Did I mention that some of the colors that I pulled out of my high school and college era paint box had names like Raw Siena (a/k/a "Dirt") and Burnt Siena (a/k/a "Burnt Dirt"). Seriously, you can't make this stuff up! So the next time you weather your model with dirt from your front or back yard, know that you are working with the best possible ingredients. You are a Master Modeler. Just make sure that the tube says "Golden Artist"! :-)
A while back I scanned the door that came with the kit. It has a louvered section at the bottom for ventilation. I wanted to scan the door so that I could print it out and then cut out the louvered section. Once shaped, I intended to glue it above the door to model the classic ventilation found on the ends of barrel roof diners. (See prior photos -- especially some of the interior shots.) Unfortunately, like the "tile", the scans ended up "super-sized". Here's the color one; I also did one in black and white:
Fortunately, recently I located some foil that had stamped edges in a miniature grille-shape that would be just perfect for this application. The Whistlestop diner model side walls are unfortunately a bit too narrow, possibly to accommodate the shallow curved roof. So, in measuring and placing my ventilation grilles, I decided to use the inside width of the door's window as the length for a grille. (There are two of them above the door and they appear as mirror images. Sometimes an air conditioning unit is in between them. Their shape follows the curve of the roof. Here are my test measurements (yes, I know 5/10ths is 1/5th!):
I cut out some examples free-hand and just positioned them as a test. The curve can hopefully be improved, then I'll paint the foil with an India ink or similar wash and then glue the "vents" in place. Unfortunately, Mr. Heatlamp and my flash turned the silver to red in the following photo, but you get the general idea:
Tomlinson Run Railroad
