Building the Fishing Shack at Cozy Cove ▪ Sam Swanson 

For the Windes Inlet HOn30 module I am building for the Great Lakes group, the Bar Mills fishing shack model (Kit #0662) fit well into its coastal topography.  This summary describes some of the changes and finishing techniques used to build the kit.  The main shingled structure and board-and-batten portion of the building were assembled according to the easy-to-follow instructions, with three primary changes:  square-cut shingles for the siding, low-profile pile foundation and back porch, and minimal roof overhang.    

I trimmed the roof cardboard pieces so the overhang was minimal (like so many of the coastal Maine buildings you see in photos and in person).  Paint the primed tarpaper with acrylic dark gray, and allow to dry overnight before peeling and applying to the roof.  After secured (by placing a piece of paper over the tarpaper and rubbing), I washed the roof with black acrylic and then drybrushed most of the panels with a medium tan acrylic.

The final step was to added a shallow foundation of scale 6x8s along the building periphery and a dozen or so scale 10” round piles.  The fishing shack was placed on a foam core board base, and then detailed with styrene and metal castings (except for the lobster buoys, which were made from rounded toothpick ends and brass wire).

With the generous amount of shingles in the kit and no mistakes this time (which is a rarity), I was able to shingle a small additional building as well (not pictured).

This prototype "S" scale version resides on our own
"Wharf Street" Sn2 layout.

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Building "Waterfront Willy's / Trackside Jack's" * Karl Scholz

The first thing any of us should do (but often don't) is to read the instructions and peruse the parts to familiarize
ouselves the kits. You never know when a component will be hard to find (or even missing in a kit !) so going through the manufacturers plans aren't an option.  Anyhow, some buildings (especially well engineered ones) can take a less than obvious approach as to their construction, so it pays to "look" before you "leap" !
    Then it's on to the color selection. I like to go back and forth between single color and multi
color buildings. This time I chose adepot olive & depot buff combination. The palstic windows in this newer version of "Willy's" were also painted in a two-tone scheme, these have a buff sash with green frames. Doors have buff panels and green frames as well. The two-tone scheme can be somewhat time consuming but
it makes a difference.  
All the walls were assembled completely flat on the bench, and as you might suspect interior bracing was added before painting commenced.  This includes painting,
weathering and any details such as signs, lamps and Etc. The sub-assemblies (walls in this case) were then assembled by gluing them into their respective slots on the base of this particular kit.  
The roof was assembled by positioning the roof into place, using tabs/slots when provided, & affixing the roof cards into position . Next it was shingled. The
shingles were painted earth folowed by  a wash of Alcohal & India ink and then left to dry.
After it was dry I dry-brushed the shingles (working from the bottom edge upwards) with antique white, rust & grimy black. The two dormers were assemble in a similar manner.
      Next the dock/platform was assembled.  All parts were stained with alcohol & India ink and left to dry.  The floor parts were assemble to the base around the structure as well as the pilings and cross bents. Then the whole dock/platform was dry-brushed with antique white, rust and grimy black to tone it down. Any other details such as castings, chimneys and etc were added.

       This completed the assembly of the updated version of Trackside Jack's / Waterfront Willie's.
(Kit #0922)