[JeffHurl]

Have a look at these churches. They are larger than a village country church, but not the size of a Parish Cathedral.
These are not links as I didn't think you would want to purchase from Germany. Amazon may have some of these and it's possible better on-line shops in the States might carry a few of them.

Faller 130680
Faller 130239
Faller 130490
Faller 130599
Kibri 39760
Kibri 39772
Vollmer 49210
Vollmer 43768
Vollmer 43739 This one is a larger Cathedral in Stuttgart.
Vollmer 43769

Thank you for your efforts! Those are exactly like what I'm looking for, but they are all about twice the size I need. I'm N gauge, and all those are HO.

One of the things that keeps HO at the top of the heap is the depth of variety for structures and accessories, let alone locos and rolling stock. There just isn't much in N scale when it comes to county seat churches. Gold Rush Bay makes a nice one, but it's hinged with a removable interior, and is out of my price range, and a little over the top to fit into my scheme.

I'm starting to lean toward a custom 3D print, but not really sure about finding a trustworthy source.

The only N scale church I have found that fits the scheme is by Tomix/TommyTech. It's affordable but shipping is from Japan and almost doubles the cost. I usually search about once a month, hoping to find one already in the continental US, but so far I have not been successful.

This one is $40, but shipping is $18, which puts it above my $50 limit.

 

[MichaelE]

Oh man, I'm sorry I didn't notice the scale.

 

[TommyB]

Thanks! About a year ago, I bought a Walthers kit that had 13 "down town" buildings in it. I bought it from someone who had assembled 6 of the buildings already. So a few of them were already painted when I bought them. I re-painted one, and may end up re-painting a couple more. Over the past year, I have slowly acquired more kits to build. I really enjoy building structures, but I think I'm pretty close to having just about everything I need. Of course, I'll always want more. I like building them more than I like to paint them. There are a couple of house kits I put together that look fine without a drop of paint.

There are also a few brick buildings that I still need to get some mortar applied to.

And I've been looking for another statement piece for the village. I'd love to have a bigger church I can find many small rural style churches, but I'd really like to have a larger church, almost like a cathedral. Gold Rush Bay sells one, but it's one of those that hinge open and has a removable interior... Makes it out of my price range. Plus, it's a little over the top for a small "county seat" type of town I'm modeling.

Assembling building structures are a favorite part of the hobby for me, too. I have a tendency to use too much of the same colors, so I end up doing a lot of re-work. So, those photos of yours provide a bit of inspiration for me with the assortment of color that you have used. Most of my buildings are not set down permanently yet either. Weathering and detailing is something I need to get more involved with as well, but until I decide where a piece is going to eventually sit, permanently, there seems to be no urgency to do so. All in good time, I suppose.

 

[TommyB]

Here is a photo of a factory I am working on in my industrial district. I spend a lot of time and effort on that compared to my city buildings, in the other attached photo. I have included a photo of a crane I am seeking, or anything close to it. N scale. So far I can find nothing, so if any of you forum members have any ideas please let me know.

 

[JeffHurl]

Try this link

or maybe this one?

 

[TommyB]

Try this link

or maybe this one?

Thanks for those links. The second one is more like what I want. I'm surprised that I haven't come across that kit. It looks like something that I can alter and adapt to my purpose. The crane operator's cab is perfect. On another note, those tanks sitting on the rooftop of that one building must have photobombed my picture. They don't belong there. I had just recently put them together and just set them down....LOL

 

[TommyB]

I just ordered that Vollmer kit. Everywhere I looked, the item is on backorder, and presumably it comes from Europe. But I found a Canadian outlet that lists this crane, so I went ahead and ordered it. One day there will be a "surprise" email telling me my order has shipped. Meantime, I can forget about it for now, knowing that I have the solution to my needs, and I can stop looking.

 

[JeffHurl]

Not much progress on my layout, other than having fun running the trains. I did finally get to finish up mounting the control switch panel so it can hinge down and out of the way so I can get closer to that part of the table (in case I need to reach).

I still need to run some more power feeders to the spurs on the upper level, and get those turnout motors wired into the switch board. Then I'll put away the trains for a couple of weeks while I plaster the other side.

 

[JeffHurl]

I spent a couple hours painting the mansion I got from from Gold Rush Bay. It came out better than I thought it would. I still have to paint the floors and stairs. I'm thinking light wood color... Something to help balance out the copper spire.

It looks great from a foot away, but as Mark Knopfler says, " closeups can get rough.". I'll need to touch up a lot of white when I'm done.

All in all, I think this is a fantastic deal at $30.

 

[JeffHurl]

 

[JeffHurl]

Laying more plaster cloth while I isolate at home with COVID. Really mild symptoms. I've had colds worse than this. But Im doing my part and keeping these germs to myself.

Reminds me of missing a week of school when I had the Mumps... Never felt too bad and got to stay home from school. Except this time I'm home from work.

I feel guilty, but I'm not upset about it, lol

 

[Raege]

Glad it's a mild case. Look forward to some eye candy pics of your layout progress.

 

[JeffHurl]

I had picked up a few Woodland Scenic rock molds a while ago and finally made several batches of rocks yesterday evening. It takes about an hour for these to cure enough to remove from the molds without breaking them.

Using DAP Plaster of Paris from Lowes. I made up a spray bottle of a couple of cups of water and a few drops of dish soap, and wet down the molds before filling with a fresh batch of plaster.

I make a few batches, then mix up a little plaster to use as cement to hold the rocks to the ledge.

 

[JeffHurl]

 

[JeffHurl]

The committee inside my head is undecided about where to stop, LOL! Making rocks is strangely satisfying. I used all the plaseter my wife had on hand from back when we were making plaster molds of baby hand prints and such. Then went to Lowes and bought some more Plaster of Paris. I have enough left to make one more batch... But I think I need more. So I'll be stopping at Lowes on the way home this evening so I can make more.

 

[JeffHurl]

Also forgot to mention that I picked up a "mistint" gallon of house paint at Lowes for $9. Flat Exterior Latex paint tinted a dark tan/light brown color... should be great for a base color for the plaster hills and plains... I'm probably going to get and use Woodland Scenics Earth Colors Liquid Pigments to color the rock outcroppings. They have very nice videos on how to use them.

 

[JeffHurl]

Is it bad that I'm actually hoping for snowpocalypse tonight/tomorrow... I would hate to have to work from home and have all this temptation to work on my layout rather than do work, lol.

I bought more plaster of Paris yesterday just so I'd have something to do if I'm stuck at home for a day or 2.

 

[pmcgurin]

Very impressive.

 

[JeffHurl]

Thanks! It's an addictive hobby for sure.

 

[JeffHurl]

Tried dyeing the rocks with diluted liquid pigment.

I think I used too much yellow ocher..

Next step is to seal with watered down Elmer's Glue All, then a black wash.

But I might hit it with raw umber one more time first.