Maria, the "trashbashing" project looks great. I thought you were done with it, it looks so neat. Can't wait to see what you do next.

getting there

I have two sets of the smaller Playskool version cut apart and getting ready for a paint job. I won't be using a sand coat, though. They're going on my outdoor railroad for some scheduled open houses this winter and next spring, along with a broken Fischer Price Western Town I got for $1 at a church garage sale. Folks who collect these things or who remember them from their childhood are always shocked when we "ruin the collector's value" by cutting on or painting them, but the ones I use were all in very bad shape - not remotely useable by children or for display (unless you think black mould or sharp broken edges add play value).

Okay, I'm going to share a story about the Western Town I just hacked in two. If you don't think my stories are interesting or amusing, feel free to hit the back button, I won't be offended. But it was one of those strange things that ALMOST deserves telling . . .

My kids had one of these, and it's in great condition in the attic awaiting grandchildren, who, considering we raised three strongminded daughters who tend to blow off jerks, may never arrive. So I was familiar with it. However, these seldom show up used, so I had never thought about trashbashing one.

But I saw one at a church garage sale that had been set up on a Friday, got a deluge and windstorm that night and was open again on the next day.

A community-minded church in Park Layne, Ohio, had brought in all sorts of donations, with the plan that the proceeds would to a food bank or similar local charity. But the best-laid plans . . . When I arrived on Sunday morning, several hundred items of clothing, dozens of books, etc., were a soggy, muddy mess that, frankly, weren't worth the effort it would take to haul them to the dump. But I was already out of the car, so I figured I'd walk around once to be polite.

Always on the lookout for something to trashbash, a poor, battered Western Town caught my eye. (That's a dangling participle, on case you wondered. Take THAT! Mrs. Robinson.) The UV exposure and driving rain had ruined the stickers on the set, and there were no pieces, so I knew it would never be used for a toy again. The price sticker said $1.50, but I didn't necessarily need another project. I turned it back and forth and decided that, if I could cut it in two and use both build "fronts" on the front of two new structures, it might work. Plus at another garage sale, I had bought a nice resin stage coach in about the same scale that I hadn't found a use for yet.

One of the church ladies who saw me looking at the otherwise useless toy said, "Everything's on a donation basis today, since so much of it was damaged by the storm. So just make an offer."

Still, why did I need ONE more project - I have maybe ten buildings that need built and another ten that need significant repairs. What was I thinking? I put it down, glanced around the rest of the garage sale, most of which was going to be in a landfill within 36 hours, and started to leave.

Another church lady said, "If you saw anything you like, make an offer. We'll accept anything. Most of this stuff is going to the dump anyway."

"That's okay," I said.

As I left the lot, heading for my car, yet ANOTHER CHURCH LADY said, "Did you know that everything's on a donation basis since the storm? We'll take anything, just make an offer."

Okay, they had me. The battered, faded toy was probably worth a dollar, anyway. I went back to it, picked it up, pulled a dollar out of my wallet, and went over to the table where they were taking the money. I asked the person fiddling with the change drawer, "Is a dollar okay for this?"

Then the pastor, a fifty-ish soft-faced man about my build, leaned across the cash drawer, looked me in the eyes with a grave expression and said, "If you're sure in your heart that you're offering a fair value for this."

Based on his expression and his obvious anticipation that I would cave, I think that in another life he was used to saying things like "These aren't the droids you're looking for."

I resisted the temptation to say, "No, I thought 50 cents was fair, but I was trying to be nice." Instead I met his gaze and nodded my head solemnly as if the matter was worth serious consideration. "Yes, I'm sure," I said.

Now that I've put about four hours into cleaning the thing up, sawing it in two, and cleaning up the rough edges, it looks like it might turn into a worthwhile project after all. In other words, it might really HAVE been worth $1.50 in retrospect. But I don't think I'll be making an extra trip to the church to give them another 50 cents.

Oh, why am I still using old Playskool and Fisher Prices building on my outdoor ("garden") railroad when so many attractive kits are available. Because, properly primed and protected from UV, the old toys are holding up better than the expensive kits. Don't get me wrong, UV will turn any of these as brittle as eggshells in a few days if you don't paint them properly, but my 20-year old paint jobs on those are holding up better than the 5-year-old buildings.

Okay, that's enough. Google "Trashbuilding 101" and look for the FamilyGardenTrains.com link for more info.

Those photos are wonderful Paul! I finally finished my trashbashing project and will post pictures soon.

By the way I have always wanted a Noah's ark but could never afford the antique and vintage ones - by sheer coincidence I went to a tag sale today and found a very banged up and covered in black magic marker--ark by Playskool. Can't wait to start that one!

my completed trashbashing project--for the antique feather tree in the dining room
the "brownstone" is a fisher price toy house I repainted with sand, glitter and color, used velum for the windows and a string of lights. All the angels are vintage made in Japan; ditto for the deer; the brown church putz is one I made; the fence is vintage plasticville; the ice truck is an antique

Looks great. Is your cardboard putz house lit? I can't tell. I'm guessing I know where the bridge came from - I've looked at those myself, but never had one that would exactly work for me.

Yes the little house is lit but hard to capture in a photo; the bridge was a gift from a friend of mine who knew I wanted a "Brooklyn Bridge"; it was painted something awful and the chains needed re-attachment. I trashbashed it too. I had intended to cut a hole in the door as you suggested but only remembered afterwards!

I think this may have been said in prior responses but I just paint the surface liberally, and then dump spoonfuls of fine floral sand over the whole thing (over paper or dish to save the excess sand), and then give the thing a few good taps to shake off the excess. I work in sections (or sides) fo the structure at a time so that the paint does not dry.

For houses that have a heavy, gritty finish I mix the sand into the paint and apply like stucco... using round swirly motions with my brush. I have also, when I have nothing but time on my hands, crushed up oyster shell in a coffee grinder and applied that as well. It has a bit of sparkle to it (and you KNOW we love that sparkle) and someone... Tom, maybe... told me he thought that the Japanese used crushed oyster shell.

Sand is easily obtained, for oysters, you got to hit the beach!