Now the Tobacco Plants

What's a 'Baccer Barn without the tobacco plants -- certainly tobacco was common to South Carolina in the 1950's!  So, with many pieces to put together, I started constructing 56 tobacco plants.  Obviously, this was a kit; by Busch (German, I think).  Several (!!) months ago, I put together the first plant, complete.  Then I put the kit aside until I found a corner of the layout that needed some scenery and was encouraged by Paul to construct a Tobacco Barn.  A week or so ago, I was back to the plants having completed the barn.

Each plant started with a "topknot", a "medium" size three-leaf swirl, and a metal post:

The five in front are at that stage.  Then, three more medium size swirls are added, yielding the group in the rear.  Note, the completed plant at the rear, right corner!

Next came four, larger three-leaf swirls.  All of this was glued together with CA glue.  This could be the final edition, but.. . .

note the small bag of pink "stuff".  While many people have seen the green-leafed tobacco plants (at least in this area and closer to the coast, they have), not too many non-tobacco-farmers may have noticed the delicate pink flowers on the plants.  I actually believe these are removed to ensure the plant continues to put energy into the leaves as opposed to its "progeny"!  I've heard removing the flowers is called "topping" -- might also be removing the top of the plant to keep it from growing taller.  Then suckers like you get on tomato plants begin to grow and you have to "sucker" the plants.  Glad I wasn't a tobacco farmer.  I thought this little detail was too much to leave out, so a little Testors glue (for clear plastic parts and windows) on the topknot, a dip into the pink stuff and:

 I'm not enamored with the "field" that comes with the kit AND you probably need more than 56 plants to fill that barn.  Unlike another modeler, whose work I admire (http://themodelrailwayshow.com/cn1950s/?p=1970), I don't intend to produce four to six hundred of these plants.  So, I plan to put these plants in curved rows that tend to run off of the corner of the layout, implying many more plants in the field, but they will have to be imagined!

Maybe this field will be a good job for the next grandkid visit.

The 'Baccer Barn

I couldn't help myself.  Paul kept sending me suggestions and structures; I figured ONE more structure on the layout couldn't hurt.  Besides, I already have a kit to make a few dozen tobacco plants, so a tobacco barn needs to show up somewhere.  And, the layout is in South Carolina in the 1950's.  I had settled on a board and batten structure until Paul showed me the Clever Bros Tool Shop.  It was corrugated metal.  I decided to change my mind. . . . The prototype would be something like this:

The Tool Shop had too many windows and doors, so some Paint"ing" was called for.  Also, the lean-to on the Tool Shop would need to be eliminated.  A stone foundation might look good, from Clever Bros Creeky Roofing file.  With most of this pieced together (except the stone) on one sheet then cut out, it looked like this:

Don't know why the floor and stiffener from the Tool Shop came over as one piece; I guess I wasn't thinking too well.  Also used the stone illustration to make a "hearth" to give us smoke cured tobacco.  Hard to round everything off in stone, but maybe from a distance it will look OK.  Used some plastic rod that would be about 6", scale, to hold up the roof on the front -- gets pretty hot when you're stringing tobacco to put in the barn, I guess the shade is important.  Need to paint the rods, probably add steps for the door (really should have cut the door into the stone foundation, but wasn't thinking ahead), do a little color work on the bottom (white) side of the roofing.  Are we close enough?

A Boiler House for the Smokestack

In early January -- 2012!! -- a Smokestack appeared for the Cotton Factory.  But, what good's a Smokestack without a boiler house.  With help from Paul and the Small Brick Machine Shop files from Clever Bros, a Boiler House began to shape up.

Machine Shop

Boiler House

Paul got me started by removing arched windows on the side of the Machine Shop and replacing with "square" windows.  I was able to totally blank out one side wall with brick (not shown above).  All of these modifications using Paint.  The boiler fronts are from a photo I took of the Cotton Factory, itself.  Although somehow I ended up needing to reduce the printout to 85%, and then make a final adjustment to 97% of that, I finally got it to fit together, sort of.

Somehow, for example, the rear wall wanted to buckle.  Fortunately, the front and rear are double walls -- a kind of false front.  I happened to have a piece of balsa that just fit inside the "pocket", so I cut it and inserted into the pocket to create a flat wall.  Except that using white glue caused lumps in the wall -- the cardstock was wetted by the glue and the glue was not evenly distributed.  Fortunately, the knitting needle I had borrowed from The Wife to use to score the cardstock for creases had a cylindrical end opposite the point (see the orange object in photo, below)!  I used that to "roll" the glue flat.  I think it will be OK:

Glued and Smoothed

Buckle and Balsa

Notice, also, the totally brick, no arched or square windows, side wall.

To fit on the layout, I may have to move the Cotton Factory a little, but there still seems to be room.  A coal pile, and a little more details in the scenery should make things look realistic -- and a little weathering for the plastic Cotton Factory.  I've trimmed the standing seam metal roof on both sides to fit more closely to the Cotton Factory and Smokestack than seen in these photos.

 

The Real Deal

OK, so it's not an exact replica, but the intent is to be representative!?!

More DCC Experience

Nothing like progress!!  Remembering which and how many switches to pull allows DC or DCC by choice (OK, so I've since found that you can run a DCC decoder-equipped loco on DC if you know what you're doing, but I'm not there, yet; AND, I'm not sure if there's room in Thomas to ever install a decoder).

Not satisfied with just "running" the locomotives via DCC, new decoders were procured with SOUND!  These things are amazing.  Not only specific diesel motor sound for each engine used in a particular loco -- my Walthers SW1 and Athearn F3 both use an EMD 567 "prime mover" as they say -- but also horn, bell, brake squeal, air compressor pop off, and so forth.  However, Soundtraxx recommends different sound decoders due to the manufacturer or company -- Walthers versus Athearn.  The Athearn is a Tsunami GN-1000 while the Walthers is a Tsunami Micro 750 so it will fit in the smaller locomotive [I had these decoders interchanged when first posted; now corrected].

Used an oval speaker (18X53X14mm from RailMaster Hobbies) in the Athearn F3 but still chose to cut the "sound chamber" to allow placement in the body:

Trial placement seems to be OK.  Need to remove "temporary" motion-only decoder and hardwire Soundtraxx decoder!  If I could only solder well.





Finished product looks OK to me:

Actually, some issues with overload, hesitation, and such; but attention to cleaning track may have solved most of that.  Minor issues such as replacing headlight with 1.5V bulb and adjusting momentum on decoder so loco doesn't make 2 1/2 laps before stopping are just fine-tuning what seems to be operating now.  I wonder which air horn should be used -- there are over a dozen choices!

The little SW1 was a little more difficult to work with.  Got the TSU-750 Soundtraxx decoder and a 3/4" round speaker with enclosure (QSI).  Did not use all of the enclosure (there's an extension with the unit) but still had a tough time getting hardware into the loco.  Speaker and capacitor ended up in the cab to begin with.  However, while trying to use heat-shrink tubes for insulation, the hot-air gun melted the insulation on some other wires.  Tried wrapping with electrician's tape, but didn't like the results.  So, found some 30 AWG wire (that is REALLY small stuff) and rewired the thing.  Placed the capacitor under the hood after moving the decoder rearward a bit; speaker still in cab.  Still need to work on lights with this loco, but it's running and we have sound.

Before (left) and after (right).  Does not look much different, but it is!






And one grandson is pleased as punch!  Notice the "motion" of both locos -- F3 without body installed near camera and SW1 in rear, right from camera view.