I really should buy stock in Rix Products, Inc. The sheer number of their products I’ve used on The Hills Line dwarfs anything else I’ve bought, short of benchwork. That number continues to grow thanks to the construction of the Eldon C. Stutsman main warehouse and corporate office.
After completing the structure core, I started on the exterior walls of the building. My original plan was to recreate the prototype using the photo wallpaper techniques I had used for the neighboring elevator structure. However, early tests showed that this method wouldn’t produce the same effect in the warehouse as it did in the elevator, mostly because of the building’s size and its primarily one-material construction.
I knew I needed a lot of Pikestuff walls and fast. Fortunately, ordering direct from Rix Products was both fast and convenient. I had every part I needed with room to spare in a matter of days. Again, I should buy stock.
After determining the various heights and lengths needed for the warehouse walls, I started trimming the individual parts to size. A straight edge and utility knife allowed me to snap and score as needed to fit my space.
Windows, doors, and loading docks were also cut out to match the prototype placement. I trimmed each opening as needed, either with the included pieces from the Pikestuff kit or with styrene shapes.
As a final sanity check, I taped each component to the core to make sure everything would line up, especially given the variety of roof lines on this structure. Once happy, I attached the walls to the core using a combination of construction adhesive and CA glue.
Roof supports were also added once the walls were in place. Again, the large number of intersecting roof lines made it more or less necessary for me to wait until everything else was in place before adding them. Machinist’s blocks were used to ensure everything was straight and square.
Once the walls were in place and secured, I ran a continuous strip of .060 styrene L-angle to trim out the bottom. I left a 1/2-inch reveal of the concrete foundation throughout the structure, matching the prototype.
That foundation was then masked, allowing me to paint the entire building in almond yellow with Rust-Oleum spray paint. Once weathered, it should match the prototype colors.
Up next is tackling the most complex part of this build… the roof.
The Hills Line 