Master Creations Minerva Casket Co.

[SteveCuster]

Hello Everyone,
I recently completed my version of Master Creations Minerva Casket Co. This is my first post on this forum, I did a complete build thread on a different forum but I wanted to share the completed diorama here. I have built several larger craftsman structures from most of the major manufacturers but this kit was by far the most difficult and confusing. I've always really liked the design of this era of Master Creations kits and I believe they were truly trying to do something completely different from what was out there at the time. Nearly every component is laser cut, all the doors and windows are made up of between 8 and 12 individual pieces, very tedious.

I chose a different color scheme because this structure will sit directly behind FSM Cartwright's Machine Shop ( Not yet built) and I plan to color that structure the faded red as it was designed. I was trying to avoid too many of the same color structures in close proximity.



This will be the front of the building as it sits on my layout.




The kit came with a good assortment of castings but I chose not to use them due to the fact that the loading dock will not be visible on the layout.
Once I have the structure permanently in place and I can determine what areas are visible I will add some details. I made the sign in Serif DrawPlus.


This is the rear of the structure. The stone base castings are very similar to those found in FSM kits.


It came with a whole bunch of laser cut casket kits, I wasn't really pleased with how they looked when assembled so I made of pile of pieces.

Thanks for checking in.

-Steve

[bparrish]

Steve ...

Really cool building.

Thanx
Bob

[rpdylan]

Wondeful work Steve, really nice build! I heard that people in the past threw out the instructions and went on instinct to build these kits! Look forward to seeing more of your work!

Bob

[ACL1504]

Steve,

First, welcome to the forum. And, I agree the structure is extremely well done. Looks fantastic.

Thanks for sharing.

Tom

[ak-milw]

Welcome aboard, nice looking building

[Janbouli]

Welcome aboard Steve, great build, love the colors and the nice faded look.

Could you post a link to the building thread , or maybe it would be fairly easy to copy it to this forum.

[cuse]

Fantastic kit and a great build. Really distinctive!


John

[SteveCuster]

Thanks everyone.

Bob, I tried as hard as I could to follow the instructions but most of the time I used photos and some guessing to figure it out. It was especially challenging due to the fact the structure has slots and tabs that the laser cut pieces go into, the wrong pieces fit
in just as easily as the correct ones.

Janbouli, It would be easier to just add the link to the other thread but I don't know if that is against forum rules?

One of the most difficult parts of this kit was getting the warping under control. All of the trim pieces, decking, railings are all laser cut instead of stripwood so they are very prone to warping. It's easy enough to brace the main clapboard walls but it was very challenging straightening out some of the thinner pieces.

Here is a picture of the placement of structure on my layout

As you can see it will sit pretty far from the front of the layout.

-Steve

[nextceo]

Hey Steve,

   Your layout is coming right along. I see some mountains/hills in the background...and it appears you are using plaster to cover them. Before you go any farther, you should look into Bragdon's Geodesic Foam products. If you want to see why you should consider using it over plaster, I do a comparison of the two along with a step by step process (with pics) on how to work with it. It can be found on the Sierra West website forums in my Machine Shop build.

Just food for thought...

Alan

[GPdemayo]

Great work Steve. That is one good looking structure. 


Welcome to the forum and don' be bashful about sharing your build and layout progress. 

[tct855]

Steve,
              Wow! Excellent work and painting and weathering.  Layout & location are coming along nicely. Keep up the great work!  Thanks for sharing.   Thanx Thom...

[Zephyrus52246]

Great looking diorama.  It's a shame it's so far from the front of the layout. 

Jeff

[SteveCuster]

Thanks guys!

Alan, I saw your geodesic foam rocks on your machine shop diorama, they look great and I agree the detail is much better than plaster. You also have one of those amazing tree kits from the military modeling company on that diorama I believe right? Im trying to make some compromises on how detailed I can make my railroad with cost and time constraints. I have several hundred pounds of hydrocal in my garage so it makes sense to go that route for me. I'm considered building SW O'Neills in O scale after I finish my HO version, if I go that route I plan on using the foam rocks and a few of those incredible trees.

-Steve

[deemery]

I enjoyed following your thread on 'another forum' ( ) and I'm glad to see the result and its placement here.


dave

[ReadingBob]

Welcome to the forum Steve!   

Beautiful build!  Thanks for sharing the pictures of finished diorama.