The problem I have is that the warehouse is to big for my layout and it is to modern. The time frame is 1900 to 1942 The scafloding is perfect.What can I do with the structure. I know I need to bash it. I just don’t know where to start to make it look real. It has frustraghted me beyond having fun. I would do away with it all together but I need the Ice House. My harbor scene calls for ice for shipping sardines, squid, and fish (salmon). thanks for your help
Tom
We have one of those on our HO scale club layout. The height can’t be changed because the icing platform would then be too tall.
It might be possible to cut the end walls to half their current width by trimming an equal amount from each edge, and reduce the size of the building in that dimension. The roof would also have to be cut to fit. Giving the sides a heavy weathering might help the appearance.
If the building it too long, it could be cut down, but the platform would also need to be shortened to fit. As it is, two 40 foot reefers can be iced at the same time. The building and platform could be cut down lengthwise to serve one 40 foot reefer.
Or try to scratchbuild your own building to fit the allowed space.
Have you already bought the kit?
There are others on the market which may be more era-appropriate. This one by JL Innovative might me more what you’re looking for:
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/361-191
The structure itself isn’t very era-specific, other than just being an ice house. Yes, it comes in bright shiny white styrene plastic. But, there is nothing to keep you from weathering it to worn gray wood, which would make it look more appropriate around your harbor.
It’s also a very simple kit, 4 walls and a roof. It would be very easy to shorten it just by cutting the long walls.
Hi!
I waited a long time for this plastic kit to arrive, and picked it up along with a second platform. I built them up, attached the two platforms together, and was pretty happy with it for the most part.
The problem is - as you mention - the size of the icehouse. The prototype certainly had this size and a whole lot larger, but on my layout its footprint just took up too much space. Note that the long platform was fine, however.
I’m currently building a new layout, and the icehouse/platform will be a few feet back from the observer. I am thinking of cutting about 2-3 inches off the back side (faces a layout room wall), which will reduce the footprint, but not be noticeable from a viewers point.
Another thing is that I painted the building white, with a mildly weathered “steel” roof. In the real world of steam and transition of the 40s/50s (my timeframe), anything “white” won’t last long. Sooo, assuming I do narrow the building, I will also do some significant weathering to the white walls.
Hey, ENJOY !!!
Mobilman44
Might I suggest one add a lower platform to the existing that can accept a single 40 car for ice delivery, I have yet to see a kit that incorporates this detail if it is functioning as a storage house. My planned ice dock has a two car delivery capacity and overhead conveyors to transport it to storage, the icing platform will service 28 cars per side, and yes, the storage and machine building as per my prototype were painted white. Bear in mind these facalities were maintained in good condition, easy on the weathering. Great idea to narrow the structure to fit your alloted space, there’s precedence for that too, UP had one in Grand Island that was only 22 feet wide.
Dave
http://www.thconline.com/bricehokitho.html ( Brookside Ice House KIt.) Also Woodland Scenics has a built up small ice house… For the OP just in case he/she didn’t know of another smaller alternative. Of course if he/she is a beginner a craftsman kit may be more than they feel ready for.
I’m considering narrowing my Cornerstone Ice House also. I’ve thought about extending it’s length instead using the back wall and roof seciton but haven’t delved into how practical this might be or if it would look way too unprototypical.
I HAVE been meaning to ask also, what a most typical prototype color would be for the roof. I’ve seen everything from grey to black(!) and lots of light greens on peoples/club layouts. I would’ve though that white would be the most realistic choice to reflect sunlight. Anyone know?
I’m considering adding wood grain texture to the styrene “planks” on this kit as it looks much more “plastic-y” than most. Considering using a razor saw or wire brush.Anyone done this and have a pic or suggestion?
This kit DOES look rather huge on home/club layouts especially when they’re painted white. I have a friend who used a light yellow and that really helped to visually reduce it’s appearance. A cardboard mock up will show just how big it seems. I think it’s due to the relative lack of details most other structures have like windows, doorways, cornices, etc. It just looks kinda…boxey! Hope my questions and suggestions help the OP too.
Depending on capacity, ice houses dominated their surroundings. Roof material choices were determined by the owner and enviormental conditions , however white roof paint was never used, Material could be asphalt shingles, tar paper or more common, metal lap and seam which would weather to a green patina if copper sheathing was used, galvanized tin was also popular, including the use of corrugated stock. Whatever the selection it would more then likely be locally sourced.
Actually an ice house need not be boring, if one where able to include the ice and salt unloading dock or for the unusual the exterior ice elevator and stagging, all required a system of conveyors and similar mechanical applications.
Dave
Dave
Thanks for the roof info. Dave.
West Coast, you are so right!
While I was very happy to see the arrival of the Cornerstone kits (including the extra add-on platforms), I was disappointed that the ice house itself was just one big “box”. There could have been so much more added to it so as to more accurately represent a prototype.
Many of us find we need to make the most of our layouts “floor space”, and as this ice house takes up so much, there should be a lot more to it.
Hey, ENJOY!
Mobilman44
Has anyone built any icehouse/platform kits other than the Cornerstone one? For reference, this is my installation of the kit, built pretty much per the instructions with a small office added out front:
As you can see, it’s just one big, white building. It’s about the same size as the adjacent 2-stall engine house, but taller. I’m not bothered by the size now, but when I first got it, I was dismayed at how large and dominant a structure it was.
I built the Walthers icehouse pretty-much as it comes, although I modified the platform roof to accommodate the trackside doors. I also added a couple of platforms at car-floor height for receiving ice from the main storage facility.
I used two add-on platforms, and added a couple of scratchbuilt outbuildings:
Here’s a view from the air:
Depending on where on your layout the icehouse is situated, you can lop-off most of the rear half of the structure without altering its appearance from trackside. I did so on the scratchbuilt icehouse shown below:
Mostly a storage and shipping facility, it has only a short platform for car icing, with platforms at car-door level for shipping bulk ice to both the Walthers icehouse and to smaller lineside distributors. This photo shows the east end of the structure, with a small platform for shipping ice by truck or wagon to local customers, both residential and commercial. The small detached structure is the dealer’s office:
This elevated view from the west end shows the proximity to the backdrop, which curves out from the wall to make a turn around an outside corner of the room. Note how the roofs are cut-off either at the peak or just to the far side of the peak:
[IMG]http://i23.photobucket.
Thanks Wayne for posting so many or your always excellent pics.
They give us many alternative ideas and make it easier to visualize what we might like to do.
You’re not only a great photographer but a good educator too.
I have one additional question. Did you use an india ink wash or anything to shadow your plank lines or otherwise make them stand out? I’ve noticed that this particular kit looks more styrene-ish than most and have been giving some thought (scraping some wood grain into the wall surfaces) as to how best make it look a little more 3D/real. Yours looks real as is so perhaps it’s mostly how one fits this “big box” into a surrounding scene that makes it work better.
I’ve noticed on several layouts I’ve visited that the ice house kit looks less “real” than most enough times, that it prompted some thoughts about “fixing” that. At one time, I’d thought about adding scribed wood siding but that would open another whole “box” of issues-so probably won’t.
I’ve put your pics in bookmarks for when the day comes to build and place this structure.
Thanks for the kind words, Jim.
The Walthers icehouse was done some time ago, so I doubt that it was weathered too much - I usually do a light airbrushing of “dirt” near the base of the walls and leave it at that. I did, however, airbrush the entire structure - white for the building, grey for the platforms and green on the roofs. The photos are rather washed-out - fluorescent light doesn’t give you much in the way of shadows or contrast. To be honest, I didn’t even notice (until you mentioned it [swg] ) how bland the buildings look in the photos above. In person, the board detail is more pronounced. [:-^]
I used the same colours for all of the Hoffentoth Bros.’ facilities, although all but the Walthers plant are scratchbuilt.
Wayne
Doctor Wayne,
NICE Icehouse(s) - and everything else too!!! I like the color schemes, signage, and that lower level platform. Your efforts with add-ons just underscore the fact that the original kit building is not much more than a simple box. Cornerstone could have done better.
Thanks for the look see - I am inspired!!!
Mobilman44
Thanks Mobilman44. [:)]
The Walthers kit is pretty basic (the platforms are nicely done, though, and since they’re available separately, one could always scratchbuilt an icehouse to suit the available space). Most real wooden icehouses were pretty basic structures, so a simple building wouldn’t be out of place. The machinery, usually moveable staging for stacking the ice blocks, was inside the structure, so not much external detail is needed. In my area, pictures show most icehouses were painted some version of boxcar red, but since most of my railroad’s outbuildings, other than stations and towers, are painted that colour, I opted for white.
While many of Walthers structure kits look great when built according to the plans, most are also good starting points for larger or smaller structures, or for kitbashing with other buildings. An important thing to remember when choosing structures is to pay more attention to the pictures on the box first, then to the kit’s dimensions, and last, if at all, to the name or purpose of the building as suggested by the manufacturer. Only a couple of my Walthers structures are actual used for the purpose stated on the box, with the rest modified and renamed to suit the needs of my layout.
Wayne
Want to thank everyone for there knowledge,skill and ability. Doc thanks for taking the time and showing me what can be done. Exlent job by the way. There is now light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks everyone
Tom