First, I'm in no way associated with Bar Mills, and when I saw this kit yesterday, I was blown away.  For the price it appears to be a total home run.  Just my 2 cents.

This is my take on Bar Mills Coopers Way, their limited-edition 'big' kit for 2024/25.  I don't have any in-process photos, but I do have some tips and ideas on how to proceed with the kit for those of you fortunate enough to have purchased it, and will attempt the build.

The kit includes five buildings, plus a garage.  There are six separate instruction manuals, plus an introduction booklet that provides an overview of the entire scene.  The kit also includes a base along with plenty of bracing and various wood for trim etc.  They intended for the modeler to start with Cooper's hardware, and build in each proceeding structure that abut one another, this encompasses the first four buildings.  I recommend this be followed.

As for Cooper's Hardware, the windows provided are 3D printed, and the backs of those windows included with my kit were rough and uneven.  I recommend sanding or filing them a bit until smooth, but even then, I ended up using Micro Kristal Klear for those windows.  I thought using the supplied acetate window material would be very time consuming to get them flush, and I wanted to finish this build without it taking too much time.  I believe those 3D printed windows will curl over time, as this did happen with some of the windows and the 3D columns.  I weighed down the columns and they are holding in place after a month.

All the parts fit well within all the supplied buildings, but I would caution against building the roof as a separate component to Cooper's Hardware as per the instructions.  The back brick wall is integral to not only supporting the roof, but you will probably want the roof to overhang the edge if building the kit as intended.  The bar, Timothy Tubbs, is intended to fit against Cooper's, so the only overhang required, will come at the ends of each side.  If you intend to build them as separate structures, be aware that there will be a notch in the back brick wall near the top where the roof support plugs into the back wall of Cooper's Hardware.  Obviously, this can be hidden by a sign, there is also a notch along the bottom of the back wall at the bottom, but this can be hidden as well.

I would encourage any of you to reconsider this being a hardware store.  There is no loading dock, and only one way in for supplies, and that's the front door.  I think it might be better if the structure were used to sell women's clothing, as mannequins would probably fit within the large ground floor windows found on either side of the front entrance, or maybe forego the back staircase, and add a loading dock instead.  It could also serve as a hotel, and other purposes.  Overall, it's a really cool building.

I would also caution trying to enhance the holes supplied in the brick staircases by drilling to expand the holes.  I tried this on two or three, and each time the casting broke away.  You're better off leaving them alone and installing the railings over the holes as best as you can.

If I had any reservations about the kit, it's that the sizes of the bricks for the chimneys and staircases are vastly larger than those of the walls.  I would also recommend cutting a full inch off the supplied chimney for Cooper's, as it would stand incredibly tall after being installed.  I ended up using that cutoff portion for the fifth building, since the metal casting for that structure didn't match up well with the other chimneys supplied with the kit.  The chimneys are very well done outside of the metal casting for building five.

Okay, on to structure number two, Timothy Tubbs.  Straight up, it's pretty simple, I added a tile entry at the front, and ended up adding a 'concrete' slab over the rear brick portion atop the loading dock and rear door, but otherwise, it's straight forward, and shouldn't supply any real issues.  The 3D casting over the front door and bay window was broken in my kit, the ends had broken off, and you will need to file the right side when fitting it to Cooper's Hardware.

You will also need to shave or sand the back of the top cornice casting since it is very rough.
I also didn't paint the fire escapes.  I merely added some pan pastels and weathering powders.  Bar Mills also sent out a separate 'care package' that included some signs, a complete set of fire escapes, and a few other parts that they felt they may have left out of the kits.  My kit came with everything minus maybe one missing window.  I did make a mistake and placed the chimney on the wrong side, so ensure you place it on the opposite side so it's not going over a window as in mine.

The Dentist's office.  Another straight up build, but be aware that the rear of the building is reversed from their prototype.  I also substituted the large vent with one half its size.  I couldn't see the reasoning for a dentist's office to have need for such a large vent.  I used cedar shingles for the street side roof, and green tar paper for the rear roof.  I also added some 1x4 strip wood along each side of the entry.  It seemed to be lacking without it.

The supplied trim to go around the 'Dentist' sign was not used, it is rather small and covers portions of the sign, so I trimmed out the edge of the sign using some scrap wood.
The Pharmacy.  Another straight up build, but Bar Mills did place the chimney partially over a window, so you may want to move it to a position away from a window.  They also supplied an arched brick entry to place between the pharmacy and the last building which I did use.  I kept the pharmacy neat and clean, with little weathering.  I doubt customers want to use a 'dirty' pharmacy.

Building five is Howard Cheaten's.  I did not care for the name, and changed my building to Blackmore Fine Tailors.  I stenciled the name on the side.  I intend to add some signage in the future, possibly including another business within the structure.  As mentioned before, the tall chimney was taken from Cooper's Hardware and added to the upper roof.  I added a concrete base and brass tubing to finish it off.

The last building is a garage, and was simple to build.  I intend to add some signs to this building, and I will note, that the driveways from the two stalls are flush with the sidewalk.  I filed them down to street level using a nail file.  The base material takes filing very well, and the finished product was very smooth.  I simply covered the areas I didn't want to file with some blue painters' tape, and they came out really nice.
This kit does come with a base, but I didn't use it until the end.  I built each structure in order and added them to each other over a piece of glass to ensure they remained flat and level.  I painted the base and then added structures one through four, added the arched brick piece, then added building five and the garage, followed up by some weathering.  I used various detail parts, some from Bar Mills, Fos Scale Models, Mine Mount Models, Sierra West possibly Fine Scale Miniatures.  They also supplied some pictures for the interiors, but I got the impression that one or more were missing.  I don't remember any of them being useful for a bar.
I hope this helps anyone who has this kit in their collection. 

I worked on it over a period of roughly five weeks.

Mark

The following are photos of my take on the Whiteny Bent Furniture Company by South River Model Works.  The main building was actually a shelf orphan for over two years.  It's mostly a straight up build, but I did extend the tower with a windowed floor for use as a lookout, the building placement is pretty standard for this kit.  I started to work on the diorama last year, and with the ups and downs of The Modeler's Forum being online and off, I didn't bother to record many photo's during the build.  I have three areas of water and used both foam rubber sheet for the darker asphalt road, and the usual pink insulation for the lower road as concrete.  These were both firsts for me.  Not totally sold on either, but I think they came out okay, and both have their uses.

Hope you enjoy it, Mark

Personally, I'm thankful for the re-release of Red Hook Wharf.  This is a kit I've wanted for some time.  Missed out on the initial offering.  I'm not sure how many original kits are left unbuilt.  I know those remaining kits were worth some good coin.  Obviously, this will drive the price down on those remaining kits, but this is a Christmas comes way early moment for me in the hobby.

Many thanks to Doug for offering the kit a second time.

Looking to purchase a Railroadkits Firehouse in HO.  So, if you have one sitting around collecting dust.  I'd be interested in making a purchase. 

I'll put the kit to good use. 

Thanks, Mark

Nothing crazy.  Just noticed this today (7/18/2021) on Ebay.  What I found interesting were the pictures of Doug's build taken at a show of some kind.  Pictures of his build are difficult to find on Google, other than the very common ones.  This seller must have attended the show and included some closeups of Doug's build I had never seen before.  Thought some of you might be interested in checking it out.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/324719184997?hash=item4b9ac58c65:g:4ZoAAOSwWNVg83NC

Saw this today 6/16/2021 11:40 AM outside my workplace in Addison Il. on the former Illinois Central spur off route 53.  Currently Canadian National.  Curious little rail testing car.  Never saw one of these before.

Herzog Rail Testing.  Small vehicle.  Two seater, driver on the right hand side.  They've already had the various MOW cars run through previously this year.  Replaced portions of the crossing in the background around a month ago.  First glance at the truck and trailer, you'd think it was a yard service.

Thought some of you might find in interesting.

Mark

Thought I would share my build of of Fos Scale Models Bandit's Roost.

While not a complete start to finish.  I did break the box on 11/30/2020.  I planned to follow the building order of the instructions, but soon discovered I was missing the side walls to Vallon Paint.  So, I moved on to the Harrison and Rochelle portion of the kit. I decided to post this build since I encountered some issues that might help others when making the kit.  As per usual, Fos Scale instructions are rather sparse so I'll try to include the 'missing' areas and errors I find within the instructions.  I'll also try to include the paints, techniques, and misc. info that helped me along.  All pictures provided come from my iPhone.

I didn't take pictures during the initial stage.  I had already painted the main walls to Harrison and Rochelle, and added the banner sign along the tops of the walls.

I used DecoArt Celery Green DA208 for the main walls adding the paint like I might do when dry brushing over two or three layers of medium India Ink with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol.

Don't know if it's crazy, and I'm sure some of you were watching, but it's the most I've ever seen a kit sell for.

Fos Scale Models Red Hook Wharf  $987.00

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HO-Scale-craftsman-kit-FOS-Scale-Models-Red-Hook-Wharf-kit-180-unopened/193789347446