Large Scale Central

Another house to build--or not

Modeling
#1

This little historic beauty in Radder Country has been calling to me, so I scaled it to size, printed it, and pasted it onto cardboard so I could see how she’d look. Not bad. In fact, I got to thinking that maybe making photo cutouts of background buildings isn’t a bad idea. You can pimp 'em up somewhat, buy cutting out various parts and pasting them in place behind spacers so the flat looks more three dimensional. For outdoor use, you could print it on weather-resistant material and mount the photo on Gatorfoam or something. The use of flats would be great for a switching layout where ya want some warehouses and stuff in the background–maybe to cover up an ugly fence. Anyway, start your imaginations. I’m prolly going to built it, but are there ever some architectural challenges–like the arched windows and the copper (and curvilinear) porch overhang. Plus the house is brick and ya know what that involves. Meanwhile, enjoy.

#2

Build it if you can, great looker!

#3

That could be impressive!

#4

Hey, that don’t look like no east side Polonia house to me… it needs a wood shed!

-Kevin.

#5

Wood shed? As in “take him out to the…”?

#6

Yer right, Kevin. Not an East Side Polonia house. More like a Clarence Center Germanic house (that’s where all them Teutons settled). Cute. I wanted to see what the floor plan looks like so I went on Google Maps to get an overhead view.

David, yes, just like “take him out to the…” My cousin lived in a so-called “cold-water flat” that had one. They kept lumber scraps, which were cheaper than coal, stored there. In the winter, which lasts from October to April in Bflo, his folks would burn the wood in one of those combination kitchen stoves, to heat the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen. The living room and a second bedroom were heated by one of those oil-burning stoves with a glass porthole where you could see the flames. Freaked me out. Early on, they had no hot water, so bathing and stuff meant heating the water on the stove for bath night, prolly once a week. My cousin didn’t have the proverbial pot back then, in contrast to now when he has a dandy portfolio including Berkshire Hathaway. Is this a great country or what?

#7

Looks very familiar. I’ve probably driven past it hundreds of times! Good choice Joe.

#8

Well, "The artist formerly known as ‘Prince,’ " what’s interesting and/or curious is that if you go to Goggle Street Views, the image of that particular house has been deliberately blurred so that you can’t see it. I even tried going next door and across the street with the same results. And to think, my cousin almost made me call the owners to ask them some detailed questions about the home’s architecture–like how can there be a window right in the middle of where a chimney stands? Me thinks these folks told Google to stop invading their privacy by allowing the public to see their beloved house. Or maybe they’re in witness protection. :slight_smile: