tions with Ken he has said that the ba- sic model was inspired by a couple of different structures in downtown Phillips. The kit is available in several different variations, and in S and HO scales as well, and, as I have finished it, it bears a pretty close resemblance to a home once owned by my aunt and uncle on Sawyer Street in Phillips. The kit is extremely well engineered
and, while its construction takes some time because of the detail and com- pleteness of the parts, in its intended form it produces a very nice model. The major feature that I felt was missing was the porch that is present outside of the back door on most Maine houses of this type. These porches and their over- hanging roofs provide a convenient place to kick off excess mud and snow, depending on the season, before ven- turing into the kitchen, and a great place to enjoy the fresh air and scenery at all times of the year. As a quick aside, the underside of the roofs were often painted a light, sky-blue color to somewhat offset the gloom of a long Maine winter (more on this later). An outside entrance to the cellar was also needed and a couple of changes or additions to the stable came about, as well. Adding the porch took a bit of fid- dling but was not too difficult. As designed, the kitchen ell is offset slightly from the main house, and I didn’t alter that. However, to allow for
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
the width of the porch, the stable had to be moved a little to the left as one views the complex from the front. This involved filling a window hole in the front of the stable. Before I realized that Ken Berlo had included a couple of siding plugs for that purpose, I cut my own: lesson learned, check out all of the parts in the box. The porch floor is scribed, ¹/₃₂″-thick
wood, four scale feet wide, cut to fit in the offset area between the ell and the stable with its underpinnings sheathed in stripwood. While four feet doesn’t sound like much space, it is adequate for room and protection from the ele- ments. For roof support I cut ¹/₈″ square posts eight feet long. To add a bit of decoration, I glued some HO scale Campbell trim pieces at the tops of the posts. In retrospect, I probably should have cut the posts a bit shorter to pro- vide more slope to the porch roof, bet- ter to shed snow.
The underside of the roof is scribed wood and the rest is various pieces of wood to simulate the trim, fascia and the like. The roofing is extra material from the kit, and like the rest of the “metal” is painted Polly Scale Silver. I also used a bit of stripwood to trim out the far corner where the porch meets the stable. I carefully cut wine-bottle sealing foil to provide the flashing along the space where the ell and porch roofs meet the stable wall and
where the now overhanging stable and ell joints meet. The step up to the porch is a piece of styrene colored to repre- sent a block of granite, and I used the same material to create the front steps on the house, as well. Now a quick word about painting and details.
As mentioned earlier, the underside of the porch roof is a light blue, done with a mix of Floquil Dark Blue and White. The main structures are colored with an old Floquil military color called Butternut. I don’t believe this shade is available now and the color choice is obviously up to the individual modeler. However, this light yellow is very common on Maine houses. I seem to remember reading that its original name was “Federal Gold,” but nearly any similar hue would be fine. All the trim is Floquil White. The new porch contains a cast resin wood box (for the kitchen stove), an Artista rocking chair and sled, a broom, and a beautiful pair of snow- shoes waiting for the first “white stuff.” (I model October, so it isn’t too far away.) The figures, human and canine, are from Artista and Woodland Scenics and in posing them I have tried to cre- ate a little story. The golden lab has sensed an intrusion by a couple of deer at the back of the stable, but none of the others know what’s up so they are all watching the lab with questioning
51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100