Repstock

Congrats on the replica stock building style, I favor this style as well. I turn the hood over, run a bead of super glue in the groove(s), sprinkle baby powder over the whole thing, lightly tap the hood several times (to help the powder penetrate the surface of the glue bead), wait a few seconds, turn the hood over to let excess powder fall off, blow off the remaining film, walk away for about a half hour, return and finish sand the spot. I like to build 70s cars, and they were really into those scribed lines then.

After gaining access to an old station, some of the details have been cleared up. Other details will reflect what others have told me. These items are made primarily from .040 styrene. The water heater is a stack of 1/25 wheels covered with .015 styrene. More to come.

Air compressor kitbashed from compressor in 1/24 Texaco station kit.

This one.

Don't know if I'm allowed to say why, but I vote model.

If you're doing a stock van, the roof should be ribbed. I don't know why they omitted them. The A-Team van has them, but the older kits do not

A very impressive display.

Absolutely GREAT looking station!

Great news about the job! New avatar is less startling, but I'm surprised it isn't a Mopar!

It was great seeing you at the IPMS show. I hope things have vastly improved for you since our last conversation. Thanks for the welcome, I think I may just settle in here. Your avatar makes me cringe, my friend.

Very nice! Those interior decals look great! I've got an unbuilt kit to build someday, thanks for the inspiration!

I would very much like to see your stations. Is there a site where I can see them? One of the reasons I spend time on this board is to see models, especially buildings, that AREN'T MINE! I see my stuff all the time, no big thrill there!

Here's one of the reasons I chose Clark. Here is the Clark station compared to a Texaco station. Not only are the Clark repairs complete, you can see the progress I've made when I haven't been working on oil cans. My sources gave differing accounts of the floor surface (I'm sure every station wasn't IDENTICAL). I chose the black and white diamond pattern to liven up the place. The showroom glass is plexiglas with plastruct bracing. When I measured the Clark station near my home, I was glared at by the owners of a taco stand who had taken over the lot. (the building was in the process of being sold). They had no legal claim to the building, so I measured it, and took pictures anyway. I don't know how long the building will be there, so I got my numbers while I could. The Texaco station was started years ago. There was a Texaco station that had been modified to a used car lot a few miles from my home. The building had all the exterior panels intact. I was able to produce accurate drawings as I spent a day measuring everything to the amusement of the owners. The bathrooms were unchanged from the Texaco days, all materials and colors were intact and unaltered. I took quite a few pictures of everything inside and outside. Who knows, someday I may finish it, but it has rather a large footprint for the room I have. I've also drawn up a Phillip's 66 station (also a large model footprint, even larger than the Texaco), but I haven't been granted permission to photograph the structure inside. Hopefully I can get that done before it's gone. There was a cool Shell station, too, but I waited too long on that one, it's gone. Both structures are 1/25 scale.

I've got the cans for the showroom wall pretty much done except for finishing the painting of the shelves. Can decals were made on an inkjet printer. Many more cans needed for stockroom. I may add an oil display rack or two to the showroom as well. These are the only two oil grades for which I could verify the oil can design.

Clark was big into oil sales, so I spent some time with the razor saw and sanding stick. I'll need to build these and the shelves that hold them at the same time, so I decided to get the drudgery over with and cut some rod into what you see before you. Next I will make some decals for various grades of oils, and decorate the cans. More pics when progress warrants it.

The ALPS gives you the choice of printing the white as an underlay, or you can print it seperate and have two part decals as mentioned above. $1000.00!!!! I got mine for $120.00 a few years ago, and it wasn't refurbished!!! Supply and demand, I guess...

That's a really impressive display. I agree the evolution of the wall is really cool. Excellent.

The damage to the station has been repaired, time to move on. I appreciate all the help I've gotten from this board, and would like to thank two people in particular. My66S55 for the pictures I requested, and Mike the Maniac for answering endless questions through E-mail. Mike is a very patient man, apparently. More pics when there's something to show.

Thank you for posting these. I now see some of my guesses were wrong, but I see plenty of things I can still get right because of these. Thanks again!

You know, I WAS trying to figure that out, but I couldn't produce a mechanism small enough and reliable enough to seal inside. I have two colors of small round pin heads that are going to stand in for the bulbs. They actually look real good when set in place.

Thank you. I try to make sure my corners are right, and windows and doors end up with whole bricks on either side, not 1/8 of a brick on one side and 7/32 on the other. If you do this, I think the plastruct brick looks great. I like the hand carved bricks seen on other posts, but they look like much older style brick than I'm trying to portray. I am going to try their method when I do a building old enough. I fill the gaps on the corners with a super glue/baby powder mixture, sand to the level of the outer brick surface, then add the mortar lines with a file.

That's a fair question. I tend to build things to withstand a nuclear blast, so I tend to me more concerned with the glue bond and part alignment than painting. This has gotten me into trouble more than once, but it's just my way. I'm confident I can paint this thing if I'm patient and careful enough.

That eye is kind of creepy. Thanks for the kind words, though!

Basic sign is together. This should be a joy to mask and paint! I had the station sitting on the floor of my micro sized model room. When I swivelled in my chair, the station was caught between the chair and the wall, and the gatorboard was crushed. Repairs are underway. All damage was on areas covered by brick, so I should be able to make the repairs undetectable. It's just aggravating to fix something that was fine to begin with. I'll have to carry stuff I'm not working on into the next room, to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. This picture was taken before the damage. I am glad it occured early in the build when it will be easier to fix.

That's one great pic, Mike! I see that station does indeed have the brick on the inside rear showroom wall. Looks like I have a choice of how to handle that wall. Even if I don't get every detail right, this pic will sure help me get the "feel" of the showroom. Thanks, Mike!