The first two structures
were for redone for Wades Train Town near Hickory NC. Wades
Train town is official Model Train Museum now in honor of
Wade himself. Currently the CSDiv of the NMRA
has adopted Wades is in the process of restoring, the
layout from top to bottom. This means somewhere around
200 structures will need to see work. Many are need of
a complete makeover while others simply need cleaning up.
The first thing I did before anything else
was search for photos. |
As it was given to me. |
|
The original Tyco Model as advertised |
A real photo from that time frame |
Actual Sign |
Pizza Hut carry out box |
Once I had plenty
of photos, the original model was torn down as far it could
be without breaking anything. Spackling compound had
to be used to seal all cracks in the walls and roof as the
re-assembly began. The roof was restored
detached from the main building. Using styrene half
round sections the gutters were installed along the roof.
The downspouts were made from rectangle pieces of styrene.
Notice the entire scene is on a piece of sheet metal cut to
fit like a puzzle piece.
Each scene on the this 200 structure layout has its own
slice of the puzzle. |
Front Side
The young lady was moved from the rear to the front and then
her cloths were updated. |
| Using the real
photo above the road was painted light gray and weathered
with oil based chalks. The bumpers or curbs in front of the
parking spaces were made from styrene square tubing that was
sanded on two sides then painted. The fence is made
from Bar Mills wooden fence kits. The curtains in the
windows were simply painted on from the inside. |
By slightly bending this fellows legs he now
looks a little more realistic. His outfit was updated
as well. |
This fellow use to have a fishing rod in his
hand, now he has carry out. |
| The next structure that was
brought to me was not nearly as easy to take apart. In
fact I nearly cut my thumb in half trying to remove a sign.
Always cut away from yourself. (I thought that I had
learned that lesson before).
The row below are also projects done for
Wade's Train Town, nothing special done to these kits,
just all new paint and a few new signs. For the Rexal
drug store I did have to replace several windows that glue
on them. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Before only partially
painted |
After fresh Paint |
Before, nothing was painted
this was the same kit as the bank building above, so
painting it was a must. |
After everything was
painted and resigned |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
This yellow tower was part of several
building that I picked up on ebay. Ebay is a
good way to acquire several structures at a reduced price.
In most cases these structures can be made over to look and
fit in nicely with your railroad. This was a fairly
easy overall. I simply removed all of the glass from
the tower then gave it a couple of coats of white paint
using cheap Wal-Mart white spray paint. Next I trimmed
in the windows, doors etc with smoke box gray.
I did add some flashing to seal the slanted roof against the
side of the tower, and replace the broken railing. The
surrounding ground has an earth tone basecoat which can be
blended once its placed on a layout. The over
head light is a 1.5 volt N scale light. The two
figures are from Prieser. The added roof vent
was from previous kits. The fence rolls are
simply wedding vale material cut, painted gray and rolled
up. Finish it off by replacing the glass and
weathering it a bit. Not bad for about a $4.00
investment.
This Tower has been donated to a club members NYC layout.
Later on down the road I will post a photo of the tower in
its new environment. |
|
Building the Alexander
Railroad #8 Switcher.
To best utilize my time I normally work on multiple projects
at once.
This Clinchfield SW Switcher is prime example of that.
This little switcher will soon be converted to the Alexander
Railroads #8 Switcher. This project will take
about 2 months because the decals will have to be made on
the pc. They will also have to be color coded to
match the John Deer Green paint, and OSHA yellow
paint.
Though I am starting with the same locomotive model the
bodies are quite different.
I will not be able to make this an exact replica but it will
be very close. Im sure the new owner will not
complain. This loco will be assigned to the KB&D railroad
and hopefully will be photographed switching the Statesville
yard.
Using spare parts, and grille material the ladder and roof
walk were built.
The nose was sanded smooth. The yellow stripes
will need to go around the front, under the radiator cover.
Decal Kit shown above in reduced size.
Once the decals were applied it was time to add the rest of
the detail parts and rails.
The final touch was a small dcc decoder to make this run
good on a dcc layout.
We replaced the old light bulb with with one compatible with
the decoder.
Next we programmed the
switcher using decoder pro and a locobuffer II
Now #8 is ready for switching duty in the Statesville
yard on the KB&D railroad. |
 |
|
70 Ton Switcher
Having some fun with a fellow Div members 70 Ton Switcher.
This little formally red dcc switcher needed to be repainted
for the owners home grown railroad.
Stripping and then priming the outer shell was the first
step. A couple of coats of paint later we are ready to
re-assemble, and do some detail painting.
Weathering this loco to appear heavily used but not wore out
was the next step.
The owner wanted to try making his own decals so this little
switcher is off to the
Green Meadows Railway.
 |
Freshly Painted above |
Using left over parts from a Walther's
background warehouse kit along with some sheet styrene, I
was able to assemble a second background building |
The photo isn't the greatest but you can see
how easy it was to construct a second background building
from left over parts. |
|
|
Future Makeover Projects |
|
Future Home
Undecided |
Future Home Southern Exchanges South Yard |
Future Home
Undecided |
Future Home
Southern Exchange - Southside Junction |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
