Banta Silver Bull Saloon. An HO scale build thread.

[WoundedBear]

I might get that building.  Although, modeling a later period, I'd remove the half circular parts of the cornice, leave off the jigsaw scrollwork, and either paint  it white or make the whole thing unpainted wood  .

Hell of an idea. These Banta kits do lend themselves to your own personal touches. Bill even states in the instructions to "just toss the instructions out and build it your way".

And Terry...........ya that little car squirts around. It's only got a 98 inch wheelbase and 700 horsepower lol. The whole trick is to keep the back from passing the front. 

We went searching yesterday and found tetanus. Was hard to actually tell where the cars stopped and the ground began. Turned out we went to see a 1938 Chrysler Royal. It's been in this spot a loooooong time. Only thing worth saving was the grill and shell. It's hanging on our shop wall for now. here's a few pics before we get back to the build.

1938 Chrysler royal.............









Check the grill on this 1958 Brookwood wagon.............wow!! 



And this 1951 Pontiac almost came home with us............but we're Dodge guys at heart.





Next up...........more saloon.

Sid

[WoundedBear]

Back at the bench this morning. The end is in sight.

First thing today was locate all the little corbels for the short roofs. Itty bitty, teeny tiny little miserable pieces of.............ya they can be a bear to deal with. Sharpen the tweezer points and get at it. Once installed they just add another level of detail.





The sign boards were next. These are impossibly delicate and would no doubt look great hanging on the front corners. But, realistically, I asked myself, how long would they last? I opted for a little more robust and simpler method of mounting the Hotel signs.





Got a few smaller signs made for the eaves of the front porch. All edges have been colored with a brown fine point Sharpie to hide the white paper edges.



Now comes the building's namesake..........The Silver Bull. To show off his wealth, the casino owner had a bull's head cast in silver and mounted on the tower.

Carefully remove the head from the carrier sprue, then shape the horns with needles files.



Drill a .020" hole in the back of the head and gluein a short piece of wire with CA as a mounting pin.



A light wash of black enamel stain gives the casting that oxidized silver look I needed.



Finally, drill another .020" hole in the tower wall and slide the casting home. A drop of white glue secures it in place.



And that's all for today................

Sid

[Trainman203]

Actually those old cars would make great modeling projects, out behind a barn or something.

[WoundedBear]

Actually those old cars would make great modeling projects, out behind a barn or something.

Behind a barn is exactly where we found those. All around us was a section of fresh cut, prime Alberta wheatfield.

And..........back to the build.

Today is the end of it. I am done. Finito. Over. No more parts. I have started to add a few people around the structure. It"s the place to be and be seen, after all. I found two suitable figures for a corner of the balcony. Negotiations are under way 

Left, right and head on views. So, this is a doable project for an average modeler in 4 - 5 weeks. Most folks don't work at my pace. I did it in just under 3 weeks I think. Had I not done the lighting or the tower door, I probably could have been from box to layout in 2 weeks.

No real troubles with anything. If you can read and follow directions, these are fun to build, and look so much better than plastic buildings. I hope this little write up inspires some of you to have a go at laser kits.


Till the next project................

Sid

Welcome to the Grand Hotel's Silver Bull Saloon and Restaurant!

[Terry Toenges]

You did a really good job. Did you forget a bottom rail behind the guy?

[WoundedBear]

You did a really good job. Did you forget a bottom rail behind the guy?

Yep.....I sure did. Thanks. I'll fix that up in the morning.

Sid

[jonathan]

Sid,

That is real craftsman-type work.

I bow in your general direction.

Thanks for taking us through this project. I'm blown away!

Regards,

Jonathan

[Trainman203]

The "lady" 😂😂😂😂 upstairs is a nice detail too!!  I have a similar "hotel" on my layout, a modified Model Power "Western Union" building. 

https://www.ebay.com/p/Model-Power-HO-Scale-Two-Story-Western-Union-Office/1900960852

I painted mine brick red, the casework dark green, cut off the diagonal bracing from the columns and removed the horse tie up bars, trimmed out a lot of mullions from the windows and doors to modernize them, and filed the remaining ones a lot thinner.

Filed the handrails and spindles a lot thinner too.  Left off the water tank, telephone wire things, and sign too.  Came out ok .  If I knew how I'd put a picture up.  Named it "Hattie's" after a fine establishment back home we used to snicker about in the 8th grade as only 8th grade boys can.