Stutsman Warehouse: The Core

Enough messing around. It’s time to finish up the last blank spot on The Hills Line… the Stutsman Warehouse and Corporate Office.

The warehouse itself is a multi-level, multi-structure building that’s interconnected at a variety of angles, all taking up seven feet of linear space, or roughly one-third of the Hills portion of the layout. This requires some significant work.

To start, I built the core of the structure from PVC trim boards. Since the overall layout of the building is nothing more than a glorified backdrop flat, each section had to be cut at specific angles to fit the available space. I referenced aerial photos from Google Earth to match the prototype, scaled to fit my available space.

Inner braces were then cut to fit, both to support the roof (which I’ll add later) but also to keep the core rigid once I cut out the openings for the loading doors. A brad nailer made for a quick and simple build.

North of the main complex are two standalone buildings. They received the same treatment, only with narrower material. Again, aerial photos were used to replicate the overall layout.

Seams and nail holes were then filled with joint compound before the lower half of the core was painted. Most of the main structure has an exposed concrete footing, so I’m painting before adding the exterior walls.

Even at this early phase, it’s an imposing structure. It’ll look even better once the walls are up.