Junction Farm (BESTTrains kits)

[Yannis]

Very nice and tidy work there, it is going to be a very exciting scene with this hill side!
Thanks for sharing!
Yannis

[deemery]

Pondering exactly how to place the farmhouse:






Once I decide, I'll cut the hole in the hardshell, then build a stand for the sub-foundation, the same way I did for the barn. 

(First thought, bottom arrangement.  But I'll head off to PT and take another look at this when I get back.)

dave

[jbvb]

The last looks best to me too. You could reinforce that by locating the road parallel to the front, at least right in front of the house.

[deemery]

The last looks best to me too. You could reinforce that by locating the road parallel to the front, at least right in front of the house.

Yes, with a bit of a curve to it...  That's been the general intent.  Now the terrain to the left falls off a cliff, so that's not quite the most prototypical scheme, but a bit of scenic break should help hide the discontinuity.   I did a bit of work on the road today, from the bridge starting up the hill.

I'm thinking a bit about the scenery here.  Maybe an orchard on the near side of the road in front of the house/barn.  (Orchard would be a nice break, but not too thick nor too tall. )  Maybe a fence along the road. 

dave

[jbvb]

The last looks best to me too. You could reinforce that by locating the road parallel to the front, at least right in front of the house.

Yes, with a bit of a curve to it...  That's been the general intent.  Now the terrain to the left falls off a cliff, so that's not quite the most prototypical scheme, but a bit of scenic break should help hide the discontinuity.  I did a bit of work on the road today, from the bridge starting up the hill.

I'm thinking a bit about the scenery here.  Maybe an orchard on the near side of the road in front of the house/barn.  (Orchard would be a nice break, but not too thick nor too tall. )  Maybe a fence along the road. 

dave

In your era, barb wire was relatively new and generally cheaper than wood rails.  So barb wire around the orchard, the kitchen garden and any fields with vegetable crops (keep deer and stray domestic animals out).  Barb wire around cow pastures and horse paddocks to keep them in. I don't think mesh like I make from old fiberglass window screen had appeared in 1890.

[deemery]

The last looks best to me too. You could reinforce that by locating the road parallel to the front, at least right in front of the house.

Yes, with a bit of a curve to it...  That's been the general intent.  Now the terrain to the left falls off a cliff, so that's not quite the most prototypical scheme, but a bit of scenic break should help hide the discontinuity.  I did a bit of work on the road today, from the bridge starting up the hill.

I'm thinking a bit about the scenery here.  Maybe an orchard on the near side of the road in front of the house/barn.  (Orchard would be a nice break, but not too thick nor too tall. )  Maybe a fence along the road. 

dave

In your era, barb wire was relatively new and generally cheaper than wood rails.  So barb wire around the orchard, the kitchen garden and any fields with vegetable crops (keep deer and stray domestic animals out).  Barb wire around cow pastures and horse paddocks to keep them in. I don't think mesh like I make from old fiberglass window screen had appeared in 1890.

I don't have much space for the farm, it'll all have to be "selectively maximally compressed between the structures and the backdrops.  But your point about the barbed wire is a good one, I can do some cow pasture down to the right side from the barn (using the cows that came with the BEST kit), and a white fence between the road and the orchard.

I'll also need to find a couple chickens to add to the scene.

dave

[deemery]

I installed the corner posts and worked on the chimneys:

Pretty much all that's left is shingling.

dave

[PRR Modeler]

That looks very good Dave.

[Michael Hohn]

Very nice!

[deemery]

The chimneys for this kit are interesting.  They're pieces of 1/16 thick basswood laminated together, and then covered with brick sheathing.  The prototype for this kit is a thick chimney with probably a slate top.  

We saw a place in York, ME today that was a close match to the farmhouse, including the annex on the right.  I should have stopped and taken some photos.  

dave

[ACL1504]

Dave,

The house came out looking great. This will be a very nice scene.

Tom

[PRR Modeler]

I was just thinking that a spit rail fence would look good following the edge of the rock face on top.

[jbvb]

Fencing depends a lot on the location and era. I don't recall much split rail fence in New England after the Civil War - in places settled by 1820 most of the hardwood big enough to split for rails had already been cut, and each plowed field generated new stone every spring. I don't know the upper Delaware and Susquehanna drainages that well, but I have the idea that split rail would have been an option through Dave's period.

[deemery]

As part of the benchwork, there's a flat piece of plywood about 11" below the ground level.  I constructed a stand where the base is on that plywood, and the shelf is the right height.  There's a piece of benchwork in the way, hence the cut-out in the shelf.

Then I put glue on the base, made sure it was level, and added weights until the glue set.


I have a sub-foundation piece that will sit on the shelf, and then the plaster cast foundation fits on that.  Here's a view of those parts:


And a test-fit


The other accomplishment today was prime spraying the roof panels.  I used a spraycan, but they still warped a bit.  So I think I'll do the shingles first, then add bracing to pull the warp back out of the roof pieces.  After consultation with James Van Bokkelen on his house & barn, I decided to use the same Bar Mills shingles on the farmhouse as on the barn.

dave

[jbvb]

Looks good, Dave