Garden Hill Tank, Schomberg SM (O scale)

By: Bob Boudreau

Kit instructions, printed on one side of four sheets, do not have any illustrations or photos. The only photo of the kit is on the box, but this is not a problem. The instructions do say the water tank is a freelanced model, inspired by a Fine Scale Miniatures kit from many years ago.

The parts of the kit are shown in (Photo A), and consist of the one piece stone walls part, the simulated wood deck, the tank itself, the brick front wall, the tank base and supports, the tank roof, a ladder and plastic bag with the spout, smoke jack, chain and a few small items. All are cast in a soft white resin with nice detailing. Not shown are two small plastic bags, containing some baking powder and rottenstone. What is “rottenstone” you ask? A web inquiry said this: “A natural abrasive ground from powdered limestone. It is finer than pumice and is often used in a second step when rubbing out a finish in wood.” I knew about it from reading Lane Stewart’s articles in the Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette some years ago, and had used it a few times.

The larger parts have minimal flash to clear up, and this can be done with a hobby knife. The window in the front wall, and the ladder had paper thin flash that took some time to clean up. I used emery boards – small craft sticks with sandpaper on both sides – to do a lot of the cleanup between the rungs of the ladder.

The only flaw I found was a partial metal rod around the tank (Photo B). The middle rod had a small gap missing in one area. I cleaned out the area with a hobby knife and glued in a piece of slightly curved brass wire to fill the gap. (Photo C) When the tank is painted, the repair becomes almost invisible.

As suggested in the instructions, I washed all of the resin parts in warm water and dishwashing soap. Keep the water warm and not hot, as the resin can deform if the water is too hot. After drying I painted all the parts except the spout and smoke jack with flat gray primer from a spray can. I like the inexpensive spray cans, as they produce a nice flat finish, and dry relatively fast. And they are a whole lot easier and quicker to use than my airbrush. The only cleanup when through is to invert the can and spray until no more paint comes out.

I’ve been using “Colour Place” cans from our local Wal-Mart, great bargains at around $2.00 each. I haven’t been able to find it recently, so it may no longer be available, but I’m sure there are others. It is solvent based, so I used it in my airbrush spray booth with the exhaust fan running and wore a proper respirator for organic solvents. It produces a lot of overspray, so protecting your lungs is important. You could spray into a cardboard box outdoors if you don’t have a spray booth. (Photo D)

I washed both the stone walls and tank with an alcohol and black leather die solution. I normally use a solution of alcohol and India ink for such darkening, but chose the leather die this time, as it seems to stay on the surfaces better. The stone walls and the tank were actually quite dark when the solution was applied, so I wiped them down with a rag, which left them with a slightly darker look, but the recesses in the stones and between the boards on the tank remained a desirable dark color.

The brick front and the tank base and the wood deck were brush painted using various water based craft paints. These paints are inexpensive and come in squeezable plastic bottles. They can be thinned or mixed together to get whatever shade you might want. (Photo E) I didn’t worry about totally covering the parts with the paint, leaving some areas with lesser coverage than others to simulate aged paint. The tank roof was painted light tan color craft paint. The trap door on the roof is unpainted in the photo, but I painted it green later.