My club layout has been developing a 1950’s city for the last couple years, and we could really use a diner. Nothing says 1950s kitsch quite like a diner with a giant coffee pot on the roof, and luckily a city near me had one of those. The building still stands (although the coffee pot is long gone) so I have a prototype to work from. Most needed materials are in my shop.
Here’s my napkin drawing, courtesy of Mrs. Neal (I hope it’s not cheating to enlist her help!)
Here are two more photos. One is how the original Coffee Pot diner looks today. Pretty blah - it would be better if they hadn't removed the rooftop coffee pot years ago. The other photo is the actual coffee [pot I will use for my model. I picked it up a while ago at a garage sale.
That is a seriously cool coffee pot
OK, so taking a closer look at the prototype, the front of the building is actually curved. The exterior walls are stone at the top and brick along the bottom. Also, the flat frponted extensions on both sides of the building appear to be additions, so we won’t be modeling those.So, I’m tearing up the napkin drawing. Here are more accurate plans fro the model.
Top view
Here is a front view:
First step is bending the plastic that I’ll be modeling with. Here’s one half of the stone front after heating and bending to a jig I made.
Already I’ve almost blown the bidget:
24 x 48 x 1/4 ABS sheet $20.00
large can ABS cement $5.99
total $25.99
Fortunately I think almost everything else can come from spare parts, partly full paint cans, etc.
Devon Sinsley said:
That is a seriously cool coffee pot
Thanks, Devon. I picked that up at a garage sale last summer with this project in mind.
Neal, I think the rules say you only have to claim as cost what you actually use. So if you only use half of that ABS sheet that is only 10 bucks
against your budget(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
Rick is right. Unless you dump that whole can of cement, I think you are fine.
It’s no problem if you go over budget, it is a fun build challenge after all. We only have the $30 limit so the build won’t bust any ones bank. If you have to go over to complete your build just say so. You won’t be disqualified.
That is neat that you are bending the plastic. Are you using a blow torch, bending and letting it cool over the form?
Todd Haskins said:
It’s no problem if you go over budget, it is a fun build challenge after all. We only have the $30 limit so the build won’t bust any ones bank. If you have to go over to complete your build just say so. You won’t be disqualified.
That is neat that you are bending the plastic. Are you using a blow torch, bending and letting it cool over the form?
Yes, torch the plastic until hot, place on the form and clamp. Blow compressor air until it cools. Remove from form, observe big dent where you put thump into soft plastic…discard and try again.
Thanks, guys, for the budget guidance! I do think everything else will come from the parts bin, so $30 guideline is not a problem anyway. After buying the ABS sheet, our club president showed me two partial sheets of ABS in the club “resource pile,” i.e. junkyard. Warped and dirty, but probably will be useful for the building base.
Finally located a photo of The Coffee Pot diner, This photo is from 1946, although our town is set n 1957. Not much resemblance to my rooftop coffee pot, but the photo will help with signage.
now if you could only model the florescent lights that outline it
Bill Barnwell said:
now if you could only model the florescent lights that outline it
There is a way to imitate neon and I suppose florescent lights using fiber optics. I dont remember exactly how it’s done though
Bill Barnwell said:
now if you could only model the florescent lights that outline it
Miller Engineering,
John,
I think that is exactly what I was thinking of when I was thinking fiber optics. Its not fiber optics from the looks of it but it is doing what I was thinking of.
that’s just too much over the top
Neal
Where is that Diner located, Medford?
Rick
I like your coffee pot better; it’ll look really cool.
