Winter Challenge 2024- Truck Service kit- Jeff Firestone

[nycjeff]

Hello Curt, Dave, Rick, Greg and Jerry. I'm glad that you all liked the backhoe. It was a fun little kit to work on. The other kits- the bulldozer and road grader were also of the same quality and reasonably priced. I recommend the Scenic Details kits to all. And Curt, I'm glad that you finally got to see the pics.

[nycjeff]

Continuing on....

The diorama has made it to the layout. I guess this means that it's not a diorama any longer- just another scene on the layout.

Here are a couple of drone views. The ramp has finally been glued into place along the siding. This means that the heavy equipment can now be loaded onto a flatcar for transport throughout my little world. I'm not sure how prototypical this is, but it seems to make sense to me and I am going to invoke Rule #1 if it isn't.

My whole heavy equipment fleet is pictured here. Both bulldozers, the road grader and of course the backhoe. I'm glad that they all now have a permanent home on the layout.

The siding is a busy place with boxcars coming and going for the pallet and crate company and the flatcars for transporting the heavy equipment.

The truck repair company fills the space right to the edges. This is a crowded industrial corner on the layout and I am very pleased with the overall look. I am planning on some more detailing for the alley behind the buildings to the right.



As you can see here I had to cut the top edge of the ramp at a bit of an angle to fit the curve of the track in the siding.



Here's a closer look over the top of the ramp. This view shows why I made the loading dock for the main building larger. The way the building is situated, the end of the building faces the aisle where most people will see it. I wanted this end of the building to be busier with more to look at.



I had to stretch my arm over the layout to get a shot of the front of the main building. I think that the new scene fits in rather well with the rest of the buildings in this area. The underside of my upper level is visible at the top left.



That's it for now, more later.

[friscomike]

Wow, Jeff.  It's perfect.  Have fun, mike

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looks terrific, Jeff.

I really like the view from your stretched arm!

Cheers, Mark.

[Rick]

Jeff, that's a very good looking scene with all the details and vehicles.

[PRR Modeler]

Excellent layout scenes Jeff.

[robert goslin]

Just catching up on your build Jeff.  The diorama looks stunning and you have blended it in perfectly with the surrounding layout.
I've been following Jason for a number of years now, but first time I've seen someone else build one of his kits.  Seems you had a couple of hiccups, but they got sorted.
    I see you mentioned that his instructions are not quite as detailed as some other manufacturers.
I think that's because he also does instructional YT build videos of all his structures, so folks can follow along with those too.

The backhoe looks really nice too.

[nycjeff]

Hello Mike, Mark, Rick and Curt, thank you all for looking in and for the kind words. I'm very pleased with how the diorama has fit into my layout

Just catching up on your build Jeff.  The diorama looks stunning and you have blended it in perfectly with the surrounding layout.
I've been following Jason for a number of years now, but first time I've seen someone else build one of his kits.  Seems you had a couple of hiccups, but they got sorted.
    I see you mentioned that his instructions are not quite as detailed as some other manufacturers.
I think that's because he also does instructional YT build videos of all his structures, so folks can follow along with those too.

The backhoe looks really nice too.

Hello Robert, I appreciate your comments regarding my truck repair build. I had a lot of fun with Jason's kit. I too have followed his videos for a while now and have enjoyed learning from them. His video of this particular kit was a big help to me while I was building it.

[nycjeff]

Continuing on...

Here are a couple more pictures of the overall area where my diorama fit into my layout







And one final picture with a closer look



This does it for this build thread. I'd like to thank all who looked in and commented. The feedback means a lot.

Overall I would definitely recommend Jason's kits to any modeler out there who enjoys building craftsman kits.

Until the next one.

[Zephyrus52246]

Great work on the diorama.  Just enough detail and wonderful finishes.  And fits perfectly into the site.  

Jeff

[Dave Buchholz]

Curios minds want to know what's next!

[Jerry]

WOW!!  That diorama sure fits in nicely with the layout!

Jerry

[nycjeff]

Great work on the diorama.  Just enough detail and wonderful finishes.  And fits perfectly into the site. 

Jeff

Hello Jeff, thank you for the nice compliments. I had a lot of fun on this diorama build.

Curios minds want to know what's next!

Hello Dave, there's always something to do on the layout. As you know, they are never finished. I think that next I have to update my Layout Tour thread. After that I'm sure that I can find a new wonderful kit that I just have to build or I can imagine something to scratch build.

WOW!!  That diorama sure fits in nicely with the layout!

Jerry

Hello Jerry, I made the diorama on a large styrene base to fit into the whole space that I had cleared for it on the layout. And, if you meant that it fits in nicely with the surrounding area on the layout- I agree. I'm very pleased with how it all came out.

[PRR Modeler]

You have an awesome looking layout Jeff.