This was one of the initial things I built for Baslow Ranch. As an integral part of my idea, I had to figure out from the start if it would even work the way I wanted.
My wagon was adapted from a covered wagon kit by Allwood (made in the 70s, I think). I changed it from a covered wagon to a farm wagon since the kit was 1:16 scale and, as a covered wagon, it would have been a bit small in relation to the barn. Here’s the box image.
The kit was partially assembled when I bought it. Three of the four wheels were already done as well as the main body. The faux wood trim didn’t look right (think wood paneling on an old station wagon), so I ended up taking the body apart altogether and cut new pieces from a scrap of plywood I already had. This allowed me to score the inner and outer surfaces of the pieces to mimic wood planks.
I painted the outer body Black Cherry by Folk Art. I painted the rest of the pieces with a wash of black and brown paint and used some of this wash to age the Black Cherry paint.
The trim is made from 1/8″ wide Instant Lead Lines by Plaid. This is a self-adhesive material used for faux stained glass. Once in place, I pressed a nail set into the lines to create rivets. A little rust paint added here and there aged the look a bit.
I added some ballast by Woodland Scenics to dirty up the inside.
It’s a good thing this was meant to be a rickety ol’ wagon, because the wheels are nowhere near straight. Three of the four wheels were assembled by the previous owner, but I my fourth wheel wasn’t much better. The chassis and basic structure are solid, though.
It ended up fitting perfectly in the barn space.
I applied multiple paint washes to some unfinished wood barrels I purchased and put them in the back of the wagon.
I made the stool using a pattern in the book Finishing Touches by Jane Harrop. It, too, was aged with a black and brown paint wash.
The wagon has a removable tongue, too, though it makes the wagon too long to park inside the barn with the doors closed.
