Horwood Brothers Gas, Oil and Service - Rail Scale Miniatures.

[Yannis]

Following with interest, it looks like a very exciting build!

[ACL1504]

Looking forward to watching this one come together, Tom.

It should look right at home on your layout.  Do you know if Dario is planning on releasing more kits?  Either larger or diamond series?

Cheers, Mark.

Mark, Cheers,

Happy to have you along on the journey. I last spoke to Dario when I purchased the Drake Street Shop kit. He said he was working on ideas for another kit but didn't say what.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Oh boy Tom, you're finally getting started on this. I look forward to seeing your build. Will it be done by this Saturday?

Butty Curt,

Yes, finally and it will be a long build as well. Not sure it will be done by Saturday. Oh, you said this Saturday. No but it will be done by one Saturday n the4 future. 

Tom

[ACL1504]

Tom you're going to have fun with this one. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

Larry,

Thanks for jumping on the wagon. It will be a fun build but not a quick one.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Ton that should keep you out of trouble for a few days.
Looking forward to the build.

Jerry

Jerry,

At least a few day for sure. I'm guessing many many months. Happy to have you following along.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Quite a project, Tom.  I've seen a finished one and it's huge.  Looking forward to your build. 

Jeff

Jeff,

Yes, it will be a project. I think you and I saw this one in the contest room at one of the EXPOS, don't remember which one.

This will take up 15 to 24 inches of real estate.

Glad to have here.

Tom

[ACL1504]

I'm looking forward to following along as my build of Horwood Bros has been on the orphan shelf for quite awhile.
Terry

Terry,

Thanks for getting on the front row. I've had this one for two years and wanted build it. Not sure about your build but, I've already found some issues.

I'll go over them as the build progresses.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Following with interest, it looks like a very exciting build!

Yannis,

Happy to have you following with interest. I'm  excited to get this one started.

Tom

[ACL1504]

I started to read the instruction manual two months ago. I've read through it a few times and getting familiar with the parts.

This kit, when placed on the diorama measures 15 X 24". I'll use the same dimensions but the kit will sit directly on the layout. I'll construct a concrete pad later in the build.

Here is where I plan to plant Harwood Bros. It is on the Summit Level (3rd.) of the layout.




The base for the main structure (the service station) is a  3/32" thick wood floor. The floor in this kit was severely warped.

Here is how I fixed the warp.

I soaked the wood floor in a pan of water to loosen the wood fibers. I then placed a sheet of wax paper on the granite counter top in our laundry room. The floor piece was placed on the paper and another sheet of wax paper was then placed on the top. A pane of glass was then placed on top of the wax paper. I used metal weights to hold the wood floor flat until dry.

There are no photos of this step as back in December '25 I wasn't sure I was going to build the kit. Anyway, that did the trick and after four days the wood floor was flat.

Yesterday, I noticed a slight bend in the floor. I set it on two metal weights and placed a metal weight on top as shown below. This morning the floor was once again flat. Sorry for the above screed but, I wanted to share what I needed to do.

When the walls are glued to the floor, it will remain flat.



Done for today.

[deemery]

Will you be able to brace that floor in case it decides to warp again?   You might need to route out grooves in the plywood base for bracing underneath, if you can't put bracing inside.

My experience with stuff like this is it will eventually warp again if not braced.  

dave

[jbvb]

Will you be able to brace that floor in case it decides to warp again?  You might need to route out grooves in the plywood base for bracing underneath, if you can't put bracing inside.

My experience with stuff like this is it will eventually warp again if not braced. 

dave

Me too. Could you reinforce the floor-wall joints with 3/16" or 1/4" K&S brass angle? Pre-blacken, then epoxy in place everywhere there isn't an exterior door you want to model open?

[friscomike]

Howdy Tom,

That is one heck of a score.  Congratulations.  I loved that kit when it came out, but spent my money on Banta's Pro Patria mill.

I am excited to follow your build. It promises to be fun.

Have fun,
mike

[Yannis]

So forgive my ignorance on wooden kits, but do you intend to use the wooden base as a base for the structure only or as a diorama base that will slot in the layout?

Is it viable to replace the floor with styrene or something 3d-printed? Or at least add bracing below the base?

[ACL1504]

Will you be able to brace that floor in case it decides to warp again?  You might need to route out grooves in the plywood base for bracing underneath, if you can't put bracing inside.

My experience with stuff like this is it will eventually warp again if not braced. 

dave

Dave,

Excellent observation but my answer is no. I could brace the floor and cut groves in the plywood but it isn't necessary.

I've had the floor base on the layout for three weeks now with no warpage.

I guess any large wood base such as this will warp given the humidity of Central Florida. I do plan on bracing the base by gluing the five walls to it with the walls braced.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Will you be able to brace that floor in case it decides to warp again?  You might need to route out grooves in the plywood base for bracing underneath, if you can't put bracing inside.

My experience with stuff like this is it will eventually warp again if not braced. 

dave

Me too. Could you reinforce the floor-wall joints with 3/16" or 1/4" K&S brass angle? Pre-blacken, then epoxy in place everywhere there isn't an exterior door you want to model open?

James,

Yes, I could but it won't be necessary. As I progress through the build, it will become more clear as to why it won't be necessary.

Tom