Photo Studio Walls and First Colors

In the post "Scratch That" I talked about my choice to scratchbuild the wood extension to the Ensminger Building, the actual photo studio or gallery used by the Ensminger Brothers.  Before getting into the modeling progress, here's a brief word on these men whose name I've been bandying about in recent posts.  This page covers their early history and roots in Iowa:

http://www.pioneerphotographers.com/files/Iowa/Ensminger.html 

More relevant to the structure I'm modeling, is this information from the Orange County Regional History Center:

"The Ensminger brothers were two of the most prominent 19th-century photographers in Central Florida. They moved from Iowa to Florida in time to photograph American troops stationed in Tampa in preparation for the Spanish-American War. In 1884 or 1895, Jefferson Clay Ensminger moved to Sanford, where he opened a photography studio with his brother on the west side of North Park Avenue, just a few blocks from the St. Johns River. J.C. Ensminger was known to be friends with Henry Sanford as well as the official photographer of Henry Plant’s Railway System." 

Now back to the model making.

I used V-groove styrene siding to make the walls.  This was a bit fiddly as I hadn't planned for the corner posts in my measurements and had to allow for it or trim off the ends.  That was made more challenging by the odd dimensions of the pitched roof section.  I carefully built up the wall with the large windows before taping the glass itself (cast into the window frame...grr...) in order to prime.  Once the walls were assembled I did just that, giving it all two thin coats of gray.

After the first light coat of primer.

I also managed to paint the brick structure at my local gaming store's paint night.  I usually bring Star Wars Legion minis, but from time to time I raise some eyebrows (in a good way) by bringing something in HO scale.  For the common brick I used a blend of Georgia Clay and a red color, lightening first with tan and then orange for the successive highlight colors.  For the facing brick on the facade I used a Brown Iron Oxide, darkened with a dark chocolate brown for variation.  Here's the result:

The mortar will come later in the process, closer to final assembly.  I spent last night getting the doors sorted.  I've also made great progress on the veranda and side porch which will be featured in an upcoming post.  Thanks for following along.  Happy Modeling!

Another Crescent Solution

When inspiration strikes you've just got to run with it, especially when it potentially solves a problem that has long plagued me.  The problem?  What to do with that crescent of land along the street across from the business block on my layout.  Since the initial planning days it has been a set of residential homes, a gas station, a park with a horse-car on display and a bandstand, a gas station again, and now?  Now it just might become a streetcar depot.

Here's the latest plan:

Note: the scenic depictions in this plan are NOT to scale.  In particular, the crescent of land where the Streetcar Depot is indicated is in reality narrower than shown.  More about the plan in a minute.  First, the inspiration:

The image above comes from a long-defunct website about the Northern Electric interurban line and its depot in Woodland, California, near Sacramento.  Thanks to the Internet Archive the site is still accessible here.  I've long wanted to include some Spanish Colonial architecture on the layout as it helps set the locale and the era, central Florida in the 1920s.  Though 2000 miles distant, this structure contains elements I want to include; the arcade, the tile roof, the parapet ornamentations and most importantly the trolley inside the building.

I was never totally happy with the original stub-end streetcar line down the center of the street, ending abruptly at the intersection of Orange Avenue and some as-yet-unnamed street.  Some of the ideas for what to put in the crescent were in response to that discomfort.  I had pondered sending the track around the corner and down the alley to the site of an old barn, the former car barn for the horse-drawn car now turned into an automobile mechanic's shop.  That'd work, sure, and would fit nicely into the overall narrative of evolving transportation in the 20s, but as that area evolved that plan changed as well.  

For a brief moment I considered running the line all the way down that un-named street past the motorcycle cop indicated on the plan above with a second line extending past the mainline station but the thought of building six rail crossings - dummies even! - gave me shivers.  Terminating the line at the crescent made sense logistically as well as narratively as long as some sort of terminus was located there.  Before I had imagined selling trolley tickets from a storefront; a common practice even depicted on the cover of Middleton's tome, The Interurban Era.  However, this new structure makes the storytelling simpler and more direct.

Beyond the narrative role it brings more balance to the scene, visually.  Specifically the structure is taller and offers more mass than other options.  Once the track and paving are in place I suspect this effect will be felt more fully.  That's one of the reasons I decided to shift the street track closer to the crescent, to lend its mass to that shape.  The other is for ease of pole-planning, locating the trolley wire on one side of the street hanging from single-arm poles.  There's prototype precedent for this offset arrangement in Ybor City, Tampa, by the way. 

Enough chatter, here's the photocopied foam-core mock-up:

I've left the roof off, for now.  Walls are enough to determine the footprint and rough size overall.  The arcade is built from that kitmingler's darling, the Revell Engine House.  The station building itself is the Model Power (Pola) Station.  (No, really, that's what it's called, simply "Station".  Ugh.  Might as well throw "vintage" and "brick" on there too.  Technically correct but really useless descriptors.) 

Here are a couple more angles to locate the scene on the larger layout:

Note the Ensminger Building in the foreground.

You may have noticed that both of the donor structures are entirely brick.  Should I go ahead with this plan, I'd be trying something with this kitbash that I've wanted to try for some time now.  I'm going to stucco the walls, hiding unwanted windows in the process, leaving the brick detail exposed like window arches and the cornice detail.  This isn't so common in real life but I have seen a few examples out there and I think it will look great.  I could just build the whole thing from scratch but for now I'll keep the kitbash option in the forefront.  I'm really happy with this idea, far more than the other possibilities for this plot.  Up next, Ensminger progress. 

 

Scratch That

With the facade complete I took the next steps to assemble the core of the brick structure; applying brick texture to the back of the cornice, filling gaps with putty and creating a peak on the rear wall.  Next I assembled the walls using the kit-supplied alignment pegs and mid-level brace.  This is a nice way of ensuring the walls are plumb and square; thanks, Kibri!

Next I could begin pondering how I'd construct the photo studio add-on.  I had originally planned to use a Life-Like General Store, a structure I had kitbashed once before, years ago.  I nixed this idea because of the windows; there are too many on the kit and the prototype only has a handful.  

Test fitting with the Life-Like components gave me a feel for the relative size of the add-on and revealed an interesting geometry.  Placing the peak of the studio roof in line with the second story door then aligning the back studio wall with the side wall of the brick structure means that studio wall is slightly higher than the rest.  Based on the photos I have I suspect this was the case for the prototype structure.  Enlarge the photo below and trace the planks along the wall that says "Photograph Gallery", to see what I mean.

With these factors in play I decided to scratchbuild the studio using v-groove styrene sheet and window castings from my collection of parts.  My first order of business was to double check the fit of the structure in place on the layout.  Then I could begin making a simple-enough drawing to provide the necessary data to begin cutting parts.

The green framed windows came from the Grocery store kit and will need to be masked before I can prime them, as they're cast with the clear plastic and green plastic in one piece.  The metal windows are of unknown origin, though I suspect they're Alexander.  My brick structure isn't as wide as the prototype, so my high studio wall will be higher than the original, but that's okay.  This sort of situation is part of the fun of kitbashing, when reality suggests something out of the ordinary.  

I genuinely believe that the limitations imposed by real-life situations often produce more interesting models than we can imagine.  Studying photos of real places builds a library of possibilities which we can access to create realistic models with great interest.  Just as the freelancer studies real locomotives to produce a plausible steam engine for their pike, so to the kitbasher (and kit designers!) must study real structures so that their creations have a ring of authenticity.

A Fancy Facade for the Ensminger Building

Work on the Ensminger Building continued yesterday, making a start on the facade.  Studying the photo of the prototype I made a quick sketch on graph paper of the details as built, then simplified it into the basic outline, shape and form.  Satisfied that I could match the overall impression, I dove into the kit-mingling with abandon as if possessed by the spirit of Art Curren himself.  

Open this image in a new tab for a really big view.

I had previously gathered potential donor material for the ornate brick cornice and brought out those bits. I began by sawing away the detail from the cornice of the AHM Fire House.  The upper section split in two and flipped vertically would create the dental bits on either side of my facade, framed between bonus brick pillars from the Grocery store...more on that in a minute.  The lower sections would provide more dental detail for the four pillars of the cornice.

The green bit is the original kit cornice; lovely, but not what I want.

An unknown source provided the peaked section in the center, filed and cut to give a sawtooth look.  I drilled and enlarged ventilation holes in a pattern on that section following the prototype's example.  Additional vertical brick bits from the Fire House wall were added here and there.  In the end this is what it looked like:

Pleased with this result I returned to the bench after dinner and pondered the storefront.  The prototype is loaded with details I'd love to include.  However, since I am trying to stay within the donor kit's boundaries for the sake of time and resources, I have to live with the limitations this imposes.  I decided to correct one element, turning the four-pane display windows into something closer to the prototype though still far from accurate.  

To do this I'd need to cut away the window muntins to make a large plate glass window.  Still, if I could recreate that stained glass look above the large windows, that'd be even better.  Digging through my windows collection I found some very fine N scale windows I honestly thought I'd never use.  Never say never, and keep everything.  These little gems were a near-perfect fit into the kit window openings.

I cut away the kit's horizontal muntins and cut away three panes from the N scale windows.  Then I glued in the N scale windows from behind and reattached the muntins beneath, now as mullions.  Once that had set up I cut away the remaining vertical muntin.  Here is the result, set beneath the upper story facade:

Now a word about "bonus parts" and the problems with this kit.  Full disclosure; when I worked at Walthers part of my job was writing kit instructions.  Spend enough time reading model train discussions online and you may find someone complaining about Walthers kit instructions.  I'm not spilling any trade-secret beans to say they're aware of this.  One of the complaints you might find out there is the problem of "bonus parts", or a sprue with too many parts leaving the modeler unsure if they've built the kit correctly.  This kit is no exception, with several sprues of windows, doors and walls that aren't used in the grocery store building.

Here's part of the problem: this structure didn't start life as a Walthers kit.  It is most clearly a Kibri kit, utilizing parts from their product line (one part is even stamped "Kibri").  Kibri 38393, the ice cream parlor, uses the same side panels - and construction method - as Lee's Grocery and Lee's includes the storefront and windows from Kibri 38393 in its box though they're not needed for the grocery store.  Got it?  Good.  As a result the modeler, having completed Lee's Grocery, will be left with an assortment of parts for their bits box.  There's nothing on the instruction sheet to indicate this.  This can be needlessly confusing and a single line of text calling out the extra parts would go a long way towards helping resolve this issue.

Admittedly it's not a big deal for most modelers.  We can figure it out.  For kitbashers, the leftover parts are a boon.  As mentioned above I used a "bonus" short wall section to create the brick pillars for the cornice and I'll be using the windows and doors, not designed for this structure, to create doors for the upper floor veranda access.  I'm not criticizing Walthers for this; in my last post I commented on Scale Structures Limited's creative use of parts to make the gazebo (it appears "The Store" might be the original kit those parts were intended for, though even then they're cut apart.  Curious to see those instructions...).  A person could argue that economy of scale and creative re-use of parts go hand in hand and keep us modelers supplied with kits at a reasonable price.  I'll buy that.

 

Ensminger Veranda Part 1

No, the Shifter isn't finished, but while the gloss varnish cures I'm following my interest and starting work on the Ensminger Building, beginning with the elaborate veranda.  I'm using parts that aren't an exact match but follow the "rule of cool" and the spirit of kitbashing, using something I've already got in stock at the home hobby shop.  This is the Scale Structures Limited Gazebo kit, from which I'll be using the fancy posts and arched lattice detail, the ornate railing and the scribed floor plank sheet.

Let the filing begin!

The original kit instructions call for filing away a 30-35 degree angle from the rear of each upright post on the arched lattice sections in order to butt them together and create the illusion that two posts are in fact one.  I've got issues with this approach.  On the original model this would result in an unsightly gap behind the "post", where the two almost-halves meet.  In no gazebo ever have I seen two posts joined in this way as one conjoined post, but rather a single turned wood post is used with the railings attached to it.  This is what the drawings show but you'd have trouble making the kit parts align properly building it as instructed.

Getting closer...

However for my application of the parts, where the posts will be filed on a 45 degree bevel, the resulting post will indeed be just that - a single post comprised of two actual post halves.  I'll have a gap to deal with no matter how carefully and accurately I file them down but I can fix that with putty.  Where two arched lattice sections meet I'd need to either remove one post entirely or file away half of each post again, but this time producing a gap that's harder to hide.  For that reason I elected to remove one post and fill any gaps on that joint as needed.  The trick of course is to file slightly more from behind so the front is a tight fit, but there's that unsightly gap issue again. Sure, it is unlikely to be seen from a normal viewing angle but I'll know it's there!

Almost there (note, they're upside down)

The front veranda is deep - as deep as one arched lattice section - while the side veranda is shallower.  This works out well as the SS Ltd kit comes with 6 arched lattice sections.  I'll use 4 for the front veranda, 2 for the side veranda.  It also includes six sections of ornate railing which also must be shortened on each end to fit between the posts - note, this is what the original kit calls for!  I'll need all six and then some short bits which is fine since I've got a set of shorter railings, identical to the kit parts except half as long, which I'll use for the sides of the shallower veranda.

Section on the right de-flashed

I'd love to know what structure these parts were originally designed for, because the kluge required to turn these parts into a gazebo seems challenging.  However, it is often required of the kitbasher, indeed incumbent upon the modeler to see beyond the part as intended into the future purpose of the part as yet unknown.  In that respect I admire Jon Stetz, the designer of the SS Ltd Gazebo, for his creative use of such beautiful parts.  Perhaps my creative re-use of these parts might someday inspire another modeler to go and do likewise.

Model Railroad Myths and Memes: Whose Train Set is it?

  

I recently came across this cartoon, fed to me by Facebook.  I asked an AI art generator to redraw this comic strip - apologies to Bill O'Malley - with a different ending that showed the father and son playing together.  I prefer a "both-and" scenario to an "either-or" in this case.
 

There's much more that can be said about this, much more.  But I'll let the images speak for themselves and leave the interpretation up to the beholder.  The question still stands: Whose train set is it?

 

The Back Door and The Signs, with special guest, AI

I felt bad for the back wall of the Candy Shop after talking it up in the previous post but not sharing an image.  So, I took a picture of the wall to show its concrete stoop and details as well as a couple close-up shots of the posters.  The little vent fan on the wall is from Vector Cut, sadly, now out of production.  The rest are metal castings of unknown origin.

Why wasn't this included in the kit? (and why isn't the door inset?)

You can still get coffee at the candy shop.  The little face is a period-accurate election poster.

The roof was stippled but painting that brick was a back-and-forth process that took forever.

But I'm burying the lead here...after a conversation with Jim at 30 Squares I decided to play around with AI to generate a sign.  I used Canva, as it was the first search result returned.  The process was super easy, turning text into an image.  Here's the prompt I used:

Rooftop Sign for a 1920s business called the "Lemon Drop Candy Shop" featuring a large lemon with leaves and the text "Lemon Drop Candy Shop" in a period appropriate typeface

Here are the results that I liked best:

WOW.  I had thought I'd get a graphic, not a photo-realistic image.  But boy am I glad I didn't get what I expected.  Novelty architecture really became popular in the 1920s and 30s and these signs are a nod to that style, perfect for my railroad's era.  It wouldn't be too hard to make a big lemon out of Milliput along with some stylized leaves.  The large panel means the text could be used on both sides for a ridge-line sign.  I've got some raised styrene letters, though I might search around for a different typeface for variety's sake.  

This is exciting.  Happy modeling, and thanks for reading.