# FIrehall and home made shakes



## tccarson (Mar 3, 2011)

I had a couple of challenges in doing our latest Garden Scale Plan package, a one engine firehouse. I used Coroplast for the walls, and Krylon "Make-it-Stone" finish. I was planning on using my old stand-by of sill-plate sealer as a tar-paper roof, but I'm getting tired of that, so I decided to try Steve Maxwell's band-sawn cedar shakes technique, as found on YouTube. It seemed like it might be a lot of work, but it only took about a half hour to cut enough shingles/shakes to do the firehall and possibly one other building. I cut them a bit on the large side, but next time I'll try to cut them a bit smaller. Other than that, it's a cheap way of creating a very realistic garden scale roof.

My next challenge was to find a fire-related vehicle to use as a prop for the catalog photo shoot without spending a ton of money. I could have ordered something online, but time was pressing on and I had quite a few people waiting for the plans. I ended up buying a Revell "Three Stooge's" '40 Ford Sedan Delivery and customizing it. After a Testor's bright red I printed out some Fire Marshall decals and finished with a Testor's clear coat. The "bubble gum machine" red light is a re-painted push-pin from a cork board. The car ended up costing me four times that of the structure, but I think it will look good in my display case. I'm afraid to leave it outside now!

http://scalemodelbuildings.com/garden.html#1023 We will have the N, HO, OO and O scale version out in September.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Wonderful! The bright red ought to stand out nicely amid the greenery. Good eye catcher.


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## tccarson (Mar 3, 2011)

*Firehouse*

The more I think about it the more convinced I am that I need to find a vintage fire truck to complete the picture. If anyone comes across one that would suit, please let me know. (1:24 or 1 :25)
TC


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## Model Train Structures (Oct 10, 2013)

For another nickel, I bet you could have found some red paint! LOL I really like the bright red against the textured gray; great looking building!

D.A.


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## tccarson (Mar 3, 2011)

Thanks! I rummaged through my collection of paint cans and bottles looking for just the right color, and found one that said "Fire Red". Well... I didn't think I could go too far wrong with that one.

I'm anxious to make another batch of cedar shakes. I think I bought enough cedar to do a whole subdivision.

www.ScaleModelPlans.com


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## Model Train Structures (Oct 10, 2013)

How thick are those cedar shakes?

D.A.


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## tccarson (Mar 3, 2011)

They are about 1/8" thick at the thick end. I'm going to practice a few techniques with my next batch. Have you checked out Steve Maxwell's YouTube video?

www.ScaleModelPlans.com


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