That is awesome work, Rob. The fire pit is new to me. I did not know the history of Taco Bell as stand alone restaurants like these. They were always in food courts at malls, etc...I love the history you add to each of your builds. It is a bonus if we learn something new. There were not many of them in my area growing up. That is going to be a great module with lots of interesting builds. Jim
A bit more progress on the Taco Bell, I made signs today. The black X and Y lines are for laser cutting alignment. I put 2" shipping tape over the left row of printout, then put the red pointer laser dot on the top left corner and moved the Y axis front to back, aligning the printout leftmost black line to the laser spot. Then the laser cut out the signs far more accurate than I could. I applied the signs to the side of the building just like the prototype. On the prototype, the 5 signs on each side of the restaurant have some kind of scrollwork or something around the rectangular wood plaque. That's what I am trying to replicate, so I need the laser to do it for me: The side of the prototype restaurant for reference: And here is the Taco Bell alphabet blocks logo applied to the front. It's starting to take on the appearance of the original Taco Bell restaurants now:
Will you light the fire pit? It is definitely West Coast. I had no idea they ever looked like that. It's going to look great with the McD's and Super 8. You are out-doing yourself. Jim
Damn it Jim, I'm only a country modeler! Sorry Rob and Jim, I was unable to restrain myself. Rob, Excellent work on the signage. How are you going to recreate the bell? Scott
Just saying...he does have a trash can fire in his round-house module. I can't see Rob modeling a non-working fire pit. Model Shipways probably has tiny brass bells for those who model ships. I guess I've never seen a real Taco Bell restaurant. This is looking fantastic. Jim
I had been working on the Digispark firebox flicker, but I found some Breathing LED's and Fireflicker LED's so I ordered a bunch of those for the firepit.Yes the firepit is coming as well as the lighted Sombrero Siesta Serape signpost they had before stereotypes were made taboo
Modified the patio to fit a firepit and the sign post light wiring. 20 second video of lighting effects.
The sign and fire pit looks great! The overall look of Taco Bell looks fantastic! “Make a run for the border”!
Dang, that's the Taco Bell of my youth right there, bringing back the memories! Wow, excellent build!
I got a SWEET shipment from Portugal, with an assortment of vintage style vehicles from João of JMC Scale Models. The castings are impeccable, with no bubbles or flaws, and of the finest detail. They will make a nice addition of my collection of period vehicles. I ordered the unpainted ones to save money, as I need lots of vehicles for the next Drive In Theater I plan on building when I have collected enough old time vehicles. I am collecting 1930's through 1950's vehicles with the majority being 1940's and early 50's to be used for a old time drive in.
Rob, Reminds me of the drive-in near my childhood home. We have a drive-in in my town, one of two in Connecticut. Knowing you, you will probably be projecting an image onto the tiny screen, or it will be a small display. Scott
Scott locomotive cradle is a great thing. I usual put mine upside down in a foam case. But yours is very functional.
Joe, No, my dad made the master of that 0-6-0 switcher for the In Service Miniatures line. He gave me that one when I started in Z scale. I was just using it as a demo. I am hoping to turn the 4-6-4 into a CNJ H1. The one in the tray will be a CNJ 4-6-0 L6 camelback. Scott