A homemade water tower.

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

While you were eating burgers this last weekend I finished a few projects enough to use.


I didn't leave home to buy anything here all wood scraps, paper clips, wire, and junk. Ladders are toothpicks and chopsticks. The railings are leftover doll house roof trims.



The wind direction arrow needs to be filled one more time with model airplane canopy maker before painting. Those strips of wood separating the roof panels are bottle rocket stems.


When I find my coat thread, instead of picture wire, Ill show off that it works inside too. (other than real H2O)

Why so serious?!?!?!?

Aaaaarrmy taining sir!



You'll shoot your eye out kid! For sure with sarge screaming in your ear like that.


A practice bunker to storm. Also my first attempt at camo paint, so awful I kept it. The other VWs are Viteese I think.
 

[J3a-614]

This is going back to the roots of model railroading--scratchbuilding, sometimes with materials we wouldn't have thought of for models.  The old timers used to use a lot of cardboard, like what came with shirts, scraps of wood from fruit boxes back when those were wood, paper clips, staples, all sorts of things--that's part of the packrat mentality we still have today!

Good looking tank, by the way!

[Doneldon]

GG1-

Nice work and a piece of history, as J23a pointed out. Prototypical, too. The early railroads and, especially the
logging and mining lines were often operating on a thread so they had to cobble things together with whatever
they had available.
                                   -- D

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

scraps of wood from fruit boxes back when those were wood

Ding ding ding, J3 wins a prize! -----The roof panels are from a fruit box!

Its "passable" but thanks for the praise guys.

[M1FredQ]

GG-1

That water tower was truly award winning. The wind direction piece was the frosting on the cake. Very cool!!

My kids loved it!!!!!!!!!!!

On our layout which we still haven't dismantled yet, we scratch build things to encourage Joey and my daughter to build things!!!

We are making an oil refinery using empty Clorox wipes containers, piping from Panera bread straws(they are black) and bits and pieces from model scrap boxes.

Thanks again for sharing!!!!!!!!!

[M1FredQ]

GG-1

Forgot to ask about the water basin itself how did you make that???

Thanks

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

GG-1

Forgot to ask about the water basin itself how did you make that???

Thanks

I cut a few veneer sheets on a table saw long ago, then cut them to strips on a band saw. The strips used were leftovers as we supplied a Great Aunt some of her building supplies for a dollhouse business. I glued the strips to a piece of Naugahyde laid flat. Once dry I curved the basin, and added another strip of vinyl to complete a flexible tube. At the bottom, I notched two chopsticks to form a cross, gluing the ends to the inside walls, screwing it to the tower. The tower platform planks were part "store bought", and part razor knife scored veneer. The heavy beams were scrap of different dimensions. The spout frame is, chopsticks, screw eyes, picture frame wire. The spout is two scrap tubes and it telescopes, its hinged on a finishing nail. The bend is wood, the tip is an air blowgun tip. All wire is soft steel, aged naturally in a damp part of the basement. The beam connections are finishing nails in drilled holes with a dab of glue. Inside is a float strung to the level indicator, a fill pipe up the center, and water (just layers of handi wrap over a coffee tub lid, with paint, blues, and greens, between, and on, the the wrap, along with various washes.
Gotta go now.... more later if you like.