Missions of California Educational Projects.

[ttrigg]

To the rest of the world, I start by saying: This is the time of the year when every Fourth Grade Student in California builds a Spanish Mission. Why do I bring it up?  Michael's has tons of supplies for the kids to build their missions.  For us, there are some rather interesting and some hard to get items.

Does Farmer Jones need a plow for the vegetable garden? Need a fountain for your town square? How about a few bowls for your restaurant?  Bales of cotton, sacks of flour and salt?

Unfortunately they have not developed the concept of scale in supplying the parts the kids use. Their people would stand over seven foot tall on an HO layout, while the hand plow is just right for the Garden Railroad. The clay pots would be about right for a 7/8^th inch empire.

http://www.missionsofca.com/

[Anonymous]

Sweet find!

Make one into the AT&SF building

And they give you plans to put it together....man that is bad for me, photocopyer man!!!

Thanks Toad

[Southwest Chief]

Best time of year for great "G" scale finds.  Most of the little details in these scenes are from the Mission stuff:

 

For my 4th grade Mission project we took the train to Capistrano, so I never got to build one for myself.  But my younger sisters (with my help) had to build missions.  They did Mission Santa Barbara, and Misson San Antonio de Padua.  I don't think the pre-cut kits were made back then, but I wouldn't have used them anyway.  Styrofoam boards covered in Durham's Water Putty make for some impressive missions.  I'll have to take a photo of them.

[vsmith]

Thanks for the heads up, I need some hanging chili peppers.

[Southwest Chief]

Thanks for the heads up, I need some hanging chili peppers.

I found the peppers closer to the doll house section, but I found them when the mission stuff was out.  Can't remember the manufacturer, but they are 1:24 scale.  I'm thinking I found them at a craft store called Tall Mouse.  Not sure if these are all over the country or not.  Might be a local (California) thing.

[Great Western]

Hi Tom,

  Thanks for the interesting side track about California, the youngsters and The Missions.  It made very interesting reading.  Being a European I knew of 20 of the people whom the Missions were named after; the last Santa Francisco Solano was the one I didn't know.

It is always a pleasure in reading about the places and people that our trains either serve, or once served and the history that goes with it.