'Patchwork' Queensland Country-Style Hotel

[ZelmerOz]

The webmaster recently reminded me that I hadn't even visited the site for some time... I've been too occupied with family issues to do any modelling or attending model events, although I have been able to maintain my publishing commitments with Narrow Gauge Downunder magazine.

However life has hopefully quieted down and I've started developing a new card kit. Some background: I model Queensland's sugar cane and shire tramways in O scale (1:48) and there are very few commercial models available, especially structures. As a result I've developed a number of unique Queensland models in card, making them available on my web site (zelmeroz.com/canesig).

I'm working on a 20" x 24" diorama for my local museum (Archer Park Rail Museum) and need several background flats to represent a country town with the railway running down the main street (yes, there are several communities where this happens/happened).

I'm setting a scene, rather than attempting to build a particular town, and decided that a small two-story hotel with all the elements that say 'Queensland' would be ideal for one of the flats. It's a 'patchwork' project since the photorealistic elements (doors, windows, textures, etc.) come from a variety of sources including a couple of local historic hotels, an ex-community hall, etc.

I've now completed the design work and can start preparing individual walls and other elements for printing and assembly. Assuming all goes well, the design and development will provide me with another couple of NGDU articles.

[Kevin WS]

Ah, I really like your site and often visit it.

I find the sugar cane railways fascinating - they remind me a lot of my youth growing up on sisal estates.

The estates were huge and during cutting season, narrow gauge railways very reminiscent iof the cane railways, were laid to transport the leaves!

[ZelmerOz]

Glad you find the cane railways of interest, Kevin. I came to them from an interest in the smallest 'gypo' logging operations (west coast North America), often narrow gauge with limited rolling stock and locomotives. Then living in Alberta I was able to visit some operating logging railways, albeit not any of the smallest as they'd long disappeared, and museums.

Moving to Australia (Central Queensland half way between two cane growing areas) it was logical that I'd become interested in the sugar cane lines as there were many similarities. Discovering that not only were there very few models available, but information for modelling wasn't readily accessible, I developed the web site and started contributing to clinic papers, modelling articles, etc.

[Formerly Styrene]

Hey ZelmerOz;

We have a college town in Northern Colorado which has the local Burlington Northern-Santa Fe (standard gauge) line running down a main street.

It is really something to hear that train horn and look up to see a freight train running down the middle of Mason St. in Fort Collins, Colorado. It then cuts through the college campus and continues along a more regular right of way down the Front Range to Denver. Trains are always cool but especially when they do unexpected things.

Cheers,
Formerly Styrene
aka David

[ZelmerOz]

One of my continuing challenges as a photorealistic modeller is creating double-sided components.

One quite fiddly technique of course is to cut out the textures for each side and very carefully align and glue them together.

A more common, and sometimes successful, technique is to design the components so that they can be folded and glued into a double-sided assembly... hopefully folding so that the two sides align correctly. Often, however, the two sides do NOT align perfectly and one or both sides have white (untextured) areas when trimmed to size and shape.

The O scale timber lattice for my Queensland-style hotel (see attached pdf file) uses a Photoshopped continuous texture on the back side of the two lattice components. When the white areas are removed from the front side of the glued assembly the reverse has an acceptable texture without alignment problems.

I use a similar process for individual structural timbers and for roof framing, rafters, etc.

There are likely other ways of solving this modelling challenge but it works for me.

Happy modelling,
Lynn

[DougH]

I've visited your site before and am fascinated by the cane industry and narrow gauge railways used.

Did spot one big omission though in the Queensland Structures. A pub without beer is one thing but what would Slim Dusty have to say about no pub ?

[ZelmerOz]

There's an iconic Aussie song about a Pub with No Beer and I'm sure Slim Dusty (as well as others) sang it. That having been said, many Queensland prototype layouts would have a hotel or stand alone pub. Incidentally most Queensland country hotels only had only enough rooms to satisfy the regulations allowing them to operate the pub. Today they typically offer only low quality or backpacker accommodation.

Of course since most layouts are HO, and modellers often don't seem too concerned about architectural fidelity, they have a good selection of American kits to repurpose... and part of my problem has been that such kitbashing is difficult due to the more limited availability (and high cost) of appropriate O scale kits.

The structures (drawings and kits) on the CaneSIG and Modelling the Railways of Queensland Convention web sites come from several sources, primarily modellers who are more interested in railway-related buildings than the community locale. Jim Fainges provided the largest collection, mostly buildings that were of personal interest. It's also been difficult to find hotels/pubssuitable for modelling... in general, hotels/pubs don't get relocated to local and regional heritage collections, partly because of their size (large and rambling with many additions and out-buildings) and condition when taken out of use (ie bankrupt with some combination of fire damage, derelict and impossible to restore).

My own photorealistic kits were produced to fill particular modelling needs (or challenges) and it's only recently that I've had a need for structures along a public road, thus the hotel (with it's main floor bar and XXXX Beer and Bundaberg Rum signage). It's been designed to be readily recognised, yet small enough for it's intended use at the back of a small museum diorama.

The first floor verandah has now been installed and I'm in the process of butchering the roof textures to fit the sag in the verandah floor... well glued paper doesn't permit easy recovery from a minor lack of attention (weight placement) when glueing the floor in place.

However the finished result WILL be a hotel/pub for the museum diorama under construction, a free downloadable kit on the website(s) and several 2016 contributions to Narrow Gauge Down Under magazine.

Lynn

[ZelmerOz]

My low profile background model of the Queensland country-type hotel is completed. In the photo it's loosely sitting on the diorama footpath where it will eventually be sited (glued and pinned). The errant ground floor posts will be aligned properly when that occurs. [Incidentally the late Jim Fainges was a prolific developer of both rail and aviation card models.

It's been an interesting project, both as a research exercise and a model development, but has taken far too long to complete (family, not modelling reasons). The model has several faults, most of which are obvious is you really understand early 20th century construction techniques but it's quite acceptable as a background for a museum diorama with On30 and On42 rolling stock in the foreground.

Unlike all of the other kits I've developed, it hasn't been revised through several builds, so a modeller downloading the kit will have to exercise caution and be prepared to kitbash somewhat. That having been said, the kit components should be adequate for an experienced card kitbasher to build a full model rather than just the low profile model I've built.

A good learning exercise, now all [all??] I have to do is build the display stand and finish the trackwork for the diorama.

Happy modelling, Lynn