Gilmor Hotel, Part 1 of 2

The Gilmor Hotel was so named strictly due to the available signs from Light Works USA (the same source as the Micro Structures kit). Although I would have chosen a different name, I was more interested in having a working sign. And so the hotel is somewhat unique among the buildings of Naughtright: it's virtually unmodified—even down to the name. The only significant change I'd planned for it was a new cornice; those flat, wedge-shaped cornices found on most of the Miller Engineering kits just don't do it for me.

To imbue it with at least some originality, I considered disabling a letter in the GILMOR sign to add interest as well as suggest a bit of old age; the question was which letter, and what the result might connote... GILMO sounded like a Sesame Street character. ILMOR hinted that the hotel was hit by Legionnaire's Disease. GI MOR had military overtones. And GIL OR was very vaguely fishy. In the end, I went with GILMO because it seemed like the safest modification to make without jeopardizing other parts of the delicate sign.

Even though the building would be pretty much stock, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to give it a little "something special." I'd been looking for a candidate for animated ceiling fans, and the large first-floor windows made it a good candidate. I'd built animated ceiling fans for an N scale store on Rick Spano's layout, and these would be done the same way. I triple-checked the hotel in situ on the layout to ensure the effect could be seen!

What remained in question was what the establishment on the first floor would be. A restaurant made sense, but I already had Emma's; a bar was another option, but then there was O'Malley's Triangle Bar. Having two restaurants or two bars didn't violate a sense of believability, but it did seem redundant. I was toying with the idea of making it a pizza parlor, but a hotel over a pizza parlor sounded a little odd, so the decision would have to wait; it was mostly a matter of signage, so it didn't interfere with construction.

As per usual, assembly began by soldering the main walls together. The angled entrance was just a bit tricky to solder, as the adjacent parts were flimsy and allowed the joint to go off-angle. Even trickier was the tiny triangular part over the door; I went to great lengths to ensure all of its edges were fully soldered. This was done as much for added strength as to prevent light leaks, as I'd planned on installing a light over the door.

As of 6 October 2008, this is where the project stands. More as it happens.

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Miller Engineering's Gilmor Hotel is the only kit that retains its original name.

Animated ceiling fans like these will be added to the business on the first floor.

As usual, construction begins by soldering the main walls together.

Getting the angle of the main entrance correct was a challenge.

This tiny part over the door is soldered along all edges.

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