These were exceptional men. They had to train these mules for the journey, including how to make turns. Turns were made by some mules jumping the line.
In the 1950s, there was a TV show called Death Valley Days. It was hosted, for a time, by Ronald Reagan. The show was sponsored by 20 Mule Team Borax. You could send in a dollar and get a model kit of the mule team pulling the wagons loaded with Borax.
I got some of these kits on eBay, and started assembling them four years ago. I assembled several and painted several, until I could learn how to create the appropriate weathered look.
This fall I turned my attention to the diorama that the model would sit on. Vicky and I know Death Valley, having hiked there over many years. So I tried to build something that we had actually seen ourselves in Death Valley. I built it out of plaster of paris, air drying plaster, grout, various types of paint, various types of rocks, etc. I made several practice runs at this until I could get something that we both knew looked like some of the areas of Death Valley where the mule team actually went.
The thing is huge--over 40 inches long. And heavy! Now our problem is where to put it in our small home.
This is what the model kits looked like before I started.
Starting work on the plastic model, 2 1/2 years ago.
And what the diorama looked like at various stages:
The first step was to create a very firm base. Otherwise, when moved, the plaster on the very top would crack. Two 2X6 40-inch boards were glued to a 1X12 base. The back is also a 1X12.
The base is approximately 3 inches deep, providing plenty of support. The next step was a layer of insulating foam board:
We found, online, a terrific poster of Death Valley, which Vicky and I carefully cut to be the correct size for the background:
Finished model. Lots and lots of attention to detail. It was a blast.
p.s. those are actual Borax crystals in the wagons.
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