Fiddlers Green

This side of the forum evidently doesn't see much traffic. How about some authentic buildings of the real American West? We have a treasure of resources here that I'm using as inspiration for some new building models, the National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University:
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ranchhc/home.htm

The 'Explore' link under the Historical Park heading will activate a nifty interactive Flash application showing the buildings in the collection. I'm currently working on a model of this one, the Barton House:


The collection also features an original yellow Santa Fe Depot building that I'm planning to do later- there did appear to be some interest in an old depot building for model RR layouts, so I might do that one soon.

I've also acquired lots of data on structures at the old Air Force Base that closed here 10 years ago- lots of hangars and cold-war vintage buildings. While some are WWII vintage, most are much more modern and would be more appropriate for the jet age. I plan to do a control tower and some flightline shacks to support the nifty century series aircraft the other side of the forum is promising...


-Cheers,
MOCR

hmmmmmmm....good suggestion......

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Laterz
Possm_23
Never say anything you wouldnt think out loud!
Take your time leavin.....but hurry back!!!!
Every tub has to sit on its own bottom!!!!

I would love to see any new buildings but especially western buildings that would go with the western section there is not a suitable ranch house in it. I've started an other western layout in Z scale. The base buildings would be great also. I was TDY to reese one time years ago.

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cowboy

Hi, MOCR,

As a native Texan who loves history, I love your idea. We need to let the world know that the USA didn't start with the Mayflower. Lots of people out here can't even spell Mayflower. And the architecture is totally different.

(You might find the Wednesday column by Nita Thurman in the Denton Record Chronical to be interesting.)

I will be delighted to see models of MY world.

The U of North Texas has recently been involved in preserving on line a vast number of old photos which you might find interesting http://texashistory.unt.edu/

Bob

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I'm not an old fool, but I'm taking a correspondence course to become one.

Cowboy,

I hope your western town is based on the real thing and not on the old black and white B-movies!

Bob

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I'm not an old fool, but I'm taking a correspondence course to become one.

Blueeyed:

I tried to read the Chronicle article from Wednesday, but it appears their archives are by subscription only. The latest article I could fine by Nita Thurman was from the 6th- it was a good one.

I've found quite a bit of info on old buildings of many types online at the library of Congress- it's the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HEAR):

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/habs_haer/

Lots of pics and 3-views of various structures there, and I've found most of the 3-views of the RHC collection there too. Various ways to search the database and high-quality scans of their drawings on record can be downloaded as TIFF files...

EDITED TO ADD: I forgot to mention that some windmill models would be a good addition too. It just so happens we have a museum for those here in Lubbock as well:

http://www.windmill.com/index.html

In going to the Denton Record Chronicle web site to read todays Nita Thurman column, my mind noticed the pic of the old Denton County Courthouse (now a museum) --- before you end this project you need at least one of the classic old courthouses, and some of the shops around the courthouse square (we lost one old classic building on the square in Kaufman yesterday, but the fire fighters actually saved the red brick facade!).

(For you non-Texans, we have 254 counties --- there is actually a large book with photos of all of the current ones and many of the older ones. And where I live now I'm closer to Chicago than to El Paso! Sorry folks, Texans are required to brag!)


Bob

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I'm not an old fool, but I'm taking a correspondence course to become one.