welcome to race town

[diymirage]

(not really a diorama but the closest thing to it)

for Christmass this year i bought my boy an HO scale slot car track

this track measures 38 feet and i mounted it on a 4X8 sheet of plywood

after running to for a week or so i decided what this track needs is some scenery

my first (and at this point only) addition is the maxwell avenue home by rix products

this is my first expeirience with this manufacturer and im very impressed with them

they managed to use each mold twice (meaning you have each tree twice)

this leaves you with a few extra parts and cuts thier production costs in half, seems like a win win situation to me

i have build little houses like this ages ago when i was 12 or so and i was not very impressed with myself

now that im a decade or so older and a little bit more skilled im hoping this will come out looking much better

this will be a slow moving project (mainly because of the cost of the kits and how many of them i need) but there will be updates at times (i hope)

any advise and tips will be apreciated

here is the kit (no progress yet)

[Mercman]

They do make some nice kits. Lots of stuff to choose from in this scale, just depends on how complicated you want to get. Also you can scratch build a lot of different building to fit your needs. Check out Walther's web site for a ton of stuff. Kits, and accessories like doors, and windows.

[diymirage]

what really blew my mind is that i looked up the manufacture and thier "factory direct" prices

turns out i only paid 4 cents more at my local hobby shop over buying it online (asuming shipping is free)

the way i envision this is a mix between a bavarian vilage and a ractrack

kinda like i imagine nurnberg to be

there is a straight in the track where i want to build some grand stands

then on the far corner there is a section where the entire part of the track is suspended

im thinking of putting a beach or marina on that corner

other then that i want to scatter some homes, villas and maybe a few barns across the rest of the layout

with a carpet of grass and maybe some trees to cover up the rest of the 8X4

(ill try to snap a pic of the whole track later)

[diymirage]

here is a shot of the porch when it was first assembled

there is a very nice molded in detail here

and here is a shot of the porch after some detailing

i put down a coat of white paint to bring out the mortar (is it still called mortar after it dries?) and then slapped on a quick coating of pastel

i think there is still too light a colour there so more pastel will be added later

[Mercman]

Off to a good start.

[GTMust]

I'm looking forward to watching this develop. A long term project...... but that's what makes it more interesting to follow.

Keep us updated on the progress.

Tony

[gasser59]

this looks like some serious fun. I'll be following along.

[diymirage]

thanks guys

im watching a few ebay auctions to see if i can get some more buildings for cheap

for now the only progress is that i painted the molded in foundation on the house (which is brick) to match the porch of the house

its not a perfect match but it is pretty close, not bad for a first try

im gonna paint the steps and floor of the porch primer grey, just like the tops of the pillars to look like poured concrete

then the siding of the house will be this colour blue

with white trim and a white front door

then, once i add the roof and call it done i think i will put it at the intersection

here is a shot of the track it will go on

[diymirage]

just laid down the paint on the clapboard siding

now i just need to finish the trim (i hate painting trim) do some weathering and put her all together

[hvymtl]

hope you and your son enjoy the slot cars , when i was growing up my dad had the whole deal plus what we bought at the LHS and yard sales. inwould spend my summers racing on a big sheet of plywood and have a whole bunch of buildings . we would have fun .

Now i cry when i see the prices on Ebay for some of the cars and track now a days.

Michael

[diymirage]

yeah, no kidding

i bought the track at hobby lobby with a 40% off coupon and it was still a 3 digit sale

i just scored a good deal on ebay on a split level ranch (with attached garage) and a set of 3 homes which are under construction

im really getting excited about this

so far my boys favorite part is gunning it down the back stretch and sending the car off the track and onto the floor

then he cracks up when i have to go get it

[crazyjim]

But you and the kids are having great, aren't you? That's the important part.

[Dr. Cranky]

That looks like a great fun track. Enjoy.

[diymirage]

But you and the kids are having great, aren't you? That's the important part.

oh yeah, the one in the orange is mine, the other one is his cousin

we all met up at grandma's today and the first thing he asked was if we could head out to my place and race

That looks like a great fun track. Enjoy.

we will doc.

now if i could just find some grand stands i'd be all set

[diymirage]

here is a quick shot of the house with a few coats of paint on it

( i even managed to get some of the trims paint on the siding, just like a real house)

im hoping it will look better with a roof on it

[diymirage]

first house is almost done, all thats left is the front door and the chimney

maybe do a little more weathering

ive also started my second building

(i'd imagine this is where i would live)

i got to figure out how to the rocks to look right, maybe a bit yellow or brown?

and this is where i got really excited

i got some work done on the actual "track"

i started putting up the incline to replace the plastic risers included in the kit bu building a section out of wood

for now i put some brown paper on it but that will be replaced with paper mache (spelling) later

i like the way it looks now and i hope i will be able to keep the same rocky look