Finished goods shed

 

There we go. A few evenings work, and I have an N gauge goods shed. The build has been deliberatly slow to let paint and glue dry rather than trying to work with parts still softly attached to each other, or still tacky. That, and I've used this as a way to make me do something over a few days instead of vegetating in front of the TV. An undemanding project is perfect for that, especially one where you can only spend an hour or so before having to set it aside to dry. A sense of satisfaction easily obtained. 

You'll notice that I have ignored the rather garish colour scheme from the box photo in preference to a series of muted tones that I fell suit the model better. At present, it's unweathered, apart from a dose of talcum powder on the roof to provide a bit of life in the otherwise grey slates. 

Glazing is from Deluxe Materials Glue'n'glaze. Easier than trying to do the job with plastic. 

Part fit is good, although a little filler might help on a couple of corners and th roof ridge. I just applied loads of solvent and shoved them together. My efforts on the road-side canopy aren't great either, although they look better in real life. 

To update the model, the biggest change would be some more delicate drainpipes as the supplied versions are a bit chunky. The main doors could be opened and an interior modelled.

At 90mm long, 75mm wide and 45mm tall, this would make a nice feature on any branch line. Were there a ready to use version, it would cost around £30 - three times the price of this kit new. OK, you need to invest a few hours relaxed modelling, but I enjoyed this bit so it's no cost.

Modular construction

 

To keep painting simple, I'm building the goods shed as a series of module. The colours of the plastic provide a pretty good guide to the best way to split things up. 

One interesting feature - the base is moulded in grey, complete with walls. Th brick moudings, anoyingly in streatcher bond, are stuck on to this. Changing the material would be easy enough with some plastic card, I imagine a stone base would be very attractive.

Part fit is good. There's little or no flash, but some marks from the release pins used to shove the bits out of the mould will need a little attention. 

Another spot - the instructions sugged fitting the office windows from the inside, but the box photo clearly shows them fitted from the outside, complete with chunky frame so beloved of Airfix kits. I'll stick with the instructions here - it will look better.

Peco Goods Shed

 

I'm dreadful for looking at a kit for sale and immediatly wanting to have a go at it. Bursting cupboards will atttest to my eyes being bigger than my capacity for getting through projects. 

Quite why an N gauge good shed kit should appeal so much when spotted in the second-hand trough on Anoraks Anonymous stand at TINGS, I have no idea. I don't do much modelling in N, and have no prospect of a home for this model. However, I was paying by card and so there wasn't much restaint on the spend. 

Looking back through a few old magazines, I can't work out how old this model is. My best guess is that it appeared in the early 1980s, but this is a guess. Peco kits tend to live in the range for a very long period of time and collecting old catalogues from the Boys from Beer isn't one of my hobbies. 

Inside the box, an instruction sheet looks pleasently vintage. The drawings remind me of the sort foundin Edward Beal books, but this can't be from the 1950s, so I'm assuming the style has influenced the artist there. All the text looks to have had a typewriter in it's origins. It's also very, very small. Presumably N gauge modellers are thought to have better eyesight than most!

Parts are in self-coloured plastic, but I'll be painting the model. The design is "generic" so I'll just pick some I think look nice rather then fretting about a correct livery. After all, this is a fun, stick it together, project.