Nicely done!

Scratch and looks better than any kit I've done!  Amazing work.

Peace Bill

Rest of the story

I put this structure on the club layout which has a new (60's) supermarket and didn't need a grocery store. I decided that it was Pop's which closed due to the new grocery and has now re-opened as Wiley's Pool Hall. The kind of place where during the day the retired guys hang out, shoot some pool, grab a Coke from the porch and tell lies about their last fishing trip. In the evenings the crowd changes to a younger group but some things say the same...they can be found shooting some pool, grabing a Coke from the porch and telling lies about their last date...

The flooring is wood built as the kit directed with the timbers supporting the floor joists with the planking over the top. I did not board by board the planking. but did so on the porches.

This is an unlit structure but enough light gets in from the front doors and the windows that I decided to give it an interior. The pool tables are carboard and meant to give the impression. Despite being blobs of paint, the balls can be seen when craning your neck just right and have proved to be quite suprising to people. Given the nature required to view them it doesn't occur to people they are just paint blobs. The back table cannot be seen in normal lighting. I put it in so that anyone shining a cell phone light into gets and extra treat.

The view from the front door. The figures are cheap chinese 1:150 figures I paid $1 for...they work great with a quick bit of repaint. I decided the guy in the coat needed to be wearing a leather jacket with some logo and writing on it. It is convincing from the aisle.

Adding the side porch was done with heavy duty foil pressed over some kind of bar gauge I picked up for a dime at a yard sale. Does great work. The weathering is a flat paint of gray and chrome paint to dull it out then poorly mixed brown paint that was really liquidy...i just started layering until I had the look I wanted. I applied chalks over that and called it a deal. I was really happy with the result. 

Oh...and I decided to add nail holes with the help of a X4 opti visor. These are done individually. I have since bought a pounce wheel with .55mm spacing that will make this WAY easier...

Thanks!

Thanks Bill!

It was a LOT of fun! We did it as a group as a live feed on faceook. There was work between sessions on our own but it was really fun! I used photo's for the copper roof work to get the color right. Otherwise it was pretty free form.

Missing from the photos...

I have since added a 60's era coke machine (printed paper) to the side porch and a jukebox to the interior. That is what the guy standing off to teh side is looking at...

Awesome!

That is just wonderful. I imagine you really need to see it first hand to fully appreciate what you've accomplished in N!

Thanks for sharing that!

Jeff Allen

I was

I was sort of interested at first, and then impressed when I read this has all been done in N scale. Bravo.

Thanks!

Thanks guys! N scale with a good amount of magnification... with the visor on it was easy to see the individual clapboards and do things like the nail holes.

If

If the era of building works for you and you model in HO, I would encourage you to pick this kit up and give it a try! The actual production kit is all laser cut wood.

Very nicely done

Thank you!

Thanks Vince! 

Glad to see

that others on the forum are posting some scratch building projects. Always nice to see. I'm quite impressed with the detail you put into the structure being it is in N scale. Keep up the great work.

Bernd

Thanks!

Thanks Bernd! I am a huge fan of scratch and kitbashing. I was really happy with the outcome of this one. I was really pushing the limits of what I could do because I was trying to keep pace detail wise with the HO guys. The group build aspect was definitely the best. No two structures were the same even though everyone else was using a kit. One was turned to a fish shop on a pier, another was changed up and the front was done as stone, only a couple stuck straight to the kit as written. Mine went to a my local club and another went to a father and son who are using model railroading after the son had an accident and lost his complete memory of his family. The layout they are building is to rebuild those bonds so not only was there great structures built, technique shares, and much fun fellowship through the build but some served an elevated purpose (my rr club is in a library and VERY public). I will rebuild another for my layout but I need the sides revered. With the way I made my own kit from it I can run a new sheet of styrene clapboard through the cruitcut and have another in a matter of a couple minutes.

Great work

Amazing what is possible to do in N scale. N scale is attracting, but I worry that I would like to add a lot of details. Details are a lot more easy to do in O scale.

N scale is great when going to large scales!

LOL! Funny you should mention O scale and details...I made a barn in HO scale for a friend...it was HUGE compared to my normal work. I decided to make the beams with the proper mortise and tenon connections. I got out the drill bits I use in N scale and cut the mortise pockets Easy peasy. I tried to find a suitable material to peg things together but couldn't find something. I have dabbled in On30 a bit and will end up making a layout for it. When I do I will build a barn that will have the hand hewn marks on the beams (they are too small in HO to mess with) and not only will the thing be mortise and tenoned together but there won't be glue anywhere on it. I will nail every board and peg every timber because, well, I can