A mill and a warehouse

cnw1961

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I need a structure to fill this spot on the left end of my layout to conceal the end of the world. I want to build a flour mill and a warehouse. The picture shows the outline of the buildings.

MW1.jpg

To make it quick and easy, I decided to build a concrete flour mill. A mill does not need to have many windows and I can use plain .040 styrene to build the concrete structure. I started yesterday evening and this is how far I got.

MW2.jpg

MW3.jpg
 

doctorwayne

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Canada, eh?
Lookin' good, Kurt! :thumb: It reminds me of Walthers Red Wing Milling, only better, 'cause it fits perfectly in the space that you have available.

Wayne
 

cnw1961

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Andrew, I am really hummin’ along quite nicely :) . When I planned my layout, I found these pictures of a warehouse in Chicago: http://www.mannresearch.com/chicago...onid=2&locationname=Goose+Island&articleid=75 . I liked the shape of the structure and thought something like that would look great on the layout. I don’t stick closely to this prototype. I made a cardstock mock-up to find the right dimension first, but I am not building to a special plan.
Wayne, how did you know that I had a look at the Red Wing Milling? :D Thank you for your nice comment.
Bill, I really appreciate your kind words :wave: .

OK, here is the next pic. It shows the front wall (street side) of the warehouse that will be placed in front of the flour mill.

MW4.jpg
 

cnw1961

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1320wrx, Josh, thank you :wave: .

Here is a short update. All the walls are up. Now I have to paint the structure before I can do the windows.

MW5.jpg

MW6.jpg

MW7.jpg

MW8.jpg
 

steamhead

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Great work...!!! I hadn't seen anyone do this sort of thing (& the turntable...) in styrene. Looks great...!!!

I think we've seen that corner pawnshop elsewhere. I see you've added bits of trash to give it that "neighborhood" look. I also like that little dog...!!!

Keep it coming...!!!:thumb:
 

cnw1961

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Gary, thank you for your kind words. Gus, be careful, that little dog is a Great Dane :D . The pawnshop is a Downton Deco hydrocal kit, so you might know it.
 

Ralph

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You do really nice work Kurt! The loading dock in between the buildings in your last photo has such an industrial look to it. Dang that dog any way! :)

Ralph
 

cnw1961

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hiscopilot, liven_letdie, Ralp, thank you for your very nice comments. :wave:
Wayne, only trying to carch up with you :) . Still a loooooooong way to go …
 

tetters

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Jan 21, 2005
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Awesome! Diffinately hitting you up for pointers when I start structure construction on my layout. I'll have need for something very similar. I've seen some really nice scratch built stuff, and it seems to be the way to go if you want a truely custom look. That last shot you posted showing the perspective, looking down into the corridor between the two buildings really shows depth and give the building a nice feel of size. Especially with the box car placed there. Is that the one you scratch built?

Do you use styrene (sp?) entirely for your builds. (of course not)? How easy is it to work with and structurally how strong is it in terms of supporting its own weight? I've never even seen the stuff so I have a ton of questions. Most importantly, where do you buy yours?

I will also add that I've seen that wood box car of yours and my jaw hit the floor.
 

cnw1961

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Hi Shane, the boxcar in the picture is not my wood boxcar, it’s a Kadee. Thank you for your very kind words about my car anyway. If you want a custom look for your structures, you definitely have to scratch build them. Scratch building is one of the most enjoyable aspects of this hobby to me.

I really like working with styrene. In a post on my turntable thread (page 4, post 59), I briefly summed up how I do it. For most of my projects I use .040 styrene. It’s strong enough to build even big structures, but still easy to handle (cutting small parts of .060 styrene is much harder). The structures easily support their own weight. If necessary, I glue strips to the inside of the walls to brace them.

MW9.jpg

MW10.jpg

Plain styrene is quite inexpensive. A 10" x 20" sheet of .040 styrene is about 1,75 EUR (US$ 2,20) here in Germany. I buy it at an architectural model supply store in our town. If you don’t have a source for styrene in your area, have a look at Walthers. I ordered the red brick sheets I used for the warehouse at Walthers (#570-91605).

If you have any further questions, please ask. :wave:
 

Nazgul

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Jan 22, 2006
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Kurt
Once again...It's another outstanding project!:thumb: I see now that I am going to have to keep one eye glued to this forum so I don't miss any of them!;)
As other's have alluded to, your work has moved beyond craftsmanship to art:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: and I'm glad that you share the process with us. It's fun "hanging out" with you and watching:) .....Keep it up!:wave:
 

doctorwayne

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Canada, eh?
You can buy sheet styrene at any plastics supply place, but usually only as 4'x8' sheets. My first sheet was .040", but all subsequent ones were .060", as most of my structures are quite large. The last time I bought it, it was about $28.00 (Canadian) per sheet. And don't worry if you don't own a pick-up truck: just ask them to roll and tape it.

Wayne