Building The Millett Creamery by South River Modelworks Pt.1

To begin with I must say that last Tucker and Cook build update was the very last one. I don't own it anymore. It is on the way to its new owner and I won't be building diorama. I was struggling trying to find good idea for it anyway. The Tucker and Cook being gone opens up some shelf space for new projects. There is new one that will fit there perfectly.
I have been working on SRMW The Millett Creamery for a few weeks now. This is one of Bob's earlier plaster kits. I found all parts to be well packed, intact and good quality. However, there was a little issue. Instead of two different walls for the front and back of the middle section I had two of the same. In a worst case I could have used those walls and no one would most likely have noticed but I decided to email Bob VG and ask he had any spares. I figured it was very long shot since the kit is from early 90s I believe. Bob VG replied that he had one but made of urethane. I had some concerns about shrink ratio but got it anyway. I found that I was right when the wall came in. It was about 3/32" narrower that the one made of plaster. I could sand down opposite wall to match the width but I would have had very narrow area between the windows and side wall what wouldn't have looked right. Instead made urethane wall wider. First I glued 3/64" square stripwood on each side towards back. Then I filled front part with DAS clay. When it was dry I sanded clay flush with the wall and scribed some bricks and stones where needed. Then I glued all four walls together and filled the gaps with lightweight spackle. I can't stain this hybrid anymore so the next step is to prime and paint it.

Building The Magic Shop by FOS Scale Models Pt. N + 3

It is Friday and I have all night to myself. There are no more high school soccer games to attend. I am sure I will miss them. Actually I am missing them already. Well... On a brighter side I will have more modeling time.
Nothing mentionable happened since last post while I was working on the Magic Shop. All it was just plain and boring figure painting.
Here it is final result with some earlier progress photos that I wanted to post but never got around doing it.

Building The Magic Shop by FOS Scale Models Pt. N + 2

I am wondering if I have a problem with math, or my vision, or perhaps both. I saw on eBay today that someone is willing to pay $57 before shipping for 100 feet of 1x8 HO scale stripwood. Northeastern Scale Lumber sells 12 pack of 11 inch long pieces for $3.50. That is $3.50 for 11 feet. A little more than 9 packs make 100 feet. It is about $32. Now if you get fifty 2 ft. long pieces then they are $0.38 per piece. 100 feet would cost you $19. Perhaps shipping would be a bit higher but $57... Someone must have really deep pockets or very big ego.
Back to the build... I needed more sidewalk for my Ideal Hosiery diorama than it was provided in the kit so I made it out of 1/16" thick matboard. The advantage of using it instead of sheet basswood is that matboard is cheap and easier to work with. The down side is that it tends to swell and warp during scenery application phase which involves a lot of liquid, i.e. wet water and matte medium. This time around I have decided to soak sidewalk edges with CA. Guess what? I didn't observe any swelling or warping so I used the same technique when making a boardwalk as well. First I cut out the boardwalk base out of matboard 1/8" narrower than I wanted the boardwalk to be. Then I soaked the edges with CA. After CA had dried I glued 1/16" square stripwood on each side and then covered the top with 2x8 striwood. I believe this sandwich method is easier and more durable than traditional real life like.