1930's Gas Station scene

WoundedBear · February 10, 2015, 10:25:12 AM

Hi guys.

Up for your perusal this time is a quickee little three week project that used up 3 kits from the stash. We have a Banta Gas Station, a set of Tichy visible gas pumps and an outdoor inspection pit from Guts, Glory and Gravel. The Banta kit itself is a small kit, and I felt the scene needed more than just the one building. Also, Banta does not include any castings or detail parts, so it's up to the builder to supply appropriate era pumps and details. The Tichy ones suit my era. The GGG inspection pit is a plaster casting.

Painting was fairly simple and straight forward. White primer for the walls, Tamiya dull red lacquer sprayed on the windows/doors/trim pieces.

The inspection pit was also a simple paint job. I started with a base coat of acrylic raw umber craft paint from Michaels, I then dry brushed Model Master colors onto the floor and walls to represent aged concrete and stone. I can't recall exact color names, and don't care to. I use earth tones and grays and when it all looks right, I stop. A touch of red made the barrel stand out. Some greige color for the steps and voila. I think my method of painting castings is very similar to how Dave Frary does his rock castings.

Assembly was quick and easy. These kits line up so well that I didn't even use a gluing jig. Did I mention how much I love rafter tails?

Sid

WoundedBear · February 10, 2015, 10:26:26 AM

The gas pumps showed what happens when you don't measure and check on every damn little detail. The pumps build up beautifully and even have provisions in them to be able to light the globes. Unfortunately, as assembled, the pumps were too tall to go under the canopy and still sit on the island. Scratched my head, had a puff and found my box of watch parts stuff :-bd . I ended up using a gold and silver winding stem for pump toppers. Now they fit snugly under the canopy.

I found two sections of a plastic fence in the scrap bin, and GGG included the channel iron to make the ramps over the pit. The pit fit into a hole 11/16" deep. A piece of 1/2" foam and a piece of 3/16" foamboard came up to the top edge with a bit of space left for ground cover. I added a slightly weathered Model A from Athearn, and painted up some Model Power figures. The other assorted details in the scene are from Woodland Scenics. Topped off with Northeastern wood shakes.