Kyle that's coming along very nicely. You sure know how to stack foam; have fun.

Mike great job so far. I agree with the others, your stone work is first class. Have fun!

Good Morning,

Tom great to hear you're coming along with the health issues. Take it slow and hope your energy returns soon.

Rick thanks for the coffee and breakfast. Nice photo and safe travels. Some of the soft Maple trees are starting to turn here as well. Always like Fall even though I'm not too crazy about what follows.

Dave good luck with the laser stuff.

Tom O. good morning.

What's the rest of you up to?

It's a sunny, finally, day @ 67 with a high of 78. Friday errands to run shortly then some more bench time. Lawn mowing is on tap for the afternoon. Good news Ellie's head MRI came back clean; no tumors, no sings of mini-strokes, and very little brain shrinkage....and yes the brain shrinks in size was you age...who knew. The Doc's convinced her numbness is related to migraine headaches which she gets occasionally.

Have an enjoyable and safe day!! Be well and keep cool.

Kyle looks like you've been up to your "eyeballs" with the slicing & dicing of foam. Nice to see
someone else using skewers and/or toothpicks to anchor foam in place. Smart move making the
layout easier to work on; sometimes "less is more". I assume the layout will be lifted at some point to meet your backdrop? Have fun!!

Good Morning,

Tom O thanks for the coffee and breakfast. Have fun working on
the local layout.

Rick safe travels and hope you get to do what you want before heading
to S.D. I'll take a second cup-o-joe.

What's your plans?

It's a cloudy 71 with a high of 82. Had some really bad T'storms yesterday and last night. They actually closed the NYS Fair @ 6pm due to the impending weather. We were blessed we only received rain and the wind wasn't bad. West of Syracuse they had winds up to 70mph and some tornados touched down. Taking Ellie to the Doc's for her MRI results @ 1:45. Maybe some bench time this am.

Have a great and safe day!! Be well and safe travels.

Quote from: Jerry on September 01, 2026, 10:30:38 PMLarry looks great. Nice job on thode shingles!!

Jerry

Thank you Jerry but they are tedious for sure.

Quote from: Rick on September 02, 2026, 06:03:03 AMLarry, I'm in agreement with everyone else.
Shingles and building are looking very good.

In a previous update you mentioned redoing the boat.
Is that still in the plans?

Thanks Rick. Most likely I'll redo the boat. The proportions seem a little off
to me so I'm thinking making it somewhat longer and about 1 ft. narrower across
the aft portion. That should make the proportions look better.

Morning Gents,

Rick thanks for the coffee and breakfast. Safe travels and thanks for another great photo.

What's your plans for the day?

It's a cloudy 68 with a high of 79 with some rain. Not sure what the day will bring but hopefully a little bench time this am. Waiting on the Doc to see if Ellie's MRI results are in yet. She has an apt. tomorrow to go over the results IF the results are in; if not her apt. will have to be bumped forward.

Have a great and safe day!! Be well. Tom hope the healing is going well.

Quote from: PRR Modeler on September 01, 2026, 03:07:59 PMNice start on the building. The first thing I thought when I saw the wall was "that's not a boat!"

Thanks Curt and you're correct, that's definitely not a boat.

Quote from: robert goslin on September 01, 2026, 05:54:50 PMGreat start to the structure Larry.  Very New England looking with the shingle cladding.

Rob thank you. The wood shingles are quite New England looking even though they're very tedious
to do.

Before I start putting together the diorama I wanted to build a small storage building since this will be the anchor, pun intended, with the rest of the diorama being built around it.

The building measures 12ft x 14ft two stories high with a steep metal roof following the New England tradition. The framework consists of 6x6's built off a piece of 1/4 graph paper. Each side has to be sided twice; the first is a horizontal subsiding with the second being vertical wood shingles.



This is the front with an opening on the 2nd floor for storage such as barrels and fish crates. Just before I "plant" the building I have a rope and hook done to go around the pulley to lift things up and down from/to the 2nd floor. I added 4x4's along the roofline and a small horizontal piece across the peak for a N.E. look. The door is a grand line I had on hand spray painted white then weathered with brown chalks. Also added acetate (window), blacked out the opening, and added a dirty window shade .



Here's the left sidewall. After framing out the wall I made a 5ft door, same as the opening, that slides open and shut.The door was constructed from 4x4's for the frame and 1x6's for the panels. After the subsiding was applied I used a few vertical strips of 1x10's, same as the shingles, so the shingles would look right. Before adding shingles I glued the two walls together so the shingles could be applied from corner to corner. The rail is a piece of 6x6 painted metal then weathered with some rust. The brackets for the door is Tyvek painted black. you'll notice the lefthand edge hasn't been shingled yet not until the other end wall is glued in place.

So far it's been slow going with the construction due to having to double side each wall; Jerry I feel your pain with the shingles. Next will be to build the other end and side walls then glue the rest of the building together then finish the shingles. Even though the process is taking considerable time I think the end result will be worth the effort. Thanks for following along and all your great comments and/or suggestions.

Good Morning,

Welcome to the first day of the "ber" months.

Rick thanks for the coffee and breakfast. Have a safe hike and great photo. Yes I'm plugging away
but it's slow going.

Jaime I once had a Boss that told me "If you don't from me consider that as good news."

Curt good luck with the large dock. As far as the grunge goes, and being HO, have you tried a fine ballast
added in layers to get the look you're going after. Just a thought.

What's your plans?

It's another rainy 67 with a high of 77 and a little muggy out. Going to hit the bench shortly and maybe
an update later today. Not much else going on here.

Have an enjoyable and safe day!! Be well and keep cool.

Karl when it gets cooler and the "white crap" starts flying maybe you can get more time
working on your Empire. Looking good so far.

Kyle don't feel bad....I don't think any of us can work the way we used to.
Nice progress but you gots some foam carving coming up. Looking good so far
and nice to see the buildings fit in your space.

Ron well done!

Good Morning,

Curt thanks for the coffee and breakfast. Hope your Dad's back heal quickly. Hope you get Mr.Skunk
fixed up and he finds a good home.

Rick glad the hike went fairly well. Have a restful day.

What's your plans?

It's a cloudy 64 with a high of 79 with rain. Grocery shopping shortly then maybe some more bench time.
It's slow going at the moment but it's coming along; probably a few days before there's anything worth showing.

Have a great and safe day!! Be well and stay cool.

Great looking details!! The register looks the one I used to operate back in the early 70's; all gear driven.