Markalister Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Hey Bill, I realize you're building more that just the gas station for your diorama, but I was wondering if you have an idea yet on how big the base will be for just the gas station portion of it? Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill lanfear Posted July 19, 2018 Author Share Posted July 19, 2018 2 hours ago, Markalister said: Hey Bill, I realize you're building more that just the gas station for your diorama, but I was wondering if you have an idea yet on how big the base will be for just the gas station portion of it? Mark. Hi Mark, Â the gas station portion will be 4 ft by 4 ft ...this will include two side streets. The station will have two bays, two islands of three pumps each and a diesel pump out by itself. Â I am currently working on the island lights now. Â I will post a mock up of the layout soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIPTROIT 71 Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Wow! Excellent work!! I worked at a service station for 24 years. I look forward to seeing more of this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 What can I say that hasn't already been said? Amazing work! David G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotnitro? Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Wow stunning work and excellent craftsmanship!! Keep up the great work . Love the small details you added makes everything very convincing.  I recall stopping by my dads shop after school and always getting a " pop " out of they're machine..exactly like yours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Bill.... the baseboard for the gas station portion of your diorama is 4 feet by 4 feet, and my Hooper & Co diorama occupies a baseboard area of 3 feet by 2 feet 7 inches so I can appreciate the scale of your project. This is so interesting to watch and you must be enjoying the whole process yourself. My diorama has one main street and one side street, so quite a similar arrangement really. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 After finding that your dio will be four feet square I wonder how you plan to transport it. First of all it has to be impossible to remove from any space in my house except my garage. Transporting it will be a whole new challenge without a large van. I'm sure you have solutions for all of this as I remember stories about a guy spending years building a really great sailboat in the basement of his house only to discover when it was finished it was too large to go through the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill lanfear Posted July 23, 2018 Author Share Posted July 23, 2018 3 minutes ago, misterNNL said: After finding that your dio will be four feet square I wonder how you plan to transport it. Yeah I realize that it may be a permanent fixture in my basement.  If I Really wanted to...I can take the legs off, flip it on its side and carry it out and load it.  Certain things would have to be removable but it could be done.  The whole diorama will be sections of each structure (buildings and lots) and this 4' x 4 ' gas station is one segment of a much larger layout...or so the plan is anyway.  I said earlier that there were two side streets with this gas station but there will only be one as I will put the other street with the next structure which will be 2' x 3'. I will post a mock up later this evening.  I started on the lot and islands.  I put together a crude building and have been working on the island lights.  I still need to finish the other four gas pumps but have been bouncing all over the place lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill lanfear Posted July 23, 2018 Author Share Posted July 23, 2018 Ok so here is the latest update.  As mentioned before, I started on the island lights, islands and lot.  For the lights, I picked up some brass tubing and some led strip lights.  I wired the positive through the tube and soldered the ground to the brass. Sorry for the crappy pictures! For the islands and the lot I picked up a sheet of 1/2 inch insulation foam, cut, and sanded  down the islands and painted.  I cut some cracks in the foam to simulate cracks in the concrete.  I need to do some more work on the lot and smooth out the pads a little.  I also need to add a couple more coats of paint for the concrete items.  Most of the lot will be pavement.  Here is a quick mock up of the layout.   Until next time!  I will post more as I go.  Thanks for checking it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 The islands look great Bill, and those cracks in the concrete are a master touch. You shouldn't need to worry about the 4 feet by 4 feet section of the larger diorama and building the whole thing in sections is the way to go of course. This project of yours has started me thinking about adding a second section to my 3 feet by 2 feet 7 inches baseboard. The two streets of my diorama need to extend a little more to allow space for additional model cars. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Excellent Progress! David G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredRPG Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 (edited) Working with the for sale signs is an interesting idea, much less expensive than hobby store sheets for sure.  How is it to work with, the same as styrene sheet, or does it work differently? Really nice work, by the way. Edited July 25, 2018 by FredRPG Forgot to mention the great scratch building, I'm old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill lanfear Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 30 minutes ago, FredRPG said: How is it to work with, the same as styrene sheet, or does it work differently? The thicker "House" sign is styrene.  The pain is sanding off the red.  I recently looked up (googled) and visited a plastic shop about 45 min from my house.  I scored a 4ft by 8ft sheet of white styrene about 1mm thick for $17.00 so the thicker for sale signs will be no more.  The island lights are made of that material.  The cheap super thin signs are styrene also I believe.  They have a use but are not as rigid.  Those are only a few bucks and the white portion is transparent to a point.  That is what I used for the top "Sinclair" signage on the gas pumps so they light up nice  and disperse the light well without seeing the light bulb behind it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 I am really enjoying your progress here Bill. My own service station was built over thirty years ago and Needs some refurbishing - there are a lot of good tips in this thread. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 That was a lucky find Bill, the 4ft by 8ft sheet of white styrene, and I began to think how many projects will come out of that one sheet of styrene..... many I'm sure. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill lanfear Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 6 hours ago, Anglia105E said: That was a lucky find Bill, the 4ft by 8ft sheet of white styrene, and I began to think how many projects will come out of that one sheet of styrene..... many I'm sure. David Yeah it is a lot of plastic! Â A bit of a challenge to cut down to workable pieces but otherwise awesome! I get frustrated with the prices of things in hobby shops and am always looking for different ways around it. Â Most moderate sized cities probably have some kind of a factory that makes plastic sheets for signage and such so it is worth looking into. Â I live in South Dakota where the largest city is only 175.000 people. Â The place I found near me makes all kinds of sheets in different thicknesses and materials from aluminum reinforced to clear plastics, styrene, abs, and more. Â The sheet I got, rolled up nice into a 18-20Â inch tube so transporting was easy. Â When I got it home I just unrolled it and cut it in half and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill lanfear Posted July 31, 2018 Author Share Posted July 31, 2018 Another update on my progress. Â I painted the asphalt, smoothed up the concrete pads a little, tested, completed, and painted all of the island lights. Â The test photo shows light bleeding through the sides a bit so I put some reflective foil tape inside the light to solve this issue. Â The lights were painted with a dark brown base color topped off with white, then weathered slightly. Â The lens's were made from a cheap cutting board material from the dollar store that blurs things just enough to not see the led strip lights when off, but allows light through when on. Â The asphalt was too black at first so I rubbed baby powder into the foam and a little fine dirt to give it a slight used look. Â I set up another mock up to see if I am on track. Â I will keep posting my progress. Thanks for following! Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Bill..... just when I thought the gas pumps were brilliant, there you go with the islands and the lamps! This is excellent work on your part and you must be really pleased with the progress of it all. Looking at these images of your diorama, I can see where I need to be aiming for... and it is truly a very high bar that you have set ! Professional touches such as the diffused lighting and the subtle weathering of the lights and the asphalt are so important. I continue to follow this interesting project, and hopefully learning a great along the way..... thank you. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps46 Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 What David said X 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landman Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Impressive tosay the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Sorry, should have typed ' hopefully learning a great DEAL along the way ' - I do supposedly proof read my own posts before I upload them, but missed that one! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Great project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Fantastic work so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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