Transformations

It's a well-known fact of life: the only constant is change. As I was finishing up the latest building for the James River Branch, I was struck by the fact that the Micro Engineering Gilmor Hotel kit is one of the few structures on the layout that retained its original purpose, and the only one to keep its original name (only because of the neon sign installed on the roof).

In real life, buildings frequently change hands and functions: a soda shop becomes a used car dealer; a diner becomes a florist; a supermarket becomes a hobby shop. These are just a few examples drawn from actual places I've been over the years.

One of the easiest ways to reduce the "right out of the box" feeling that stock structures can create is to take a tip from real life and rename, re-purpose or otherwise modify kits. As food for thought, here's an assortment of transformations that I've done or am doing (the titles link to the project pages, where you can learn how things were done):



The East Theater. The kit started out as a firehouse (actually, two of them). The result is a town hall that was later converted into a movie theater. Thus the theater is perhaps the most complex of my transformations, since the building itself also represents a transformation—like the play within a play. But to turn it into a theater, the marquee was made (mostly) from parts of a car wash!



Emma's Café. This little restaurant began life as a townhouse. It was chopped down from three stories to two, and all of the walls were flipped around to get windows in more logical places to suit the building's location on the layout.



Front Street Bank. While the bank is still a bank, it didn't start out looking anything like this. Four kits were blended together—along with N scale windows from Scale Link in the UK—to make an entirely new structure.



F.W. Woolworth. Although the project itself has transformed several times, it still began as a pair of hardware stores grafted together. (By the way, the name may change eventually, but it will still be a five and dime.)



Jim's Trains/Don and Stan's Barber Shop. Both of these little businesses existed in real life—I frequented them while I was in high school (indeed, I worked at the hobby shop for a few years). For the layout, they took up residence in what was originally a delicatessen. Not much was done to the kit other than leave off the awning, make a new cornice, and add new window details. (The hole next to the door will be filled with a barber pole.)



Landsend Farm tractor shed. This common feature of farms began as Greg's Saloon from RSLaserKits. Amazing how just a little paint and a new setting can result in such a complete transformation!



Naughtright Passenger Station. This wasn't so much re-purposing as it was nearly scratch-building. The bulk of the station is made from leftovers of the five and dime project; the roof is N scale brick (from the N scale version of the Miller Engineering theater) with soffits made from bits of their barn, and N scale windows from Scale Link in the UK.



Naughtright Fire Company. As a curious ironic twist (since my theater began as a firehouse), my firehouse began as the Miller Engineering theater, with part of a townhouse grafted onto the back. The firehouse doors are from an N scale gas station kit.



Rexall Pharmacy. This business came into existence courtesy of yet more leftovers from the five and dime project. Thus it began life as a hardware store; the transformation was mostly due to the addition of a big lighted sign.



Stephen A. Greene & Sons Building Supply. This is actually a combination of two BAZ Models kits, although originally I was only going to use one of the two—either the salvage company or the hardware store. Eventually they were grafted together to make one sprawling lumber yard.



Weller Fuel Oil Company. This little business is modeled very closely after a real fuel oil company in northern New Jersey. It's made mostly of leftover scraps from the discontinued Miller Engineering Savings and Loan.

I present this summary to hopefully inspire some readers to think outside the (kit) box, and transform buildings from one purpose and/or identity to another. It's easy to do—there are examples everywhere in real life to serve as inspiration. And it's virtually guaranteed to add interest and originality to any layout.

Of no particular consequence: this is my 100th post on 1:220.