First the backstory:
The year is 1948 and WWII is over while the Country enjoys a new vigor. Somewhere in North Carolina, out in the countryside, resides a small business known as "O'Neil's Mercantile & Repair". Sadly the father passed the year before leaving the Mrs. to attempt running the business on her own. Seeing the struggles of her mother, and the fact she held a Bachelor's Degree in business, Tabitha O'Neil volunteers to run the repair side of the family business that her father spent his life building leaving her mother to tend the store as she had always done.
This diorama will have multiple buildings, and with the nicer weather fast approaching with lots to do outside, I'm thinking probably this will be a one year build. Going to take advantage of the width of my new diorama shelf and make it 16 inches deep and possibly the same width or maybe a little narrower; I won't know for sure until I get some of the buildings constructed. Also I plan on a few smaller cameo scenes included as well. OK enough yapping.
Welcome to O'Neil's Mercantile & Repair:
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Before any construction can start I drew up a plan on one quarter inch graph paper covered in wax paper so the glue doesn't stick to the paper. It's not draftsman quality by any means but it'll serve the purpose.
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Decided to start with the store first on my to-do list. It measures a scale 16ft X 18 ft, it'll have a covered front porch with posts, a false front, with windows and doors, and will be 2 story having the upstairs being a residence and yes I'll be building stairs probably from scratch. Also lots of outside details will be added as well.
While it doesn't look like much of a start the front is built with windows and a door. The frame is my usual 6x6 style for sturdiness and the interior will not be done so I can concentrate on the outside. I tried something new by doing 1x10 horizontal lapped siding which I've never done before. The 1x10's were colored with a bluish grey chalk and clear alcohol. I've already ordered the remaining windows and porch posts from San Juan details which are formally known as Grandtline. I did have enough on hand to build the front which I knew would be the hardest one. The siding was lapped using a guide made from 110# paper, along with using the lines on the graph-paper, to keep all the siding the same lap and straight. I opted to run the siding in one piece across the first story since the pieces were so short between the windows and door. After the glue dried I then cut out the window and door openings. Afterwards the openings were squared up using an emory board so the windows and door fit properly.
Because the siding has a worn look I decided to make the windows and door a dark brown for contrast. These were weathered, dry brushed, with grey and light brown chalks. This method of siding was slow going and quite tedious but I think the result is well worth the time spent.
Next I'll start construction on the other 3 sides but leave the window and door openings until my order actually arrives which should keep me busy for a few days. I hope you'll follow along as I start this new adventure into another diorama. Stay tuned.
Howdy Larry,
Away we go! Nice start. I enjoyed the background story.
Have fun,
mike
Mike thank you. The background story kinda sets the scene for the diorama.
Looking good, Mike.
Are you planning on giving the building a brick or stone foundation, or sitting it on piles?
Cheers, Mark.
Thanks Mark and yes it'll be on some sort of foundation I'm just not sure what yet; haven't thought that far ahead.
I'm not sure what happ to my previous post but I'll be following along.
Curt great to have you tagging along on this new adventure. Your previous post probably ended up where that one sock does you can no longer find.
Larry, interesting back story and I will be here to follow along.
Will this resemble Brett's kit of the same name?
Great story Larry. I guess writing about space helped in writing this story on earth!! ;D
Nice job on the clapboard siding. And I like the coloring.
Jerry
Rick thanks and nice to have you joining in. To answer your question, no it won't; this build will be going in an entirely different direction than Brett's. The name actually came from a Star Trek character that I write on one of the sims I write for.
Jerry thank you and it's great having you following along.
Nice start and a great back line story. What type of business is Tabitha running?
Philip
Philip thank you. She'll be running the general repair side with her mother running the Mercantile. Tabitha will be doing a little bit of everything.
Update:
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The back wall is finished with only a back door which will lead to another building behind the store.The door was spray painted a coffee colored then weathered with grey then light brown chalks dry brushed. This one I decided to try and do the rafter as part of the back wall. Carried on with the siding with intentional breaks to look more realistic.
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After the back wall was built I put it up against the front wall, made sure it was square, and traced out the rafter position for the front wall. Built another rafter and glued it place making sure it lined up with the back wall. I'm going to use a thicker material for the sub-roof to support the main roof and try to do rafter tails along both sides. I quickly realized the false front would be showing from the back of the diorama so that I colored to match the siding.
Next I'll be starting on the side walls. The new windows should arrive sometime next week so the side walls will just be framed out for now. I do have the door for the second floor so the framing for that I'll do now. I'll wait on the windows until they arrive so I don't have to change what I've already done as far as framing goes; I hate rework. That's it for now and thanks for following along.
Does Tabatha do business out of the back door?
Larry, nice work on the clapboard siding. It looks terrific. Have fun, mike
Quote from: PRR Modeler on March 26, 2026, 03:00:26 PMDoes Tabatha do business out of the back door?
Sometimes since her building is behind (or will be when built) the store.
Mike thank you. It's a little tedious but I do like the look when finished.