I'm gearing up to (finally) get these buildings wired-into the layout as I lock in the city design and build the street/sidewalks... but in the interim, I'm still working on tweaking the details and adding some more structures.
First, I thought this was cool. My daughter is making a "giant inflatable arm waving tube man" for the train table using a straw and a nut. She even used the bendy part of the straw at the base to make him pose-able.
Next, I'm working on super tall P-ville apartment building. So far I've glued the building together in two-floor segments, painted the building, and started detailing the roof. Next up is installing windows... then doing the lights & interior. I probably won't glue the six sections together until the building is almost all done given that it's so skinny.
Also under renovation is a Lional "Jim's 5 and 10" I got on ebay. Busy detailing it out, turning it into a pizza place, and adding new lighting. I replaced the first floor windows, and the visible windows on other floors, with transparent windows. The upper floors have window shades, thanks to some neat window inserts I found. Those first floor picture windows are a trick to replace given the (surprisingly) delicate construction of the front window area.
Also, a couple Yorks ago, I bought some random parts that included incomplete OGR water towers. I didn't have the main body of the tower tank, but did discover that the cardboard tube that comes with cinnamon roll dough (the part that holds the sugar glaze) is just the right size! Several weeks and 24 cinnamon rolls later, I now have 2 towers almost complete and one under construction...
Under construction:
"Rusted steel plate" version, pending some weathering:
...and "wood" version, also pending some light weathering:
These more "scale" rooftop towers enabled me to retire a couple larger ones that are just too big for the buildings downtown. The oversized ones now sit on the "shelf of shame", awaiting re-purposing or scrapping for parts. I'll probably reclaim the ladders, use these in the rail yard, and/or give those to the kids for their HO set-up - depending on where they fit best.
