Thoughts while building the Insectary

Over the last week or so I've been working on the Insectary. It turned out to be a rather pleasant little project and the resulting model seems rather striking. 

If you compare these photos of the model to the real thing you'll see I've taken a few liberties and made some changes to several details, but I've stuck pretty closely to the overall design. I took this approach because I wanted to build this from odds-and-ends I had on hand in my scrapbox and avoid buying new materials. Although, I had to relent on the windows. I didn't have any suitable moldings, and I didn't want to scratchbuild 25 window frames (!), so purchasing something suitable was the only way to proceed.  After some guesswork regarding window dimensions, I ended up buying Tichy Train Group item #8062, 24" x 56" 2/2 double hung window moldings. Now the windows on the prototype aren't double hung, but appear to be hinged at their tops which allows them to swing open at the bottom, so yet another deviation. 

Verticals are 0.125" x 0.125" styrene strips 

Now that the E. L. Moore book is done I've been feeling a bit adrift blog-wise. The ELM project has been 'officially' going on since 2013, and 'unofficially' it traces back to the second post I made in March 2009 on building Bunn's Feed & Seed. I have simultaneous feelings that the long era of ELM posts is over and not over as there are still many unanswered questions. For the most part though I feel the posts are over, and there's an ELM shaped void in the blog :-)

The blog's stats show the ELM posts to be by far the most popular, followed by posts on other famous mid 20th century model railroaders. Strangely, before I got into serious ELM posts, the most popular posts were those in the first series of the Streetcar Noir pulp, Light Ray Blues. For awhile it had quite a lot of views from Japan for some unknown reason. The second and third series did ok, but not as well as the first. Posts about my own projects rank well below ELM, legendary model railroaders, and novellas. In a surprising twist, the most popular post on my own work was actually a rather banal photo of my old LOL layout I posted on Instagram. There's a message in all this for me :-)

Shingles are strips cut from 220 grit sandpaper

I'm thinking the posts are going to become more random than usual - I've been told some consider the blog chaotic, so maybe no one will notice :-) - as I settle into some other groove. Frankly I'm not even sure if blogging is the way to go these days given the dominance of video when it comes to how-to build scale models material. I have no desire to make videos, so blog retirement is a possibility - although I have said that before and gotten right back on the saddle after a few days of retirement :-) 

The roof is removable; it's made from 0.060" thick styrene scraps

Building the Insectary was a nice diversion from turgid blogging thoughts: it was a bit tricky construction-wise, but small in size so I didn't have to wait days to see significant progress.

The foundation is also made from 0.060" styrene sheet

Anyway, so much for navel gazing.

I have a lot of leftover window frames. They come in 12 packs, and I needed 25, so I've 11 for the scrapbox. I can see them being used for some other buildings that are near the Insectary. The windows will give the collection a family feeling, so they won't go to waste. 

The interior is simple, just a counter that runs around the perimeter with some cupboards underneath. I popped over to Ikea to see what they had in stock, but they were sorely lacking in anything in HO scale :-) So, out came the 0.020" thick styrene sheet, and in a bit I had some counter space. Once the layout is further along I'll add some sort of interior action - genetic insect experiments gone awry ?

For this picture I put the camera lens right up against an end window and hoped for the best. Yeah, there's some messy paint work near the eaves, but that isn't visible from normal viewing angles. I'll have to clean that up when I add some interior detail.

Well, that's it for now. I wonder if the farm has an Arachnidary?

The Insectary is a many windowed box

Yesterday I posted a photo of the Insectary's front and right side walls. Over there on the left is the Insectary's other long wall. It too is lined with windows, but there's no door. 

Over on the right is the back wall; only 3 windows on this end. So, here's a count of the window castings needed for each wall:

Right: 9 ( + 1 door)

Left: 10

Front: 3

Back: 3

Total: 25

With 25 windows there's no way I'd try and build this structure with an old school window making method. I need to rummage through Tichy's and see if they have a suitable casting.

Beginning scenery

For little mental breaks while I finish up the E. L. Moore book I like to putter with scenery on the experimental farm layout.

I'm currently putting down the base layer of green grass beside the track. It's where the poles for the overhead wiring will be installed. 

Down at the far end you'll see Vicki's Veggies. It's at the farm's road edge so passersby can pick up some farm fresh veg on their way home. There's going to be a tomato patch beside it. Some Woodland Scenic's soil flocking has been glued down to get it started.

If all goes well there'll be a model of the Photo Equatorial building near the inside loop, and an 'insectary' somewhere inside the farm's grounds.

The Insectary: A classic E. L. Moore style subject?

Yeap, the insectary was an actual building at the Central Experimental Farm. Apparently during WWI there was a lot of concern about insect pests chomping away on crops, so research was begun to see what could be done. One of the buildings used to support that work was the insectary. The building still stands today, although I think it's being put to some other use.