Sanford and Son. An HO scale scratchbuild

[Saltwater Cowboy]

Well Fred finally got back to me after picking out a lot to have his junkyard occupy. Now he needs some fencing to contain all his collections.

1st one will be 13" long. Decided upon stripwood as the material of choice to construct a board fence. Board by board by umpteen zillion more boards! Some will be cracked, some will have knot holes and other forms of disrepair. Some may be missing altogether and patched with...hmmm. Maybe a boxcar door! So precicion in measurements isn't top priority and this should go somewhat quickly. The fence will be roughly 8 scale feet high.



These next 2 pics are of a smaller fence I made with this method for a previous layout. Maybe Fred will salvage some of this for his!





Matt

[nachoman]

VERY nice work on that fence!

[Ralph]

Lots of character!

[doctorwayne]

Yeah, with both Kevin and Ralph. As for the structure - what a dump! I love it!! Can't wait to see the new neighbourhood go downhill.

Wayne

[Saltwater Cowboy]

Thanks again guys!

Here's this morning's efforts. 2 of the 4 constructed. These show both sides of the fencing. Do I win the prize for the most disgusting looking self healing mat on anyone's workbench?!





Matt

[Sumpter250]

Yeah, Can't wait to see the new neighbourhood go downhill.
Wayne

Wayne, That only happens in Southern California........after the rain !!

That is, an excellent looking fence !

[Russ Bellinis]

Yeah, Can't wait to see the new neighbourhood go downhill.
Wayne

Wayne, That only happens in Southern California........after the rain !!

That is, an excellent looking fence !

Sometimes it also happens during the earthquake!

[Saltwater Cowboy]

Thank you Sir Pete!

So today I stained the fence with the same wood treatment stain I used on the building and after that dried I painted one side of the fence with the drybrush technique purposely leaving bare wood showing and different "heaviness" of paint to simulate the age. I used a barn red for that purpose as if originally the whole thing would have been painted that color. I think a 2nd coat of white would have been in order and then a third different color on top of that to show the newest paint job. What do you think? Also, do you think Mr. Sanford would have painted the inside of the fence or just left it bare wood?

I won't be able to do much more until Monday so I'll leave it at that. We in the restaurant industry are gearing up for the busiest weekend of the year and I'll be a babbling idiot by the end of Mother's Day!






Matt

[jim currie]

great work the signs add a nice touch.
jim

[Saltwater Cowboy]

Thanks Jim....

Survived feeding 2150 mothers and their families (barely) and got back to the fence a bit. I dry brushed a charcoal gray on top of the barn red, then dry brushed yellow on top of that. Yellow being the top coat as Fred wanted the fence to be esthetically appealing to the color of his building. Followed that all up with an AI wash.



Lots of folks pay Fred a pretty penny to hang their advertising on his property. Another AI wash was then in order!



More to come later!

Matt

[Saltwater Cowboy]

Almost forgot to introduce the real star of this show........The one and only true "BIG DUMMY!" (and his best friend 'Lizbeth)

Just to eliminate any possible confusion, this "Big Dummy" is the four legged East Coast variety. The other one has two legs and is in L.A.!



Matt

[Saltwater Cowboy]

Now to wait for the glue to dry before adding the base and ground....







Matt

[ocalicreek]

Nice doghouse! A neat little detail touch.

Galen

[Saltwater Cowboy]

Thanks Galen!

I originally planned to build the scene on the layout itself, but I decided to build it as a mini diorama first. Easier to work on all sides of it at the workbench and blend it in to the surrounding terrain on the layout later. I took a scrap of hardboard and cut it to match the dimensions of the property's foot print on the edge of town.

I then cut squares of plaster cloth, dipped them in water and covered the hardboard.





Matt

[Saltwater Cowboy]

At other's suggestions I discarded the hardboard base I started with and cut a new piece. This one I covered both sides with primer to seal it from any warping before adding the plaster cloth over the top. Once the plaster hardened I gave it a coat of earth colored paint. After the paint dried I glued the fence in place. Then I carried to it's spot on the layout and drilled a hole through it and the benchwork for the building's interior light wires. I then fed the wires through the hole and secured the building with just a few drops of WS Scenic Accent glue to hold it in place. The entire ground was then "painted" with full strength white glue and finely sifted real dirt was sprinkled over the whole area. Fine and coarse blends of ground foam sprinkled around the outside perimeter of the fence complete the "basic" start of ground cover. A wet water spray and then soaked with a mix of water and white glue secures it. I also placed the truck that will be the temporary stand in. This is a lower quality model that I won't mind turning into battered, run down, barely driveable vehicle.
Now this whole thing must dry at least until tomorrow. Then the real fun begins...bringing the scene to life!









Matt