The Wainwright's, a fairly simple scratchbuild

[Mik]

Now, for your amusement, we present a build log on how to make a bunch of scraps and junk into a different looking pile of junk....

For my sister's layout we went 'house hunting' around the area. We almost passed this building by when something made me stop and turn around.

It's location in the middle of town made it unlikely to be a simple hay barn, but I needed a commercial building or two, anyway. So I thought it looked perfect for a wainwright's (a person who builds horse drawn vehicles)....

Basic construction is from Coroplast (corrugated plastic) signs they threw out at work, and wood.

I sided this building with birch dollhouse siding because I had it here, The windows and doors are painted on, then the windows will be 'glazed' with aluminum furnace tape... fast, simple and cheap. This much was accomplished in just one evening

I didn't get anywhere near as much done the second day because I had to work. Mostly just more of the same. The birch siding goes on pretty quick, and it cuts with kitchen scissors. The battens are coffee stirrers from the local convenience store.

The third side is where I got bogged down. A nice big covered area paved with Lemax brick... It was just missing something.....

I was trolling the internet looking for ideas, when I found this picture of the smaller blacksmith forges at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.

I redesigned it a bit to fit the space, and came up with this....

A wooden anvil? Well, why not? It's a couple bits of 3/8" square basswood and a bit of lathe that I shaped using a milling cutter in a Dremel

Here's where we are so far. It still needs a toolbench, vice, bellows, and a blacksmith. I'm thinking of a half wall on this section rather than just the railing...

Unfortunately, that's all for a day or so, as I've run out of contact adhesive.

"May your anvil never rust from lack of use." (Old blacksmith's blessing)

 

[Miamigo259]

Just goes to prove what you can do with a load of "scraps and junk"!!

Very inspiring - thanks for posting it!

 

[Mik]

The reason I said scraps and junk, is that most of this project has cost me nothing. The sign came from the rubbish at work. The plywood a neighbor threw out. The birch siding my girlfriend ordered for her dollhouse, then found it wasn't the same as what she had. The coffee stirrers were liberated from the convenience store a few at a time every time we bought coffee. The roof will be some 1/8" plywood that we found along the curb. The furnace tape was left over from another project.....

I've spent $3 (US) on the wood corner pieces, $2 on the 3/8"sq basswood, $1 on the 1/8" sq balsa for the roofs, $6 on figures (not yet installed) The Lemax brick and stone stuff was about $15 on clearance (with plenty left over) and $4 on glue ($31 total on a 12" x 24" building) so far. And maybe 4 evenings spread out over 2 weeks. My kind of project!

 

[mike]

and priceless imagination... like it

 

[simon@mgr]

Very impressive build, it's amazing what you can see in your travels, some buildings just cry out to be modelled.
Well done.

 

[trammayo]

Well, it may be made from junk but it certainly isn't junk! Very impressive chunk of building there. Looking forward to the completed scene.

 

[Mik]

"The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands." (Longfellow)

Um, well, this guy must be just an 'prentice, because he sure doesn't have the shoulders of a master hammerman. But he was here. An LGB mogul engineer, plus Fujimi arms and he's OK from 5 feet away.

A Bachmann bench vice got reworked into a rather nice looking leg vice, and it only took 5 minutes!

Finished toolbench

 

[Mik]

The installed siding got a wash of watered down black acrylic paint, and Wimpy the smith got put to work tonight. It still needs a bunch more tongs, files and other tools, and the bellows made yet, but I think it has promise.

Tomorrow I'll put siding on the last wall, do a black wash on that, then a brown wash all around, and start on the roof. I'm considering hinging it and putting dividers inside to store diecast vehicles between runs.

 

[trammayo]

Yes - thumbs up there Mik - very good indeed. Like the leg vice (and your blacksmith) looks the part. The brick and stone effects get my vote too - pity I've never seen anything like that over here (or in the UK). Keep up the good work and the pictures.
Mick