Building Graves Elevators by Bar Mills Pt.1

I am not supposed to work on this yet. The plan was to paint and assemble several fork lifts and send them along with the Gibley's first and then start the Graves Elevators. What can I say? I am small and weak man...
So far I have assembled the shell of the larger building. The shell later will get an application of the "stucco". The original idea was to apply it right away but then if there was some fit issue with upper clapboard walls it would not be easy to address it. Therefore, I decided to wait until I get upper part done and check the fit.

Building The Shoppe's on Concord Street by Carolina Craftsman Kits Pt.2

I have been thinking if I should ask my bosses to let me work from home one day per week. That would allow me to save at least two hours of driving which I could use on building models. Or get more sleep what is another very tempting option. The downside is that the refrigerator would be within easy reach...
The shoppes are moving along. Slow but steady. I only have 45 minutes of the break left after I eat my lunch. That still is probably more than some other modelers spend per week.

Building Concord Street Houses by Carolina Craftsman Kits Pt.2

Well... I am not very good at keeping my promises. At least when it comes to keeping this blog up to date. I have been having writer's block over the past few months. Or perhaps the life itself has become too dull. In any case, here are the photos.

Finishing FOS Canal & Third diorama Pt.4

I am on the roll. It is my fourth blog post in a week.
I took a number of pictures last night. Some of them are for my eBay listings, others for the project updates and for the tips. Yes, I am planning on doing some tips posts which I haven't done in a long time. About them later. This post is all about the Canal & Third.
I have "planted" all remaining structures and scenicked the area around the stairway. I need to finalize the boat selection because I have to have them painted and ready before I start doing water. While I thought I had plenty of space in reality I have enough room for only 2 or 3 boats. Anything more would look too crowded. Then I have to decide how exactly I am going to model water itself. There are several ways of doing it. They have their advantages and disadvantages. I need to pick the best one for my situation. Had I been starting the diorama now I would have done water part differently. I am wiser and more experienced than back when I started it.

Building The Shoppe's on Concord Street by Carolina Craftsman Kits Pt.1

Let me introduce my new lunch break project. It is The Shoppe's on Concord Street kit by Carolina Craftsman Kits. The kit used to consist of two small shops but the intention is to offer them as two separate kits in the future. The structure in the picture below is simply called the Shoppe. I am not sure what I will turn it into yet. I am exploring several options at this time.

Building Concord Street Houses by Carolina Craftsman Kits Pt.1

I just have realized that I haven't done any updates on this project. Originally kit was designed to build two structures that are joined together. Also it was to have all clapboard walls. I have been asked by owner of the CCK to build the structures separately and perhaps make some additional changes. Here is what I did. I separated the add-on and put corner post between it and the main building to hint that the add-on was built later. Also I replaced some of the walls with painted black mat board to represent unfinished walls covered with tarpaper i.e. someone has run out of money, time, or motivation to put up the boards.

Building Bower's Brewery by Microscale Models Pt.3

I nearly let yet another month to pass without posting anything. The main reason is that I have been dealing with some health issues lately. While I have still been building models although at much slower pace at the same time I have had severe lack of motivation for keeping my blog up to date. Well, I am back at least for this one update.
During these past two months I have managed to finish Bowers Brewery. I could have done this sooner but while building the decking I found that the plans were wrong. I had to make a number of adjustments what was time consuming and at the times frustrating. If I am going to build another yet Microscale kit in the future I will definitely check the accuracy of the drawings before starting any decks, loading docks, etc. That will save me some headaches.