I just completed a new structure for my In-ko-pah Railroad. It's a replica of an old miner's cabin in the little town of Ione, NV. Here's a photo of the prototype:
As you can see, there are some unique features that really give this cabin a lot of character, particularly the homemade metal awnings over the windows, the stovepipe with its fancy clay cap, and the window cut into the original door. One of the awnings appears to be made from part of the roof of an early automobile.
I only had a couple of photos, taken from a distance, and the the cabin is surround by tall weeds and junk. So I had to "fill in the blanks" using my knowledge of other cabins similar to this one. I also added a window to the blank wall on the opposite side.
The model is made of styrene, textured and painted to look like old, weathered wood. The awnings and corrugated roofing are made of brass. The door and door frame are modified Grandt Line castings.
Here are some photos of the model:
I replaced the saw mounted on the front of the cabin, with a bighorn sheep skull. The skull was sculpted from polyclay...
The rear of the prototype cabin was not visible. On my model, I opted to give it a different style of siding -- a common practice on many of these old buildings. I also painted it with grayer, more muted colors, to represent the shaded side of the cabin...
Here are some close up detail photos. The window shades were made from Tyvek, cut from an envelope and painted a yellowish tan. The curtains were made from lace, saturated with acrylic matte medium and then painted grungy off-white::
Here's the cabin temporarily in place on the layout. I still need to do more work on the site, to bring the concrete "soil" up around the cabin. I also need to add plants, an outhouse, and other details:
The cabin is located in an area without wiring, so I installed an LED powered by two D cell batteries. Here's a test shot of the cabin at night:
As I complete the cabin's site on the layout, I'll post new pics:
http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Miners_Cabin.html
Enjoy!
Ray, Once again you have really nailed it. Great looking cabin! Jack
Ray,
Great detail and a lot of work for this building. From its size I assume it's meant to be for a single miner. How many miners work at the site and where to they hang out?
Rex
jhsimpson62 Ray, Once again you have really nailed it. Great looking cabin! Jack
Me Too, Dave
The head is gray, hands don't work , back is weak, legs give out, eyes are gone, money go's and my wife still love's Me.
Wow!
Anothe rmastrpiece. You are one of the few that would think about "rotting out" the bottom of the siding boards while weather the project. Nice!
Tom Trigg
I just finished making an outhouse to go with the miner's cabin. Like the cabin, this outhouse is made of styrene which has been textured and painted to resemble aged wood. The "tin can" shingles and the metal patches are made from brass.
I still haven't placed it on the layout yet, but here's how it looks by itself:
The interior includes an old toilet seat, some toilet paper, and a strip of flypaper.
You can see more photos starting here:
http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/IRR_Miners_Cabin.html#14
Apparently there's a server problem that's preventing my cabin page from updating. So if you went there and couldn't see the rest of the outhouse photos, please try again later.
I see only one problem with your outhouse. As I remember them there were at least 2 mail order catalogs on the shelf. Grand-dad never beleived in toilet paper. "Why buy paper when the mailman drops of so much."
Execelent!!!!!!!!
Hey Ray, heres a "suggestion" as to how to place the loo on the layout
LOVE the flypaper BTW
Have fun with your trains
Wow, those are some pretty wild outhouses! Do you know where they are?
I've seen some old outhouses at mining camps, where the outhouse is perched over a small gully somewhat like your model in the last photo. Not nearly as high or precarious, though. The "deposits" are piled in the gully in plain view!
Ray, You really got the texture and colors exact, I visited Silverton Colorado a month ago and I saw buildings very similar. GOOD JOB.
I read someplace once a man placed his outhouse over an abandoned mine shaft so his kids wouldn't have to dig a pit.
Ray the top pic is in the Himalayas and the second is in the Colorado Rockies somewhere.
Been a long time since I last updated this, but I finally have something new to show...
First off, I built a small water tank to provide water for the cabin. It's supported by a "wooden" platform made of styrene. The rear of the platform will rest on a stone ledge:
The pipe is made of brass rod with slices of 1/16" styrene tube added to it. The faucet handle is a snap fitting from the fabric store. The hose is a length of solder attached to a short piece of brass rod, which fits into the styrene faucet. A slice of heat shrink tubing forms the "brass" connector on the hose:
I now have the cabin, outhouse and tank permanently installed on the layout. I still have to add plants and some clutter:
As always Ray, absolutely great! Jack
Very nice, I like it!
The sun is finally starting to reach the area where I placed the cabin, so here are a few pics with most of the plants and junk installed. Still have a few little things I want to add later:
As always, anothr materpiece. Just wish I had half the skill in both my hands as you have in only one finger on one hand. However, I've been using your "BOOK" and am close to having people worthy of posting.
Thanks Tom! Looking forward to seeing your "little people".
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