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!  

A Saloon, a Doctor, and a Hotel

Today's update is on three more buildings. The first is 4Ground's two story under construction building. I'll be completely honest, when I first saw this kit, I wasn't too impressed and only purchased it because I got a really good deal on it. It's pretty funny looking back on that now, because this may actually be my favorite building on the whole board!

The first thing I wanted to do was to actually make the building look like it was under construction, instead of just the frame work. I went back and forth whether or not to use strips of balsa wood, plastic card, or foam board. As I was looking around the room for more ideas, I noticed the extra pieces of the Livery Stable front that I cut off sitting in box ( I'll show that build in a future post, as that was really the first kit that I really changed the original build around ). It couldn't have worked out any better. It was 4Ground material so it matched perfectly to everything else on the board.

I just took the miscellaneous pieces and placed them around the frame. It couldn't have been any easier with absolutely brilliant results! I also had some extra black pieces of wood that I placed on the roof to give that a little more life. At first, I wasn't sure what type of business I wanted to be "coming soon". My original thought was a Barber Shop and I'd actually made the sign for it and had it sitting on the front boardwalk.

But then the narrative part of the board starts raising its objections. Why in the world would you have this size of a building be a Barber Shop? Being a larger building I decided I could easily make it another saloon, and besides, you can never have enough saloons and shady owners vying for patronage. So was born The Black Cat Saloon. It was another sign I found, that immediately when I saw it, I knew it was going to get on the board somehow, but until now was still sitting off to the side.

I placed the sign on an extra wooden Litko base to pull it off the building and used an extra sign from the Undertakers to make the side sign. I added the small "Open Soon" sign on the front which, again incredibly simple, but really improves the sign. I have since also added a small "Open Soon" sign on the side sign as well. The clock with no hands finishes the look. The lamp posts are already in, and miscellaneous piles of wood, doors, windows, and ladders all add to the under construction feel. I couldn't be any more pleased with how this building turned out, and as I said this probably my favorite, and it was upgraded in no time and with no effort!

The Santa Fe Hotel is a kit bash of Rogan's Bar and the Undertakers. The first floor and the second is from the Undertakers and the front door (again, if I could change it I absolutely would, I don't like this type of door for a hotel) and roof are from Rogan's.

I painted this one with Army Painter Skeleton Bone, like the Wells Fargo Office, but went with a much lighter wash this time, so they look like completely different colors. The window frames and door frames were painted with Army Painter Matte White.

I added styrene strips to the porch overhang and added balsa wood posts as well. More lamp posts were added out front. I used some of the Woodland Scenic dry transfers to create a "painted on" sign directly on the back of the building. Again, absolutely horrific to work with, but the lettering not lining up perfectly lends to the Old West feel I think.

I found these really neat blue "Hotel" signs that work perfectly for my side signs. I glued them onto plastic card and cut them to size. There was just something about the "Santa Fe" sign I placed above the front door that really bothered me. I have since given the frame a sepia wash and it helped the look immensely, but I think what really bothers me is that I cut the "S" way too close to the frame. Something I will probably address in the future.

The last building is Dr. O.A. Kinsel's Apothecary. 4Ground's main street building #2. I think if I had it do over again, I would probably paint at least one side (if not both) and the back a wood color. Anyway, a town has to have a doctor and being a two story building it also allowed me to put a dentist office upstairs.

I used 4Ground's New Wood Shingles for the roof and the overhangs. This one I got the peak shingles installed correctly. A light Vallejo wash was applied to dull it down a bit.

A small stove chimney (an old model train part) was added to the roof. I found this really neat "tooth" sign that I placed on the side of the building, as well as the side sign (which if you are able to zoom in, has a picture of a saw under the doctor's name. Makes me want to run away, not want to come in!).

One thing I'm struggling with on all my two story buildings is the stairways. I feel they need some sort of railing.

I know for game play, it may hinder movement a bit, but I think I can come up with something in the future that could work. Another thing added to the ever growing "to do" list! All boardwalks were dulled down with Age It Easy.

Another three buildings on their way soon! Thanks for taking a look, much appreciated!
Ivor

DMH - Changes to Rogan's Bar and the Undertakers

This next set of builds I moved onto were some of the feature buildings. These buildings are some of my favorites. They are much bigger than the first run of buildings, but more importantly, they are corner buildings! There is just something I have always loved about those types of structures.

This first building is the Wells Fargo & Co's Overland Mail & Express Office. It is actually the first floor of Rogan's Bar and the Undertakers front door and roof. The second floor of the Undertakers I used in another building as you'll see in a future post. I repainted the outer walls with Army Painter Skeleton Bone and the window and door frames with Army Painter Goblin Green.

As with the other builds, styrene strips were added to the roof and porch overhang to give it a little more variety - and a stove chimney as well! Please excuse the five windows that don't have glass - those are in the process of being replaced.

Again, since this was originally Rogan's Bar, I really couldn't use those glass signs in the windows and I was having a time and a half trying to clean off the printing on the acetate. I have since used old figure blister packs to use for glass on all builds after this. These have worked out brilliantly as they are much more rigid than the acetate and way easier to work with in my opinion.

Being a stagecoach office I felt it appropriate to put a clock above the main sign, plus I promised myself I'd throw a few clocks on some buildings if I ever got the chance. And I love how this one is almost at 3:10!

Next up is Buckeye Mercantile - "A Place Of Supply". I had bounced back and forth about having a General Store, Dry Goods Store, or something similar for a while. Mostly because I couldn't find a sign that I liked. Then I found the Buckeye Mercantile sign and I knew I'd found my next business!

I added a cigar sign above the front door, which if I could change I absolutely would. A normal door would have been much better for this type of business - perhaps a future 4Ground add-on pack could provide different options for front doors.

I added "grocery, feed, and dry goods" signs to both sides of the front of the building, though I now feel I should have put them on a backing to make them stand out a bit more than just gluing them directly on the wall like I did.

This was also the first building I did where I used the old figure blisters plastic for the windows.

In what will become pretty standard for me, I placed another business on the second floor. This one is J.M. Dunsmore Tailor & Dressmaker. I like to place another business in all my two story buildings because it gives me more opportunity to create that narrative I talked about in my first post. Plus it usually allows me to create a cool side sign!

The last building is Rogan's Bar, renamed The Silver Saddle Saloon and Dance Hall. I was going to leave Rogan's as it was, but the more I thought about it, and the more I was coming across really cool saloon signs during my research, I felt I wanted to have something different.

I added some generic "saloon" signs for the roof (since the photo was taken a darker wash was applied as I felt they were a bit too bright) and placed a couple of smaller Silver Saddle signs on the back of the building.

Two "whiskey" signs draw attention to the front. The connection points on the front of the building were painted over with matching 4Ground base paints. Another one of the more "classy" establishments, the Silver Saddle has some lamp posts outside its boardwalks.

They are HO scale model train lamps I got on Ebay through an overseas seller. I think I got like 50 for around 10 dollars. I cut the wires off and sprayed them with Testors Dull Coat and they were ready to go.

Again, something small and simple like that adds a lot to the narrative. A couple of small "gambling" signs on both ends of the buildings add to that as well.

That's pretty much it. As always, thanks for having a look and more feature buildings to come!
Ivor

Three more 4Ground Side Buildings

Here is the last of my 4Ground side buildings. I decided to put all three together because they are all completed in the same way honestly, except for Crockett Bit and Spur Company which I made my first attempt at a shingled roof.

The Zin's Hardware and Tinware sign caught my eye right when I saw it and I new I'd found my first tradesman for my town. This building was actually the first one I completed when I started this project. There isn't a lot I did differently here from the Western Union Office except for the side sign. That was an absolute afterthought! I set the building on the table, and honestly was pretty happy with it. As I went back to my desk I saw a pack of Woodland Scenics dry transfers (#506) in a box.

 I had tried to use these as a kid when I was attempting to build a model railroad. The results were disastrous, but that was 30 years ago, so hopefully my skills will have improved. I cut a small piece of wood for the side sign, painted it gray and attempted to put the letters on.

Did my skills improve? Well, they did a little, but honestly those things are absolutely horrific to work with. The only thing that saves face is that being the old west, the mistakes like the letters not lining up perfectly, actually give the sign a little more character. That little side sign is actually my favorite part of this building.                   

The Billiards Hall was another business on my must have list, I just needed to find the right sign.

I'd seen this particular sign on some other old west buildings on TMP and Lead Adventure Forum and thought it was really neat. I really like the font. I added some billiard balls above the sign to try to make my sign different from everyone else's.

Again, had to have a side sign! The roof details are done the exact same way as the Western Union building from the first post.

That little chair is from 4Ground as well. And if you've never attempted to build one, be sure no one with sensitive ears is anywhere close by, because you will curse like never before. And probably even be making up curse words because you're so frustrated! They do add a nice bit of atmosphere though.

Crockett Bit and Spur was my first attempt with a 4Ground shingle set. This one was the Bleached Wood Axed Shingles. I'd actually been sitting on these for well over a year. Never attempting something like this before I definitely made some mistakes looking back. The biggest one was that there is a run of shingles (right in the middle of the sheet the shingles come on) that were supposed to go along the peak of the roof.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out where they were supposed to go when I first saw them. All my shingled buildings since have that run on them, and it makes a big difference in the finished look in my opinion. Because I didn't know how those peak shingles worked, this building has six rows of shingles on each side. All my shingled buildings since have five rows. The shingles that come on the sheets have three different height sizes, so make sure to match the height going across before trimming.

It will take about one and half of each shingle, front to back, to cover the main roof. The overhang uses three rows, cut to size. I used a Vallejo Sepia Wash on the shingles and looking back, I think I went way too dark. But again, being the first one, I definitely learned a lot for all my future buildings. Balsa wood was added to make posts for the porch again.

The cactus are from Pegasus Hobbies Cactus #1 and #2. The flowers and dry grass are from JTT Scenery. All tufts are from Army Painter. The other thing that I think is important to mention is that all my boardwalks and stairways are dulled with a product called Age It Easy by Micro Mark. It takes about two or three coats to get the desired effect (I think because it's really supposed to be used on wood that is not treated, and the boardwalks are definitely treated). That extra effort gives the overall building more of a weathered look.

Thanks for looking! Next up is some of my corner feature buildings.

Cheers!
Ivor

4Ground's Dead Man's Hand Building - Western Union Telegraph and Cable

Here is the first of many of my 4Ground building upgrades and conversions for Great Escape Games brilliant Dead Man's Hand game. Hope you like them!

The one thing that I absolutely wanted when I started to think about this project was to be able to have the town be modular. I wanted to be able to both change things around often and also make it easy to transport if I ever got the opportunity to take Dead Man's Hand out to a convention, game store, or friends house. So every one of my buildings is on 1/8 MDF board cut to either a rectangle or square depending on the sub-base size. The side buildings are size A, so it's a rectangle, roughly 7 1/2" x 11". Easy enough.

For way too long a lot of my buildings sat with either no signs or the signs that were available for download on the Great Escape Games website - I think it's great that GEG have these available (and especially for free!) but I always felt that they could be improved on. The sign itself was nothing more than a generic Google search (which you'll learn if you decide to come back is where I've found every single sign I've used in my town) that I did one day. I spent several hours scrolling through page after page of images of signs! This one caught my eye immediately, I think because of the simplicity of it. I really like the side sign too, the way "telegraph" is written like a little wave is neat!

The telegraph poles are from Rix products HO scale train telephone poles. They have two sizes - you can kind of see the larger pole in the back left of the building - of poles you can build. They have a nice wood grain on them and a simple wash really improved the look. I thought about possibly running some lines from the poles to the building, but when I was testing that idea out, it quickly became apparent that it would hinder gameplay so I chucked that idea. I did some simple touch up painting on the building with 4grounds base paints to cover up the places where connections were made. This extremely easy task will guarantee an improved look to your buildings and I highly recommend taking the extra time to do it.

I added some balsa wood to make posts for the porch - which I ended up doing on every building of mine that had an overhang. A lot of my research and trying to come up with ideas is just watching old westerns, and every porch has posts! The roof was improved by simply using Evergreen strip styrene, 0.40x0.40. Cut to size and then again, paint with black 4Ground paint so I got an exact color match.

The clutter is sacks from Old Glory I grabbed at Historicon several years ago - I had no idea I bought so many until I opened a box a few months ago, I don't know why I feel I need multiples of EVERYTHING I buy!? (but I know I'm not alone in that thought process, I've seen that same guy a lot in the vendor halls!). The barrels I got at a train show years and years ago. They are actual wood and once a stain went on them and a fine point Sharpie to bring out the rings was completed, they really popped. The hitches for the horses are also from 4Ground. I used some old balsa wood to make extra telegraph poles to place next to the building.

One thing that I'm all about is the narrative. Trying to create a story behind everything - which honestly ends up being a huge hurdle for me sometimes because I think about stuff WAY too much! I find myself just staring at the board for what seems like hours! The extra poles tell me that the town is expanding, and pretty quickly by the number of poles there.

That's really it, thanks for taking a look, much appreciated! I do want to give a big shout out to 4Ground. Their buildings and accessories are "puredeadbrilliant"! They look great without any upgrades and I can't wait to see what they have waiting in the queue. 

Well, I guess one more thing - Saturday Mornings. As a kid growing up there was nothing more that I looked forward to than Saturday mornings! Cartoons, cereal, games, friends... Saturday mornings had it all!

Thanks for looking!
Ivor