BEST B&M Shanties

My finished shanties ready for placement on the White River Division.

These two small shanties are a delight to build. This post starts with "Whats in the Box No. 5" of last week. I spent one evening assembling them and another painting and weathering the two. The instructions are straight forward with lots of photos. Actually if you are to build one you might want to read Trevor Marshall's review found in the August 2003 RMC. The same review can also can be read on the BEST site review page. Trevor has a few good comments...wish I had read the review before I built mine. The kit has just the right about of wood trim which I did not account for...had to dig into my stash to finish the trim.

Here are some of the wall assembled. Be careful on your trim waste.

I used a square to help get everything right. Canopy glue is my choice for this project.

Most kits tell you to paint the wood first in multi colour kits. I don't. Sometimes I do Hunterline stain all the wood before I begin though. Since this is a very small structure I didn't. All the sections go together well. I used canopy glue for all attachments. I really like using this glue currently. Once together the whole structure inside and out got a coat of Hunterline stain. I painted the light colour first. The upper sections got a wash of Floquil depot buff followed by a wash of grime. My washes are about 50-50 thinner and paint. I find the paint pigment soaks in and does not appear like a heavy coat of paint. I then use my finest brush and paint the darker red-brown colour. I put on a wash of Floquil Tuscan red followed by a wash of signal red while still wet. I did have some red get on the light buff but this can be touched up with a dab of buff wash while still wet.

The roof was brushed Floquil grimy black. I did not add the singles as I liked the look of the roof as is. It looks like a tar paper finish. I think adding shingles on such a small area in four angles would have been a pain. Trevor mentioned using a piece of wire in the four bends or edge grooves. I think this is a great idea and will eventually add these to mine. The windows and doors are air brushed the Tuscan-signal red mix. The kit had window glazing with blinds. I gave mine a flat finish before adding. The smoke stacks are added to the sides of the building instead of the roof. I really liked this look. They are painted grimy black with some rust streaks added.

One structure is finished while the second one is having its roof added. I added the roof after painting the walls. The roofs have soot and dark rust Bragdon powders added over a coat of Floquil grimy black.

I used Bragdon powders to blend and weather the structures. On the buff I used a coat of lime white. On the brown I used old tuscan which I think looks a lot like what I see in B&M photos. One can use any brown-red base paint if it is covered with old tuscan. Under the windows and wall edges I used weathering brown and dust bowl brown to round off the final finish. A final note, the kit comes with enough awnings for all the windows. I saved these for use on my B&M WRJ yard office. Many of the windows on that structure had awnings and now I have them...George Dutka

The two coal boxes are finished differently.  One is left unpainted. I put in a false bottom adding Woodland Scenic coal and a brace to hold the lid up.

One smoke stack is on the rear while the other is on the side. I adjusted these to reflect the locations they will reside. The coal boxes are also on different sides. One on rear and other on the side.