The Rhode Island Dye Works grew out of a need to find a use for one of the structures in a three-part factory kit made by Railway Design Associates, which I was using for my Misquamicutt Textile Machinery Co.. Since the modern concrete warehouse didn't fit with my nineteenth-century railroad, I decided I couldn't use it but then idly began to play around with the building and ended up turning it into the Dye Works. First, I cut out two of the modern metal-looking overhead hoods doors and glued plastic over two others, after which I planked over the loading doc with variously stained bits of strip wood. Once again, many of the beautiful details, such as the shelves, oil drums, and sacks, are resin casting that came unpainted from Sierra West Scale Models. Next, I added the clestory roof, which is made from Evergreen styrene siding and Grandt windows; the smoke jack is a bit of plastic sprue. Taking a small wooden dowel, I glued slips of wood, added painted black paper for the metal bands, and used gloss acryllic medium for the water from which a seagull is taking off; the water tank sits on a base made from plastic scraps, and both it and the clerestory have gunmetal-painted paper strips to simulate lead sealing.
At this point, I created the interior scenes that appear in the right hand and back doors, and then I created the main chemical tanks, one of which is undergoing maintenace. Next, I added the long ramp up which a Preiser figure is pushing a dolly with a sack. Having run out of strip wood, I used coffee stirrers, which my wife grabs for me every time she sees them in a fast-food place. Finally, I erected the fence around two sides of the model (only one of which shows in this picture), added filtered dirt and Woodland Scenics greenery, and created a stone retaining wallfor part of the styrofoam base (the uncovered part will have a gradual slope. [GPL].
Other views
- Three-quarter bird's-eye view of side with loading dock
- Three-quarter bird's-eye view of the back
- Side view at close to ground level
- View through the loading dock doorway
- View through the rear doorway
- Cleaning the Vats at the R. I. Dye Works
