4Ground Samuel's Garage

A year is an incredibly long time, and that was the last time I actually posted an update to the blog. So first and foremost, I hope that you and your families are all safe and well in these absolutely crazy times - what a year.

 

To say it has been difficult to actually turn the computer on and update the blog (I've actually had several posts in draft mode, and even one since back in January) would be an understatement, so thank you all for sticking with me during that long down time. I'm not sure if I want to go into any real detail on the goings on of the past year as we've all had our own struggles to work through, but the most important thing for me right now is I'm hobbying again - and actually quite a lot! If I can stay motivated to keep the blog updated a couple of times a month, I easily have plenty to post about for months and months ahead from the work I've been doing (I've been hitting Star Wars and Lord of the Rings pretty hard, as well as quite a lot of terrain) since August. Now if only I can get a better camera - apologies for all the awful phone photos.

So we'll start with a kit I went back and revisited a few months ago, Samuel's Garage from 4Ground.

This is one of my favorites from the guys at 4Ground and I'm really glad that I decided to go back and do a bunch of improvements on my initial build.

Just from a quick look you can see I completely re-worked the entire kit. From layout, to details, and most importantly weathering.

One of the first things I decided to do was to weather the entire building, inside and out. As the signs are a real focal point of the model I really made it a point to weather them in a realistic way with a heavy rusted look.

It was actually a lot of fun and makes the model really have a lived in feel to it now.

I also painted the wood along the bottom of the building in a green to match the Sinclair signs to give it a little more of a uniform look. A simple addition that really improves the overall look of the model I think.

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I added a lot of new details around the front garage doors. The doors are probably my favorite feature on the entire building and one of the main reasons for reconfiguring the aluminum overhang over to the left side was so that the doors could now be seen. With the overhang positioned where it originally is supposed to be you'd never see the doors unless you were at eye level with them, which honestly probably would never happen on the tabletop.

By moving the overhang I've opened up the entire front of the building and also created a really neat covered feature on the left side of the building.

It's funny how such a simple change improves the entire model - along with all the weathering and additional signs around the building.

All of the little detail pieces are both O scale train accessories as well as some 28mm boxes, fences and crates from 4Ground.

I decided to go all out and really put a ton of detail pieces into the inside of the garage, for no other reason but "why not?".  And truth be told, I went overboard lol!

All the work benches, shelves and stacks of tires are all O scale resin model railroad accessories from Rusty Rails

There were a ton of details to paint on these but it was fun and adds so much to the overall chaotic feel of the garage.

I threw the Mantic truck from TWD game with a ton of 4Ground cardboard boxes (with little custom made shipping labels on them) into the bed in the garage. One thing I completely forgot to do, and was a total head slap moment when I was editing this post was to dirty up that floor - how the heck did I miss that?!

I also weathered the inside walls as well as added some studs to give the walls a little more detail.

A giant Coca-Cola sign on both the front and back walls completed the interior.

If you're still here, again much thanks! And also a big thanks to all of you whose blogs I follow for giving me something to read and look forward to during my absence. It helped in ways that can't be measured.

Finally, a quick shout out to new follower Planet Mut, really appreciate you hitting the 'follow' button - hopefully the next month or so will make that follow it worth it 😀

As always, thanks for looking!

Cheers,

Ivor

A New Undertaker

A good friend of mine (from the original Saturday mornings back in the day) and my son got a few games of Dead Man's Hand in a few weeks ago. A good time was had by all, and I only really messed up one rule - which for me is pretty amazing. I buy rules sets to play them wrong and make mistakes throughout an entire game! Anyway, after the last game it became quite clear that an undertaker was going to be needed in Ford's Canyon sooner than later (an older post tells how I changed the original C.F. Caldwells undertaker building into a saloon). The carnage that was left made the end of Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" look like a walk in the park!

This new undertaker business was again born first through the sign I found. The sign is very simple, but the way "Undertaker's Parlor" was written almost felt like a frown to me, and the name John Benson Gollon was pretty neat. Like C.F. Caldwells, most undertakers were doing some other type of carpentry/furniture making, so I knew I wanted to make this build something more than just a side street building. I needed to make it bigger somehow.

The main building is 4Grounds side street building #3. I grabbed a few of the exact same buildings because this allowed me not to have to make posts for the porches. Their posts have nice little details on them that my Balsa wood posts don't and the only real differences between the three side buildings is the roof sign and window placements. I painted the front wall with Plastic Soldier Army Sprays "British Armour".

I have a ton (and even more to build still!) of 4Grounds excellent 28mm Historical range of buildings. I had the Woodshed/Cart Shed from their Age of Black Powder range (pictured above) already built and I knew with the wood siding I could work this into the new undertakers, I just needed to decide if I wanted it vertical or horizontal to the main building. I found a really neat "Furniture & Undertaking" sign that fit perfectly onto the back of the shed, which made the decision of placement very easy.

The basic footprint of the building is bigger than any of my other builds because I knew I wanted to add the extra shed and I also knew I wanted to get the Yard Panel Fencing by 4Ground in there as well. I set the glued sub base and boardwalks down and weathered them with Age It Easy by Micro Mark.

I had already built the fences, so I had to pull the bases off and I drilled small holes into the footprint to secure the fence better. The fences were also weathered with Age It Easy and also a new product I found called Dark Mud by AK Interactive, was placed along the bottom of the fence. It's an enamel and you just paint it on - I used a Q-tip to soften the transition, and honestly I'm pretty happy with it, though my awful camera phone doesn't do it justice.

I added my customary lamp posts and horse hitches to the front as well.

I added a lot of posters to the side fences. They are all from old 4Ground kits.

One small tip I can give on signs and posters is before you place them, take a black Sharpie and go around the four edges with the marker. This simple addition will improve the look of your signs and posters on your buildings, I guarantee it!

The same styrene strips, Evergreen #142, from all my other builds were used here as well for the roof and porch overhang. The coffins are made of hydrocal - I got them a long time ago and can't remember from what company. I got a ton of them, and boxes as well, pretty cheap. Though they definitely need repainted.

There is one wooden barrel next to the building made by Hirst Arts. These are new to the table and these things are fantastic, and inexpensive! Took paint really well - I decided not to prime them in hopes to get a little more weathered look (they come white) by painting my initial coat of wood brown very thin. I couldn't be happier! I've got close to 40 on the table now. A silver Sharpie is all I used for the bands.

Army Painter tufts were placed randomly around the building and two yellow JTT flowers were place out front. The basic flock is Woodland Scenics Ballast Fine Brown, and dry brushed with a light gray to bring it out a little bit more.

                                     
That's pretty much it, as always thanks for looking!

Cheers!
Ivor                            

DMH Main Street Two Story Buildings & Another Saloon

This update shows a couple of two story buildings and a name change to C.F. Caldwells Undertaker and Furniture Maker. These three are pretty basic and simple upgrades, so there really isn't a whole lot to talk about.

First up is Rowdy Kate's Sweet Magnolia Dance Hall. I really struggle with finding the right "business" to fit into the two story buildings. Does this size of a building really hold a dance hall? Probably not. Am I thinking way too much into it. Absolutely. Anyway, here was another sign that when I saw it, I knew it had to get onto a building.

As with the other two story buildings, I wish I'd have painted a wall or two so the yellow wouldn't stand out so much. Another roof upgrade was done here as well. 4Ground Bleached Wood Axed Shingles did the job well - and I completed the peak shingles correctly as well! No wash or anything was applied to the shingles.

I bought one of 4Grounds piano kits and it fits perfectly with this particular establishment! Really neat little kit that went together easily and certainly looks the part. I added some bunting onto the second floor balcony to try to draw attention away from all the yellow. And another clock has made its way into Fords Canyon - that 3:10 to Yuma is almost here!

The Land Surveyor, with Victor Ario's Saddlery & Harness Trunks & Luggage occupying the second floor, is 4Grounds main street building #2 repainted with Army Painters Matt White. I did leave the window and door frames red. I can't tell you how well that the 4Ground woods take to spray paints. I'm here to tell you, don't be afraid to change up some colors on your buildings.

It's super easy and more importantly your buildings won't look exactly like everyone else's. The key is you have to do your painting before you actually start the build! Paint everything right on the sprues.  



 

If I could go back, I would definitely change the colors of a few of the first buildings I purchased - though I dare not try to change the color of a building already completed, too much taping off of the window frames and door frames would make it too difficult.

More Balsa wood posts were added to the front porch. This building has 4Ground's New Wood Shingles with a real light wash applied.  

                         

The Red Dog Saloon replaced C.F. Caldwells Undertaker and Furniture business. When the Undertakers was first announced I was pretty excited because it was a corner building. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is just something about the corner buildings I really love the look of.

I always thought that this building was way too big and way too nice for an Undertaker - I have some ideas for a new Undertaker business so he'll definitely be represented in Ford's Canyon, but a big building like that, it has to be a saloon. So was established The Red Dog Saloon. I found some really neat signs that I sized to fit into the Undertakers frames. Again, I added bunting all the way around the front porch.

More Balsa wood posts were added around the porch. I had started to paint the window and door frames red on the back wall of the building, and the plan was to continue all the way around the entire building in an attempt to change the original colors of the building. I quickly found that that was going to be an incredibly time consuming task. Time I felt could be better spent on a hundred other "to do's" I have waiting! Maybe someday I'll come back to that. Styrene was added and painted to both the porch overhang and the roof to improve the look. Lamp posts and horse hitches are placed around the front. I have since made "Rooms For Rent" sign on the back of the building much bigger.



The two figures out front are from Blue Moon. Part of their 28mm Tombstone Civilians set. They've got some really neat figures in there - lots more I need to still paint - but I definitely recommend them. The same with the rest of their 28mm Wild West line. I have them all, as I grabbed them at Historicon a few years ago when I had the Old Glory Army card, and couldn't be happier with them - those I actually have all painted and based anyway. I'm sure I'll do a future post focusing on all my figures.

As Always, thanks for looking!

Ivor

Ford's Canyon Sheriff's Office

Well, after about a week of playing around with different ideas for the name of my town, I finally decided on Ford's Canyon. It's a small homage to John Ford and all the great westerns he made over the years. So, now that I'd completed that small task, it was on to upgrade 4Ground's Sheriff's Office!

This is a really neat model - lots of interior details around the jail area are definite highlights! The first thing you'll notice right away is the roof upgrade. I used Plastruct O scale Spanish tiles. I found them on clearance at a hobby store, so I figured why not give them a try? A total of 3 coats of wash was applied to dull down the tiles, as they were pretty bright in my opinion. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the results, but if I had one thing I wish I could have improved (and I honestly don't know how to) is the edges and the peak of the roof. Maybe I could have had an extra row of tiles hang over the sides, but I had to be conscious of where the cuts were - I couldn't cut a row of tiles right down the middle! Something to play around with in the future I guess.

I had mentioned in a previous post about wanting to upgrade the stairways. The Sheriff's Office stairway became my guinea pig, and I couldn't be happier with the results! I will definitely be doing this with all my other stairways in the near future! The railing at the top is a cut to size ladder, left over from any number of 4Ground kits. I also used left over pieces from old kits to make the stair railings. All cut to size, and painted with 4Ground base paint #8, Burned Wood, to match.
I pulled off both original signs and added two new ones. The "Jail & Office" I'm pleased with, but I may end up changing out the "Sheriff" sign on the roof, there is just something about that one that I'm not too keen on. The "Jail & Office" sign I glued on to some extra wood cut to size, painted with base paint #19, Limber Blue, to match the window and door frames.  The roof sign was a left over from the Undertakers, again the frame painted with Limber Blue. I am going to switch out or change, I haven't decided which quite yet, the small roof "County Sheriff's Office" and the small "Office is Found to This Side". With the upgrades to the two main signs, these two really look out of place now. Add that to the list too!

Another balsa wood post was added to the porch. A lot of little details finish off the building. I filled up the "Wanted" board under the porch with quite a few posters. A "Notice Board" sits in front of the porch, again, filled with quite a few posters. My favorite detail though is the checker board on the barrel and the two chairs next to it. One being a rocking chair. 4Ground make these little accessories, and most of them (tables, cabinets, counters, fireplaces, beds, stoves, etc.) are pretty easy and quick to assemble, EXCEPT for the chairs! Those little buggers are the hardest thing I tried to put together yet! I've already ruined two. But when they are built correctly, they definitely add a lot of narrative to your building. I also placed one of the Rix telephone poles in the corner of the building base - I originally thought of either making it a flag pole or a telegraph pole. Until I make a decision, I left it as is. Army Painter tufts and some JTT Scenery flowers were placed around all four sides of the building.

That's it, just a one building post. More two story building to come soon!