Modelrailroader.ca

A reader left a very pointed comment that asked a very good question ‘ ‘how does Pete unload the pumpkins?’ I went hunting to see if I could find some 1/32 tractors etc. But they were rather costly ‘ at least for this project’s budget. I decided that Pete, being a frugal farmer, would have likely rigged some sort of ‘block-n-tackle-hoist-thing’ from junk lying around the barnyard, so I decided to do the same. Using a pencil, a bamboo skewer, old n scale wheels and some scrap styrene, I ‘imagineered’ a yard hoist. The boom on the hoist actually swings, and the line will pull through the pulley. It’s not the front-end loader that I envisioned the farm having, but it will do the job!

A few nights of scoring, bending, painting a gluing have paid off, and I think I can say the barn is done. Working in N scale sure spoils you when it comes to the quantities of materials needed! This structure was a pig!

I built the barn door using some bits of rail, the wheels off an old N scale boxcar and some scrap styrene. The door can slide along the rail so I can open or close the door depending on my mood.

I’m pleased with the barn, although it would certainly fail close scrutiny. Then again, this is a ‘fun’ layout that I’m building just for the experience, so I’m not too worried about its accuracy. I’m likely not going to super-detail it, however knowing myself fairly well, I will likely add things over the next few weeks in the moments where I procrastinate from building trees!

(Excuse the shine on the roof of the barn ‘ the dullcote hasn’t dried yet)

I spent the evening sheathing the barn. In a few short hours I managed to install most of the barn boards atop the foamcore base ‘ less the fact I ran out of boards! Because the boards are cardboard, they tended to curl once installed, some more then others, which gave a nice effect. Anytime a board started to curl too much, I simply dabbed a little hot glue on the underside and stuck it in place.

Eager to see how things would look, I have the entire structure a quick weathering before replacing it on the layout. I first spooned dirt onto each of the walls, and brushed it away using a makeup brush. When I was happy with the effect, I sprayed the dirt with dullcote to set it in place. I next sprinkled some fine ‘earth’ ground foam onto the wet dullcote near the base of the structure, followed by a very light dusting of light green. The effect is that of a damp, mossy barn.

There are a few major details I need to add ‘ namely the doors, and the roof, however at this point I’m happy with the results for the effort.

With the barn structure built I was ready to start adding the siding and roofing. I had figured out how I wanted to model each, but having never tested either technique I thought it best to create a ‘test’ piece. As I wanted to add a structure to the right side of the layout, I decided to model an outhouse to try out my ideas.

In the end I was very happy with the results, and I am ready to start sheeting the barn!

Building the Outhouse

I built the privy in the same manner I made the barn ‘ hot gluing foamcore to create the basic structure, and adding a flap of cardboard from a cereal box as a door.

Modeling Barn Boards

I first covered a piece of cardboard with a mixture of tan and gray paint ‘ rather then mix the two colours consistently, I opted to leave them as mottled a possible to give the card some colour variation. I sprinkled some fine ballast onto the wet paint ‘ ballast colour wasn’t important as I was going to use this as an abrasive. I then dragged a scrap piece of foamcore across the surface of the card (in a uniform direction) until I had removed the majority of the ballast, and the surface of the card had numerous vertical scratches. Once dry, I rubbed off the remaining ballast with my fingers and applied a light misting of black spray paint to add some small black flecks. Again, I waited for the paint to dry and applied a thin blotchy wash of burnt umber oil paint and varsol to the surface of the card. I cut the card into scale boards, and mixed them up ‘ reversing some of the boards end for end in an attempt to hide all seams. I painted the privy flat-black and attached the boards one at a time with white glue ‘ making sure to leave a small gap between each board. Once the glue had dried, I weathered the structure with some real dirt, applied some Testor’s Dullcote, and dusted on some fine green ground foam to represent moss.

Modeling Corrugated Steel Roofing

I cut some heavy tinfoil into scale siding pieces approximately 2×8 feet in size. I laid the foil on a soft piece of pine, and placed a large bolt atop the foil at one end. Using a piece of hardwood as a pressure block, I pushed down firmly on the bolt with the block of wood, and rolled the bolt along the length of the foil. The threads of the bolt dented both the foil and the wood, creating the characteristic corrugated pattern. I sprayed the individual roofing pieces with black/brown/red oxide spray paint to create a dull weathered look. Once the paint was dry to the touch, I dragged a rag along the surface of the foil, and removed some of the paint ‘ exposing the foil beneath. I hot glued the sheeting to the roof, and applied alternating coats of dirt and dullcote for weathering.

With the landscape contours in place, Pete’s Pumpkins model railroad was finally starting to take shape, thus, it was time to add the barn. Having only previously scratchbuilt structures in N scale, I wasn’t used to the material needs of a large scale structure ‘ I could build and entire N scale city with the styrene needed to build a 1:32 barn! Thus, I chose to build the barn from foam core, as it was significantly cheaper then styrene, and wouldn’t need internal bracing.

Foam core is a wonderful building material; it cuts cleanly, is quite rigid, lightweight, and has the benefit of not melting under the heat of a glue gun.

Construction went quickly, and in the course of an evening I was able to build the entire superstructure. The mitres etc. aren’t perfect, but that won’t matter as all of the surfaces will be sheathed in wood siding and metal roofing.

I carved out trenches in the baseboard (another benefit of Styrofoam scenery) and set the barn’s foundations into them so that the rear of the structure was built into the hillside. It was nice to see how the layout will take shape ‘ however I do think that visually things are too heavily weighted to the left side, so I’m going to consider building a smaller building for the rear right corner to help balance everything.

I decided that while I’m trying to figure out track elevations and scenery camouflage, I might as well start thinking about the only structure on the layout ‘ the barn. I drafted the basic contours of a gambrel-style barn in 1:32 scale, and printed each of the plans at 100%. The barn has to fit atop the uneven elevations of the layout, so I added an addition to the side of the main structure to compensate for the rising track.

I’ll make some rough paper mock-ups of the barn, and move it around to see what works best, studying its position while I consider the track…