There is a need for many details, but the major scenery in Kenville is complete.  This is the first town on the Bayside and Tidewater that has no visible styrofoam insulation!  Yippee!

Aside from the structures you’ve seen in past posts, there are a few new additions.  The first is Ken’s Korner Auto Service.   Ken is outside working on a lady’s vehicle while she waits patiently.  One of the neighbourhood kids is keeping Ken busy with questions.  He just might  have a future employee there!  The house beside the garage is Ken’s.  He finds it very convenient to live so close to work.

The old fire station is on the other side of Ken’s Korner.  It’s been abandoned for a few years since the town council partnered with a community to the south to provide regional fire services.  It was either buy a new truck and build a bigger fire station or save some money and partner with the other town.  The deal made sense until the local coffee shop burned to the ground.  Since they can’t get a decent cup of coffee anymore the Kenville town council is reconsidering the decision.  (side note:  Ken is considering buying a coffee pot)

Details and scenery have been added around Jay Forest Products.  It’s finally looking like they do something there!  I’m not sure how since there appears to be a lack of sawmill equipment (anyone know where I can get HO scale edger, planer, and trimming gear?).  It’s just a big empty space at the moment.

They must cut something judging from the pile of sawdust out back.  It’s a never-ending task to keep the pile low.   Local inventor Malcolm D. Faber is getting a truckload to take home for an experiment.  He thinks he can combine the sawdust with glue to create panels similar to plywood.  He figures they’ll be cheaper and than boards or plywood and may be very valuable when wood becomes scarce.  I think he’s dreaming pie in the sky.  We will never run short of lumber!  But if he wants to waste his time with wood waste, then let him go to it!  If it gets rid of some sawdust at Jay Forest Products we’re all for it!  There’s a reason we call him Crazy Malcolm!

Scott

And soon to be wet!

I was able to get a little scenery work done around Kenville last weekend. I also fixed up and prepared the pond for water.

Stuff everywhere! The next operating session is in a little over a week so I have plenty of time to get it cleaned up.

The cattails are green floral wire and brown floral tape. It’s a very simple process. Just cut the floral wire to the appropriate length, cut a piece of floral tape to size (trial and error to determine the best size), and wrap the tape around the wire near the top of the stem. Drill a hole and plant.

Later!

Scott

“If it’s a good chair, it’s a Miracle”!

That’s what sign overhead proclaims at Miracle Chair Company. Judging by the rejects sitting out front I can see why! They seem to have a problem getting all the legs the same length.

This is a Bar Mills kit that I picked up at Hobby Junction in Montreal. It’s a small building, but has lots of details and should blend into the small town quite well. I had to make the foundation of the building fairly high for the loading dock to work so I used 3 layers of craft foam. I added another layer cut to the inside dimensions of the building to help hold it in place. A little bit of plaster will blend it into the surroundings.

Some grass, bushes and other details should finish this off quite nicely.

Later,

Scott

What’s a town without a Public Library. Everyone needs to read, and the books are free!

Here’s the Kenville public library, above the Continental Insurance building in Kenville as of Dec. 23.

Signage needs to be added and he doors are below street level so there’s lots of work to be done.

Here is the library as of yesterday, Dec. 30…

As you can see the signs are there and I put a layer of craft foam under it to bring it up to street level. You can also see another new building to the left – Miracle Chairs – which will be the subject of another post later.

After adding the craft foam base I used some colored plaster to bring the grade up to the base and blend in the surroundings.

I did both buildings at the same time. I also started smoothing out the pond area – at the left. The area behind will be parking for Union Ice.

So, here is how it looks as of today…

Unfortunately I am giving away some of my future posts on the Miracle Chair bulding, but it can’t be helped. My Photoshop had decided to not allow me to crop.

Until next time!

Scott

The layout is almost 2 years old and I’m finally getting some scenery in Kenville. It’s not much, but I’ve started at least.

Here is yet another close-up of the station.

There are some trees here and there. These are the last of the ones I made to take to the Truro show. I have to start making more!

A little farther back you can see the dirt road to the station. A little grass along here will be a big improvement.  I actually bought the trees at the left of this picture.  They look pretty good – like well manicured trees.

A different view of the station – looking from Union Ice. The reefers are parked at Union Ice, the empty track is a switching lead, and the loco is parked on a service track (it is sometimesused as a helper engine).

It’s not completely finished, but it is close.

I’m trying to figure out a way to attach the roof so that it can be removed later to add some interior details like benches desks and wall adornments. Part of the problem is that the front of the roof is slightly warped, so I’ll have to repair that first. Hopefully one solution will solve the other problem.

The only thing I’ve done to the roof for aging so far is to apply some india ink/rubbing alcohol. It was a little blotchy when I first put it on, but I looked at it last evening and it has evened out as it sat.

Pictures are great to be able to show other people what you are doing. They are also great at pointing out flaws that you don’t normally see. I didn’t notice the cap shingles lifting along the top left edge. I’ll have to glue them back down and use something to apply pressure ’til the glue dries. You can also see the slight bow to the front edge of the roof line.

I hope to get some scenery done around the station before the next operating session on the BS&T (this coming Sunday evening). It will include modifications to the platform area to make it fit the curve of the tracks.

Later!

Scott

Instead of working on scenery on Sunday I decided to start on a kit I picked up during our visit to Saint John last winter. It’s a small CPR Branchline Station by Kanamodel Products.

This is my first laser cut kit. I was a little surprised to see cardboard, or “chipboard” as they call it, in addition to wood in the box. I figured the kit would be all wood. Then again, I’m used to working with cardboard.

I started by reading the directions from cover to cover to familiarize myself with the construction. YEAH RIGHT! Get a grip on reality! I jumped right in as usual! Though, to be honest, I did read a bit of the instructions – at least until I got bored with it.

I may not have read the instructions completely before starting the kit, but I did follow them closely. I’ve had too many experiences of getting ahead of myself when building a kit and then trying to figure out a way to redo something. It’s never a good thing.

So, on Sunday I got the walls shingled and assembled, the interior partially painted, and the doors and windows installed. The upper wall sections are “chipboard” and the lower 3′ are scribed wood. The shingle are Campbells paper shingle strips.

Kenville Station as of Sunday, Nov. 18, 2007

Monday evening turned out to be a long evening helping Brian and Ted with their computers.

I got back at the station on Tuesday evening. I applied the horizontal wood trim to the top and bottom of the wood sections of the walls. Then I started working on the roof. The roof is “chipboard” and Campbells shingles. Because it is a hip-style roof there are 4 sections to shingle. I got the back side done on Tuesday.

Most of Wednesday evening was spent with the guys at Bruce’s helping him work out a yard plan on his layout. I managed to shingle the two ends of the roof before we left, and finished shingling the front section after I got home.

Next I have to find a way to hold the roof sections in their folded position to glue them. The instructions say to use weights so I’ll have to see what I can dig up.

Hopefully the next update will have a completed Kenville Station. That means that after I get tired of working in Stevenville I’ll start doing scenery in Kenville.

Scott