1/35 scale auto repair shop

[Malachi Constant]

Finished the rest of the plates ... time to put boxes behind them, let the glue dry and then paint ...

[Ray Dunakin]

Those outlets and wall switches look great -- and in 1/35th! I just made a wall switch yesterday for my drugstore in 1/24th, that was hard enough.

[Chuck Doan]

I agree, those are neat!

[Malachi Constant]

Thanks guys!  BTW, it would have been easier to do old-fashioned porcelain type sockets with just two slots for each outlet ... but my feeling was that "curiosity" things like that invite closer study, and I just want these to become background objects.  Seems that the modern style of outlet like I've modeled was patented in 1928.  Suspect most of them were done in brown or black Bakelite, but I'll probably paint a lighter color so they don't disappear.  Have a neat vintage radio in the works that'll make a more interesting foreground object ... and maybe I'll put up a cliche Vargas poster just to irk Marc. 

[marc_reusser]

Those are really neat...and cutting those slots??!!!....your definitely a bit nutters!

...Oooooh old posters...please remeber to not thin the paper down, and then do a curling or torn edge, so we can see that 1/35 scale paper is a 1/2" or more thick. 


M.

[Malachi Constant]

Yeah, I know Mr. Mudgeon's out of focus .... but the photographer is still cross-eyed after wiring all those perfectly-modeled sub-miniature electrical connections INSIDE the outlet boxes ... where they'll never be seen! 



Guess I should include a shot that actually shows the outlet boxes ... the over-under boxes at right will straddle a workbench that hasn't been built yet ...



Marc -- Many moons ago, I narrowed and ground down this little jewelers screwdriver to emboss the vertical spaces in between individual N scale bricks for some kits I used to make ... the size of the outlets was determined by the smallest circle punch I had (for the flattened-circle socket part) ... and the ole brick embosser happened to be just right for cutting the slots ... pix of some old N scale kits with insane numbers of tiny little hand-embossed bricks in the masters below ... (and the bricks were pretty darn close to scale) ... but heck with that tiny stuff ... now I'm off to make a slab of Vargas poster (just one!) 

[danpickard]

Careful everyone...Marc's popped two of his sarcasm pills this morning instead of the usual one

Dallas, there should certainly plenty to find in the garage when its finished.  Nice efforts with the electrical bits.  It really is a shame the effort we go to in our models, to then cover most of it up with walls, and only the builder know truely minds what is actually inside.  Screw driver into the electrical socket...thats a bit daring, did they have safety switches back then?

Smokin Dallas.....

Cheers,
Dan

[Malachi Constant]

PS -- I borrowed from Marc's insane approach to individual nailheads (Feldbahn caboose project) ... which contributed to the cross-eyed by the end of the day business ... there's a tiny little inspection tag on the emergency cut-off box that was cut from super thin paper ... I'll go back and fatten that up at some point then shoot a better close-up. 

Dan -- You're right!  Fortunately, this building will have a big pair of wide-open garage doors and sit right at the front of that layout.

[Ray Dunakin]

Great work on all that electrical stuff!

[finescalerr]

None of the modeling counts unless the conduits work and the sockets are live. Satisfactory nonetheless. -- Russ

[shropshire lad]

Mr. Constant ,

   Very nice work and in the right scale as well . However , I am not very impressed with the electrician as he hasn't clipped the cables !

   Nick

[eTraxx]

Up to the 1950's the wire would have been black as it was cloth wrapped and impregnated with tar. PVC insulation and jackets were introduced about 1950. The wiring in my house (which was built in 1950) was all two-conductor black cloth wrapped. There of course wasn't a ground so it only had the two prongs on the outlets. The NEMA Type A .. with two blades and no ground has been prohibited in the US and Canada since 1962 but remain in many older homes (like mine). The outlets you have are NEMA Type B which along with the white PVC insulation sets the garage after 1962.

[Malachi Constant]

Etraxx, think you're spending way too much time on wikipedia, man! 

Grounded outlets and circuit breakers were "available" in the 20's .... although fuse boxes and un-grounded outlets remained far more widespread.  I spent a couple summers working on old houses and often found wiring with braided WHITE insulation (actually white jacketing over the insulation) ... went so far as to paint some braided stuff intended for 1/24 scale car guys to get that look, but it was more than twice the diameter of what I ended up using ...

So, there have been some choices made for "time management" ... some for "artistic license" (using "familiar" rather than "curious" items in the background) ... and whether there's Method to the Madness  or simply Madness in the Method will always be a fine line that I'll walk in a zig-zag.

All that said, I really DO appreciate ALL criticism, ideas, etc ... this diorama will never go into a contest, so there's no hang-up or need for antlers there ... main focus for me working in the larger scale at this point is (a) to improve skills a bit and (b) make stuff that I find enjoyable and/or amusing.  "Accurate" modeling will always be a bit hit-or-miss with me, as I tend to like at least a bit of caricature and (gasp) whimsy in the models ... but also wish to develop skills to the point that I could make extremely realistic models when I want to! 

[Malachi Constant]

None of the modeling counts unless the conduits work and the sockets are live. Satisfactory nonetheless. -- Russ

Russ -- I'm working on a 1/35 scale fork and toaster combination especially for you right now!  Dallas

[JohnP]

So the screwdriver in the outlet isn't enough for Finescale Safety Day? Toaster fork too? I put a hairpin in a light switch when I was a kid. Spectacular...

I am truly impressed by the electrical work here. That is all about pride there whether someone notices it or not.

How about some knob & tube next time?

John