Thomas A Yorke Studios

[Admin]

I have been producing scale model kits for over 30 years for the model railroading hobby. The materials used vary from Hydrocal plaster to cast resin for the major components with the remainder of the kits comprised of wood, styrene and metal. Most kits are of the craftsman type, but some are designed for the beginner.

The current offerings are in O scale (1/4” to the foot), HO scale (3.5mm to the foot) and Gn15 (nominally ½” to the foot). Most kits are of the limited production variety. When the run is sold out, there will not be any more for quite some time, if at all

My models reflect the environment and the effect this has on the materials. I sculpt my patterns to reflect age, rot, water damage, and structural fatigue as well as failure. The textures are rich and are brought to life with color stains. Some structures actually have a lean to one side. I do not do sterile laser cutting, but works of art. That is why some of my kits seem to be more expensive at times. All of this handwork is tedious, but it makes my kits look like they were built from scratch. In a way, they were! You just need to assemble them. Extensive painting instructions are included to guide you along the way.


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[tomyorke]

Frank, Frank and all,
I do give rather extensive painting and finishing instructions will all of my resin kits. Frank is an expert at the technique and has some of his own twists up his sleeves. It is really very easy to do. I find it much easier to replicate wood in resin than in Hydrocal. Of course, wood is wood, but by using resin I get to sculpt all of the detail in the casting. A trick that sign painters use is to use their hand or finger for support and as a guide in painting close quarters or straight lines freehand. Also keep in mind that real full size buildings aren't painted perfectly either! If a model is too perfect it doesn't look real, it looks like a carefully orchestrated "museum" miniature. Too "perfect". That isn't an excuse to be sloppy but rather an observation and something to consider while model building.

I'll be doing a clinic later in the year at the structure convention.

Tom

[TrevorCreek]

To All,

Here are some pictures of the Williams Market kit that Tom will be doing in HO scale after the Sonora Store and Small Stone Store. I will be posting pics of my verison of this kit in the next week or two.

williams_market_1_web.jpg

williams_market_2_web.jpg

williams_market_3_web.jpg

Frank

[tomyorke]

HO kit update. The Sonora Stores and the Stone & Frame Storefront have now been packaged. Shipping will be on Monday. I finally got the resin I had been waiting for for over three weeks! All is cast and ready to go after a marathon casting session. Next week I will work on a small stock of those two kits and a rerun of the Vicksburg Building. Those kits will be ready by May 12.

The Williams Market should be up on the website by end of this weekend and the kit will be ready for ordering and delivery by end of May. I will also keep a small stock of these on hand after that time for immediate shipping. It takes a little while to build up a stock.

Two new kits are on the not so distant horizon for HO. One will be a rerun of the "famous" Hydrocal Rubbles depot. You now, the one with the round tower based on the Maine prototype. The other will be a very close rendition of the Cherokee Parts Store as depicted in the 1936 photo by Walker Evans. This will be a colorful kit with all signs and many "parts" to hang on the structure's facade as in the photo. This will be a resin kit with a Hydrocal base. Which one makes it to market first is up in the air. If you would like to be on the reservation list please contact me at tomyorke@bellsouth.net. Please don't tie up this forum. I will keep a list and contact those individuals when the kit(s) are ready.

That's it for now. Painting instructions to come shortly - however, both of the above kits that are now shipping contain very detailed instructions.

Cheers,
Tom

[TrevorCreek]

To All,

I posted the How-To from Tom on painting resin and hydrocal kits on his web site on the following page:

http://www.thomasayorke.com/Freebees.html

It is at the bottom of the page.

Frank

[tomyorke]

A bit of news for you O scalers out there. I have just finished the instruction "novel" for the "Oscar's Upholstery & Bottums Up Bar" building flat kit to come soon. It is a fantastically detailed flat of 1" depth and a sidewalk of 2-1/4" depth that represents a three section storefront that is now divided into two. It has arched facade trim and the era is about 1900, but it represents a structure that has lived a long and hard life. It is of frame construction and is covered in pressed metal panel trim. So far there are 32 castings. Most in rein with the foundation and sidewalk in Hydrocal. You HO scalers may want to try your hand at this one. It makes a great shelf display and is a wonderful learning tool for paint and weathering. The booklet will contain complete four view drawings for those that may want to do a complete "in the round" model. It will be up on the website soon but reservations are being taken now at tomyorke@bellsouth.net. Nothing down, just let me know of your interest. Maybe Frank can post a photo of the model so far here.

Tom

[TrevorCreek]

To All,

Here is the pic of the O scale flat.

o_scale_flat.jpg (83.11 KiB) Viewed 3001 times

Frank

[TrevorCreek]

To All,

Here are the pics of Tom's build of the adobe kit that he is doing. I will be building my version as soon as I get mine from Tom.

adobe_1.jpg (67.63 KiB) Viewed 2995 times

adobe_2.jpg (86.37 KiB) Viewed 2995 times

adobe_3.jpg (63.42 KiB) Viewed 2997 times

Frank

[tomyorke]

Thought it was about time to announce the next HO kit since we are packing all of the Markets and a few other HO kits today and the way will be clear to start casting up a new one. All current HO orders should be sent out by no later than mid week next!!

The Cherokee Parts Store was made famous through a Walker Evans FSA photograph of 1940. It featured a garage scene in Atlanta, although it could have been absolutely anywhere in the country. It is a frame structure with metal cladding on the facade. Lots of colorful signs too! The foot print of the structure is about 4" by 4-1/2" not including any sidewalk or "yard". Sidewalks are included as well as all signs and some inner tubes and hub caps to place as on the prototype. Even the interior walls of the office although no other interior is furnished. For this kit you will need many old cars in various states or repair or disrepair. I will include a primer on old cars to aid you in how to weather them and how to "part them out" prototypically. Something that many modelers do not know how to do as evidenced by a multitude of model photos showing some weird configurations of these. I will get into some detail here with numerous photos since this is one of the things that will make this model stand out. Start collecting cars! I will ask Frank to post a photo of the real deal here so you have an idea of what I am talking about.

The patterns are all finished and will be molded this weekend so the kits should be ready sometime in July. This would be a great one for a contest diorama along with the Vicksburg Building. In fact my own diorama (yes I'm actually doing one in HO even!) will feature these two along with the Williams Market. I am working on a little "block" of buildings in HO that all theme together. About three more to go yet. Next year.

When the pilot model is finished at least enough for photos I will post all of the info on the kit for ordering. I'd say at least another week or so.

Tom

[TrevorCreek]

To All,

Here is the original photo used to design the kit.

cherokee.jpg (50.03 KiB) Viewed 3084 times

Frank