2 questions

[Lawton Maner]

     I have 2 questions to throw to the membership:

1) Now that the American mid-term elections are less then 2 months away on 7 November there will be millions of plastic yard signs with a cross section similar to corrugated cardboard headed to the trash.  Can anyone find a use for them as a modeling material?

2) Most model railroaders complain that Design Preservation Model buildings make all model railroad towns look alike.  Having traveled through hundreds of small towns across America over the last 45+ years I have observed that the general texture of towns which developed in the last 20 years of the 19th Century have a similar feel.  It is how one decorates the basic building which makes your town stand out.  Awnings, window air conditioners, signs of all descriptions, and modernization of storefronts to mention a few make your buildings stand out from the crowd.
     Now to the question:  Throughout the country I have seen buildings which were remodeled with wood shake awnings sometime before the early 1970's.  Does anyone have a good idea as to when that trend was popular?   

[NORCALLOGGER]

The campaign signs are used all the time by garden (outdoor) railroaders as the basic box for buildings.  Different materials, wood, styrene brick pattern sheets, etc, etc are then glued on as the finish.

Rick

[Ray Dunakin]

  2) Most model railroaders complain that Design Preservation Model buildings make all model railroad towns look alike.   

I haven't heard that complaint against a specific manufacturer, but it's rather idiotic to blame any kit or maker. The appearance of the layout, including towns, is entirely up to the modeler. Even if they choose to use only kits rather than do any scratchbuilding, they can still modify or kitbash as needed to get the look they want. And if a specific manufacturer's don't work for their layout, they can buy kits from someone else.

[finescalerr]

Ray, you are suggesting that people should take responsibility for their own actions. That is absolute blaspheme! If I weren't your friend I'd report you to the authorities. -- sSuR

[TRAINS1941]

Ray, you are suggesting that people should take responsibility for their own actions. That is absolute blaspheme! If I weren't your friend I'd report you to the authorities. -- sSuR

Your suggesting that people should take responsibility for their own actions.

You've got to be kidding me that has happened in eons!!!!

Jerry

[Lawton Maner]

All:
     My question is about when the wood shake awnings became popular. 
     If I have a complaint, it is against those who call themselves modelers and walk this earth wearing a blindfold and do not see the creative potential that the manufacturers provide.  The efforts of this forum offers hope that there still are small pockets of creativity left in the world.  If modelers would go out and really look at the world around them, they might see that the world is an interesting place.

[Greg Hile]

Still reeling from the whole personal responsibility thing, but let's see where this goes. Back in the day when I ran political campaigns in Southern California, many, if not most, campaign signs were handled by a company called Campaign Outdoor Graphic Service. They would work with the campaign on design, and then print, post the signs around the town or district, and then retrieve them after the election. The upshot is that there weren't a whole lot of signs left around. I haven't been involved with campaigns at that level since the early 1990s but I assume that's still the case today and getting in touch with COGS (they may still be around) or a similar outfit might provide one with all the old signs they can handle. I also seem to recall either an article or in one of Jack Verducci's books on using them for building structures.

As for wood shake awnings, I am modeling a water bottling plant that was built around 1903-04. I don't think the awning was built immediately but was added very shortly thereafter. The building burned down in either the 1940s or 50s. Hope this helps ...

[Bill Gill]

Lawton, I'm not sure I've ever seen a building with wood shake awnings. Can you post an example photo?

[Greg Hile]

This is the one I was talking about ...

[Lawton Maner]

Lawton, I'm not sure I've ever seen a building with wood shake awnings. Can you post an example photo?

None currently here in Williamsburg, Va that I am aware of.  But, I've seen numerous examples on my travels throughout Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.  I'll look in my photo collection and see if I can find one or more.

[finescalerr]

I don't have your answer but I'm a little confused. Your photo appears to be ca. 1900 (and the awning seems to have shingles, not shakes) but you are asking about newer remodeled buildings with shake roof awnings and I would guess that trend began in the late 1950s or a little later. Here in the Los Angeles area, a lot of new homes from the 1950s had shake roofs, such as the one I grew up in. Anyway, was the 1900 photo just to show an example of the kind of awning you're talking about? -- Russ

[Greg Hile]

Sorry to cause confusion. Yeah, it was just an example. I'll go stand in the corner ...