Ace-Garageguy Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Pretty cool project. Should be fun seeing it come together. Love that second photo, too. A shiny '36 Ford cabriolet, a 20 cent BBQ sandwich, and a 15 cent piece of pie. If there's a heaven, it looks like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat32 Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 (edited) Restrooms and storage building. Looks like it was an existing structure that went with the brake service garage before the sandwich shop was built on the property. The sidewalk looks relatively fresh and the little tree just planted. The lighter shaded portion of the lot appears to be compacted crushed stone, not concrete. Edited May 23, 2020 by Flat32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Nice clear black & white photograph, Raymond...... showing that side of the scene. You should be able to include that part of it with the main building on your diorama baseboard. Some interesting detail for the fencing, walls and posts also. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 After looking at these photos several times and looking beyond the obvious attraction of the buildings and the cars in the lot,I believe this business is new constructed on the site recently cleared of something older. The lots behind and on the left are covered in rubble and demolition debris. To the left one fellow seems to be emptying the wheel barrow onto one of the various piles. Just an observation of course not effecting the project at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat32 Posted June 3, 2020 Author Share Posted June 3, 2020 The large photo was taken by a professional and most probably commissioned by Harry Carpenter very soon after it opened. I rather enjoy doing the research and getting intimate with the subject. The more I know the greater the interest I get and that increases the probability of actually building it. Somebody has to build it. Just too neat to ignore IMHO. I'm not a real model builder like the guys on this forum Most of my building experience is with 1:1 stuff. I currently have no workspace dedicated to any model building so I can't say I'm into the hobby yet. Sort of running out of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 50 minutes ago, Flat32 said: ...Sort of running out of years. The way I look at it is that if I have enough projects and ideas lined up that would be realistic for an 18-year-old who knew for sure he would live to 140, I'll always have something to look forward to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat32 Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 Many folks who manage to get things done are those that have found a good way to cut corners, accept less than perfect, or cheat. I chose to cheat by buying Danbury and Franklin mint cars first. All of my Model A cars came with opening doors. Wouldn't mind having a TROG banger A show up at Carpenters, or even a T speedster. It's all a dream, like where I got my best sex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 20 minutes ago, Flat32 said: Many folks who manage to get things done are those that have found a good way to cut corners, accept less than perfect, or cheat. I chose to cheat by buying Danbury and Franklin mint cars first... Yeah, I've been kinda cheating lately by buying some Danbury and Franklin mint pieces so I at least have a few nice looking, finished models around. I can take 'em out and go vroom-vroom too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat32 Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 This is the same corner where Carpenter's was until this "thing" got built in 1938. I recognized the street lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 4 hours ago, Flat32 said: This is the same corner where Carpenter's was until this "thing" got built in 1938. I recognized the street lights. I agree, Raymond...... it is a real shame that such a ' modern ' building was constructed on the site of Carpenter's Sandwiches, and this would be 1938 which was at the end of the Art Deco period. Your diorama project is very interesting, and your idea has huge potential I think. The planning and research phase of the project is probably the most fascinating part in a way. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 It’s interesting that a business that looks like it was doing well was bulldozed after ten years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasser59 Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 This looks like a great project Ray and I could help you with the signs, if you like. I'd love to contribute in some way on a unique project of this magnitude. If I do the art, I could send you the PDF and then could you print them out on your end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat32 Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 (edited) Brad, can you handle this sign's artwork?? Do you know how to take a skewed photo and manipulate it to a straight on view?? Straight on is for the purpose of making the structural CAD models of the signs easier more than for creating the art, but would help there too. The sign on top of the building and the one at the street corner are the one's I'm referring to here. These photos are my best reference for them so far. Can you imagine a Norgaard's Sandwiches version?? You're welcome to join the fray and I'd love to see multiples of this built by folks with established skills and do it real justice. Edited June 6, 2020 by Flat32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasser59 Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 Here's after working with it for a few minutes. The one on the top of the building will need to be completely rendered. Can you use this one or would it need to be rendered too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat32 Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 I found a more straight on shots of the roof mounted sign, night time is most straight. "For a few minutes" for real?? It would have taken me a week just to figure out how to do that and a couple days to pull it off. It appears like you straightening corrected the foreshortening too. The sign surface is flat, but the CARPENTER"S and BEN-HUR COFFEE letters are raised from the flat surface with neon tubes offset a bit further outward. The DELICIOUS DRIP letters are flat on the surface with only the neon tubes protruding. The raised letters I have to extrude in the 3D CAD model. SANDWICHES and BEN-HUR COFFEE are what I refer to as artsy that need to be vectorized so I can extrude them. Can you do that??? I have no idea what's in your skillset toolbox, but I'm impressed so far. I have a Xerox Phaser 6022 laser printer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat32 Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 Adjusted H/W proportions. Now I have to jump into Coreldraw and see if I can master the vector creation step. If I'm able to do that there will be a photon at the end of the tunnel. Stumbled onto a bird's nest while weeding in my yard and contemplated the little brown egg in it. Cute little nest at the base of a rock wall. Thinking about how a bird with no hands or exacto knife scratch built the thing using whatever scraps of grass he found. No instruction sheet, no internet, no glue and certainly no political interests. Then there's that egg..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasser59 Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 Here's the top sign adjusted so I hope you can use this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat32 Posted June 8, 2020 Author Share Posted June 8, 2020 That's perfect. Sticking it into Coreldraw as my first learning project. Actually the sign outline shape is kinda grotesque artwise, but simple straight lines and I'll do that first. Hard to not jump into a font search and procrastinate on learning Corel. I really appreciate your help. What software are you using to manipulate the images?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasser59 Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 21 hours ago, Flat32 said: I really appreciate your help. What software are you using to manipulate the images?? For that, I'm using Adobe PhotoShop. If I were trying to do the actual type for the signs, I would use Adobe Illustrator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 Neat! I had to chuckle, my wife would order the chicken salad sandwich! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat32 Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 Learning about vintage neon sign construction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landman Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Ray, that picture brought me right back to a man I knew about 35 years ago. His shop looked very much like that. He was the only one left in the area who built and repaired neon signs. He was also a tinsmith and had made the gas tank for the old Hudson below. In the summer, he went to St-Jean-Port-Joli (A picturesque village in Maritime Quebec where wood carvers congregate in the summer) and made glass figurines. He was the an absolute craftsman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Fascinating references to vintage neon sign construction, Raymond...... and also your memories of the old craftsman in Maritime Quebec, Pat..... Long lost skills that we must not allow to become forgotten. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat32 Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 (edited) Here's a link to the guy that restores them. Neon is funny, looks like BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH up close in the daytime, but spectacular at night. http://signsoftn.com/neon-signs/restorations/ Got some progress on the sign computer model. There's some gingerbread I didn't do yet at the top. That Hudson is hard to find with doors. Edited June 12, 2020 by Flat32 Added link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat32 Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 Mile a minute version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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