Decommissioning a Diorama

My National Model Railroad Build Off 2022 diorama has served its purpose and now, for the greater cause of reorganizing my garage, has been decommissioned.  All the structures, trees, people and details have been saved.  One of the structures will find a new home in Ocala Springs on the current railroad, but another that was headed that way will find a different home.  More on that in a future post.

I tried to save the brick street with its track but was unable and that's okay.  While the brickwork was sufficient for the diorama, I'd not have been entirely happy with it on its own.  That is one reason to build a diorama - the chance to try new techniques without any pressure.  I salvaged the rail but naught else.  I did manage to save the spur next to the Purina building and will be incorporating it into a display stand...someday.

 

 

Drug Store Saga, Part II

Stone paper overlay applied

Work continues on the Drug Store and in fact has progressed far beyond these images.  However this is a good place to make a few notes. This stone and brick paper has been a real challenge to work with.  First, the paint/primer I had sprayed on didn't stick.  After scraping it away I sanded the texture and applied a matte varnish.  So far this second application of paint has stuck, though where the paper has been bent around the bay window the cracks in the surface show the orange color of the paper beneath.  Still not happy with the color of the stone work...oil wash didn't work as expected, and a drybrush helped, but I may play around with it a bit more.  We'll see.

Apartment stoop in place - first castings installed!

This doorway had to be installed before any more work could continue so that I could take measurements and lay out the Drug Store furniture.  The stoop steps and door are metal castings which, like the rest, I had primed with good old rattle-can gray.  However I had forgotten that this particular can is particularly "sticky" when dry, taking at least a week to really cure.  Not sure why, it just is.  Anyway, it means that when I spray one side of a casting, let it "dry" a few hours then flip it to spray the other side, the primer sticks equally as well to the parts tray as it does to the parts, often pulling away.  Ugh.

Mysterious explosion at drug store leaves only cabinets standing.

 
Finally, the layout of the Drug Store interior has been decided.  A mirrored bar will be built along one wall with a counter in front, on which the cash register will sit.  The two large cabinets will be merged into one and will occupy the other wall along with the door to the back room.  A small display case will sit in front of one of the large windows.  This is about all I can fit in and that's fine.  I've cut the mirrored glass from a dollar store handheld mirror using a glass scoring tool, something I'd never done before.  

Up next, the solution to the removable wall, bracing, and more.  Thanks for reading.

Rediscovering the Benefits of Model Railroading

Good old YouTube suggestions.  Sometimes they nail it.  Substitute "model making" for sketching.