Thrifty Use of Time

When I was interviewed by my friend Trevor Marshall for his magnificent and much-missed podcast, The Model Railway Show, he asked how I structured my hobby time. I answered that I normally worked in fits and spurts, alternating between periods of rapid completion followed by periods of pure lethargy. A look back at the order and pacing of previous entries on this website will reveal patterns related to my processes.

If you haven’t figured it out, right now I’m on a building blitz.

Progress on The Hills Line continues along the Maiden Lane interchange area, with its numerous industrial buildings that crowd the right of way. Probably the most prominent (i.e. big) structure in the area is The Crowded Closet thrift store and warehouse, located just north of the industrial spur.

Fortunately the rail side of the structure is a simple box, allowing me to use up the remainder of my ever-dwindling supply of Pikestuff wall components. The walls were spliced together and trimmed into a consistent height and angle. I originally considered adding a foundation, but realized that it would eventually be hidden by the scrub and weeds once on the layout.

Since the building sits inside a corner of the layout, I only needed one side wall to give it the appropriate depth. I tried out a set of magnetic-square clamps from Bachmann, and really like how sturdy they were at holding the angle during assembly. Thin CA glue was ran down the seams to give a firm bond.

However, since the structure does sit inside a corner, that meant the roof would require additional effort. I made a paper template to trace the curve of the backdrop and transfer it to the roof parts. Pikestuff roof panels were spliced together and cut to match the curve.

The warehouse roof is also pitched in the middle. I built the roof as one complete piece, then sliced it on the peak into separate parts. The cut was made at an angle so that the roof ridges would ultimately cover the cut.

The structure was then painted, assembled, and weathered to best match the prototype. The only detail parts are a television antenna and a HVAC exchanger, both assembled from commercial parts. The final step will be to plant the structure onto the layout… but that’ll come later. Right now I’m being thrifty with my time.