I Say Potato, You Say... Something has sprouted at the produce warehouse, it's no longer empty! What you're looking at is my attempt to model sacks of potatoes. Earlier this week, I purchased a vegetable stand kit (made by Busch), which included an assortment of scale vegetables, boxes, crates, and little plastic blobs that are supposed to be burlap sacks. Unimpressed, I decided to try to make my own (mine's the one on the right): The result was good enough that I decided to stick with it, and proceeded to make a dozen more, including one that has tipped over and spilled:
I Say Potato, You Say.... (continued) They're actually quite simple to make, all you need is some aluminum foil, a paper towel, white glue, and some brown and tan paint. Start by cutting a piece of aluminum foil (the size shown worked best for my needs): Using that piece of foil to form the basic shape of your potato sack: Cover the foil ball with white glue: Wrap in a small piece of paper towel. then set aside (on wax paper) to dry: After the glue has dried, trim the top off, and then paint. For mine, I applied an initial coat of Railroad Tie Brown, followed by a light drybrushing of a tan craft paint. That color combination produces a convincing "dirty burlap" look.
Tracy, The burlap bags look great! They compliment your work on the building very well. Quick question... how high does the dock sit to the average box car door?
Thanks. Right now, with the plywood base underneath, the dock sits 1 scale foot higher than a boxcar floor. After the NMRA contest in May, when I'm ready to place it on the layout permanently, that base will sit down into a cut-out in the foam surface of the layout, making it the proper height. I'll try to get a couple of shots this weekend, comparing the dock height to a boxcar.
As promised, here's a photo showing the dock height in relation to a boxcar floor. Once the structure is permanently planted on the layout, the plywood base will sit beneath the surface of the foam, bringing the dock level with the boxcar floor.
Believe me, it's my pleasure. It helps keep me motivated, and to be honest, I'm so pleased with how it's going that I have to show somebody... :tb-biggrin:
Hill City, Population: 5 As of today, Hill City has a population - all five of 'em. One fellow pitched in right away and started working on getting the produce warehouse stocked up. Hey fella, I'd be careful, those shelves look kinda unstable, like somebody cobbled them together from basswood or something.
I've started a new thread, DM&IR Hill City Sub: Landscaping & scenery, to document the scenery and landscaping progress on my layout. Take a look, and thanks for reading!
Details, Details The clock is ticking, I have five weeks to complete the produce warehouse before the Thousand Lakes Region convention. I've become quite unhappy with the eBay seller from whom I ordered the majority of my detail parts - it's soon to be three weeks since I placed the order, and none of those items have arrived yet. Time to lodge a complaint. Somewhere, out there, is a large assortment of wooden crates, two pot-belly stoves, and wooden barrels, all with my name on them. I'm not totally stuck, however. A few parts from other sources have arrived, and I've started assembling and painting those, pretty much at random. Here's a quick roundup of what what I've done thus far.... Door handles (some rust streaks running down the door would be nice): A record-breaking pumpkin: A crate of onions: A shovel and a barrel:
A Few More Details I took the produce warehouse with me to the local NMRA division meeting last night, and ended up giving a little "how-to" presentation. Totally unexpected, so I just made it up as I went along. I must have done OK, because it seemed to be well-received by the audience. Each night this week I've added a few additional detail items to the structure. It's almost done, still waiting on the potbelly stove, and the assorted crates and boxes that will be stacked inside. Looking inside with the end wall removed: Apples and sacks of potatoes: The full front-side view. Pumpkins are visible through one open door. Crates of onions sit on a hand truck, waiting to be moved inside, or possibly loaded onto a rail car: Another look inside, with the roof removed:
Throw Another Log On The Fire My potbelly stove finally arrived (along with a nasty email from the seller, telling me that I have a poor attitude because I was unhappy about waiting a month for delivery). Oh well. The stove is installed, the stovepipe and chimney are installed, and I even chopped some firewood! The stovepipe is a piece of sprue from an old plastic model kit, with a small piece of styrene tubing glued on top. The tubing is there to hold the section of pipe in place that extends through the roof: One more look from the side:
Dare I Say "It's Done"? Four months ago, I started something that I never thought I was capable of doing - scratchbuilding a structure from the ground up. Today, I installed what I believe were the final detail pieces. I think it's done. Crates full of apples and cabbages, waiting for the next train: A bucket of REAL ashes sitting by the wood stove. A single drop of white glue, in an HO scale pail, dipped into ashes from my fireplace: A pitchfork in the corner, and a crate of apples waiting to go home with Old Man Johnson:
Dare I Say "It's Done"? (continued) More crates waiting for the train. Not sure what's in them, could be onions, apples, or even carrots. Notice that the shelves in the background are empty - this picture was taken a couple of days ago: A look through the (removed) end wall, also taken a couple of days ago: And finally, one last full-frontal look: That's it. I'm done. Next stop will be judging at the NMRA Thousand Lakes Region convention in May, and then a permanent place on my layout. I'm not quite sure how to feel, this thing's been my evening entertainment for weeks! Oh well, on to the next project... :tb-wacky:
Taking Care Of Business I said I was done with the warehouse, right? Well, I lied... It was suggested that it might make sense to add a desk or high counter, at which the "business" of buying produce could take place. Seemed like a great idea to me, so this afternoon, I built one. Needs a little sanding to square up some of the edges, and I need to add a couple of people, but I don't think it looks bad at all. Great suggestion!
May I Help You Sir? Big business deal, or simply casual conversation? Hard to say, but there's some sort of activity taking place at the new business counter recently installed in the warehouse. These two figures are from the Woodland Scenics "Checker Players" set.
Destination, Dubuque Judgment day is here, almost, and I'm not talking about the crazy theory that the world will end on Saturday. I'm talking about the NMRA's Thousand Lakes Region Convention in Dubuque, Iowa, where my produce warehouse will be submitted for merit judging. This will be my first NMRA convention, first modeling contest, first structure submitted for judging, lots of firsts. I think it will do well, but even if it doesn't, it will be a nice 4-day weekend away from home (and work). If things go too badly, there's a casino within walking distance of the hotel. :tb-tongue: