NAtower
Telephone Poles
Telephone poles are all over the East End. I buy bulk
pack of cheap plastic poles at train shows. Bunches of
6-10 poles are usually $1-2.
Most poles are well modeled with detail, but poorly colored.
I've seen them from black, to grey, to all shades of brown.
My method for making poles is as follows:
1. Snip the molded on base off the pole.
2. Drill a small hole in the bottom of the pole.
3. Cut an inch and a half long piece of wire.
4. Insert the brass wire. Secure with Super Glue.
5. Paint the entire pole with dark brown spray paint. I use
the camouflage line of spray paints, as they are very dull and a
nice dark earthy brown shade.
6. Weather the pole to your liking. I use black on the
bottom, to simulate the creosote that settles to the bottom of
most old telephone poles. The mid pole is more brown, the
top of the pole is more grey. I dry-brush with a greyish
white to bring out the highlights. The supports for the
cross bars are metal on most poles, so I leave them rust
colored. If your poles have these pieces made of wood,
weather them like the rest of the pole. I also paint the
wire holding insulators silver or green. I do this in a
random pattern to show some have been replace over time.
They come in all colors, so blue or brown are also good colors to
use.
Below is a photo showing steps 1-6.
Below is a typical batch of poles, painted brown, awaiting
weathering.
Below is a collection of poles completed and ready to be
installed.
