Tony's

“Of course. The very place for a very special occasion.”

My intentions when making the W&A RR's Marceline yard a modular style layout were to allow sections of the layout to reach levels of completion incrementally. As well as, of course, making the layout very portable as a Free-mo style module. As bench-work and track work moves on at a 'steady' pace on the Roundhouse and servicing facility, design attention drew towards the next set of modules. Which included the yard throat, depot, caboose track, and the very beginnings of the town of Marceline itself.

It is on this part of the layout that I hope to include a model of one of the more iconic structures in the Lady and the Tramp franchise. The very place where Lady and Tramp, and also Scamp and Angel, fell deeply in love.

When I started working on the layout concept, modeling Tony's Restaurant wasn't something I had intended. Ironic, considering the goals intended when it became clear this was going to be a 19^th century “Lady and the Tramp” model railroad. However, while eating at a Speedway Cafe with a fellow model rail, he brought up the idea of actually modeling the famous Spaghetti for Two scene. At first, I was actually a little reluctant to put the two star dogs in model form on the layout. However, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like it could be done in a subtle yet present manner.

First Attempt

Like all models based off a prototype, the first thing that would have to be done is collecting source material. Tony's Restaurant appears to be a casual restaurant, with a relaxed atmosphere, casual dress, full table service, and shareable platters. Tony's appears in all three L&TT films. Both in the original animated franchise, and the 2019 film. So, there was plenty to work with. I focused more on the first film, although the second has some very nice color samples. The 2019 film shows the whole of the building face. However, it's set is so dramatically different from the original film that, like most of the 2019 film, I'm ignoring it.

Second Try

Brick architecture in the 19^th century tended to be characterized by thick walls, arched and decorative openings, cornices, corbels, and friezes, all of which are features derived from the rational application of load-bearing masonry construction. The building kits made by Design Preservation Models fit the bill wonderfully, and I happened to have a large number of these kits ready for use as parts and building fronts for the projects. It wouldn't take much to cut parts from a few of these kits and make the structure. I started by cutting the facade apart and moving the doorway and windows to create the single multipane glass window and recessed doorway as seen in the film. My first attempt came out alright. However, I felt the window was a bit too small, and the building seemed a bit too narrow. Take two got me closer to the desired look. Even though I did like the rounded windows on the first building, as they reminded me of the 2019 film's facade. So, the first building will find a use elsewhere.

I did decide to deviate slightly from the film and locate the double dutch door from the back of the restaurant to the side. Thus moving “Tramp's private entrance” to the side alley, where it can be a bit more visible from the usual viewing spots. This required a new doorway to be cut in the right hand side wall. The back of the model was omitted completely, as it would be pressed up against a backdrop and not seen. So, in order to save the wall for other uses, a block of foam took it's place. This foam also had a cut out for the addition of a speaker.

Two golden amber LEDS were placed inside the building in order to give off a soft glow. One is in the main dining room, while the other is positioned in such a way as to shine a shaft of light out the kitchen door. As the building has such a large window, and is illuminated on the ground floor, I put together a shadowbox interior. The Dining room walls were made from card-stock, painted and scribed. In the film, the front window has a small shelf across it, and a red privacy curtain. The shelf was made from bass wood, stained, and the curtain made but cutting to size a piece of a Taco Bell take out bag, which was painted and glued to a brass rod. To give the curtain folds, the piece of brown constriction paper was crumpled and folded several times.

The building was assembled with a combination of matte mod-podge glue, CA, and hotglue. The hotglue was used to make quick tabs joining wall to wall, as well as seal the foam in place. CA being run up each joint to make a solid joint. Matte Mod Podge was used on all the clear window acrylics, as well as anywhere the joint will be visible. As it dried completely clear and with it's matte finish, vanishes completely.

A cross section of the structure, showing the shadowboxes.

DPM kits come with styrene panels to create the roof, as well as channels for the roof to slid onto. I prefer to save these for other projects, and instead use thinner construction board for the roof. The board is cut to size, and tar paper rolls are made from masking tape. Two support beams were made using thin stirring sticks I nicked from a Chick-fil-a.

Lights are on.

The canopy awnings were originally made in GIMP, printed out on card paper, and folded. The main triangular awning is foldable, and can be seen both folded out, and folded in, in the 1955 film. However, after looking at the paper awnings for a while, I didn't like how they appeared. Especially with the compound curves of the awning over the main doorway. So, I did a second attempt in which I carved the awnings from foam. Painted them, and hand painted the red stripes. These came out far better then then paper awnings.

Finally, came the sign. Now here, I had to do a little fudging. As the DPM model is slightly narrower then the prototype, the sign had to be suspended underneath a window. I made the sign in GIMP using screenshots from the film as a reference. Then, printed out the signs on printer paper, and glued them to a styrene backing. The iron bracing was made from music wire, and the sign was glued in place.

Some small paint touch ups, and Tony's Restaurant is open for business.