Little House on the In-ko-pah Railroad

[Ray Dunakin]

Although there are still a few small things left to do, my 1/24th scale two-story cottage is basically finished. In these photos I've temporarily placed it in position on the layout. I still have some work to do on the foundation and sidewalk before it can be permanently installed. Eventually there will be an entire row of buildings to the right of this structure:






All of the "wood" is simulated, mostly using styrene:


The porch post was constructed of brass:



The stone portion of the structure is all real stone and mortar:


You can't really tell by the exterior photos, but each level of the building contains basic interior details. These will be much more visible through the windows when the interior lighting is operational:

The kitchen area is very compressed but looks good from outside:


I still have to wire the lights and add a few minor details, but I didn't want to wait any longer to share this.   

Enjoy!

[finescalerr]

I can't believe you would leave a model of that quality outdoors. -- Russ

[TRAINS1941]

That is a really great job on that building.  But I'm with Russ on this one I can't believe you leave it outside either.

Jerry

[Ray Dunakin]

Well, it's like this... I have no room at all indoors for even a small model, much less an entire layout. So my only options are to do it outdoors and make it as durable as possible, or not do any modeling at all.

And if I'm going to build something, it doesn't take much more effort to build something that looks good, than it would to build the typical "garden railroad" junk. It is sometimes a challenge to find materials and methods that will hold up well while achieving the desired effect, but that just makes it a little more interesting.

Fortunately we have a dry, mild climate and minimal problems with wildlife. This would be much more difficult if I had to deal with damp conditions, heavy snows, and constant intrusions by large animals.

[danpickard]

Hi Ray,
Thats a great build, and especially for an outdoor application as commented by the other fellows before me.  Have you got any other shots of your outdoor area?  Not sure if you have posted them here before, or got any links?  I think there was also a bit of a tease of your backyard with the large scale figure thread you had.  I really appreciate the "garden layouts" that actually go to considereable effort to scenic them more appropriately, as opposed to a railway running through a 1:1 flower bed.  When you get the sunlight bouncing shadows across large rockfaces like in your first shot, its hard to find better lighting than that!!!

Cheers,
Dan

[danpickard]

Hi again Ray,
Sorry, just found the link to your site on the figures thread.  Certainly an impressive undertaking, especially in the relatively short time span.  One of my favourite views is actually one that shows the whole setting, taken from way back at the house, which gives a superb impression of what you've achieved.  Now if I can only convince the wife to browse your site a few times and start painting a vision in her mind.......

Dan