Derrick drive mechanism shed

 This shed contains machinery to operate a derrick.  It also has a work bench and some other details.  the machinery is from an SS Ltd kit.  The shed was made using scribed wood and wood strips.  

Above is a front view of the shed and machinery inside.  The roof was made using cardboard corrugated roof material supplied with the machinery kit.  

Above is a semi side view of the shed.

Above is a view of the shed interior taken before the other wall and roof were installed.  The "brass" wheels will be used for wires that will connect to the derrick for operation.  On the upper left is a control panel that connects to a buss bar on the roof. 

Next I will build a derrick for the to operate.  

Model A Ford station wagon model

 While trying to decide what structure to build next I decided to build one of my old vehicle kits.  This station wagon by Jordan Products was painful to build.  I mostly ignored the instructions and just built it using the drawings of what went where.  It came out OK and will be placed somewhere on my layout.

Behind the model is the cover of the box it came in which has a photo of their kit model.  

Railroad track side shed model

 This is a small shed owned by the railroad and used to store track maintenance materials and other things used by the maintenance crew.  The shed walls were built using individual board strips with only my ink/alcohol mixture for coloring.   The roof was made from card board with end cuts to simulate wood planks and "tarpaper" roofing cover.  The door is and old freight car door.  

I placed the shed on a piece of thin cardboard painted to simulate dirt and added some grass, real dirt and various details.  On the left above is a stack of ties.  At the right is a loco wheel.  One of the workers is standing at the door.  

At the right end of the shed is a rack with two oil barrels.  

Above is a view of the rear of the shed.  There is a small bush to the left, a ladder hanging on the back of the shed, and some junk and tools next to the stack of ties.

Bar model

This bar model was constructed to be next to the flophouse.  It was mostly constructed using card stock with paper brick sheet siding by SS Ltd which I bought many years ago.  The front window is a commercial plastic  product and the recessed front door was scratch built.  

The person sitting on the sidewalk looks like he had too much to drink.  

The beer and liquor signs were cut out of magazines years ago.  The sidewalk is a plastic commercial product.

Flophouse model

 A flophouse is a place that provides low cost lodging with a place to sleep and not much more.  It has a shared bathroom and provides no meals.  These originated in the early 1900s though I am not sure if they still exist today.  They had other names also, especially in  other countries.  The quarters inside were very small sometimes like an office cubicle.  The people who used these were mostly transient workers.  I think the modern version of these are called pods.

My model has commercial wood sides with a cast metal frame at the top of the front.  At the bottom is a simulated paper cement block base.  The front and side windows are commercial products by Tichy.  The front door and rear windows are scratch built.  There is a Flophouse sign over the door and some tobacco signs on the walls.  The smoke stack is a plastic commercial part.

In the rear view above you can see a small shed.   The right side is plain and there will be a small bar next to it.  That is what I will build next.  

Way station model

This is a railroad way station which is a small station along the railway between cities.  I named it North Station in memory of my late friend Gordon North.  It is mostly scratch built except the fence, the trash can,  the RPO stand and of course the figures and luggage.  

The model is on a plastic base which is carved to simulate cement sections.  To the left of the door is a mostly black time table.  

The RPO stand at the left has a mail bag that a railway post office car on a passenger train can easily grab as it slowly goes by.  I modified the RPO stand slightly and added the words U S Mail using a commercial dry transfer.  A friend of mine gave me one of those old RPO bags years ago as the postal service was getting rid of them.  I have it hanging on a wall in my basement.  The RPO ended many years ago.   I actually got to see the inside of one of those RPO cars at a railway museum. It had a row of mail bags hanging in the center of the car with town name labels on them and some sorting desks along the walls.  

And now to decide what to build next.  

Kerosene supply shop model

 This model goes with the kerosene truck model I just built.  This shop has a kerosene tank to provide kerosene to buyers.  The kerosene is placed in metal barrels many of which are inside the shop.  Kerosene is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid derived from petroleum and was initially developed in the late 1800s. One end of the structure is the office and the major portion is the kerosene tank and barrel shop  storage area.  Some areas of the US require kerosene barrels to be painted blue.  

Above is the office end of the structure.  The office has a kerosene powered heater with a vent on the roof.  

Above is the shop end where you can see the kerosene tank at the right side of the door.  There is a kerosine input connector on the outside above the tank where the kerosene is added to the tank.  

Above you can see some of the items inside the shop including barrels, a work bench. a dolley to carry the barrels and a door to the office.  

Above is a photo of the kerosene truck next to the shop.

Now to decide what to build next.

Kerosene Truck

 I just completed building an SS Ltd Autocrar kerosene truck kit.  It is probably the worst SS Ltd kit I ever built.  The instructions were bad, some parts did not match the instructions, and assembly was difficult since some parts did not fit together as per the instructions.  

This truck is based on a very old truck but there is no indication of what year the truck represents.   I substituted parts for what the kit contained.  As an example the figure supplied for the driver was bigger than what should fit in the cab so I replaced the seat with a wood piece.  The "hose" they supplied was a piece of thick black flex wire that looked terrible so I substituted a cast metal hose reel on the rear of the tank.  

The resulting model is OK but not great.

I painted the truck blue as apparently kerosene barrels were usually blue.

Next I will build a structure that will be a kerosene supply shop.

Rope shop model

 This structure is a rope shop where they make ropes of different types using rope material that they purchase.  The siding is clapboard with commercial  windows by Tichy.  The side stairs are a plastic product with wood strip railings.  There are two figures on this model.  

Below you can see the other side as well as several commercial spool devices with thread wrapped around them for rope.  

The roof has varied size shingles made by BEST.  

Now again to figure out what to build next.  

Old shack with garden

I have added an adjacent fenced in garden and some details to the shack model.  The owner is sitting on a bench on the front porch.  There is a card stock base under the shack and garden.  

The fence was built board by board.  The plants in the garden are all commercial products I bought years ago.

There is a wheel barrow, a shovel and a rake by the side of the shed. All commercial products.  

Above is a rear view.

And above another view from a different angle.  

Now to decide what to build next.

Old shack model

My next model is an old shack which will have a garden  beside it.  I decided to post the shack model while I work on the exterior details.

The model was built board by board with an interior frame to support the boards.

The smoke stack as usual was built using a plastic sprue.

I will do another posting when I finish the fenced in garden and other details.  

 

Shop structure model

 I can not decide what kind of shop this is so I am just calling it a shop.  It has two docks, one for the office and one for the shop area.  The office has a chair on its dock and the shop has some barrels and a dolly on its dock.  The office has a shingled roof and the shop has a flat roof.  The doors and windows are commercial plastic parts.

The view of the right side above gives a better view of the shop roof.

The view above shows the left side and rear of the structure.  The stack as usual was made from a plastic sprue.  

I think I have mentioned before I have no more room on my layout for the models I am building now so they go on a wide shelf in the finished part of my basement.  I have scratch built rail cars, vehicles and mostly structures and I won many awards at model railroad conventions for things I built.  I don't need any more rail cars as I have many more than fit on my layout and I still have unbuilt rail car kits which I may never build.  So again I need to decide what structure to build next. 

Auto salvage complete

This took longer than I expected but details are complex and time consuming.  The office has a shed and fenced in area with lots of auto parts.  

Most of the details are commercial parts or pieces of those parts.

Above is a pile of tires next to the building and some some partial auto bodies .  

More details above. 

This model is a very small auto salvage company but I have very little space to hold these.

Now again to decide what to build next.

Auto salvage company start

This model is a small auto salvage company starting with the office.  This structure is all scratch built with no commercial parts except the shingle roof which was made using shingles by BEST.   The model will include a side shed and a fenced area filled with auto parts.

There is a figure standing in the doorway but no interior details since they could not be seen.  The stack at the back was made using a plastic sprue with a paper cover on the top.  

This was the easy part of this model.  More to come.  

My modeling work bench and tools

 I was requested by someone who follows my blog to post information on my modeling work bench so here is a photo of the work bench.  It is a very old wooden desk with drawers for me to store some of my modeling tools and materials. There is a wide drawer over the center of the desk and three small drawers  on the right side.  The center drawer holds a variety of tools and materials.  The side drawers hold water based craft p[aint and one drawer of wood strips and scraps.

You can see  shelves above the desk with various parts and a rack for tools.  On the desk I placed some of the small clamps I use when gluing wood parts and other materials.  I also have various sizes and shapes of metal used for holding parts down or together.  I have lots of paint brushes of various sizes and shapes.  That black bottle on the right is india ink and alcohol that I use to weather my materials.  I also use clothes pins as clamps (left side) and some I have reversed so the clamp end is long.  One of my favorite "tools" for holding things are pieces of old printer metals type I acquired years ago - they are of various sizes and shapes and are on the desk.  I have many other parts drawers around this room in my basement so when decide to build something I usually have the parts I need to build it.  

I hope you find this information useful  If you have questions let my know.

Stan

Crate shop model complete

 This model took longer than expected to build.  Partly due to some of the details and partly because I had other non-modeling issues to deal with.  The work area is the open area on the left.  There is a boiler, a saw, a lumber rack, some saw horses, some shelves, and a scrap cart.  Many of those items are commercial parts.  The roof is black paper for tar paper.  

On the left side of the work area is a wood fence.  Attached to the fence is a set of shelves.  

Above you see the loading dock which also gives access to the shop interior which is mostly for storage.  There are a lot of crates on the platform - all commercial parts.  I put some crate images on the right wall of the shop.  The windows are commercial parts from Tichy.  

Now to plan my next model.

Crate shop model start

 This model is a crate shop that builds and repairs crates.  This is the main building with more to be constructed.  There is interior details but more will be done on an open shop area to the left of the main structure.  

You can see some of the interior details but the roof is yet to be added.  The platform by the door slopes down to the area of the outside shop. 

Above is a view of the right side.  Next I will add the roof and the outside shop area.

Truck model using SS Ltd kit

 This truck model was made using the SS Ltd Panel Delivery truck kit.  I built one of these before but this time I modified it.  I removed the rear part of the panel truck and substituted an open platform for hauling things.  I have not added a load yet since I am not sure what I will use it for.  

This model is the green truck on the left.  The other is the kit I built some time ago as designed.  

Above is a rear view of the trucks.  I put a panel door on the back of the cab on this truck.   

Years ago I bought a number of SS Ltd kits and have built most of them but still have some.  These kits have great castings but I find them a pain to build.  One kit I still have is the Case Threshing machine steam traction engine kit.  I have decided I will not build this kit but instead will use the parts for various models over time.  

Next I will build a structure kit.

Old farmhouse model

 This model is an old farmhouse.  I added some scenery around it to include some farm items.  There is the main house with a large shed attached.  

The house has a front porch with the owner standing on the porch.  The roofs are shingled.  

On this side of the house is a wheelbarrow with bags of fertilizer  on it and a small plow device.  The chimney on the roof is a commercial product.  

This side has a chicken coop for baby chickens and some chickens on the ground.  

The rear view shows a large door on the shed,  a small tractor and a bush.

I took a long time to build this - partly because of the modeling details and partly because I had other obligations to work on.  

Next I plan to construct an old SS Ltd metal truck kit I have had sitting around for many years which will give me time to come up with an idea for my next structure.  

Roadhouse restaurant model

 This model is a roadhouse restaurant.  A roadhouse is something located along a frequently traveled road and contains a restaurant and frequently a bar, and sometimes minor accommodations for travelers.  They used to be quite common but I think they are now infrequent.  This model has a restaurant on the lower level and accommodations on the upper level.  The restaurant has clapboard walls and the upper level and the areas below it have vertical board walls.  

There is a board walk along the front of the restaurant and you can see there is a bench with two people on the roof of the restaurant.  There is also a planter on that roof.  On the left corner of the upper roof peak is a white bird. 

Above you can see the stairs to the upper floor.

Above is a rear view and you can see the upper and lower stacks.   All windows are plastic by Tichy.  The lower flat roof is card stock and the upper roof is card stock covered with paper strips for tat paper.  

Above are two photos of actual roadhouse restaurants.  

And now to figure out what to build next.