HO Scale Post Office - Laser-cut wood kit - Fos Scale Models

 This is a Fos Scale Models "Kit of the Month." I built it "by the book," with only two changes:  I substituted a 48-star flag for the 50-star flag that came with the kit, since my model RR is set in 1943. And I used printed shingles from Clever Models instead of the tar paper provided in the kit. The mailboxes and stovepipe are 3D-printed resin and are included in the kit. Since it's 1943, the townsfolk got together and repainted their post office in patriotic colors.

Fos's Kit-of-the-Month models are great little kits. This was a three-evening project that produced a nice foreground kit with a footprint of about 4 x 2½ inches.

The Fos Blog is one of my favorite resources for free scale modeling ideas & techniques. Check it out.

Australian Paddlesteamer "Alexander Arbuthnot" -- paper model, 1/100 scale, from World of Paper Ships

The Alexander Arbuthnot was built in 1923 as a towboat to pull log rafts on Australia's Murray River. She survives as a "living museum" and tourist boat. I built the model, from World of Paper Ships, for an article in the Nautical Research Journal, a publication for model ship builders. 

I used the optional laser-cut set that included paddlewheels, ship's wheel, some railings, and other details. The kit presents the "A-A" in tour boat configuration. I wanted a working boat for my model RR layout, so I added a woodpile (fuel) and oil barrel, and omitted the benches & tables, beer cooler, and BBQ. I scratchbuilt the railings from 1"x2" scale lumber. The finished model is 10 inches long with a beam of 3 inches and height of 3 inches at the towing mast.

At 1/100 scale, she's a little bit small for HO, but I think she'll look good sitting at the dock. I have another paddlesteamer kit from World of Paper Ships. I might scan that one and scale it up to 1/87, or at least scale up the pilot house and cabins.

This is my paddle steamer Alexander Arbuthnot on the cover of the Spring 2023 Nautical Research Journal. My construction article is inside.

At the 2023 Midwestern Model Ships and Boats Contest at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in May, my P.S. Alexander Arbuthnot received a Gold Award.