I think it's the design of

I think it's the design of the building DPM modeled it after. Measure the door without lintel and see if it's a scale 7-8 feet. If it is, it's not S scale.

That's what happens when you

That's what happens when you place true to scale buildings next to Walther's/Heljan/Con-Cor buildings....

Do not expect the regular plastic kits to be anywhere near true to scale, they are almost always compressed in size to fit a small model railway....Back when many (most?) of them were designed, many of them were marked as suitable for HO and TT scale.

The worst example is Heljans rural church, which is marked as HO, but is closer to 1:250 scale...

Measured it

Thanks.

Using my model railroad reference ruler, the doorway opening is 8' on the 'S' scale, just shy of 10' on the HO scale. Smaller might not have been a problem.

g

DPM, do they use Heljan parts?

Those parts looks suspiciously like the ones in Heljans brewery.

If that's the case, then it is S scale more or less.

The Heljan brewery is a bit of a conundrum...

Heljan Brewery

Who knows? I did look at the image of that Heljan brewery online and see a number of similarities in terms of architectural detailing and shapes. And the DPM parts I was using had been picked up in a LHS close to North Conway, New Hampshire a couple of years ago. And they had the look of age then... When I was looking for additional materials I learned that they had been absorbed by Woodland Scenics. Thanks for the compare.

Been looking at it and am considering carving up what I have and using it as a master for a downsized set of panels. Got mold and resin left and it doesn't last long. Sigh...

g

Instead of

tearing it down,  why not just build new doors, and adjust trim enough to work.

Dock Level Module Pieces

You are using a Dock Level modular piece which is taller than the normal one story module pieces on the first story.  See #30131 versus #30136.  The overall height of the building is OK since some brick buildings had kind of a false front with the roof well below the height of the front wall.  If you reduce the window height to match part #30131 I think it would look fine and match the prototype photo.

I assume the white is scratchbuilt styrene and looks very nice.

Robert

Pieces used

Actually, no. The line of windows is #30112. Besides... I have the package in my hand. Dock level windows have their additional brickwork below the window frame to accommodate the dock. If you look at the picture again you will see that the additional height is above the window, not below. Part of that was my fault because the space above the window was too small to receive the company name, present in all pictures I have seen of it to before 1900. But the short wall I added on top was too tall. But that really wasn't my issue -- the shop windows and the street level door arch (behind the scratchbuilt door) are way too tall. The doorway opening is 9.5' tall and the shop windows just shy of 20'. So while the building is just a tad wider than the prototype it is 35% taller. So much for trying to match the visual proportions of the prototype without doing a reality check on the materials.

So I am going to cut the top off the wall -- the prototype has a metal flashing cap so the parapet loss will not be serious. The door will have to be cut off and redone. And the shop windows amputated and pushed up. Thank goodness for plastic body putty. My resin wall castings for the rest of the structure will similarly go through the saw. Next time I will pay more attention to the HO ruler before I glue it together... and less on matching the visuals.

greg

The small town my parents

The small town my parents cottage was never had turn of the century buildings.  These buildings had huge variety in heights,  some had 8’ ceilings other 9 or 10 and a couple 12 or even 16’!

As for Windows they often increased in size as the ceiling height increased.  And the doors ranged from 7’ to as much as 10’ on some.

Remember that back in the day we had really high ceilings.  This was because we did not have AC nor good lighting,  the increased height allowed the hot air to rise keeping the building cooler and the hinge windows allowed more light to get into the space.  So older buildings (especially retail buildings) tended to be taller.  It almost seams that the height was based on what the owner could afford to build.  The more money the owner had the taller the building.  Thus the cooler and better lite the lower level was.

So unless you know your prototype it is impossible to truly say if the are correct,

-Doug M

Prototype

Thanks, but in this case I know the prototype. The background picture was taken by me a few years ago (I am in the reflection of one of the windows). Have walked around it and taken many pictures over the years. Have not been inside as it was already closed when I discovered it, but have seen pictures of the inside with people for scale. My dimensions are a combination of my own calculations and photogrametric measurements from a variety of sources. Go by it a couple of times a month as I live in the area. But in the real world I have seen very few 20' tall store windows in these old structures and 10' doorways. And not in the prototype...

g

picture

The picture of the building in your email has Canadian flags.  Do you know the size of the flag (one looks straight out) and use it as a measuring stick to size the windows, building height, etc?

Also if you live so close why not measure all the building exterior, in particular the windows and doors.  Also some articles I have read on using your photographs of a structure discuss making and using a home made measuring stick (say about 6-8ft long) with markings at say 6" or 12" intervals.  To see the markings better color spaces between the intevals alternating black and white.  Place stick against the building and take you photos.

Also I think plastic sheets of brick walls (not brick paper or plastic overlay) are available from Evergreen, Pikes Stuff, (Rix?), etc so thay you are not tied to the DPM modular walls/window styles.  Tichy Tichy Group has a large assortmant of windows, doors, to match the photos.

Just a thought

Ed Bradbury

Gibbard Furniture Work Resumes

After a bunch of agonizing I decided to cut down my structure to make it fit a bit better in scale and in the space available. I can see from the satellite shots on Google Earth that the building expanded many times since 1835. So what I have ended up with is approximately the size of the first structure. I still have a bunch of pieces to make including a small dock for the left end of the building. And the flat roof will get tar papered and painted to match. The west wall had a massive growth of ivy or grape vines in every image I have been able to find on the web -- so that will be an interesting exercise.