FOS KOM - Reese Tools

I used the FOS kit-of-the-month block add-on with my creamery build. At the same time I built the rest of the kit. It is a very simple build. I made my own tar paper shingles and added a leftover piece of Northeastern cardstock corrugated siding as an awning. This was leftover from a BarMills kit...the rest is in the captions...George Dutka   

The walls are kept a light gray-white tone but the door got a touch of PanPastel green.

A straight forward rectangle structure that did not take much to complete.

To add some extra interest I added a side pipe for a pot belly stove inside. I believe this was a Grandt Line detail.

B&M 1223 - Life Like Model

With some color change to the body this Life Like switcher is put back to work.

Back in 2019 I purchased this Like Like SW-9 at the Woodstock train show from a friend of mine. I did not need another B&M switcher but for $40 with DCC no sound installed I though what the heck. Mark is a great electronics guy and I knew it would run great. What bothered me was the factory B&M maroon is more of a dark brown tone.

A bit of history...a quick look in my B&M books has this engine built in 1952-53 in the number series 1220-1231.  

There is still a lot of brown in the tone from the original coloring but with the Proto Paint fading and PanPastel it sure looks a lot better. I might try some reddish calk or hold off and get some red or maroon PanPastels to bring it more into the red tone.

When I got it home I painted the engineman and removed the side windows so one could see inside at the crew. I gave the model two coats of Proto Paint flat haze (Rapido paint that is not made anymore) hoping this would help with the coloring. It did not help but did fade the shade well, so I just gave it some weathering using PanPastels and called it a day.

Yesterday I brought it back to my workbench as I had a few pieces that I was going to airbrush flat haze. I thought I would give the switcher another coat to seal the weathering and try some of my reddish browns on the engine. 

Using a small brush I applied PanPastel red iron oxide extra dark on the B&M maroon. I was surprised it was making a difference bringing the tone closer to how my other engines look. I was not concerned if some of the powders got on the gold as it just looked like weathering and grime. The roof and walk ways are then coated with PanPastel Paynes grey extra dark which is a black tone. I then used my Bragdon soot which has some rust mixed in from a tumble of the container as highlights on the roof, running boards and underbody details. I think it looks a lot better now but could use some more red in the tone. For now it is back in service. It normally hangs around WRJ on its own for switching but now that the color matches better to my other engines it might be combined in a consist...George Dutka

The three tones used to finish off the coloring of this B&M switcher. The brownish red looking tone in the foreground actually helped bring the color to what I though a B&M maroon should look like. It could still use a bit of red in the mix but it is way better than it looked before I started.

New England Church

Geoff Southwood sent me a photo of his model of the same church that Bill Moore build yesterday following my post. Good job Geoff...wonder how many New England modelers have this church on their layout. This kit appears to be not as new as I thought. The one Geoff built during Covid he purchased 20 years ago in Springfield...George Dutka  

Bill Moore's New England Layout

Robertson Paper that once stood in Bellows Falls is a Monster Models kit that Bill has done a wonderful job at constructing.

Another look at Bill's layout. There is a lot to do as one can see with the open benchwork in the lower photo. Bill has the whole layout planned out with many areas completed. I took a number of photos but should have taken many more...these are a few views that interested me the most...George Dutka       

At WRJ a MEC hook is waiting forwarding.

Bill's Twin State Fruit which he purchased from Marty is ready for the sign to be added.

Bill recently completed this wooden laser cut kit of a typical New England Church. 

This is the kit box of the church. I saw the kit being offered at Trainfest 2019. ALA had a booth with some nice models. They are located in Michigan and Bill ordered his kit directly. They appear good to deal with as he had an issue with a fine part which ALA replaced without charge.

B&M Caboose

B&M 104295 is seen on July 27, 1955. It looks quite clean for an older caboose. Possibly recently repainted.

I thought I would share this view with you of a nice looking wooden B&M caboose. I don't recall where I got it from. If you are modeling New England in the 1950's a model of this one might work well on your layout. I believe it was once offered in brass...George Dutka       

Wordless Wednesday No. 537

    

Hoods Diorama - FOS Add-on

A portion of a FOS kit will be added to the side of the creamery main structure.

I added a small block add-on to the side of my creamery which actually is a portion of a FOS kit-of-the-month offering. I used the billboard sign from the kit to feature a Hoods sign. Although small it kind of adds more interest to the main structure. The boiler house will be right behind it shortly.

There are only three walls to the structure with a dovetail joint at the corners. I began by painting the wall Ceramcoat drizzle gray. I then dry brushed the walls acrylic white. Some PanPastel white is also applied lightly.

The roof is done using a blackish tone of construction paper as tar paper. The rooftop sign is then added...George Dutka.  

A look at what is in the FOS kit.

I only am using the small block portion of the structure.

Not to many parts to this tiny add-on.

Snapshot - July 2023

Brighton, Ontario CNR station. July 10 2023

This month's snapshot is of the station area of Brighton, Ontario which had a neat little railway museum at one time. I saw it from the train window while heading to Montreal before Covid. I made a point of stopping by when I was out that way. I did earlier this month and the site has since closed with equipment being sold off. All that remains are the structures and a steel CP caboose...George Dutka 

The east end of the station. This is a GT design which are seen throughout Ontario. Most of the structures were made from stone but this one is brick.

Trackside view has a fence out front.

July 10 2023

An internet view of what was once on display at Brighton.

 

An undated view of the station while still in use by the CN.

Another view of the station from maybe the 1960's or early 1970's. 

Ice House

My drop-in ice house scene is an N scale ice house which works well in HO scale with a new footing. The size is what one might find at a creamery or along a rural spur.

This is the same Walther kit as I showed you yesterday but in N scale that I used as a drop-in scene for a number of years. A visiting modeler really liked the ice house and purchased it from me when I was working on my conversion (point to point). I should have kept my model as it would still work on my layout today.  

The Walthers ice houses in both scale are quite large complexes that one would have found on a busy main line in California or out west, maybe even down south. I feel the N scale version has a lot of opportunities on an HO scale layout...George Dutka

The completed ice house ready to be dropped into a scene.

I added some corner trim as the glue job was not great on the model when I first got it. I also added a new concrete style footing made from stripwood. The roof vents needed new styrene roof panels and the rest needed to be glued better together. Some filling of seams was also required.

Hoods Diorama - Ice House

I showed you the finished ice house a couple of weeks ago. Here is how it all went together. The ends now measure 25' by 18' with a peak of 22 1/2'. The sides are 18' by 58'. All the corner trim and bracing is from Mt. Albert, I usually watch for them at shows as they sell bundles of off cuts which works well in many of my projects. The trim is 1" by 4" Mt Albert wood. So the model is a mix of plastic, wood and cardstock. 

Primer gray is the base coat that white is applied to give the structure a worn paint effect. The Hoods signage is from a 1980's calander. Along the bottom of the structure I gave a wash of AK slimy grime dark followed by some PanPastel raw umber shade. The roof seams are done with Bragdon soot and dark rust plus some PanPastel raw umber shade.

This model turned out to be the most work of all the structures I added to the diorama due to having to pull it apart and cutting it down. It might have been better to scratch build the whole thing from wood siding...George Dutka 

The Walthers ice house is all pulled apart and ready to be cut to size.

One can see how much I cut down the end walls to fit the creamery scene. I also took into consideration what had to be cut out due to damaged.

All the Walther ice house cut down parts are ready to be assembled.

The roof is test fit. It will be a gray tarpaper roof using construction paper.

Mount Albert wood corner trim and base is used with the plastic siding. The roof is FOS stock roofing that one can purchase in sheets. I did brace the bottom with leftover wood pieces. There was only one roof vent so I used the two ends and cut down some of leftover side material to make a longer version.

The walls are spray can painted primer gray followed by white tones as the weathered wall coloring.

The walls are dry brushed MIG rail center white then some PanPastel white and raw umber shade is applied.

CP Mill - Pontypool, Ontario

The refurbished CPR Pontypool grain mill looking east on July 10 2023.

On my trip to Eastern Ontario I stopped by the old mill which was a CPR facility for years. I had been there back in 1989 with Warren Dodgson on our way to a train show. Over the years Peter Mumby had given me views of the mill which is near his cottage. I always wondered how the mill now looked or if it was actually still standing. To my surprise it was still there and totally refurbished. 

The Pontypool mill is located east of Toronto and west of Havelock. The grain mill was built in 1918 and is one of two remaining free standing grain elevators in Ontario. The structure owned by CP has been donated to the "Friends of the Pontypool Grain Elevator". The mill was in use till the 1970's with rail service. 

I think it is a neat structure worth having a model of. On my visit I took some basic measurements as I have a model kit of the structure for over 30 years. The measurements will help me size the model correctly. I think this kit has now  moved closer to the top of my pile of kits...George Dutka

I stopped on the highway bridge to get an overall view of the grain elevator site. In this photo we are looking east. July 10. 2023.

Roadside view looking northeast.

There was a gas pump at the mill site on my visit during November 1989.

Nov 1989

The add-on structure is now gone.

There was a sign on the west side of the structure. Nov 1989

My Pontypool kit is a box of sticks which was the norm back in the 1970's. Peter Mumby gave me this kit maybe 30 years ago, as I think a Christmas gift. Now to use my photos, a few measurements and some changes to the kit (the structure should have cedar shingles).

Kawartha Lakes Public Library Copy. No date. It must be before 1989 as by then the metal roofing was replaced.