Tunnel/Tree-Stand Project

[healey36]

Okay, so the last thing I've managed to finish (well mostly finish) is pasting in some paper webbing to help support the paper mâché application. In its sopping wet form, paper mâché sags pretty bad, so you need something underneath to prop it up a bit. In the model train world, one would use Hydrocal or some sort of plaster with newspaper wadding underneath. You only need a few contours, the newspaper providing the underlying form. That stuff dries hard as a rock, so after it cures, you just pull the wadding out leaving the plaster shell. Here we're going old school, plus we want to keep the weight down, so it's paper mâché:



Lionel used glue-soaked felt for some of their big tunnels in the prewar era, and the postwar #920 Scenic Display Set came with a big piece of felt, two tunnel portals, powdered glue, a bunch of other scenic supplies, and detailed instructions on how to build a tunnel similar to those made two decades earlier. I think this set was sold for one year only (1957), speaking to the complexity of building it.

The Elastolin tunnels made both before and after the war used paper mâché as covering. It's something I'm familiar with, and it gives a decent result, especially if you're looking for something that looks of-the-era.

American Flyer made their prewar tunnels out of paper mâché composed of ground up paper/wood fiber soaked with glue. They must have used a mold to form them, as there's no interior framework other than a metal hoop used to reinforce the "portal". Back in the early days of collecting this stuff, I'd occasionally see these tunnels in the antique stores, not realizing they were made by the company. It's a wonder that any of them have survived.

Anyway, I'll let this dry thoroughly before the next step - applying the paper mâché, a process only slightly less messy than applying the glitter

[Howard]

Healey36,

I see a lot of precision cutting and gluing! But the end result will all be worth it. I for one really like to see work-in-progress photographs and details about the materials being used.

Howard

[healey36]

I posted that last pic on one of the tinplate train forums I follow, Howard...a couple of the responses included "Now I know why there are no Priority Mail mailers at the post office."

I'm taking a short break from the tunnel to complete the Buena Vista hotel as a separate putz house. I'll have some photos shortly. I'm not a good multi-tasker (if you haven't noticed).

[healey36]

Okay, break over; I went ahead and based the hotel as a stand-alone:



Not the neatest job, but serviceable. The base is 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", and the front of the building is 4" x 4", with 2" x 4" wings on either side. The back is 7" wide and 4" tall. The third floor windows are 3/8" wide and 1/2" tall; the first and second floor windows are 3/8" wide and 3/4" tall. As an experiment, I used a bit of Aleen's Glitter Snow for the accumulated precip on the roof and facade. On past projects, I've just used a bit of cardstock or matt-board irregularly cut to represent snow, but that results in too sharp of an edge, I think. Anyway, Aleen's stuff seemed to work better, at least to my eye.

The real Buena Vista Springs Hotel near Pen Mar was a much more ornate building (far beyond my cardboard construction capabilities):



It also had a wide facade with two wings extending back on either side at an angle; that's about where the similarity ends. It was one of the three great hotels of the resort area, tragically burnt to the ground by arsonists in 1967, years after it had ceased to operate as a hotel.

Moving on...now I gotta get myself psyched for the tunnel's papering...

[healey36]

Well, I'm resigned to the notion that I'm not going to make it by Thanksgiving...might take another week or so. In the meantime, we finally got around to papering it:



I'll let it sit until Black Friday...see how well it dries and hardens up. I couldn't remember the exact recipe for the diluted glue. Also didn't remember to crumple up the paper bags first. I gotta take better notes.

A bit of touch-up, then off to the paint booth...probably next week.

[healey36]

Shot the tunnel with a basecoat of Rustoleum "moss green" and "warm caramel", topped with a coat of Rustoleum "primer white". Paint really exposes all of the imperfections in the paper, so a bit of touch-up using some lightweight spackle compound, then some more paint. Following that, the masons from USPS showed up to add the portal stonework:



Paint for the stonework, some final touch-up of the papering, then we need to install the two buildings. Once that's done, we're in for the final bit - the glitter application. Desperate to finish this week.

Wife has already laid down her marker...the kitchen and the dining room table are off-limits for glittering

[Howard]

Paul…

I personally like the texture the edges of the paper mache add to the project. Your tunnel/tree stand is handcrafted. It’s not made by the thousands in a mold. The spray color choices are spot-on, too. Looking forward to seeing the completed stand and your layout.

Right you are. No glittering in the house. Don’t ask me how I learned that lesson.

Howard

[healey36]

Okay, this thing is done:



After three hours in the basement alternatively glittering and vacuuming, then 36 hours for a thorough dry, I think we can stick a fork in it...done! There's a lot of room for improvements and I've made notes this time, but these results seems decent and I'm almost certainly not lined up for a Rev. 3.

More pics to follow once we get the village and tree set up.

Hallelujah!