MMRR New Movie Theater module for the Southern Christmas Show 2024 season
Oct 27 – Nov 13, 2024
Henry Reeves (Owner)
Just Drains
Joe Gold
Andrew Sadler
Each year, the Metrolina Model Railroaders club (MMRR) displays a layout at the Southern Christmas Show (SCS). This 2024 Season, club member Alan learned that a special guest will be appearing this year. Her name is Karolyn Grimes and she played Zuzu Bailey, daughter of George Bailey, in the Christmas classic movie "It's a Wonderful Life!" Alan thought it would be a wonderful idea if we could figure out a way to play the movie this year on the reduced-size layout that we are displaying at the SCS this year. Rick agreed as many of us did once we heard the idea. Our large display known as the French, Broad and Catawba railroad layout has an 8' straight module with a drive-in movie theater scene complete with a working video display. However, we do not have the space to display any 8' modules at the CSC anymore. Someone decided that we could probably fill-in the back of the small 10" deep curved module that was made by Joe about 3 years earlier when we needed to go around a column that was in the way during one of the last SCS's when we were able to use 8' modules. This is actually the only place we could have put the drive-in theater without having to destroy scenery on another module. This photo album tells the story of the making of the New MMRR Drive-in Movie Theater module we made for the Southern Christmas Show 2024 season (and beyond).
On October 19th, 2024, near the end of a club meeting held at Rick's place in Shelby, NC, Rick asked the members in attendance a question: Who wants to build the [Walthers] Drive-In Movie Theater? For nearly 2 minutes, no one spoke up. Looking around at everyone, hoping someone else would take the lead on this, I, Henry, said that I would build it. Alan, who came up with the idea, was not present at the meeting as he had another train related meeting to attend and perform a duty with. I liked his idea, agreed with it, and took on the responsibility of getting it done. I felt and agreed that the theater should be built using lightweight materials to add-on to the 10" deep curved module that Joe had made a couple years before. Joe and Nick K helped Henry measure and cut 2 pentagonal-shaped boards of pink Styrofoam. These boards fit up against the back of the small 10" deep curved module (hereafter referred to as the short curved module) that Joe made and Rick applied scenery to. It is unknown [to me] when it happened, but it is believed that JT purchased the Walther's Skyview Drive-In Theater kit along with a 7" Digital Picture frame on eBay, quite possibly for this project. Henry took the kit and Styrofoam cuttings home with him. Sometime during the week of October 20th, Henry opened and examined the digital picture frame. He concluded that the picture frame is unsuitable for use with the kit as the frame is too thick and too high to fit inside the theater assembly without modification to the assembly. Additionally, the frame is not Bluetooth equipped so it cannot be used to connect to our drive-in movie theater speakers easily [the way we connect to them with the 8' movie module]. Cutting the boards was the first step which provided Henry with the space he would have to design and make a drive-in theater diorama. Gluing the boards together was step two and was started on October 25th. Henry rough-drafted a sketch on the top of the 2 sandwiched Styrofoam pieces to maximize the viewing area available and miniaturize the drive-in theater concept while also taking into account ways to seamlessly integrate the scene with the surrounding modules and the front of the thin small curved module to which this drive-in diorama will be attached. He used step-wise refinement, several Classic Metal Works 1/87 HO scale vehicles, a HO scale Herpa Van, and 4 pieces from the Walther's kit that represent the footprints of the bases of the structures in the kit to design the parking lot and grounds of the movie theater. He also reviewed the Belmont Drive-In via Google Maps and its Street View to be sure that realistic elements he incorporated existed in at least 1 actual drive-in movie theater. The risers on the right-hand side of the module were originally glued on very early in the morning around 5 AM on October 26th.
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