You’re working your way up to THIS, aren’t you?
Cheers,
M
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Well . . . . maybe
It is just what the customer, in this case the shop owner, has asked for.
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Super cool! That would look great along the Brandywine and Mordor RR.
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That would look great along the Brandywine and Mordor RR.
They’re actually just a couple of photos I rounded up from the net of a porcelain collectible from a now-defunct manufacturer called Lilliput Lane; this is “The Secret Garden” which was in production from 1987 to 1994.
In addition to the finished collectibles Lilliput Lane also had a club whose members were supplied with small ready-primed cottages with all necessary to complete it oneself, my late uncle did several. Now the Lilliput Lane production facility changed location on several occasions and around 1990 it wasn’t too far from a wargame club I used to travel too; one of the members found employment there as a painter. Lilliput Lane had a strict policy that any castings which didn’t come up to standard had to be pulverised before going into the waste, but this chap kept turning up with broken bits to incorporate into table top scenery. After a quiet conversation a week or so later I was in possession of a Secret Garden lacking only the top of the turret which I was able to approximate with Milliput Extra-Fine White; my Uncle was very pleased with this. While he had no references back in those days he was fortunate a local jeweler’s shop had the model in the window; after memorising one side he persuaded them they needed to turn it round and display the other side… Regrettably he died before he was able to complete it, but before he passed I managed to get him a tour of the company HQ which by then was located some hours away.
While Lilliput Lane products were “Box Scale” I understand there is, or has been, a cottage industry manufacturer in the UK producing similar items in resin to N scale, presumably 1:148th.
Lilliput Lane was initially successful and spawned several imitators and also overseas resin items which were not simple rip-offs but often rather fantastical structures which, while of inferior workmanship, certainly could be incorporated into a B&MRR layout. At the time I was painting some 28mm scale scenery for the club and used a common range of colours to give a uniform appearance. I similarly white-primed a batch of the funny resin stuff over the original paint for use with 15mm Fantasy battles, but neither they nor some 1:300th scale stuff have gone any further in the last three decades.
Cheers,
M
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That brings back memories Tom, my wife used to collect David Winter Cottages, they were a similar product, 
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G, 
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Well after a bit of a break I am back at it again. Here is another in a long line of R & R Structures (Refurb & Rejuvenate) done just for fun for the local hobbyshop:
Starting life as a discarded TYCO “Ma’s Place” it is now transformed into “The Ketch,” a local seafood restaurant here in Lexington.
The local shop owner is simply trying to illustrate what is possible with today’s “off the shelf” plastic structure kits and in the process sell these built up kits, as well as the detail parts, ground cover, trees/bushes and paints required to build and weather their similar models.
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That’s a great little build Michael, you’re really producing some little gems my friend, 
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G,
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Thank you!
Wait till you see my “Chapman’s Garage” coming up next.
Well…I don’t like that at all; I LOVE it! But one minor detail…as I remember, billboards like this had a narrow walk-way along the lower edge, with a ladder, so that workmen could change the poster for the next movie.
That is intended to represent a small temporary billboard used for the introduction of the film. The legs would be sandbagged and not intended as permanent, Sadly the person that bought the movie theater failed to take the billboard. Don’t know whatever happened to it.
However even large billboards (if ground mounted) did not have the catwalks installed.
p.s. I will admit that if I had thought of it I probably would have added some sort of maintenance catwalk to that one.
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Just a quickie I put together last night. For this small Plasticville Covered BridgeI I used Tamiya Red Oxide Prime (rattle can) for the wood. Then went over everything with Citadel brown and black Shaders with some green added to the roof and then everything given a final light misting on Tamiya Matte Clear (TS-80) rattle can.
Just trying to illustrate how with some Contrast Shaders, Paint Overspray and some Weathering can really make the most simple of plastic structure kits really “POP” on your layout,
p.s. Black Shader only for the gray stone work and brown sgader over a buff coat ffor the roadway.
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As opposed to Tamiya Anti-Matter Clear, which gives a nice ruined effect…
Cheers,
M
Well of course if I had chosen to use anti-matter clear the entire model would have exploded on contact with the normal matter.
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Very nice work on that covered bridge. Reminds me of the scene in the movie, Lawless
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That bridge is a great bit of eye-candy Michael, really nice paint job on the timber, .
G,
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Timber is one of those elements I really struggle with Michael. On my timber camouflaged British Type 26 pillbox it took me an age to get something that I was vaguely okay with, timber painting is an artform in itself, 
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G,
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Well G, I see you are on the same track as me, in that I start out with a base coat of tan/yellow and then build up stains over the top of that.
If you have not seen it already you might want to check out a thread I started sometime ago on using plastic to simulate wood decking. I show distressing, painting, staining and highlighting (modulating) using oil pastel pigments.
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Thanks for the link Michael, some excellent images to go with a great tutorial, .
G,
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