GTMust

Duh.....! That "dead bird" is a hole? Forgive me.... my eyes aren't what they used to be! Tony

That's great work Brett. Very convincing. Is that a dead bird in the truck bed? Tony

Just a small suggestion... don't forget the 6mm poly vapour barrier to cover the insulation! LOL! Tony

Ed..... I hope that's good news..... LOL! Terry..... I'm retired.... I usually work at the models about 5 or 6 afternoons a week....... about 20 to 25 hours. There are some advantages to being an old fart, even if the ladies don't take me seriously anymore! Tony

Thanks Junior. The car is also one of my favourite diecasts of that era. Tony

Great start Nick! Looking forward to watching this one develop...... Tony

I'm on a roll....!!!! Now the pub and the Wells Fargo office are just about finished.... time to get started on another, again in 1/32 scale. This is the start of a 1940's to 1970's street scene, and the first project will be a large brick building with two retail stores and apartments above. Here's the preliminary layout: I've created a central concrete "tower" focal point to seperate the two stores and give access to the apartments. I've got a feeling this one will take a while......

I've added some windows to the Wells Fargo office and a sign board across the top of the wall. Some paint and weathering...... and now it's ready for a door and a corrugated metal porch roof. Then will come the corner trim and the signage and it'll be pretty much done.

As soon as the patio was ready, one of the pub's patrons came out to enjoy his light ale in the sunshine. (Definitely needs to get some color in his cheeks!)

Some of the original 1/32 scale Highway Pioneers from the early fifties were re-popped under the Revell brand. Unfortunately a lot of the first batch suffered from really bad warping problems due to the plastic they used and some are now impossible to build. They were also very basic and not very accurate... in fact most started out a children's pull toys! Revell later added to and improved the range. The better ones came from Pyro Plastics and some of these have been re-issued by Lindberg. And there were a lot of European manufacturer's like Airfix, Smer, etc., as well a number of others that jumped on the bandwagon in the early 50's but went out of business soon after. It's a pity that most of the kits aren't being re-issued..... the molds have probably long since disappeared and the 1/32 scale market isn't very strong........ unless it's later eras that can be converted into slot cars. As you probably know already, the early history of plastic model kits goes back into the late forties and makes a fascinating read..... especially if you're an old fart like me and can remember the good old days as if they were yesterday!!! Tony

I'm working in 1/32 scale Ed. Takes up a little less hobbyroom real estate. And I'm building more of the 1/32 scale cars ...... again for the same reason. There's also a greater variety of 1/32 model vehicles, both in kit and diecast..... available in the pre 1970 eras, right back to the early pioneers and brass cars, through the 20's, 30's 40's, 50's and 60's.... the eras I particularly like. The larger scales are somewhat limited in the early years. Unfortunately the early 1/32 scale kits are getting ridiculously expensive, so it's fortunate that I've already accumulated a large collection of kits and built models over the years that will keep me going for a while. Tony

I started a thread titled "quick diarama for photo shoots", but it's evolved into an ongoing street scene with buildings being added on a regular basis. So I'm starting a new thread as the original title doesn't relate any more. I won't repost all the existing photos (you can see those on the old thread), but here's a quick update. The story: The town is named after it's founder, Thomas Ratcliffe, and was originally a stage stop on the Wells Fargo Overland Express route. Over the years the town developed and by the early 1900's, additional buildings were added and it continued to grow. Through good times and bad, today the town still exists, and is being rebuilt as a tourist attraction, following it's original image. The model: So far, I have completed the Hotel, the General Store, and the Bank. (you can see these in the old thread). I'm now working on the original Wells Fargo office building, which has been restored and updated, retaining elements of it's original design.

Thanks for these pictures Junior. Now I have more inspiration for additional buildings for my Thomasville street scene. Great! Tony

I decided to extend the Thomasville street scene and have started on a small building, destined to become a Wells Fargo office. Originally built for the Overland Stage, it now caters to more modern needs as well.

Ken...... about those fire escapes and the 1/87 scale dio....... I'm totally lost for words!!!! Tony

I've been holding off asking..... but I can't help but wonder where that magnificent fire escape came from. It's difficult to believe you build it piece by piece! Is it a proprietory item from some plastic kit.... or do you really have the eyesight and manual dexterity to put that together from bits of plastic... or metal staples or something??? Tony

Thank you Harry and Ken. I'm really enjoying doing these dios as a break from the car models. I'm having so much fun... I have to wonder if I'll even get back to the vehicles! What a silly thought.... of course I will......! Tony

Thanks Terry. Thought I'd give you guys (and myself), a quick "teaser", with a couple of the MG Car club, pub crawl members inside while they leave the cars outside. Drinking and driving in the sixties? Who even thought about the dangers? Still more work to do though...... Tony

Glad to see you back Brad. I've started a couple of 1966 Mustang builds, but had to put them on hold until the weather warms up and I can paint them outside. Meanwhile I've been working on a couple of diaramas which I've posted in the dio section of the forum........ But those 'tangs are crying out for me to get back to them! Tony

Ken..... Thank you for all the progress shots. Watching the scene come to life and how you achieve it, is a great inspiration for me. I'm surprised to see you used the pink rigid insulation as the base. I used it once, but found that it warped badly when the landscaping materials were applied. Maybe I used too much water "wetting solution" when I did mine? Since then I've been using prefinished closet shelving as a base. Very heavy.... but it doesn't warp and the paper(?) finish takes white glue nicely. Tony

Thank you Seb. Your comments are much appreciated. Tony

I've started on the pub base and the landscaping. Building A has an area for deliveries to the kitchen; Building B has a paved patio area surrounded by a low height brick wall and; Building C has a grassed front lawn with a newly planted tree (of some kind?). The whole parking area in front will be gravel. Not far to go now.........

My original bottle of Future dried shiny and glossy with no sign of yellowing. Stayed clear for many, many years in the bottle. I recently replaced it with the Pledge "Future"...... now it goes on shiny, but dries almost semi-gloss. I've only used it on one model so far..... two coats, 24 hrs between each....... second coat was a little better. Maybe a third coat will dry shiny? Tony

Very nice work Doug. I like it! Tony

Now I'm at the point where I usually stop and start something new.... in other words, almost finished...... But this time I'll keep my New Year resolution to finish it before I start another! I've added the roofing to all the roofs, built the chimneys (which still need the clay flues), added a hanging pub sign and temporarily placed some steps to the doors of buildings A and C. Left to finish: Add highlighting to the roof shingles, Complete the timber trim at the eaves, ... and a whole bunch of fiddly little details touchups, like door handles etc. Then I have to create the base dio for the pub to sit on, complete with an outdoor garden, paving, patio with seating and of course, the figures enjoying a brew! And I'm sure I'll find other things that need work before it's all done....