# Car repair garage for my town



## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Once again, a building out there called to me, so here I am again, planning a new project before several others are finished. This one's a car repair garage, which has stood in our town since 1930. Although the current version looks kinda garish because its painted blue and gray, I decided to go with the Thirties iteration with its cool looking red bricks. After I measured the actual structure, I learned that in 1:22.5 this baby took up a lot of real estate. So I downsized it by about 75%. Before committing to cutting styrene sheet, I built a cardboard mockup and painted it with Rustoleum Gray, and Red Automotive Primer applied with rattle cans. I think the colors look great and I may use them on other projects because they're so easy to apply. The windows and the sign are print outs from reference photos I took of the current structure and from archival photos. The present-day garage no longer has a window and an office entry door on the front wall--just a single and a two-car bay for cars. Because I scaled everthing down (selective compression, you know), you can see that it's a tight fit for my two Hubley's. But it was either that or a building that would have been more than two feet long. I haven't decided if I'll make the 16-light windows or buy some that are close but not exact replicas of the originals. Sorry about the guy sticking out of the green car. I think he saw one of them new fangled aeroplanes.


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice looking building Joe. 

Keep them coming


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## FlagstaffLGB (Jul 15, 2012)

Nice building....and judging by the roof and other buildings, it is meant to be inside.


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## todd55whit (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice job. Any photos of the layout or the rest of the awesome buildings in the backround?


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Todd, thanks for the kind words. Now here's the backstory, as they say on the news. The building with the white roof is an old-time, Down South gas station inspired by a calendar of buildings with Coca Cola billboards on 'em. Like my garage, I just fell in love with it and completed about 80% before I hit my usual snag: making the tin roof look all bent and worn. I got tired of burning my hands with a hair dryer to melt the styrene, so I kinda quit. My wife keeps saying "Paint that roof," 'cause she hates the white styrene. There's an overhang that goes on the front (hence the big white space for the glue to adhere) and I have a Coke sign to go with it. I also have the gas pumps. Another snag is the interior. I've put up a girlie calandar, a Peters Shotgun Shell sign and built a display cabinet to hold??? guns? I need a potbelly stove, a Coke machine (all available for Larry G Scale) and maybe a dog. BTW, the entire structure is styrene and I distressed the individual exterior siding to look like old wood. I sent a picture of the siding to Russ Reinberg at Finescale and he was interested, but as usual I dragged my feet and other modelers beat me to it. 

Let's see, Stegen's garage is still in cardboard mockup form, as I try to decide the final dimensions. I had to downscale, because the actual structure is way too big for the average layout. Unfortunately, I made some parts of the wall too narrow--like around the front office door--so I have to resize. BTW, someone commented that this building has to stay indoors because it's cardboard. Yeah, but only temporarily, until I transfer everything to styrene. I've been bugging the owner of the property who is 85 years old, about details--like how many panes in the office door windows--to the point that I have become a pain in the ash. Also, I can't decide if I should build the garage out of styrene sheet with Precision Products brick sheet overalay or pop for Rainbow Ridge's material (I forget the name) which is scribed to look like brick (or anything you want). 

The gray two-story house next to the garage is another cardboard mockup, but the styrene walls and roof are done and need only painting and assembly. I got hung up on the front porch, which is supposed to have lattice work under the deck to keep critters and kids from crawling underneath. I experimented with making my own lattice work and it's easy but tedious so... 

The other house is a kit by Railraod Avenue, so nothing to say about that. 

The hotel way in the backgorund is another work in progess which stalled because I need to make the porch overhang pillars, which in real life, are supposed to be galvanized water pipe. I made two out of styrene rod but need four more. And the twin brick chimneys, which are clad with brick sheet, need to have the corners finished off with Bondo because the brick sheet doesn't mate well there and there are gaps. The hotel has an interior that you can't see very well because some doofus painted the walls black and as any photographer/artiist can tell you, black doesn't reflect light or anyhting else, very well. So when you look in the windows ya see nada. BTW, the porch roof is my pride and joy because of its concave shape, which has stringers underneath like an airplane wing. 

Whoof! Finally, the station: my best work. All styrene, full interior, lights, and my only structure done in 1:20.3 scale. I'm still on the fence on that subject (1:20.3 versus 1:22.5). I need to add a station sign and maybe a bunch of other signs for the walls. Maybe some roof braces under the roof overhangs, although not all stations had them. 

Not shown, but awaiting completion: 

Orbisonia, PA firehouse, which I saw on a trip to the Keystone State. Walls and roof are completed but the project stalled on account I need 42 roof korbels/rafter tails. I even bought an old-time firetruck to go with 
the building. 

Riders Crossing store, based on an actual building in Visger's Ferry, NY (near Albany). I saw the original in a book on the Erie Canal and decided I had to fly out there, photograph and measure the place and model it. 
Three walls, roof and front overhang are done, but the front, which has one of those recessed, double-door entries, made me loose interest, at least for the moment. Great looking building, but BIG! 

And that's the story of my modeling life. Aren't you glad you asked?


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## LeeJames (Sep 25, 2013)

Joe,Your project plan is really good and by looking at the above picture it can be predicted that after implementation of this project your garage will be one of the best garage of your town. 
fixed gear bikes


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks, Lee. But not to worry. It'll be the only garage in my town. BTW, I made the first of six windows and it looks great. As for the garage itself, because it's still a cardboard mockup sitting on the living room floor, I've had plenty of time to stare at it and think about what I'll do when I go to sytrene. First, I need to add a few feet to the left and right ends of the front wall (and thus the rear wall too, unless ya want a trapazoidal structure).Second, I need to exagerate the height of the decorative tops of the end walls, which are stepped. I did them to exact specs, but the differences in the steps are too subtle to be noticed. Right now, I'm putting the finishing touches on my new work area, so all my modeling projects are on hold. Plus I need to order some Sintra to make the brick walls, using Ray Dunakin's neat process. Stay tuned.


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Nice project. I like the design of this building. The roof is especially interesting.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Yeah, Ray, you're right about the roof. In fact, I wanted a better look at it so I climbed up to a porch on the two-story office next door, but still couldn't get a clear view. I was telling one of the mechanics this and he went to the shop's computer, called up Google Maps, and there's the overhead view! Duh! BTW, I spoke to the retired owner whose father built the place and he said that the roofing material, which is gray, has always extended up the walls almost to the cornice. Also, the roof has some skylights, which were added somewhere down to road. I gotta work fast, 'cause while he's healthy, he's no kid, so all that good historical stuff may someday be past tense. 

I'm gonna go with the original design, which was unpainted red brick. In the next iteration from maybe the Fifties, the front and side walls were painted off white and there was gas station signage over the office section. Then came the ugly, modern paintjob. Through it all, the back wall was never painted and there is a faint, "Garage" still visible on the aged red bricks. 

Last thing, Ray, I'm thinking of using Sintra, having seen your latest project.


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## catherine yronwode (Oct 9, 2013)

Nice work, and your interviews and thorough research give your buildings great historical value. I hope you are documenting your documentations -- we are all headed toward where that old man is going, and those who follow after will enjoy it if you preserve a record of your own preservationary art.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

Yep, I document everything, which is why I'm running out of room to store stuff.


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