misterNNL Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) These photos are some the many steps involved in the creation of a grease pit feature for the 1925 Indian gas station diorama.Grease pits were surely not a glamorous part of the early history of the maintainance of early automoblies.As a result of that the available photos seem to be few and far between.Most will show a distant photo showing where it was in relation the the main station structure but that was about all I could find. Whoever the thoughtful person as you posted an excellent link to some vintage architectural files from the University on North Carolina on line here did me and all modelers a great service. There are actual plans available of several stations and luckily one I saw had dimensions for a grease pit.Those were my real staring point. Any viewers who have looke at my Indian gas station on this site have or can see the scale plans I drew to begin.This project is not complete by any means so I will continue to post more photos as things progress. As was the case in many rural areas the pits were oudoor afairs with simply a wooden ladder leading the mechanic onto the pit area.What I have am building would surely have been a dexule pit.Remember this pre-hydraulics so a wooden ramp was used to elevate the vehicle over the pit for access. I certeinly am no expert on things of this sort,relying on photographic sources for information and as such welcome any comments viewes may have. Link ihttp://public.fotki.com/misterNNL/creating-a-grease-p/?cmd=uploadax2 Edited February 1, 2014 by misterNNL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Expert or not, Tom, I'd say that looks pretty darn good to me! Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wkennerley Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 wow great work, Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyrichard Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 whouw whouw whouw and whouw > awsome !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 Thanks for the kind words guys.I appreciate them a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dptydawg Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Hi Tom Excellent rendition of a grease pit. In this part of the world most pits were inside the service bay and at grade level. That was because of our winters I spent one summer during high school as a grease monkey working in a pit. The pits I remember were much darker than your model. They were almost Poly Scale "oily black" to Tamyia "German grey". and really gungy. A monkey wrench would also be part of the standard tool kit back then. Good looking diorama. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffs396 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 AWESOME work Tom! Soooo realistic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belugawrx Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Very nice!! Got to remember this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Excellent work Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randx0 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Neato ! I really enjoy seeing the process . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Doan Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Great job! Perfect companion for the station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 Thanks Chuck.I have one of your projects open in another screen:the rusted Dr.Pepper screen door sign from the Groveland garage.You say you added the chips and scratches with gaouche.How did you do that?By making marks in the surface of a coat of gauche before ot dries?Do you add rust by dusting on a dried granular rust colored substance before the paint is dry?That sign is simply amazing and is a skill I would love to master. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Doan Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 (edited) Hi Tom, As I recall I mixed in some weathering pigments with the gouache. I use a brand from Bragdon enterprises, but there are numerous suppliers (Dr. Ben, AIM products). The nice part is these materials are infinitely re-workable (with water) until you get something you like. I just applied them straight onto the surface. I use a sharp toothpick to make marks as you say. Edited February 6, 2014 by Chuck Doan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Tom, Carl is correct on the color being a lot darker . This would very much hold true if it were porous concrete like what I see depicted here . Generally though , the surrounding concrete that showed the outline of the "Pit " was usually painted in a Gloss White or Red . With Indian refining , I would use a Testors Red . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Thanks for all the expert suggestion and color tips.I have aaded some additional grunge and clutter today.Following a suggestion from a fellow modeler Fred Farrand last summer who suggested I might consider some fallen leaves to the roof of Indian station,I some maple leaves blown onto a corner of our garage and pulverized them in a poly bag.I brushed some thinned white glue into the cracks around the steps and into the corners of the pits then spread the crushed leaf parts over it.I added some black color Mig Pigment onto those leaves and around the corners in the pit plus some mud colored wash.It's starting to look a lot more realistic.I have also built a wooden cross-pit platform 24"scale inches wide that carries a tool tray for all the stuff the mechanic needs to keep close at hand.I'll be adding pictures of that to the album soon.I'd work on it tomorrow but really should spend all day with my wife since it's our 50th wedding anniversary!She's my biggest fan,my best friend and still the love of my wife! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim boyd Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Tom has just posted additional images showing progress on his diorama with accompanying text.... http://public.fotki.com/misterNNL/indian-service-stat/page4.html Best regards...TIM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.