The Dolores Blacksmith is DONE!

Today I finished the blacksmith shop in Dolores (Sn3 layout).  It is named for J. M. Rush Jr., who was a blacksmith in the Mancos, just down the road.  In my world he added another shop because of the work available in Dolores.  I painted three figures and a horse for the scene.  There is a blacksmith in the back of the shop by the hearth, another near the front door, and a farrier outside fixing a horse shoe for Arnold the Wonder Horse.

The kit was fun to build (more or less) and easier thanI had thought.  However, building several pieces of equipment - a foot powered grinding wheel and a drill press - just about made me start to drink again.  Maybe I need a grappa.  The grinder took hours.  But it looks good there so OK.  The kit was from Western Scale Models - long gone.  There was an amazing number of scale tools in the kit.  Excellent castings.  The blacksmith by the hearth and the Farrier and horse are Aspen Model figures.  The other blacksmith was a 3D printed one from Miniprints.  All painted by me.  I may try and get a close up of the blacksmith as the model is really good - even a handlebar mustache.  The shingles are from Wild West Models - they come painted and weathered so just cut a strip and glue it down.

I built the model with a removeable roof so I could see the interior details.  There is a flickering red light in the heartland and a hidden light over the door for illumination.  Lighting is from the Woodland Scenics system.

I do need to add some trees and bushes to the scene and water to the pond to the right, but I am waiting until the next three buildings are completed in that row - the last for the layout.  They'll not take as long as this one did!  Next up is the Superintendent's house - a Raggs kit.  Again - bought long long ago.

PS Just replaced the interior shot - poor lighting