We left on thursday, the 23rd of July for Kansas City from our home near St. Louis, all in Missouri. Dave Harper, (D-Man) and Bill Chilstrom were coming to do some model research in both Kansas City and Fort Leonard Wood Missouri. Terry Barrow, (Mr. T) and his wife Mary decided to make it six. They live about 50 miles south of K.C. Susan and I took the coach and stayed in a beautiful amusement park R.V. resort, “Worlds of Fun”. Below are some pics of the park and us on Day one.

Note the Kansas City skyline just above and to the left of our coach in the background.
Click on image to enlarge.

The giant roller coaster can be seen here.

Susan and the pups, Cagney the Yorkie and Star the Doberman. Click on image to enlarge.

The Cagmeister

Evening Star Click on image to enlarge.

The new and improved, (skinnier), Bob

On Friday, we explored the shopping areas. “Legends” is a really different one. It’s theme was all the famous Kansas “Legends”, (Celebrities, historical figures), the name of the center. My favorite restaurant there was T-REX, the facade is appropriately decorated. Click on image to enlarge.

More T-REX

The movie theater. Click on image to enlarge.

Sculpture Park among prairie grass, which covers the state.

We then went to “The Plaza”. It is America’s oldest suburban shopping center. Built in the 1920s, it has moorish architecture and themes. It is even more beautiful today than when it was new almost 90 years ago! Me and the pups. Click on image to enlarge.

The Plaza has so many fountains.

All the buildings are Spanish (Moorish). Click on image to enlarge.

Saturday evening, we all met at “Jack Stax”. The most famous Barbeque place in K.C. They are known for their “Burnt Ends” squares of sirloin or pork that are given a rub of spices, then grilled over a wood fire. Then it is served with the edges slightly burned and hot Barbeque sauce for dipping! Awesome! This is Terry and Mary, Dave and Bill with me in the shadows as we arrived.

Now seated, I took the picture so Susan could be included.
She is the family photographer!

Terry, (Mr. T), kinda looks like his avatar! Click on image to enlarge.

D-man, Dave Harper, stuffed with burnt ends.!

On Sunday we took a side trip to St. Joseph Missouri, the home of the Pony Express. This photo is the home that Jesse James was shot and killed by that “dirty little coward”, Bob Ford! Click on image to enlarge.

This is in Achison, Kansas, (Nearby), I lived here for a couple of years when I was a teenager. The home of the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe railroad. Also the home of Amelia Earhart, the famous flyer who disappeared in the Pacific.

Her home. Click on image to enlarge.

On Monday, we went to Clinton, where Terry and Mary live. She is an engineer with a lot of patents in her name, he and his partner create prototypes, both in 3D computer images and in 3D models. They have a 3D printer and I have wanted to see one for a long time. Terry had given me a 1/90th scale Sherman. Incredible! You can only appreciate it with a magnifying glass. It comes out of the machine in one piece and must be melted to eliminate the wax like substance surrounding it. I would enter this in one of the small scale builds, except I didn’t build it, a machine did! These things cost a fortune, and I mean a fortune! I can only dream of updating parts that could be made with this thing!

Here is a shot of the Sherman next to a teaspoon. When I take it over to my photo booth, I will use my miniature camera and show you the detail. Click on image to enlarge.

We just kicked back and relaxed on Tuesday, then headed home on Wednesday morning! It was about a three hour drive.

Bob

Back in the early 80s, I had been taking a lot of step by step pics as I built models. These were all taken in black & white as magazines back then only printed in black and white! (Hard to believe, isn’t it?). After the “Winds of War” my first huge diorama, had made a stir when it was on the cover of Fine Scale Modeler’s second issue, they had made me an offer to do other articles and to publish a book on my work. They had some internal problems, this was in ‘82-’83, and it didn’t work out. Not much later, I met my future partner and he suggested I let him do the book instead. I agreed and “Superdioramas” was the result. He was one of the first, if not the first, to print everything in color, so, I have hundreds of unpublished B&W photographs that have been in a box for over a quarter century. I have decided to start a series here using those photographs. The first one will be of the giant stone railroad bridge in the diorama, “Legacies”. Hope you enjoy it!

Bob

The bridge is in 1/35th scale, but in real size, it stands almost two feet high, (610 mm). I built this in a similar process as I build most of my structures. I begin with a corrugated cardboard shape constructed with white glue. I buy my own sheets today, but, back then, I used boxes found at the rear of most grocery stores.

Here is the shape I created and the dimensions were as planned.
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Then I add the other shapes I want using wood and white glue. I also give it a veneer of matt board, available in art stores. This give the structure a strength that is unexpected. I have built these things as early as 1971 and they look today as they did back then. Click on photo to enlarge.

This photo shows how the “stones” are made. I take Hydrastone plaster and mix it to the texture of think paint. Then i draw horizontal lines on the mattboard to keep the stones level, and begin “painting” the stones. Some I give three coats, others four and five coats. That creates a realistic texture. I have began to make the RR track base on top. Click on photo to enlarge.

See another angle here. As you can see the arch stones have been added using Miliput epoxy putty shaped and then carved to simulate the texture of stones. Click on photo to enlarge.

With most of the stones complete, here is a shot of what it would look like from a human’s perspective. The trestle that has been blown was made of the PVC products Plastruct architectural shapes, a very useful product that I have used as far back as I can remember. I have used it to build factories and aircraft hangars.

This is a birds eye view showing the upper deck progressing. Click on photo to enlarge.

All finished, now I have given it a base coat of paint. A flat medium gray.

Side view. The fancy trim on the top is from a lumber store used for trimming woodwork. Just a bit of nostalgia. Note the stacks of VP products I was selling out of my basement at the time. The beginnings of The VLS Corporation.

Now, I am applying the weathering process. That begins with painting the stones about five shades of the base color. Then a raw umber “wash” using artists oils mixed with rectified turpentine. A complete coat of the mixture covers the model and then is cleaned off using a blotting method, leaving only the dirty color in the cracks and crevices. It also darkens all five colors of paint slightly. Then using a light gray, painted the area that had been blown away. A touch up using the dry brush very subtly adds visual texture. Then streaks are made from various colors of artists oils to simulate wear and tear over a century of use.

Another view. Click on photo to enlarge.

Still working on the top. Click on photo to enlarge.

Now with the tracks, fencing and RR signals, weathered and rusted girders added, It is finally complete. Click on photo to enlarge.

Finally finished, I prefer the human’s eye view. Click on photo to enlarge.

Here the bridge can be barely seen. Just follow the trestle and you can see the stone. This is on Legacies II after it was rebuilt into an intact bridge, erasing all the damage. Click on image to enlarge.

Hope you enjoyed this!

Bob