1/87 scale....

Decals for the Phillips 66 gas station sign arrived today, so I cut a plastic signboard to attach them to. The gas station kit was rather generic, I wanted the steeply angled canopy that was so commonly used on Phillips 66 gas stations in the late 50's through the 60's, so I cut a piece of plastic to create the signature pump canopy. The sign at the top was the last detail needed for the gas station.

 

Looks fantastic!

 

Just went through all the pics you posted on the Book of Face. This diorama is AMAZING!. You even have Joe's Buick Estate going down the street.....

Just one question, Jim - How did you simulate the water in the motel pool?

 

A couple of European model railroad manufacturers, Faller and Noch, make thin flexible rippled clear sheets of plastic that are slightly tinted blue (I think I used the Faller product which I had left over from a couple swiming pools on my HO scale model railroad). I cut a hole in the wood base for the pool, lined it with thin plastic from a "For Sale" sign obtained from a hardware store, which I had painted turquoise (same material used for the motel parking lot and also about the same thickness as the plastic "water" sheet). Laid the clear rippled sheet over it and added concrete sidewalks around it. The effect is very convincing, especially since there is depth to the pool, and shadows on the pool bottom and sides are slightly distorted due to the rippled surface. It may sound a bit morbid, but I can easily saw a plastic swimmer in half and glue the two halves above and below the surface as well to add to the effect of depth.

 

The German companies certainly have a great deal of authentic materials to simulate a wide range of items, from that swimming pool water surface, to the Faller 'Car System' of motorized 1/87th scale vehicles. Nowadays, the control electronics, drive motors and batteries allow a computer to control the vehicles individually. Just check YouTube for some of the most awesome German layout videos.

 

Got some more(Samoa?)HO scale vehicles a couple weeks ago.Went shopping at one of my favorite antique shops and found these. The vendor had packaged a bunch of Hot Wheels and other small vehicles in plastic bags and was selling them for $4 a bag.
The first bag was the Revell HO scale Chrysler vehicles.A couple of them were missing parts(the Valiant wagon a rear bumper which I made out of a piece of wire and the Chrysler convertible which I am still making a grill,headlights and front & rear bumpers). The second two bags were (I believe) Bachmann HO scale vehicles that may have come with a railroad car.One bag was wagons and the other was sedans.
Found an Alloy Forms 55 Chevy but it is in pretty sad shape so I might use it as a junkyard piece. The Dodge stake truvk I bought years ago and don't remember the manufacturer. The Harley Davidson thing is illuminated from within and rotates. The two car carriers are items I made from strip balsa. The Ford woodie I don't recall the maker of either but I have several of them in different colors and the have a rollback motor in them. The last group are some N scale vehicles.

 

The Dodge with the stake trailer was Tyco. I've been on an active search for a few. The Bachmann vehicles did come with the tri-level autorack car; the sedan resembles the Cadillac Eldorado, and the wagon resembles the early '60s Mercury wagon. I have an unassembled Alloy Forms '55 Nomad (least I think I still have it, but if so, it's missing wheels); I haven't built or painted it yet. And the Revell Dodges--could you 'kitbash' two to make one that the set didn't include?

 

Here is my favorite:Bought it at the local hobby shop several years ago. Don't remember who made it but it is cool.It was a kit.

 

Shoot, I think I saw those for only a short time, so I don't remember who made them, either.

 

Man, what a great score! Thanks for sharing them with us

 

Nice! I don't even have room now for a model car!

 

Not even in HO scale?

 

I think the clear plastic kit of the 1/87 scale Nomad was Williams Bros. Don't think they exist any more.

 

Yeah, they've been gone for a while.

 

It's been 2 1/2 years since I found anything useful. But on Saturday, I scored a baggy of six older vehicles, of which two are these:



The woodside is missing a wheel, and I want it to not be wood-sided. So both will become ambulances; I have the emergency light kit from Roco, so both will get correct-era gumball machines.

The other four, L to R, are a '59(?) Eldorado, two '57 Chevies and a '29-'31 Ford Model AA delivery truck. I may change it to a single cab flatbed.