@Mark Boyce posted:It's only been a few days, but I got a good bit done a few minutes here and a few minutes there. I had to drive right past the hobby shop when I made my first trip to see my dad in the hospital on Friday, so I picked up some K&S 1/4" square tube stock to reinforce the walls. I cut it to length and glued it on with E6000, a product our older daughter pointed out a number of years ago. After clamping and letting it set, the walls were no longer bowed and ready to put together.
After painting the supports to match the interior paint, assembling the walls was pretty easy. They all have tabs that fit into slots in the base that is scored like poured concrete. As you can see, I don't have the best of tools for clamping and weighting, but this worked nicely.
Here is the building with the roof sections press fitted onto the walls. I had to widen all the slots with a small file to get everything to fit.
The instruction sheet calls the square section on top of the main building a "watch tower". I'm no fireman, but I think it is a tower for hanging hoses to dry, and should be positioned something like this.
I also think the only photograph of the prototype included in the instructions shows this. As can be seen in the photograph below, this structure was built in 1894, so I am guessing they had wagons equipped for fighting fires inside. I'm going to shingle the roof with a nice diamond patterned card stock shingle that was provided in the kit. I won't attach the upper structure until I do some investigation onto where it should be positioned.
A truck like my '36 Mack would fit nicely and still leave room for hanging hoses and storing other tools and equipment. I would be glad for any feedback on the positioning of the upper structure that I think is for hanging hoses to dry.
As an aside, Dad was taken back to the personal care home yesterday. It was determined that arthritis in his upper spine is pressing on his esophagus making it hard to swallow food, and some was getting in one lung. He is much improved, but weak. He will have to eat finely chopped food (I don't know, maybe for life), since they can't risk anesthesia for surgery at his age. He is always so gracious even when ill. He showed me by example how to be a proper man and continues to show me how to live into old age, if I live that long. Thank you for thoughts and prayers.
Good looking structure.
