Here's an update on the latest work to detail the cooling tower for the Suydam Union Ice Company. A couple weeks back I received the angles and channels for the bracing, but focused instead on the interior office details, wall and roof bracing, and building the icing platform. I also applied a first coat of stucco/paint to the building except the front wall. In addition, I cut out the letters for the front wall sign.
Before I can finish the front wall I need to finish the cooling tower, in order to get a feel for how the lights will look along the wall beneath the tower. Having done most of what I could except work on the tower, I returned to that focus. I set up the NWSL chopper to cut 3/4" lengths of the styrene channel, and 7/8" lengths of the styrene angle for the corners. Next I attached the strips to a painting stick, along with the styrene letters on a separate stick. The letters got a coat of black, and the channels and angles a coat of primer gray.
The gray parts will be painted with a blotchy light gray to try and approximate the look of galvanized metal before I glue them to the cooling baffles. I also found another picture of a prototype much similar to the one in the Suydam kit. I decided to hunt for the prototype that Ayres used - a fact they touted in their catalog - and turned up a few more cooling towers in California. Here's one from just down the road in Santa Rosa:
Ain't she a beauty? Of course this tower has got a fancy roof with lovely trusses, but the baffles are the same shape as the kit. I'd love to see more sides of this structure, and the detailing is really interesting. And how about that sign behind the pole? This Means YOU! Opens more possibilities for my own structure, though I am having to control project creep and balance that tension with letting the creation speak through the process of building.
Work has been slow going lately, with in-laws visiting, Easter celebrations, a spouse that likely got food poisoning, and splitting a bee hive. But each night I sit at the bench and do something to move the project forward, no matter how small. Sounds simple, but right now I find this an effective means of getting something done when living through lockdown as an introvert with a family tends to drain the energy out of me.
The building in the photo has lots of character and is almost an ideal model railroad building. I especially like how its composed of 'boxes' of different shapes and sizes with that cooling tower to provide contrast.
ReplyDeleteYES - it has that added-onto character that is so very appealing, especially to model builders. Varied roof lines, varied materials (stucco, brick, wood and metal), and great signage; it certainly provides terrific visual interest.
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