Tom,

Always liked the look of this kit but figured it was a bear to construct.  You are doing a bang up job.


Travis

Thanks Tom. Appreciate you checking in.

Quote from: Rick on December 19, 2025, 03:56:46 PMTravis, welcome to the forum.
Everything you've built looks very good.
You certainly been busy at the bench.
I might of missed it, but will these go on a diorama or a layout?

THanks, Rick.  Will be a large diorama for now.  Unfortunately no room for a layout yet.  I have about 10 dioramas already completed and on the same base thickness to hopefully be able to plug them into a layout one day.

Since I am new here, I'll add some pics of previous dioramas.  Most of these kits should be familiar to the class.   These are all from the last 3 years or so from when I really started to get my feet under me, modeling wise.

Looking good Curt.  Loved this kit and you are doing a mighty fine job.

Here is where we sit as of today, 12/19/25.  Have the next week off from work so will be trying to finish up the Station and start building out the base and planting the completed structure.  More to come.  Thanks for following along.

These are the Rigging and Tool Sheds.   Rigging shed was board on board over laser cut framing.  Very easy to assemble but delicate before assembly.   The roof is off now as there are a bunch of castings, mainly of cable reels, that will be added after the building is planted.   The Tool Shed is also board over board over laser cut framing.  I did add some basic interior detailing which was not part of the initial design and added a VERY basic lighting system.  This is just a Woodland Scenics Just Plug light super glued to a beam I added to hold up the roof.  Basic but it works!

This is the Fuel Depot.   It's your standard scribed siding which was stained with alcohol and chalk and then damp brushed with white and a thin line of a faded green at the bottom.  The roof is meant to look like slate shingles and came with the kit.  Did have a little trouble here, especially with the seams but think it will look OK once planted and castings added.  There are a lot of castings that go around this building and on the docks.   The windows for this building and both kits are laser cut and have to be assembled.  They are a lot of fun to work with and stage.

The Cookhouse.  A tarpaper roof (!) instead of the shingles.  Also a "family photo" of all the bunks.

Bunk # 3, similar to Bunks #1 and #2

Bunk # 2, similar to Bunk # 1

Next I moved on to the Logging Camp Essentials Kit.  This was released in 2009 when I was a sophomore in college so needless to say, even if I knew about it, I didn't have the money at the time... Was able to source this one all the way from Australia!  It's a tough kit to find complete.   Below are pics of Bunk #1.  Board over board with the handcut shingle roof.   Wood was grained and stained with alcohol and chalk and then an oil wash was put on top.  I am modeling near home in the Adirondacks of NY so trying for a more "wet" look than a "dusty" look.

This is the final building from the Main Street kit, the First Aide Station.  Laser cut shingles were included in the kit but I chose to use stained 1 x 6s cut down and glued one at a time.  This is a technique I first saw Steve Custer do and love the way it looks.  It is a bit of a pain to do however.  You'll see that all the bunkhouses in the next kit used the shingles and that really slowed me down a bit as I got a little bored.  Good activity to do on a football sunday in front of the TV.    Pics of painted castings from this kit also included.  Tons of great, crisp castings!

This is the tarpaper Storage Yard.  The roof is painted sandpaper.  I am still not sure how I feel about the "stuff" on the roof.  Going to see what it looks like once planted and add/subtract so it blends into the scene.

Here are some better pics of the Equipment Warehouse.   A really well designed little structure.
As mentioned, have re-worked the tarpaper roof.

This is the Equipment Warehouse in various stages of completion.  The main structure is board on board with a sagging roof (as designed) and the brick portion is three excellent resin castings.

I have since worked on the tarpaper roof for both the main structure and the dock/porch area as I wasn't super happy with it. 

For the red barn structure, the wood was first stained with alcohol and chalk and then cheap craft paint (Tuscan Red and Burnt Umber 80/20 mix or so) was damp brushed on.  Then I attacked it with 0000 steel wool to remove the paint in some areas with more removed towards the bottom. If anyone is familiar with Ken Karns' work,I am indebted to his detailed process descriptions here and elsewhere.