Tool repair shop complete

I have completed the tool repair shop - mostly added roofs plus a few details such as signs and an open tool box of junk tools outside the shed.  I also did a little weathering with chalks.  

This was a relatively simple model - mostly wood and card stock plus a variety of details.

Now as usual I have to decide what to build next although I have a few ideas.

Have a Happy New year!!  I hope 2022 is better than this year.  

 

Tool repair shop progress

 My progress on this model has been slow but I have other issues occupying my time these days,   I have added more details and constructed the main part of the boiler house attached tp the tool repair shop.  

I have added a low boarded  railing on the outside work area with details along it including some shelves, a tool chest,  a barrel and some saw horses.

The boiler house has no roof yet and is at the back right. 

There are two windows in the boiler house - no glass.  

Above is a rear view of the structure.  The detail at the right side of the boiler house is a bin to add coal for the boiler. 

Above is a top view showing the details in the work area and the boiler house.  Next I will be adding some roofs.

Last week I was sorting through some of my old files and found a file containing many of the certificates I received for models  I displayed at conventions such as the NMRA conventions, narrow gauge conventions, MER conventions, and MER division meets.  They include 3rd, 2nd and first place awards plus one best in show.  There are also certificates for the many clinic presentations I gave.  Lots of fun those times.  

My final part of this model will be posted after Christmas.  Have a nice holiday!  

Tool repair shop model start

 My next model is a tool repair shop.  I like doing shops.  This model has a small main building with an open work shed on the side and there will be a small boiler shed in the back.  The nice thing about the open work shed is that the details are visible.  

The door and windows on the front are commercial parts.  The roof has commercial tar paper strips.  

 

The open work area will have a roof.  The details are from left to right a work bench,  a drill press, a scratch built door and a tool grinder.  The boiler house will be located at the right rear side of the open work area.  There will be  additional details placed in the open work area.  

The base of the work area is a sheet of card stock painted gray.  

Battery shop model

My next model is a battery shop.  As usual I installed details inside the shop area which are not visible in the photos but you can see them in person.  I placed a large battery sign on the roof to add a nice colorful detail.  The front door and two windows are commercial parts.  The back door and left wind are scratch.  I added a bunch of signs on the walls.

The interior details include a work bench, shelves with batteries and other things.  I also built a wheeled air compressor.  You can see one of the batteries inside the right side of the door. 

Below is a rear view of the model showing the ladder to the roof and rear door.  The roof is flat and "tarred".  

And now I need to come up with an idea for my next model - something that gets harder and harder as I have built so many models.  

 

Stan's place restaurant complete

 I have added a roof and some details including signs, a stove stack, some trash barrels in back,  a sidewalk in front with a guy having a drink near the front door. 

And below is a view of the rear.

The side walk is card stock, the trash cans are commercial parts, and the stack was made from a plastic sprue with a curl of paper on top.  The roof "tar paper" was made from paper strips.   You can barely see the people dining at the window though they are more visible in person.  

Small restaurant model progress

 I got the idea for this restaurant model from an old photo on the Shorpy web site.  On that site they have a Mike's Place restaurant.  My model is similar but not exact.  The model is  made using wood and card stock parts.  The front door is a commercial part but all the windows and other doors are scratch built.  

Inside the front window is a table with three figures - a man, woman and a child.  Behind the table is a restaurant worker figure holding a tray with two glasses.  I scratch built the tables and chairs.  

Above is a view from above showing the table and figures.  At the back of the restaurant is the kitchen area.  I will not be adding details inside the kitchen as they will not be visible once the roof is installed.  

In addition to the roof I will be adding various details to the outside including signs and other things.  

This model is called Stan's place.  I actually am a decent cook.  I retired before my wife so I cooked the dinners so when she got home dinner was ready.  I also did some baking of deserts such as pies, cakes and cookies.  

Small boat model

I have been working on a boat model starting with a cast hull I have had sitting around for a long time.  This was built mostly with small wood parts and some string.  There are a few commercial parts such as the life preserver, the tire on the side for cushioning docking, the barrel on the back, and a hatch on the deck.

The anchor at the front was made using card stock and is hanging on a chain.  There is a large window on the front of the cabin behind the figure.  

Above is the hull casting I started with.

Above is another project I was working on.  It is a shelf I placed on top of a short  bookcase located in the finished part of my basement.  I needed some place to display the models I have recently been working on since there is not really any more space on my layout.  The shelf is 23 x 43 inches.  I have temporarily placed some background structures along the wall.  I may permanently attach them.  

 

Abandoned building complete

I decided to make the abandoned building an old rope shop.  It is in bad shape with broken boards, broken windows and lots of weathering.  The roof was built board by board with tar paper style covering made from facial tissue sprayed with light gray spray paint applied.  When the paint was dry I separated the tissue sheets keeping the painted part which I cut into scale 3 foot wide strips.  After I glued the strips to the roof boards I tore parts of the strips revealing the boards.  I then applied dark gray chalk.

On the deck is an old style rope machine I scratch built from a variety of old photos.  I sort of built it with a little imagination.  There is a very weathered sign on the front.  

At the base of the structure is a stone style foundation built using commercial card stock stone sheet.

Now again I need to come up with an idea for the next model.  

Abandoned building model start

 I have started on a new model.  It will be an abandoned building in bad shape.  Not sure yet what it was before it was abandoned but some kind of shop.  

I have decided to stay with this blog for now.  I fixed the "warning" problem.  I have also been looking at alternate blog sites but so far none appeal to me.  I did set up something on a site called word press but I have not posted anything there and do not particularly like it.

Above is the start on my model.  It is just the front of the main building and a porch/platform.  It will have a large sign at the peak of the roof.  There will be an open double door to allow some view of the interior.  The windows were made using wood strips and there is plastic in the windows simulating broken glass.  No commercial parts so far.

There will be junk inside, on the porch, and around the model.  There will be a "shop" structure adjoining this structure. 

Small two story house model

 I decided to build this model before I decided what it would be.  It is a small two story house with different people on each floor. There is an exterior stair case and two level smoke stacks.  

There is a figure on the upper landing.

The only time consuming aspect of this model was adding the shingles.  

.  Thanks for viewing my blog.  Stan Knotts.  

Beer barrel truck model

This is a truck carrying barrels of beer for my brew house. The only commercial parts are the wheels, the steering wheel, and the barrels.  The rest is mostly wood and card stock with metal wire for the axles.  I used photos of old beer trucks for my modeling inspiration.  I do not know why the barrels are tilted on the truck instead of upright but that is how they looked in the photos I saw.

There is a plastic windshield.  The fenders were made from file folder card stock and shaped then coated with white glue to hold the shape.  

Below is an old photo of a beer barrel truck.

This blog site is getting harder to use.  If you want to send me a comment or question without posting it on the blog send it to skmdlrr@gmail.com.  That seems to work.  

 Now again I need to figure out what to ankle next. 

Brew house model

 I decided to make the model I started a brew house - that is a small beer brewery.  The rear structure  has two floors.  The lower floor is where the beer is brewed and the upper floor is where the  barrels of beer are stored.  The original front structure is an office and tasting room.  

The doorway in the upper left has a lift which has a pallet with ropes for raising and lowering the beer barrels.  There are interior details in both the upper and lower sections of the rear structure but they are hard to see other than in person.

Above are the barrels inside the lower section.  The figure is there to show the size.  They are all I built but there would be a lot more in reality.  

This is a view of the right side.  There is a door to the brew section at the back of the overhang.  

Now to decide what to build next.  This took longer than expected as I had some time consuming personal business to attend to.  

Structure start - first part

 This is the first part of a new structure.  I got the idea for it from a sketch in an old painting book.  My model is not exactly the same as the sketch but it was my inspiration.  I have not yet decided what this structure will be but I am thinking about that.  The next part will be a large work/storage building behind this structure. 

There is no back on this model - the next structure will provide the back.  All windows and doors except the door under the overhang are old metal castings I obtained many years ago and have no idea who the manufacturer was.   There will be a large sign on the upper left side of the front.  I will also add a variety of exterior details once I decide what this is.  I just like building things.  

Crane & lift repair shop complete

 I have added a lift testing tower, a crane, signs, a dolley and a chair on the dock of this structure.  The tower turned out to be very complex and time consuming.  

The lift tower was made mostly from wood with metal and card stock pulleys and gears.  There is a control motor at the base of the lift.  The lift tower has a slot at the top to allow lift bars to be inserted for testing.  I added a figure climbing the tower ladder.  The crane was made from wood with a metal base.  The dolley was scratch built.  The chair is a metal commercial detail.  

The signs were printed on my computer,  glued to a piece of card stock and weathered.

I am not yet sure what I will build next.  I have been busy doing repairs to things around the house having nothing to do with my model railroad.  

NMRA Bullion reefer car

 I have had this car for a long time .  It appears to have NMRA cardboard sides as they used to publish in the NMRA Bulletin (now the NMRA Magazine).  These sides were apparently published in 1983. I have a lot of those car sides of different types.  I guess the car was a reefer to carry cold cash.  😀

On the lower left next to the door it says "return to Chattanooga when full".  To the right of that it says "Bullion transport only".  At the top of the sides it says NMRA Bulletin 1983.  

I am still working on the dock details for the crane & lift repair shop which have been complex.  That will be published soon.

Crane & Lift repair shop

My next model is a small crane and lift repair shop.  It installs and repairs these devices.   I have completed the structure but the exterior details and signs are not yet done.  The siding is board and batten and the windows and door are commercial products.  

There are some interior details inside the open door on the dock but as usual they do not show up in photos.   The main interior details are a work bench, lumber and boxes.  Just inside the door you can see part of a sawhorse I built using a different method.  I cut a wood top and added two sets of legs using bent card stock.  It was very easy to build and arrange.  I added cross supports at each end to secure the legs with the proper spread.  

The stairs are a plastic commercial product.  The stack on the back which projects from the upper floor office was made from a plastic sprue with a raised top added on a piece of wire.  

Next I will build a crane or two for the loading dock and a small raised tower to hold lift devices for testing.  I will also add some signs.  

Ice house and wagon

 I have built an ice house and ice wagon.  The ice house was built using card stock and wood plus a door which is a metal reefer door.  The front sign was made using a dry transfer and the sign on the side was printed  from an internet sign.

The ice house will be placed beside the icebox repair shop.

Above is the ice wagon.  It was made from card stock and wood.  The wheels, horse and figure are commercial.  The figure is a plastic seated  item that had no arms or legs.  I made the arms from wire coated with glue and the legs are from thin wood dowels.  The reins the figure is holding are thin wire,

Above is an internet photo that was my inspiration for the ice wagon.

Icebox repair shop complete

 I have completed the icebox repair shop.  This has been an interesting model for me.  

The office is on the left and the repair shop is on the left.  The inside details in the shop include a work bench, a chair, an icebox, a barrel, a sawhorse, and some boards.  The interior details are hard to see in this photo but in person they are visible.  On the deck is a chair, a hand cart, a figure, a scratch built icebox and some signs.

Above is a different view which shows the signs.  

Next I will build an ice house and an ice wagon.  

Icebox repair shop start

 This next model is an icebox repair shop.  Iceboxes have a top section where large ice chunks are inserted to keep the lower food storage area cool.  When I was young my grandmother had an icebox in her cottage on the shore of Lake Ontario.  When we visited we had to get large chunks of ice periodically to keep our food cool.

On the left is the office and on the right is a platform which will support the repair shop.  An icebox is sitting on the right side of the platform. 

The entire model is built from wood with commercial shingles on the roof.  The stack on the left was made using a section of plastic sprue.  The windows and doors are commercial plastic parts.  

The icebox model was made from wood pieces and can be seen sitting on the dock.  

Above is a photo that I used as a basis for my model.  

I will now complete the shop model.  

Dumbwaiter shop complete

This took a lot longer than I expected - a combination of time consuming details and non modeling work around the house.  There as usual are interior details not visible in this photo.  Inside is a dumbwaiter and other details. 

The two cranes are scratch built.  

Above is the dumbwaiter installed inside the building.  It is two stories high.  

Now again I need to come up with another model to build.  

Dumbwaiter shop start

This shop installs, maintains and repairs dumbwaiters.  A dumbwaiter is like a small elevator for moving items such as food or other small items from one floor to another.  These devices have existed for many years and are still used today.   I have completed most of the building except the roof and interior.

There will be a dumbwaiter inside the left side of the building.  I will also be adding various details and signs.

Above is an illustration of a dumbwaiter.  

Truck under repair

I built this Jordan truck kit with modifications including replacing the front hood with a radiator and an engine.  I also added a wood bed in the rear as it only had a frame.  I also added headlights which I attached to the sides of the radiator.  

I made the engine from some scrap metal parts, painted it silver then added a wash of rust using my bottle of alcohol with orange acrylic paint mixd in.  I also put some of that wash on the radiator.

Above is a rear view of the truck.  I placed the truck in front of the truck repair shop.  

I now have no more room on my layout for structures so they will either be placed on a shelf or will replace an existing structure.

Truck repair shop complete

 I added the storage shed and an oil tank at the rear of the building along with a few more signs.

The shed door is a metal commercial part.

Now that this structure is complete I will build a truck or two that need repair.