Penn Central Stockton Branch Micro-Layout

[DKS]

That's wild.  On its own, it looks a bit like a caricature, but when you compare it to the reference photos, it's spot on.  Looking forward to seeing this in context, on the layout.

Actually, I get what you're saying about looking like a caricature, and I think part of that was the execution: cutting and bending plastic doesn't look the same as broken wood, so I made new doors from stripwood, then distressed the finished doors. I've always felt that broken things look better when you start with something finished and proper, and then break it, as opposed to trying to model something broken from the get-go.



The finished effect of the broken doors is much more satisfying. I tried some alcohol to see if it would improve the weathering on the building. It was tasty, but when I used it on the building, it worked even better.

[davefoxx]

Outstanding, sir!

DFF

[DKS]

[cgw]

The garage is beautiful David but you have booboo.   Look at your roof...t looks too clean and maintained.      You need to add some plant growth to the roof.  Driving to work in some of the less than stellar neighborhoods in Detroit you see a lot of abandon burned out structures. A large percentage of the collapsed roofs tend to be mottled greys with weeds growing on the roof structure.

[DKS]

The garage is beautiful David but you have booboo.   Look at your roof...t looks too clean and maintained.      You need to add some plant growth to the roof.  Driving to work in some of the less than stellar neighborhoods in Detroit you see a lot of abandon burned out structures. A large percentage of the collapsed roofs tend to be mottled greys with weeds growing on the roof structure.

Thanks for the tip--I do have some weeds growing out of the collapsed part (toward the top of the last image), but you're right, the other one is too clean.

[GaryHinshaw]

Wow - the new door treatment and graffiti really make it “shine.”  Excellent!

[chicken45]

How long did it take you to do that gas station and the tower?
You seemingly churn this stuff out so fast!

[DKS]

How long did it take you to do that gas station and the tower?
You seemingly churn this stuff out so fast!

I dunno. I started both of them over a year ago, so they were already half-built when I went to work on them this time around. If I were to guess, I'd say maybe a total of a day for each--they're small, simple kits. And I haven't really spent all that much time on finishing them, either--I've got loads of real-life crap that takes up most of my attention, plus I'm sick as a dog right now.

I will say, however, that modeling acute urban decay suits my reduced modeling skills. Heavy weathering, graf and decay can hide a multitude of sins.

[coosvalley]

I love the weathering on the tiles along the top edge, and the graf is a nice realistic touch too I especially like the wooden door.

 

[OldEastRR]

What's the plan for the car? Distressed? Partially stripped? Burned-out?  Also what's the plan for the big front window?

[DKS]

What's the plan for the car? Distressed? Partially stripped? Burned-out?  Also what's the plan for the big front window?

Car stays pretty much the way it is, per this:



Window is left open, per this:



More details here: http://davidksmith.com/modeling/pcsb-4-10.htm

[Chris333]

[mcjaco]

Had the same thoughts on the cleanliness of the roof.  And would a roof the size of the one over the work bays, collapse in one perfect piece?  I'm always amazed at how the roof of an abandoned up by us has seemingly stayed in place over one part, but the other half has fallen in part or collapsed in chunks. 

It's really an amazing structure (the barn and this model)!

[DKS]

Had the same thoughts on the cleanliness of the roof.  And would a roof the size of the one over the work bays, collapse in one perfect piece?  I'm always amazed at how the roof of an abandoned up by us has seemingly stayed in place over one part, but the other half has fallen in part or collapsed in chunks. 

It's really an amazing structure (the barn and this model)!

Some of them do collapse in one piece, especially relatively smaller ones that are basically a steel frame with steel panels welded onto it. As it is, the model roof isn't perfect--it's bent diagonally along the lower half, but it's hard to tell without looking at it from just the right angle.

[DKS]

With all of this talk about the gas station roof, I realized I had no reference images other than the collapsed one I copied--I was just winging it. So I fired up Bing Satellite, zoomed in on a nasty neighborhood (East Downtown Detroit), and went hunting for abandoned gas stations. I found the first one in about 30 seconds. I roamed around for a while and found two more--the roof on the second appeared to be at risk of collapse, and it has obvious tarpaper seams. The third might be an abandoned convenience store, but that's just as useful.







I know that three isn't much of a dataset, but since they were all random, I figured I got a half-decent sample. Perhaps another day I'll do a more in-depth search, but for the time being I'm not all that inclined to make any changes to my station's roof aside from maybe just scruffing it up a bit more.