Modeling the Southwest

[Alaska Railroader]

A Railwire friend mentioned the lack of southwestern style structures available in N scale. I absolutely loved making them in Z but would enjoy doing them in N scale even more. Larger means more details like exposed brick in adobe, more realistic cracks, chips and such. In Z I needed to laser the clay roofing, in N scale its already available. Even then not all are tiled. Getting the look of texture is not hard at all. With the cans of textured paint you can have a Southwest building with little effort.

Let me know what you think, its not like I have free time on my hands but this is a direction I really want to go. Here is a picasa album of some Z structures I had done custom way back when I first learned the drawing program and first learned how to turn the laser on. They are a little rough around the edges but that is why I want to revisit the style now.

https://picasaweb.google.com/114371775303381702075/SouthwesternInZScale?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Karin

Sample: (remember, its Z)

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Craig over at BLMA would love that.

[peteski]

I don't model that area but I can still say that this is a great little structure!  I suspect that since SantaFe is one of the most modeled railroads in N scale, it would be a good seller in N.

[Hyperion]

You could always make a modern Taco Bell.  Then you could both make a Southwest-themed structure and one that isn't locale-specific.  Though the more accurately southwestern-themed versions of their architecture do tend to be newer ones, so you would be limiting your audience in era a bit I suppose.

[Alaska Railroader]

Well, I wasn't talking about just this structure so I don't want you to limit the possibilities I can offer to this little guy. There are several in the Picasa link I provided. But, I will add more for those who don't want to go see the whole album. I don't want to get into trouble for posting too many pics but if you are interested in the subject please peruse the picasa album. What I do next will be better than the photos merely because i have 4 years of learning and training since these were made.







Karin

[jnevis]

I'm IN!!!
The WP had a lot of great looking stations that were that style.  Stephen Hayes has a great book and accompaning DVD of the plans and pictures.  He also has an SP Depot book, I don't have it yet but I'm sure it is just as good.
http://www.westernpacificdepotsandstations.com/wpdepots.htm

I'd like to get one of the WP depots that are still in use for somewhere on mine and my scratchbuilding skills aren't quite up to it yet.

[Philip H]

That Saloon is the spitting image of one sitting next to the KCS track in Baton Rouge, right under the Old Perkins Road overpass.  So it meets all my prototytpe criteria.

I say fire away - but not until you get your Shell station tooled in N!

[John]

these are awesome ....

[mcjaco]

There is a adobe styled depot in resin, I don't recall who it's by.  I started a kit bash of it years ago to make a facsimile of this:



Then decided probably just doing it in styrene would be easier, after checking out Bill Denton's New Lisbon depot.

[pnolan48]

Karin,

You've got the look, especially with the finer textured buildings. The coarser textures might be too coarse, but that an easy adjustment. Very good eye for the buildings of the southwest!

[TiVoPrince]

Instantly 
starts me thinking of only one thing...

[NYNE]

Those are great models and great scenes.

[GimpLizard]

Karin, you are way too modest. You say "a little rough"... I say WOW. While personally I'm into the upper midwest, and thus have no need for that style structure, those structures are some of the finest I've seen anywhere.

Those are Z scale, huh? Did I mention... WOW?

[wazzou]

Taco Bell...all food items are only 19 cents.  Man, those were the days. 

[PacRail]

Wow!  Those all looked great.  If you ever decide to offer them in N, I am in!