The Blog of Michael T. Murphy and his lifelong obsession with "little army men" and their imaginary glory, miniature wargaming, and other things...

Sunday, May 28, 2017

"Building a Western Town" Buildings Update...

First off an apology.

So it seems that it has been a fully YEAR since my last work on my Western town.
About a month ago, I walked into my garage, saw the buildings sitting there and said "It's time to get these things done." ( I won't use the "Larry The Cable Guy" cliche), and finish what I have sitting here, so I can move on.

So...I went to town....(literally)....

FIRST OFF: aka: "What's in a name?"

I've decided to go back to the original name of the town "Rimfire" as while I liked "Crabtree" and the dedication to the late Lotta Crabtree, I decided to take it back to a little 'rougher" title.
So "Rimfire" it is...
Plus I can now put posters of Lotta Crabtree performing right up on the wall next to the posters of Lilli Von Schtupp... woof!

BUILDINGS DONE!

I am happy to say that over the course of the last couple of weeks, I have been able to finish three (3) of my initial Knuckleduster buildings.

As I said in earlier blog posts, I had started the basics of them in an assembly line format. While this was easy in getting the base stuff down, it then came down to the details, (windows, weathering, signage, etc.), for each building. And while it it taking a bit, I can see that I am progressing faster than I originally thought I would.


So without further eloquence;  The First Building essentially complete,
"Miss Melodie's Ladies Emporium"...


Miss Melodie's Ladies Emporium provides the finest items and notions for ladies this side of the Mississippi. 


A nice side view of the shop. This shows the optional slant roof. Viewers will notice that I have added "glass" to the windows. This gives them a much better look overall.


A closeup of "Reb Jenkins" with his sawed off shotgun, and his crutch, outside the store, for size comparison. Even though these are considered 'small" 25-28mm by Knuckleduster, I think they are a good side and work well with 28mm. Scale creep does factor in though, hence their new releases.

Next up was Barber Joe's Barber Shop:


Welcome to Barber Joe's Barber Shop..."Let him cut your mop...Let him shave your crop...Or even pull that bad tooth if need be..."


A side view showing the weathering and the standard flat roof...

Once again another bit of modification as I added "glass" to the windows and my own customized signage.

THINGLUM'S GENERAL STORE...

Perhaps my most challenging kit yet.
I decided to add a front porch awning. This was a bit of a headache as the vertical support posts needed to be drilled and pinned from the bottom underside of the base in order to provide more strength and support. Plus I had to add an addition bracing beam for the cover.
I went with the simple "Amish Style" black and white paint job that many of the buildings in Berne, Indiana have. It is simple but effective and pleasant looking.
This store also had a counter and a large wall shelving unit.
I think my first issue came when the instructions had me assemble the counter completely backward, (180 degrees) from what the complete picture shows. But it is still a nice setup.
On the inside I have also added a couple of period product posters, (One for "Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup for Children's Teething" and the other for "Hall's Hair Renewer"), to give it a little more flavor. I am thinking of adding more. 
Finally I placed a figure in there for size/scale comparison.
The sign was actually part of the set, (carved wood with upraised lettering. A simple white base color with black trim and black lettering and then touching up the areas that needed touching up and it was done.
And I named the store after my good friend, and gaming icon, and former publisher of MWAN (which I still find myself reading 20 year old copies of), Mr. Hal Thinglum.
For those of you that do know him, you'll know what I mean when I say this.
For those of you that don't know him, if you ever get a chance to meet him, you will be glad you did. He is truly a gentleman in all words and deeds. He's someone that this world could use a few dozen million of him and his acts of kindness, though, and consideration.
I am honored to know him and be his friend. 

Thinglum's General Store carries a wide selection of goods and items. He sells everything from dry good to canned goods, and even has imported chocolate from Switzerland, (that's in France). He keeps a jar of peppermint sticks handy and ready for the customers children, and always sells Barber Joe a stick of horehound candy every day.


A side view of the store showing some of the weathering.

Then I went ahead and got a few inside shots.

In these pics you can see the back door, (customized to make it solid), as well as the counter area, and the long shelves. You can also see the two product advertisements I put up and a Foundry figure to see the scale. All in all it does look very nice.







Overall I am pretty happy with these and am now in the process of working on The Saloon, The Bank, and The Sheriff's Office/Jail.

More to come as my Western town comes to life!



4 comments:

Phil said...

Superb looking buildings, inside and outside!

ColCampbell50 said...

Murph, well done!

Jim

Hal Thinglum said...

Thank you for the kind remarks, Young Murph. I have never had a store named in my honor. I shall have figure out a way to put this on my life's resume. Kindest regards, per usual, to my old friend. Hal

Yang Kuo said...

Superb looking buildings, inside and outside!

thanks for sharing...

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