Motorcycle Repair Shop

I used my Motorcycle Roomettes interiors kit on this model. The sign out front and the interior inside the open door are part of that kit. The front of the structure is a motorcycle store while the rear is another business which repairs bikes.

My friend Brian Smith asked if I could finish off his bike shop. He had done most of the construction. The roof needed doing or redoing and details and weathering updated. It is a JL Innovative Design kit that I believe is now discontinued. I don't normally take on any other projects as I have a lot to work on of my own. This kit kind of looked like a nice change of pace and I had it done in about a week while working on other projects...George Dutka

This was the photo Brian sent me when he asked if I was interested in finishing off his kit. Brian is a biker so he really wanted a good looking shop on his layout which put some pressure on me to get it right.

Here is what showed up on my workbench. The roof was removed and replaced, the front awning was replaced and more bracing to the interior was added.

Brian had done a pretty good job weathering up the walls but I though it was too bland being all gray. I added a bit of yellow-gold chalk to the walls which brightens things up a bit. The two new awnings are made for FOS paper corrugated siding. AK and Vallejo stains are used. The trim and windows got a coating of green. I could not pull the windows out so they are carefully painted in place. Some top trim was added to the false front wall before painting.

I went to an Indian Motorcycle shop to get some information and possibly something that could turn into signs. The logo from a business card worked well on the fence and the Indian head became a sign on the rear wall.

The roof is  heavy stock styrene then covered with construction paper coloured and weathered to become the roofing. The door is cut and modeled open. Woodland Scenic fencing is used. Two bikes are included and are from Woodland Scenic while the chopper Brian supplied from his stock. Gatorfoam is the base. Some Tichy barrels and hammers, Juneco garbage can,  F&C blocks some boards and newspapers add to the scene. I decided to mount a roof sign on this side and two smoke stacks on the other.

Inside the door I used a Roomette's motorcycle interior. It is not an exact fit but with some cutting and bending it worked out OK. The toolbox bench in the left corner is a locomotive battery box repurposed.

The biked began with a coat of Princess Auto Cast Iron than some silver, and tan paint is applied. The headlight got a dab of white and the seat a tan chalk coating. This bike sure needs some repairs as oil is dripping onto Brian's nice concrete pad. This was done with AK fuel oil.

Each side has some sort of motorcycle signage. The rear also got some rubbish leaning against the wall.

The Harley sign is a photocopy from a sign in a NMRA magazine article I posted about a couple of months ago. Wire is added to one window, some signs from my stockpile and license plates and so on add to the clutter around the door. Note some more oil stains are found in front of the bike and also around the bottom of the barrel.