Her Shrink Ray Eye

This one's a little different, but boy howdy does it align with the philosophical side of this blog.  

Every now and then I wander down a back alley into the thought processes behind the hobby of model railroading.  Take these posts, for example:

https://ocalicreek.blogspot.com/2025/03/geissel-got-it.html 

https://ocalicreek.blogspot.com/2024/03/tired-tropes-or-tried-and-true.html

https://ocalicreek.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-post-project-blahs.html

There are more, but these should suffice to make the point; I consider thinking (and writing) about the hobby an important part of the hobby itself, and something I enjoy doing.  I don't recall when I started reading Koester's "Trains of Thought" column in Model Railroader magazine, but once I did it became my regular source of thought-provoking hobby concepts.  I didn't always agree with Tony's ideas but I have to give the column some credit for opening my mind in novel ways.  Ditto the editorials, occasionally.  Of course these days many blogs scratch the itch, with 30 Squares topping the list.

So when I discovered the "Her Shrink Ray Eye" podcast I was delighted to have found a thinker who could offer some well-composed commentary on miniature hobbies.  Joan Biediger is an artist, cartographer and writer living in Salt Lake City.  She created the podcast as a place to discuss "ideas about scale, perception, and what small, constructed worlds can reveal about how we see."  

As of this writing I'm still working my way back through the catalogue of episodes, but let me suggest one of the first ones I listened to as a starting place, "Storytelling Isn't One Thing".

I listen on YouTube, and you can find that episode here:

I have found these podcasts to be well written and delivered, offering a solid foundation for the topics covered as well as thought-provoking questions to take the listener in new directions beyond the basic ideas.  While not specific to model railroading they're easily adjacent to this community with relevant themes.  I recommend them to anyone who enjoys thinking about the art of making miniature things.

In the Mood for More

While the kitmingling mock-up iron was hot I decided to strike it once more.  This is a combination of two buildings - Carol's Corner Cafe' from DPM and the Corner Pharmacy from Woodland Scenics; in reality, the same structure, just under different names.  My corner cafe has been serving as a stand-in for the pool hall.  Now that I have a second kit I can create a larger structure more suited to the location.  The photos below illustrate the process.

Walls photocopied then cut apart.

Walls rearranged and glued to cardstock.

The finished mock-up in place.  Box car to prove clearance.

The structures bounded by the tracks, clockwise from top: former blacksmith and livery stable now turned garage (red building), Chero-Cola bottling plant, pool hall, pipe supplier (tan sheet) and freight house.

I selected this structure because of the large windows which will give a nice view of the pool tables inside.  There's enough room on the ground floor for three pool tables, a bar - for root beer, of course - and a staircase leading upstairs.  I'm tempted to use the remaining space between the structure and the tracks to include a little add-on, perhaps a storage room, but that's a decision for later, after I've had time to stare at the mock-up in place.

To my eye the building fills the space well and has enough mass to sit opposite the large bottling plant without seeming dwarfed.  I like including non-rail-served structures in areas adjacent to the tracks.  This, to me, seems more realistic and less "model-railroady".  On a layout this size with curves this tight and a looping track plan I've got to employ every trick in the book to add that true-to-life feeling.

Finally, here are a couple bird's eye views of the structures along Orange Avenue, per Jim's request in the previous post's comments.

Note: I took this shot before I decided to create the mock-up in this post.  Carol's Corner Cafe' can be seen in the upper right corner.

Oh, one last note, if you've made it this far.  S ince both predecessor kits include the word "corner" in their names, I think it's only fitting to call this billiards parlor "The Corner Pocket".  Thanks for reading.

Orange Avenue Mock-ups Round Two

Today I placed the Ensminger Building on the layout to get a better feel for how it will look at the end of the block, so to speak.  Seeing it there made me realize what had been bothering me about the previous arrangement of structures; in short, some didn't quite fit as I'd hoped.  So, my attention turned from the Ensminger Building to its neighbors, and I found two alternatives to the problematic structures.

Let's start at the other end of the block.  The Drug store on the corner was slated for that site long ago and despite its current unfinished status still serves to show its mass and silhouette.  Moving down the street is a new addition, DPM's First National Bank aka the Grand Hotel if you've got the kit in the structure pack for Woodland Scenics' Grand Valley layout.  I'll be using the structure as a hotel, built as it comes.

I've written before about other mock-ups I've made from paper and foam core board but these "new" mock-ups are made using the structure parts held together with hot glue.  The Rosenbaum building however is a paper and cardstock mock-up representing DPM modular wall panels which will be combined with parts from Rail Scale Models to make a large 5 and 10 cent store.  This structure will have a deep awning (not shown) across the entire facade positioned beneath the transom windows but above the large display windows, a common arrangement in the '20s and into the decades beyond.

Lastly, the tan building is a structure I had planned to kitbash and use on this street but in a different form.  "Granny's Cafe'", as it is called in the Grand Valley structure box, aka "The Other Corner Cafe'" normally, was always going to be a smoke shop with a residence above.  It will continue as such, but in a wider two-story form instead of three.  I'll be borrowing the side walls from another DPM kit but using the wide back wall from the original; a true two-kit-mingle.  Those arched windows will have awnings using the vacuum-molded parts provided in the Grand Valley box, a thoughtful inclusion.

Right away I feel MUCH better about this line-up of mock-ups.  The trolley station across the street also seems more at home opposite these facades.  Oh, and I didn't forget the back alley; I like how it looks as well.  There are several good surfaces for painted-on signs and a visually interesting variety of windows and wall depths.

The Ensminger Building still needs signs and some weathering.  I will add some interior details to the photo studio and front display windows, but likely not for some time.  I'm itching to get this structure done enough to move on to other projects.  I've also got one more mock-up to make while the Grand Valley kit collection is out, but that's a topic for another post.  Thanks for reading.

A Conversation on the Veranda

As the major construction on the Ensminger Building draws to a close the focus shifts to the details.  The structure will have only the barest hint of an interior in the storefront but there are still two major areas to include details; the photo studio and the veranda.  The photo studio windows allow a viewer to peer down into the room so I think that's a prime location for a mini scene.  However, I'm going to hold off on that scene for now and address the veranda first.  

Before I can attach the veranda to the front of the structure I needed to add any details that will live there, as getting them in place once it is attached would be akin to building a ship in a bottle.  After looking through my figures and details I found a set of chairs along with a round table, three figures and a spittoon.  I also found an oil lamp sconce to mount on the wall.

The chairs were missing their legs so I robbed Peter to pay Paul and borrowed some legs from another, simpler set of chairs.  Here they are after being repaired, waiting on the glue to cure fully before painting.  Not sure why the one fellow is face down.  Maybe he didn't want to feel left out.  The men in the chair were glued in when I got the details, years ago.

After painting the legs a close-enough color I carefully glued the details onto the veranda.  I also drilled a hole in the wall and mounted the lamp sconce.  As neat as it would be to make this a working light, I'm not convinced it would be worth the effort so for now - and likely for all time - it remains as is.  The folks on the porch will be somewhat illuminated by the interior light shining through the windows.

The figures around the table and the leaning man were all part of a detailed pool hall structure I purchased years ago.  I still have plans for a billiards parlor on this layout but these fellows won't be in it.  They are now having a conversation on the veranda of the Ensminger Building.  I wonder what they're discussing...

Next, window treatments, a base and roof details.  Not sure how much of that will make it to a blog post, as I'm getting new windows next week in the real world and that process might just turn the house upside down for a while.  Happy modeling, and thanks for reading.