1933 panel truck model

I just built this Sylan models 1933 Willys panel truck model.  Sylvan manufactures a variety of interesting vehicle models.  They are easy to build and fairly decent, though I prefer to make modifications and improvements.

The photo from the box shows the manufacturers recommended style of finish.  As you can see I chose a more subdued finish.  My preference for models is a worn and often rusty and deteriorated look to my models since I model the 1939 era when the economy was in bad shape and maintenance was often deferred.

Some techniques I use for my vehicle models include:

- window "glass" made from thick white glue using products such as Canopy glue, Aleenes tacky glues, etc.

- License plates using printed paper.

- Headlights painted white then with several dabs of white glue to give the effect of glass.

- Vehicle signs from decals or printed paper.

- Loads for open trucks.

I usually do not put drivers in the vehicles as they never seem to look right and since the vehicles are not moving drivers seem unnecessary.

Varnish company melting kettle

I just had to build one of these varnish kettles on it's truck.  It will be placed outside of the melting shop as a scenic detail.

This it not the location where it will be but it photographs better here.  I used a short piece of brass tubing for the kettle but it should actually have been a little shorter, but this will do for the effect.

Below is a photo of an early melting room with kettles in place.

You can see the lids against the wall.  The wheels of the trucks are spoked but that was way too much work for the small wheels I was making so mine are solid.

Varnish company completed

The varnish company model is now complete.  I have added a little scenery and will add more after I lay some track in front of it.

I added a building flat behind the melt shop building to add some depth.  The flat is made from card stock with some relief items added such as sills under the windows and the roof line.  I also added a sign on the wall and a board fence at the base connected to the melt shop.  There is scenery at that side.  I also did some scenery between the melt shop and the warehouse although you cannot see it in this view.   I added a sign identifying the company as the Farwig Varnish Company.  The name is based on an early 1900's varnish container company located in Britain.  Besides I like short names.

I am now working on some small detail kit items.  The next industry model is under consideration.

Varnish factory loading shed

This is the last of the varnish factory structures.  I still need to add some details, signs, etc., and integrate the structures on the layout.  This shed was a fairly simple model and mostly built from strip wood.

This was photographed on a wood block so there is no base.  You can see the ramp at the back, barrels and a figure on the platform, and a wood pallet leaning against the platform.

Below is another view of the shed with a photo of the prototype factory that was my inspiration for this model.

And last a photo of all of the component structures sitting together in the general relationship on the layout.  It needs a lot of scencing once in place.

As you can see they sit against the blank painted wall.  I am contemplating some background to paint on the wall to make it seem to fit with it's surroundings.  I will probably start by painting on some card stock before anything actually goes on the wall.

The figure I placed on the platform was a plastic figure I modified.  Below is a photo showing my modified figure on the left and an unmodified figure on the right.  These were part of a set that were jointly holding a device for lifting rail - something I have no use for.  I cut off his arms below the elbow and added new arms, then repainted him.  It is fairly easy to modify commercial figures by cutting, bending, and adding features like hats, aprons, etc.

Varnish company warehouse

I have finally completed the varnish company warehouse.  It is a partial structure as the back fits against a wall and the previously built melt shop connects to the upper platform on the left.  There may be additional work done on all of these buildings as I assemble the complex on the layout.

On the right side is an elevator for raising and lowering supplies and products.  I made it fairly open for effect, which was one factor taking time.  The elevator platform is at the top of the shaft ready to receive it's load.  There is an electric motor on the opposite side at the level of the upper platform.

I placed some details under the stairs but they are very hard to see.  I think this will look a little more impressive when combined with the rest of the structures and perhaps some backdrop painting on the wall - I guess we will see.

D&RGW narrow gauge RR car dumper

The D&RGW narrow gauge railroad built a car dumper at Salida, Colorado in 1924 to transfer coal, ore and other bulk materials from the narrow gauge cars to standard gauge cars.  The dumper was furnished by the McMyler Interstate Company of Cleveland, Ohio.

These photos are from a 1924 railway magazine so they are a little grainy.  The narrow gauge was on the upper level with the standard gauge running underneath.  The loaded cars were on a gravity track with one load at a time dropped to the machine for dumping.  The operation required five workers.  The dumper could handle up to 20 cars per hour.

The above photo shows the dumper in action with the counter-weights part way up the towers.  

Above is a view of the upper, narrow gauge portion of the dumper.   I have no idea of how many years this machine was in operation.

Layout extension

Below is a photo of my completed layout expansion which at this point has no scenery, track or structures permanently installed.   The tunnel from the next room is center left above the brown support leg.  The tunnel exit temporarily comes through a hotel structure from my fathers layout (he used it for a similar purpose).  As you can see there are cabinets and shelves under this part of the layout.

My varnish company warehouse is coming along.

Varnish factory melt shop model

I have finally finished my varnish factory melt shop.  This is the most complicated of the structures in my varnish factory complex.  The brick walls of this structure were made using laser cut wood brick made by Monster Model and Laser Works.  The down side of using wood brick siding with my weathering technique of using water-thinned acrylic white paint over the painted red brick walls is warped walls.  It was of course corrected with bracing but still annoying.

The side on the right you cannot see is unfinished as it will go against a wall.  The stack is plastic - origin lost in the mists of time.  The platform will connect to a platform along the warehouse which will be a relief structure that will project out from this structure and of course be along the wall.  The furnaces for the melt shop are at the back of this structure under the stack.  The varnish mixture is "cooked" in large pots that sit on low wheeled carts.  The workers in these melt shops apparently wore white smocks so my figures that work in there also have white smocks.

The roof is slanted as was the prototype my model loosely follows, and additionally it breaks up the monotony of flat roofs.  The roof is slate made using the styrene slate shingle strips sold by Tichy Train Group.  I added a small skylight window on the roof to break up the monotony.  It is located over the furnace area.  The front area has a partial upper floor.

Above is a side view.  The nice thing about this laser cut wood brick siding is the texture.  The will be  additional details around the structure once it is placed on the layout.

Speaking of my layout, I have completed the basic framing on my layout extension.  It is an L shape 7' 10" by 10' with a small web at the joint of the L.   It is two feet wide.  I have not yet decided what the track plan will be on this but there will not be a lot of track.  This layout addition should provide real estate for a good number of structures, which is the point of it.  I do not operate my railroad - I just build and scenic which is the part I like.  I do run a train when visitors come but seldom any other time.

I had another large tree branch break off a tree at the back of my yard during a storm a few days ago.  The break was about 30 feet up in the tree so I used my chain saw to cut it of at about head height, then cut the part I removed into manageable chunks to move them out of the yard.  I guess the rest will eventually fall off.  Having trees is nice until they fall.  Two weeks ago another tree totally fell because the inside was rotted.  That chain saw really comes in handy.