scrath building a wooden water tower

[Randy May]

heres a On30 scale wooden water tower I'm working on,,,need to make a hatch for the top and a ladder on the side to the roof hatch,,,then all the wooden parts will be done,:thumb:,,,I'm awaiting the metal spout kit and tank binding clamps from Grant Line Products,,,
This water tower platform is 4 3/4" wide,,,3 1/4 " high,,,the tank is 3 3/4" high,,,tank diameter is 4",,,the tank mold is a small oatmeal box,,,,the roof mold is a 6" circle of cardstock ( drawn ),divided into 8 equal sections,,,,putting a cut partially thru all the sections,,,then removing 1 section altogether,,,when you pull the 7 remaing sections together, ( tape it together ), you will get your pitched roof mold with 7 sides,,,a surface to apply your roofing of your choice,,,I chose to put a cedar Shake roof on mine,,,all the wood was cut on a table saw with a very fine tooth blade,,,this tower will cost only the amount of the hardware from Grant Line,,( 12.00 ),,,the tower overall is 8 3/4" tall,,,will stain it next to age it,pryer to hardware,,,hopefully this will inspire some in what cool things you can easily model in this scale,,,have fun,,,,,,Randy May

 

[nkp174]

Excellent. Love the roof...it reminds me of my dad's kitbashed Atlas water tower.

Thank you for sharing your projects!

 

[bigsteel]

sweet project :thumb:.are those indvidual shingles .i couldnt imagine doing work that detailed,great work--josh

 

[Randy May]

Josh; yes those are real cedar shakes,,,,,,its actually quicker going then you would think,,,,I rip as thin of a strip off of a cedar fence board on slight angle,,,,then they can be easily cut with an exacto knife for the individual shake,,,,,then glued on in rows jusy like on a real building,,,,,,,its a free resourse,,,,,,an gives the outstanding look,,,,,,,,,,Randy May

 

[Herc Driver]

Really nice job. That'll look great all weathered up.

 

[sumpter250]

yes those are real cedar shakes,,,,,,its actually quicker going then you would think,

Randy makes a valid point here. Even with strips of shingle material, you have to "play"with the strips to get the proper overlay (space between shingles covered by a shingle in the next course). Then, just think a moment, you have to "paint" a random color pattern???
It is much quicker to shingle "one-at-a-time", and also get a true random color pattern.

 

[nkp174]

Randy makes a valid point here. Even with strips of shingle material, you have to "play"with the strips to get the proper overlay (space between shingles covered by a shingle in the next course). Then, just think a moment, you have to "paint" a random color pattern???
It is much quicker to shingle "one-at-a-time", and also get a true random color pattern.

I think that many things in our hobby are far quicker than we realize. Thinking about projects frequently takes far longer than actually doing them. Experience helps the thinking to go faster since you have an idea of what is good or bad...and you don't spend your time talking yourself out of either applying individual shingles, building 48 window panes, or kitbashing an MDC HOn3 2-8-0 into something else..