65-ft Gallows Turntable - Sequoia Scale Models Kit - HO Scale

 

I built this one straight out of the box except that I used Tichy NBWs (nut/bold/washer castings) instead of the ones provided in the kit. The supplied NBWs just looked too small. The finished model is a hair over 9 inches long and 4 inches tall.

I used brown sewing thread for the wire bracing, instead of the fish line in the kit. The fish line is hard to work with and doesn't hold acrylic paint very well. Drawing the thread across a block of beeswax eliminated any fuzziness. (I learned that trick from ship model builders.) I omitted the supplied turnbuckles because I could not get them threaded on either the fish line or sewing thread, no matter how much colorful language I used. 

I cut the threads much longer than I needed and coated about an inch of one end in ACC to make it easy to snake through #70 holes. On the other end, I tied a figure-8 knot. The knots could still pull through the holes, but with a little ACC, they made good anchors. I secured both ends with ACC and trimmed the excess thread.

I modified the base (also provided in the kit) to use the pivot and wiring from a Peco N-scale turntable. I'll trim the ends of the rails when I am ready to install the turntable.

The Sequioa Scale Models kit shows up now and then on ebay. If you build the kit, I suggest a change in the order of assembly:  The instructions have anchor blocks for the cables and the cable-end NBW castings installed before you build the gallows structure. I would save the outermost anchor blocks for last, after you have drilled for and installed the cables (using thread). That way, the block will anchor the thread and the NBW won't get in the way.

This is definitely not a "shake-the-box" project. It was at times a challenge, and the written instruction steps don't always correspond with the numbered scale drawings. I found photos of the finished model on the Internet, and they were helpful. I think the result looks good, and I'm planning to install it to look something like the one below that I found pictured in a back issue of the Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette.

Winger Paper Bag Co. Expands

 Winger Paper Bag Co. #1:  A few years ago, I scratchbuilt a paper model copy of Fos Scale Models' Winger Paper Bag Co. background flat. At the time, it was to be positioned against the background at Scots' Landing on my Ceresco & Wolf River HO-scale shortline.

Winger Paper Bag Co. #2:  The track plan at Scots' Landing changed, and now I needed a tall, narrow factory closer to the foreground. I scratchbuilt the Winger Co. again as a paper model, this time with full depth. The back is blank, since it won't be visible, and I flipped the facade to put the loading dock on the left instead of the right. I sold Winger Co. #1 on ebay to someone who can make good use of it.

The textures for walls, roofs, chimneys, and foundation, and the vents on #2 are from Clever Models. The windows and doors are from my "digital parts bin." The loading dock and its roof structure are basswood. The pallets are from Preiser, the meters and fire bell are card from photos, and the boxes are original artwork drawn on Photoshop®. I redrew both signs in Photoshop and applied and weathered them digitally.  The building's footprint is 6" x 3½" and it is just over 6" tall at the gables.

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. 

1/25-Scale Garage again

This is the cover photo on the IPMS Steve Wittman Chapter (Oshkosh, WI) Facebook page:  the 1934 Ford 4-Door that Bob Kremer completed and painted for me, posed in the garage diorama I built for him.

Scroll down for more about the diorama.

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Aries 1B Paper Model -- 1/76 scale

 Downloaded from Uhu02, enlarged from 1/100 to 1/76, diameter about 6" -- a challenging build, but worth it. This one has been on my "to-build" list for a long time.

Second photo below posted in FineScale Modeler magazine's online Reader Gallery, June 2022 -

1/25-Scale Garage Diorama Paper Model

I finally finished the 1/25-scale garage I was building for my friend Bob Kremer who builds amazing 1/24-scale cars and trucks. He detailed and painted for me a 1/25-scale 1934 Ford 4-door sedan, a kitbash that I had started long ago from an AMT '34 2-door kit. As quid pro quo, I built this garage diorama for him to display and photograph his exquisite 1/25 and 1/24 scale models.

The garage and its contents are almost entirely paper. Texture papers came mostly from Clever Models or my own photos. I used basswood for the beams and framing inside the building, and I gathered, signs, junk, tools, a beer fridge, and bits & pieces from the Internet, printed them on 65# cardstock and laminated them heavier stock as needed. The building (about 13"x8") sits on a Masonite base with Sculptamold® and Woodland Scenics® terrain.

It was a fun project and a learning process working in an unfamiliar scale. All of my other paper model buildings are 1/87. Thanks to Bob for the pictures.

And this is the model that started it all -- a 1/25-scale 1934 Ford Four-Door Sedan, kitbashed (partly by me, beautifully completed by Bob Kremer) from an AMT '34 Ford Two-Door kit.