooth image carved from styrene on the front just for fun.  There is a small front porch.

This was a very simple structure to build.

In this side and rear view you can see the shingle roof.  I put a scratch built dentist chair inside but it is hard to see.  It is next to the side window.

I have not decided what to build next - just mulling some ideas.

Metal scrap gondola car

In the midst of my structure modeling I decided to build one of the few rail car kits I still have remaining.  It is a Westerfield USRA mill gondola.  I used to buy many of Westerfields kits and accumulated a lot of them.  Eventually I sold most of them on Ebay so I have only about a dozen left.   I have no idea if I will build the rest of them - TBD.  I filled this gondola with rusty metal scrap.

I lettered the gon with my model railroad decals and weathered it with chalk.  You may note that the couplers have no trip pins as I do not uncouple my cars with uncoupling "ramps".  If I need to uncouple cars on the layout I use a toothpick.  For the most part I do not operate my model railroad although it is fully functional with the exception of the layout in the second room where the track has no power at this time.  The only time I run a train is when I have visitors.  My only modeling interest now is scratch building structures for the most part, and scenicing the layout as I progress.

My rusty metal scrap came from a charcoal grill I had many years ago, which had deteriorated over time and was mostly rust.  I boxed the rust pieces and broke them into small pieces.  I have separated the rust pieces into various sizes.  Below is a photo of some of the rust boxes.

They range from chunks to rust dust.

I have decided on my next structure and have a working sketch.  It will be a very small structure which I will post in the near future.