PRR Tool House

I was cleaning off my desk from building the cabin cars, putting my tools back on the rack behind the desk and washing all the graphic off the cutting board when I discovered the American Model Builders PRR Tool House laser cut wood kit I had bought at the train show. I had hung it on one of the pegs on the peg board, then hung something in front of it and completely forgot about it. What a pleasant surprise!

Irwin Yard's new tool house, next to the old boxcar that formerly served as the shed.

 This is only my second laser cut wood kit - the outhouses for Vic's being the first kit - but I really like them. Nothing looks more natural for a wood building than wood. The style of the building is board and batton siding. I painted both sides of all the wood parts, with the the main pieces in Depot Buff and the trim in Roof Brown. Once dried, I began assembling the parts. The instructions recommended CA super glue (which I have) and an accelerator (which I do not) but I have always thought white glue was best for assembling wood projects. I tried both and no matter how careful I always get a little glue that dries on the surface. The white glue is clear to milky but the CA was shiny. After the first experiment, I stuck with white glue. This slowed my progress a little as I had to wait for pieces to dry but I did some other activities on the railroad like programming the new RS-3 and gluing some track to the B&O bridge (a story for another day).

Overall, it took me an afternoon of one day and a morning of the next before I placed the kit on the layout. I am very pleased with how it turned out and once I add a couple of figures moving around the scene, some tools and materials near the building, and maybe even a table saw visible in the window, it will look very realistic. I do need to tone down the grass in this area and make it more dirty and stone.

I think I am ready to tackle building a row of identical company houses for the Herminie mining area. I have my eye on the 3 pack kit from City Classics but I am still looking.