Staple to any eye-catching layout is some form of waterfront, be it a small stream, a raging river, or an inlet/bay. For our layout we chose to dedicate the right end portion to create a fishing and shipping inlet with a large wharf area. The concept will be to make it a bustling beehive of activity, and for the lazier fisherman or two, a place to kick your heals up on an old crate and tell “big catch” or “the one that got away” stories as you wait for the next catch to pull into the dock.
We love working with Bar Mills structures and they had the right craftsman kit to kick off this project with a charming little seaside structure that can be built directly onto the water. There will be many such seaside buildings, some much larger, but most of those will be placed on piers and wharfs that will extend out over the water and 
bunched together along a bank. But there has to be a balance of low to the water shanties, shacks, bait shops, and boat houses to compliment the larger buildings that rise upon the banks. Contrast if you will. The structure we chose from Bar Mills was Waterfront Willy’s/Trackside Jack’s. The model can be built for land along rails or as a sea-faring business, but literally it can be made into just about anything you can imagine. As with any craftsman kit, you want to make it unique and show your own creativeness and this kit allows you a lot of play with the components and details. It provides many of the details you see here on our version, but there are many others we added to it, many of which we made ourselves which we will take some time over the next few weeks, showing you how you can design your own details and some tips for enhancing the building beyond the excellence that is provided in a Bar Mills box.
What we feel is the caveat of their kits is their excellent attention to details in directions, and in nearly all their kits, they give great attention to making it feel like they are right there with you guiding you as you build. They even offer suggestions and yes encourage you to get a little wild with your creativity. In this kit however, a portion of the directions were left out, but left out with purpose. Options abound from kitbashing with other kits, adding additional walls, choosing your style of windows and details. Nothing is set in stone that any kit, regardless of maker needs to be built “exactly” as the picture on the box. However we loved their general design for our objective, mainly because of the outside staircase on the right side of the building, but also the dormer extentions on the roof and the small adjacent shack. As you will see in the photo of all the parts, there are many.
But don’t be intimidated by it. Or any model for that matter. The key is taking your time and thinking everything through. As you do, the ideas will flood your mind and you’ll find yourself making alterations. Or you just might enjoy leaving it as it was originally intended.
So with this kit, you are going to go through some steps and different ideas to help you with your modeling skills. It’s an awesome kit to hone in on your craftsman kit building skills!
