Signs made with the help of A.I., Real Businesses with funny names

All of these signs were rendered based on the pictures of the original signs or trucks. Although I did enhance the final signs with mypaint, and other programs, the majority of the work was done by A.I. I used Copilot for Microsoft, Chatgpt, and Gemini from Google. For this particular use, they all worked equally well.

Use as you like, or don't.  :)

Roundhouse Kitbash Buildings

I am looking for some feedback on possible businesses for a slightly run down 1949 downtown small town. The layout is set in SW Missouri and NW Arkansas, so I am looking for business that would have been in the area in the late 1940's. I prefer businesses that are local to this four-state area, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, or Arkansas. There are four buildings I have not filled yet. Two of the 1-story, and two of the 2-story buildings. there are one each of brick and stone. Don't limit your thinking to the window and doors in the picture, as they are easily kit-bashed. 

 

These are the two kits assembled per the instructions. 

Some of the stores I have thought of, although I have already found out there were know Duckwalls in this area. I need four businesses.  The upstairs can be apartments, or an additional business. 

This building has four businesses in it, a bank, a barber shop, a newspaper office, a bar and grill, and an attorney upstairs. Obviously, few of these are finished.

As mentioned above, I can kit-bash them. Here are some examples. This Newmans Department store is the same kit as the one above but in brick. I simply assembled the building modules differently. I used different doors than came with the kit, and cut in a new front window.

In the rear I cut in a freight door.

This is one I am working on, it originally had two windows, but I mulled three together.

With this powerhouse, I simply added a small section to make it "L" shaped. 

I also have many spare modules, so I can change out sections as needed.

Hog farm in Splitlog

Anyone have any idea how I should layout the hog farm?  This is a picture of a diorama I build many years ago, and I have torn it apart to make it fit a particular space on the layout.  

The diorama if about 22" square, and the space I need it to fit is about 7" by 48". I will identify the buildings from top to bottom, left to right. Across the top is the Farrowing house, and the hog pen with wallow, shelters, feeder & windmill.  Next the Octagon Barn and the corn crib.  The small building on the center left is a tool shed, and the blank space on the right side is the smoke house.  The lower left corner is a tornado shelter, then the house, the large building is the shop and machinery shed, and in the bottom right corner is the slaughterhouse. I assume I will need to eliminate a building two to make the farm fit.

Here is an overhead picture.  The question is how to arrange the buildings and if there is no room for all of them, which do I eliminate?  The shop-Machinery Shed is large, but I do like having a place to display some farm equipment under roof.  The Slaughterhouse is small but easy to eliminate, and the building would have many other uses. The barn takes up a lot of room with the approaches on two sides, but the octagon design is striking.  The house would be easy to use somewhere else and could be in another part of the farm that is not modeled but is somehow completes the scene to me.  

A picture from the South end.

From the north end.

Here is the space I have for the farm, my only problem is how to layout the buildings. 

Farrowing House, it has access from both ends, so it can go about anywhere that makes sense.  This design is based on prototype blueprints from the era.

Hog pen and Hog wallow.  The concrete wallow is based on prototype blueprints.  The windmill is a Woodland Scenics kit.

The corn crib is a Blairline Kit. The metal grain bin is a 3D printed model I designed.  The silos are pill bottles with paper wraps I made and 3d printed roofs I designed.   Obviously, I won't use all three silos.

Left to right, the barn slaughterhouse, smokehouse, and storm shelter.

The house, again based on prototype farm house plans from the era.

I made up the design for the barn based on several pictures.  I designed it and 3D printed it.  

You can drop me a message in the comments section.

Layout Update 5.17.24

 

The first 4 sections of the layout are assembled. Next is painting the legs and facia. Yes, at some point I will need to finish the ceiling and the walls, but I want to get some trains running sooner rather than later.

Here is the first test section.  Fine tuning the assembly and construction.

This is a view of the curved section under construction.

The full layout plan.  You can click on the image to enlarge it.

The North end of the layout which is staging, but will have some scenery and structures.

The next section includes some staging for interchange railroads (the yellow tracks).  Things may change, and I am open to suggestions.  At the moment I am planning on using cork roadbed on the mainline and passing siding, and no roadbed under any sidings.  The dark blue is the mainline and the light blue is the passing siding.  Woodyville will be all Woodland Scenics Pewter cast metal building kits.

This 60 degree curved section starts with rural scenery and moves into city.  Many of the buildings in this section will be kitbashed Tyco structures.  There is a short 2% grade on some sidings on this section.

This is the city of Joplin section.  The mainline has no elevation through the first four sections.

Hopefully I will feel well enough to take the sections outside and paint them soon.

Layout update 6/11/23

The basement has walls, and hopefully the roof goes on the house this next week.  Here is a picture of the layout area as is it right now.

Here is how I have arranged the layout at this time.   

If you click on the drawing a large version will appear. 

Since it has been a while, here is the list of Givens and Druthers.  I believe I have 

Givens 

1. It is 1949. 

2. HO scale standard gauge main line. 

3. Line runs from North Staging (KC) to Car Ferry Dock at Van Buren, AR. 

4. Within reason, modular specifications to meet Free-Mo standards 

    a. http://www.free-mo.org/standard/ 

    b. 42” minimum radius on the main line 

    c. #8 Turnouts on the main line 

5. Main cities of Joplin, MO & Springdale, AR. 

6. The town of Splitlog must be represented. 

7. 3’ narrow gauge line (Trees Unlimited) somewhere south of Springdale a. associated with a large sawmill. 

8. 30” narrow gauge somewhere 

9. 18” operating mine railroad 

10.Interchanges:

    a. ATSF, MKT, KCS, MoPac & Frisco in Joplin. 

    b. Frisco in Springdale

    c. MoPac, KCS, Frisco in Van Buren 

11.Joplin Union Station will be massively compressed, flat on the back with taller building flats attached to the back. I will have to do a drawing to make that make any since. 

 

Druthers 

1. Gulf Oil refinery somewhere south of Joplin. 

2. 36” aisles 

The layout sections are 26' in depth except for at Van Buren where it is 33".  Almost all section of the layout can be operated from both sides.  The only exceptions are this time are Joplin and the section with the large sawmill.  The concept for those two sections are shown below.

For some clarification on the Joplin section, here are some concept drawings.

The station and hotels will sit where indicated.  The Joplin station track side will have some depth to it, but the hotels will be flats.  I will have to get an artist to draw the hotels, as pictures of the back of the hotels are sketchy or non-existent.  I plan on mounting the hotel drawings on black foam core to give them some semblance of depth.  The total depth, as currently planned, will be about 6", and the length will be somewhat longer the 12", and about 7" tall.  The dark blue is the main line, and the light blue are passing sidings.

Between Joplin and Springdale the elevation of the main line will rise 3-4 inches, and this module is just south of Springdale.  Again, the standard gauge main line is in dark blue.  With the exception of this section, the layout could be run as double track, as there are passing sidings the entire length.  The 3' gauge track and the sawmill are on the upper portion blocked from this side by trees, lots of trees.  Viewing from this side, there is an 18" (Z scale track) mining railroad at zero elevation and it loops under the standard gauge and the sawmill.  Also, at the far right, you can see a small red section, that is the 30" gauge railroad that will be hauling the mined product away.  What are we mining, maybe unobtanium, maybe Vibranium, maybe?