![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3qZErukFMZB16BogHQJKRsc_7El129JLFZILp1nBJhKLpvg5SY0AlQMKpxv544EyxKXpxWCJ1Vis26jB_4wtofSskY_io23dPooUEyDRNsz5h2rHLeE-xNUcykN0AQLR9m1D_F6ZGwvA/s320/Albany+Steel.png)
There were two steel fabrication companies located in the area near Iroquois Millwork, though I don't believe either was receiving rail service in 1984. One was Albany Steel, and the other was McKinney Steel. I randomly guessed Albany Steel was here. The pictures I have from that time just show a large pile of red steel pipes. Currently, there is an overgrown weedy concrete pad in that location so I assume it existed in 1984. I see nothing around the pipes such as a fence, nor do I see racks holding the pipes in place. They look just like a pile of pipes. Perhaps the lot was used as a storage or holding area. This is how I set about modeling it.
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I started with the concrete foundation which was made by scribing some 0.060" thick styrene with the back of a hobby knife in a 2" x 3" grid. I needed the pad elevated to clear the ground-throw control wire, so I added styrene strips around the edges and in the middle. I also notched out an area for my ground throw. I then sprayed with styrene with Rustoleum Camoflauge "Desert Sand" spray paint, which not only was a good color for old concrete but it also left a rough texture that to my eyes was spot on perfect. After that dried, I applied a wash of India ink and alcohol in a blotchy pattern and it pooled in the cracks nicely.
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While that was going on, I set about creating a pile of pipes. I bought three packages of 1/4" diameter styrene pipes from the hobby store (
and more online, as I wanted a lot and discovered that they didn't go as far as I had hoped) and cut them down into scale 39' lengths. I have no idea how large pipes normally are, but this size fits into 40' gondolas and onto 40' trailers. So, it seemed reasonable. I kept the shorter scraps too, as in my mind a steel company would have several lengths of pipes lying around. For the cutting, I used a pipe cutter which went quickly but rounded the cut edges. These were cleaned up with an Xacto knife.
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I pondered how to paint them. I wanted even coverage all the way around, and I also needed to get inside the ends. I could have taped them to a painting stick but that would take a lot of tape, and a lot of sticks! Casting my eyes at my workbench, I spotted a container of thin nails and a scrap of wood. Bingo... I introduce to you my Pipe Paint-o-matic (
patent pending). The pipes were first washed to remove any residue and then they were sprayed with several light coats of red paint. I had to go to the hardware store first to try and get a color that perfectly matched the picture I had. It seems red primer has gone out of fashion, and now everyone uses gray primer. I finished them with a spray of Dullcote, but I didn't weather them further (
to my wife's dismay) as the picture didn't seem to show them old and rusted.
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I glued the pad down to the layout with Arlene's tacky glue, and let it dry. Next, I used a microbrush to dab tiny bits of my matte medium adhesive onto the cracks in a random pattern. Some were little dots, others were in bunches, and some areas got none. Then, I sifted on Woodland Scenics fine green foam. I let it dry completely and vacuumed off the excess, leaving little weeds and such growing in the cracks. I considered using static grass clumps, but they were too large for a concrete lot that was still actively being used by a company. Perhaps if it had been abandoned for a long time or something.
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The pipes were then stacked up in a somewhat organized way and glued down with more of the tacky glue. The pictures I had showed three rows of pipes, which I selectively compressed into two rows. I made sure to leave the ends a little bit askew, and also didn't stack them in a pile that would look like it was ready to fall or roll over. The pile on the left of shorter pipes was especially fun to arrange because I tried to think like a forklift operator who was just dumping pipes here and there. I realized that I didn't have enough pipes to fully cover the pad, and I didn't want a large open area, so I needed to come up with something else to fill the space.
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So, off to the hobby store again and this time I picked up some H-columns, made from ABS plastic by Plastruct. They have a lot of interesting architectural shapes and the corners are much crisper in ABS plastic than the comparable ones from Evergreen styrene. I bought five sticks of 1/2" H-columns and cut them up with my razor saw. The ends were deburred, and I sprayed them with light coatings of gray and red primer with a focus more on the red. The ends were dabbed with an orange, rusty colored craft paint. These were also stacked in a pile. These too were piled up in a not-so-random way.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOilSwEAj2tiwGuGc0HFX6NMpLz3TBEGWoH_jOHMWPJElSLbkqoYMmTyDvdfRJmoi-Y8uptDdFoE4BfLgyuButG21_UipBUghKQARTLaVVtvxcSj-8IlPOL6cXDlY2z1XjtqsC2khW32a3/s320/IMG_0615.JPG)
I searched the internet for HO scale forklifts that would look good here. I found several, and bought two (
including a gorgeous Wiking model that I later determined was too modern for my 1984 era). The one I went with was a Kibri "Steinbock" kit #10002. It came in pieces in a tiny plastic case about the size of an old tape cassette. It was an odd way to pack a kit, but the few parts contained therein went together well based on the pictorial assembly drawing. I repainted the orange with a brighter shade, the tire rims were painted a duller yellow, and the hydraulic shaft was picked out in silver. After assembly, it was weathered with an oil wash. I glued some leftover pipes and pieces of chain to to the forklift, and it was done. An operator will come later.
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The area between the concrete pad and Iroquois Millwork was a little scene that came together while thinking about what I had seen while driving through the area. Abandoned, rusted tractor trailers are to be found everywhere. Discarded garbage, bushes, weeds, and other visible evidence of neglect abound. I searched through my parts bin for a surplus tractor trailer and patched out the USPS markings. Then, it was weathered and detailed and planted along with dirt, bushes, and junk in the small vacant lot. I carried the dirt and bushes around the concrete pad to firmly plant everything into the ground with no visible gaps, and then I declared the area complete.
Really like the look of the abandoned and rusted tractor trailer and the area. Looks great for how I would think run down 1970's / 1980's would looked.
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