Barber Bill - No Meek Cuts - Barber Shop from Banta Modelworks Silver Plume Bakery

A few years ago, our NMRA St. Lawrence Division decided to hold a "group build" where all of the members who wished to take part in the project would order the exact same kit and make into something else other than what the manufacturer offered it to be.

As a group, we settled on the Silver Plume Bakery from Banta Modelworks.  Over 40 members of the division ordered their kit in scales ranging from N to HO to S to O.

I chose the HO scale model and decided to turn my bakery into a barber shop.

This post will detail my construction of the building.  Look in the links to the right for a posting which takes you through the entire group build where you will be able to see what other modelers did with their kits.

I placed my finished structure on a mini-diorama.  In fact, it was the top of  a small wooden box I purchased at the Dollar Store!

Here you see the group assembling at a local church basement.

There were so many modelers involved that we had to overflow into a second room.

\Here is the picture from the instructions that came with the kit.

My good friend, Ron Newby, had taken this photograph of the real Silver Plume Bakery when he visited Colorado.

It's a really cool-looking structure, I say!

Let's get started with the build.  I used furniture stains for the floor.

Then I drew my own squared floor for the front area of the barber shop.

Peel and stick technology allowed me to achieved this layered look with ease.

I ran a wash of black to weather the area.

The front and side wall are now attached.

Painted and weathered the back wall which is made of board and batten.

The front is glued to the side.

I created a division between the front and the back by adding an interior wall.

Here's how she looks now.

The angled door entrance proved a little tricky but it's in now.

SS Limited offers interiors for many types of structures.  Here are many of the little white metal castings required to make the barber shop come alive.

Each barber chair had to be fabricated with a number of smaller castings.

I like the mirrors.  There were more that came in the kit, but not all were required.

You can tilt and recline the chairs in any fashion you desire.

The big storefront windows means you will be able to see a large portion of the interior.

 My model alongside another fellows.  I wonder what he will be turning his structure into? 

Starting to add a bit of the interior.

The building is not glued to the floor as yet, so it is a simple task of lifting the structure up to work on the interior.  I really like the look of that black and white floor!

For wallpaper, I googled period wallpaper, copied some examples into a Word document and then shrunk the image until I got the desired look I wanted.

The structure now planted on the mini-diorama.

A lit interior really brings the scene alive.

From another angle.

Get some pedestrian traffic going.

 A view around the back. 

Add a train in behind.

 And a final look at a bunch of the lads involved with the build.  Thanks for checking in!

 Here I am with my good friend, Bill Meek, who I named my facility after.

 Here I am operating Bill's layout!

It was so much fun gathering with a large group of people who share a common passion for model railroading!

Please do keep checking in on my many exiting model railroading experiences!

Have a fabulous day!  Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada