The Malcolm L. McKenzie & Son Goods Sheds

I had a good time building this HO gauge structure. Although there are one or two details I would like to add to the structure I have completed enough of the structure to make a post. I have reported much about the structure during its construction, at least on its start and the construction of the right-hand side. However, there are few details I have left out.

Structure Stone Work Colors

As I have mentioned previously, I used embossed stone paper for the front and back of the structure. I used the following colors for the stone work:

• Model Master, Light gray basecoat
• American, Raw Sienna
• Folk Art #462 Burnt Umber
• Folk Art #917 Yellow Ochre

After allowing the base coat to dry I dry-brushed Raw Sienna and Burnt Umber on to the embossed stone. Dry-brushing is one of those skills, that once mastered is not easy forgotten. The trick is to scrape most of the paint off the brush before taking it to your surface. I will make post of the process in my next post. Once this was totally dry I very sparingly dry-brushed the yellow ochre on selected areas of the surface.

Construction of the Left Side

The shed on the left was constructed from what was sold as Balsa wood. It is light weight like balsa, but it wasn’t as light as other balsa I have dealt with. It also had a different grain pattern than other balsa wood. No matter, I have a stack of it now I will use the material again.

Although I had taped the side off before cutting the openings for the windows I accidently snapped the side piece in two, but since the tape held the pieces together I was able to glue a patch of cardstock on the back of break to make the side piece even stronger than it was before the break.

There a few other flaws that I didn't mention that will need to be hidden behind a bush, tree, or other details.

I haven't decided on the type of foundation I would like to add to this structure. Will it be a concrete slab,block, stone, or brick?

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Satisfaction Scale: 3 out 5.

Roofs, Windows, and a Sign

Although I have over simplified what I have left to complete, the shed is almost ready. I need to fashion a roof for this unit. The components for the left side been cut and painted. I just need to paint a couple of windows, create some form of roof, and attach the sign "Malcolm L. McKenzie & Son" and the goods shed will be complete.

I am still trying to get my windows down pact.

The Goods Shed Construction

The right hand side of a goods shed is coming along. The pictrue doesn't show all the detail. The left and right hand sides which will form the front and back have been clad with embossed stone paper and the center with clapboarding. Thay are card stock strips that have glued on to the card stock subwall. After weathering the clapboards slightly, I painted the clapboards with golden brown and dry-brushed them with a nutmeg brown.

I still need to cut out the window and door openings from the front and back and paint them to simulate stone. Next, I will add some bracing on the insides of the subwalls.

The Pump House

I used 1mm thick card stock for the sub-walls and embossed brick paper for the outer walls. The pump house is braced from within with box-wood strips and includes a diamond plate floor, also embossed paper. The roof is a piece of card stock with a square of industrial paper towel affixed with some black paint. While the paint was still wet I sprinkled a table spoon of baking soda on the surface. Once the paint had dried I knocked off the excess baking soda that had not been absorbed by the paint and touched up the areas that had not absorbed any paint. The two windows and door were scratch built. I tried my hand at representing a double-hung window.

The painting of the structure is where everything fell apart. I should have left well enough alone, but I went back with a brush too laden with paint. I see there isn’t too much you can do when too much paint has been applied to embossed paper. So, I switch to plan B and tried to rescue the structure by adding more paint and weathering to depict a building in the early stages of neglect.

Satisfaction Scale: 1 out of 5.

The Spring House (an update)

At the beginning of this month I posted the Plans for a Spring House. As you can see I have completed the structure.

I like building out-buildings. Whether it be an outhouse, a tool shed, a smoke house, a hobo shack, or a pump house. I feel these small structures add to overall scene especially when they are coupled with other small buildings. They are easy to build and are quickly constructed.

I made a few adjustments to my build. I had wanted to add the lintel above the door during construction. It would have been easy enough to cut away a little of sub-walling and add the lintel, however I got to thinking. I might not have enough head room for the plank door. So I added a smaller lintel above the door once I affixed the embossed paper to the sub-wall.

Instead of using the piece of styrene iron roofing material I decided to use corrugated material from the inner layer of a cardboard box lid. After doing the measurements for the roof, the plastic piece was a few scale inches short. The corrugation may not be to exact scale, but is close enough for me. So, what I have left is a structure built mostly from paper. This is what I had originally imagined for this structure in the first place.

I have been experiment with paper for some time and have had mixed results. Most of my other structures look okay, but there were errors during the construction process and even though you may not notice I know things didn’t go so well. This structure is square and well braced from within. With its sub-walling and roof it has a fair amount of bulk and feels sturdy.

Satisfaction Scale: 3 out of 5.