Elevator Complex - Feed & Seed Part 1

During December, I started a new structure for the Willow Springs side of the layout.

While I was originally going to build American Model Builders #706, Elevated Warehouse, as an office/warehouse for the planned grain elevator at Willow Springs, I decided to locate it across the tracks as a related feed and seed business. The first step of building this wood laser kit was to read through the instructions and check the parts. For the wood parts, I stained the parts with my standard Prego jar stain (70% alcohol, black ink, and raw umber acrylic paint). My plan was to stain both sides to reduce warping, but I missed one wall section interior side. After the stain dried I painted the exterior walls with Model Master Reefer White. Rather that trying to get complete coverage with the white paint, I followed a modified dry-brushing technique allowing some of the stain to show through the clapboards towards the bottom of the walls.


The next step was to remove the walls and floor from the carrier sheets and prepare them for assembly. I used a new #11 blade in a modeler's knife and a cutting mat to facilitate cutting the tabs holding the part onto the carrier sheet. From the beginning I planned on adding interior details and lighting to this simple structure. I used Google images to find photographs of feed store interiors, and resizing and splicing several together, I mounted them on one interior wall with Scotch Super 77 spray adhesive.Using the supplied floor risers and additional 1/8" square stock, I glued bracing to the wall sections with yellow carpenter's glue. I also glued 1/8" square stock to the underside of the floor, being careful to measure to avoid the floor risers and pier locations.

Up to this point, my process aligned well with the kit's instructions. My one significant divergence was to mount the doors and windows in the wall sections before I glued the walls together. I painted the door and window parts with Model Master Dark Tan before removing them from the carrier sheet and with a second coat after removing the parts. I mounted the sliding doors in an open position to allow the interior of the building to be more visible. On the interior of the track side wall, I scratchbuilt window and door molding, as this interior wall will be visible through windows and the open loading doors. To help assemble the multi-part peel and stick doors and windows, I fashioned a temporary jig from a small machinist's square and a metal ruler. This temporary jig can be seen in the photo to the left. As I assembled the doors and windows, I glued them into the wall openings. As the wall sections were completed, I glued the walls together, using the floor to square everything together.