MPC 'Silver Dollar' Saloon (Cabin v.1) - Brown / Red / Yellow SP

Back in March 2023 I covered all the MPC Old West buildings I had at the time. A year later, this cabin was offered to me by one of the guys in the Meta (facebook) train groups. He got it with a bunch of trains and this just wasn't his forte'. Here we are now, a year after that and I'm finally circling around again to Western posts. I'm calling this a 'saloon' because that's what I associate with any building that has 'SILVER DOLLAR' emblazoned on the front door! It's in the style of what I've designated a 'version 1' cabin or structure - those MPC cabins that were made with interchangeable fronts fitting over a sturdy heavy-grade soft viny plastic wall set. This example is excellent in that its front door is still intact. Far too often the front doors go missing as they easily break from the wall due to their flimsy hinges. Be Blessed and Relish Life! Ed 

'THE STAMPEDE': Fun With Job Lot Finds and Playing With My Western Toys - Pt 4 Final Old West Stampede and Photos Worthy of a Frontier Newspaper

I selected a few choice photos, cut out the old backdrop and inserted a new one in Photoshop. Also using Photoshop, I tried my hand at creating a cloud of dust and sand being kicked-up by the horses roaring through town and then gave the photos that old time photo look. Hope you - Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Headline in the May 18, 1874 Dodge City Western Gazette reads

"STAMPEDE"

photos by staff photographer Jesse Gallup.

Here's a few finished shots in color and monochrome. Which do you like better readers? 

'THE STAMPEDE': Fun With Job Lot Finds and Playing With My Western Toys - Pt 3 Creating an Old West Town in The Computer Using Toys , Old Photos, and Photoshop

Basically, the diorama was finished but I sat at the computer thinking that it needed something else. First of all, that all-purpose backdrop I painted seven years ago and used for so many other photo shoots, just wasn't working for me. 

Looks nice enough, but for me doesn't evoke 'old west' quite yet

Through the years Bettina and I have taken a gazillion photos of the desert here in Nevada. This particular photo of Boulder City and the Lake Mead area, is actually fairly recent. It'll make a good 'nuff background.

Using Photoshop, I cut out the old backdrop

That's it! That's the look I'm after - yay!

I layered Bettina's photo behind the town and voila' Old West town

More to follow - finishing up in our next installment.

Enjoy! Opa Fritz

THE STAMPEDE': Fun With Job Lot Finds and Playing With My Western Toys - Pt 2

Trying to get a feel for what I wanted the scene to look like as the horses go stampeding through town. Somehow the flatness of the buildings wasn't appealing to me.

Not too bad, but also not what I was looking for

Okay - now I'm feeling it!

The Old West vide is really hitting me now. The 'flat' buildings have been replaced. The MPC streetfront has been folded to give it the 3d look vs. being splayed out flat against the backdrop. Also, the early style MPC Western buildings have been deployed on the board. The camera angles are better as well - it's all coming together.

There's a bit more to do though - stay tuned for Pt3. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

MPC Western Street Front - Brown SP

Here's a very nice Old West style street front - or town front - whatever you prefer. It's molded in a brown soft plastic and when splayed out on a flat surface, measures 19 1/4" (48.89cm) L x 5 1/4" (13.33cm) H. But when you set it up as shown in the photos, it's only10" (25.40cm) W x 6" (15.24cm) D. I haven't yet set this up in any kind of diorama like setting but hope to do so in the next week or so. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

This is a large chunk of plastic and I'm surprised at just how much detail MPC managed to squeeze in. Not only that, but the details are so spot-on for an Old West setting. Fun stuff that!

The street front is perhaps a tad too small for ringhands, but MPC - and others - made smaller 45mm figures which would fit nicely with this.

Marshall Matt Dillon, Roy Rogers, and a host of others would feel right at home wandering down this street 

A scan of the sturdy cardboard insert