Garage Workshop

As a native of Michigan and growing up around Detroit I encountered a lot of things centered around the auto industry.

I lived close to the GM test track.

My brother was a mechanical engineer with Pontiac Motors and an avid mechanic. It always amazed me how he could work on and fix any automobile.

In my small town of Milford there were several garage/service stations/workshops. It seems like all of them were run by old men dressed in greasy overalls, with disheveled hair and grimey encrusted, strong hands.

They were mechanics and you could smell the oil and grease that seemed to ooze from their pours. One of my high school friends was mechanic.

I loved hanging around his home shop, watching him work and marveled at his expertise. Back then cars were cars, not fancy computers on wheels.

Both my brother and my best friend have passed on. I wish they could see this Garage Workshop. I’m sure they would be thrilled.

Since neither one of them is here I’d like to dedicate the build of the Rolife Garage Workshop to them. I can see them now looking down at me and saying, “Are you crazy!? You’re no mechanic! But, we appreciate the dedication.”

What is it about garages? Is it the tool boxes, cases of oil, the dirty rages, the smell of oil, antifreeze and other automobile additives, the beat-up tool boxes and drawers filled with tools and gadgets? Yes, that what makes them special.

Why do Rolife’s miniature DIY rooms and buildings attract people's attention? Is it the shelf appeal? Yes! The attention to detail? Yes! Craftsmanship? Yes! Value? You bet!

What makes them special to me is they feel comfortable. What do I mean by that? They remind me of my favorite chair and old friends. They’re familiar, like walking down my hometown main street and seeing familiar shops and businesses populated by people I’ve known all my life.

Even though I’ve not visited some of the types of businesses or some of the rooms Rolife recreates in miniature, I still feel connected. Maybe it’s nostalgia or the need to experience the good old days. Whatever it is Rolife’s miniatures spark something in me that I felt when I was young: excitement, a challenge and a sense of adventure.

Like all of Rolife’s miniatures the Garage Workshop comes packed in a heavy, cardboard box with a flip-lid with tabs. A wraparound slip sheet covers most of the box and features color photos on all sides of the enclosed garage. Full specs of the kit are printed on the back. Main materials are plywood, paper and plastic. Recommended ages to assemble the kit are 14 years and older. Batteries are not included.

Nicely arranged inside the box are several Ziploc bags containing various items.

They include plants and miniature tools, a tool table with hanging tools on a pegboard, wheels and tires, various handles and cans and assorted shop objects, a desk with a chair, a battery pack with wires and a pair of tweezers and small Phillips head screwdriver and another garage table with storage areas.

Other box contents include a decal sheet, a clear, plastic, sealed pack of various walls, decals and shop construction components, a separate set of wheels, two material lists and an instruction manual.

I recommend you include in your construction tools a small flat-head screwdriver for gently poking out the laser cut, fully colored parts, liquid glue for quick fixes, a magnifying glass for those with poor eyesight like myself, a small pointed tool for moving and placing small parts and patience. As always-take your time-there is no hurry. Enjoy the experience.

Start by looking over the instructions carefully-familiarizing yourself with the part numbers and parts. Start with the lighting components to make sure they are working properly, take parts out only when you need them (there’s nothing worse than misplacing small parts) and most important of all-follow the instructions page-by-page-do not skip around. Trust me-it works the best.

Take a moment to look over all that you get.

The three-sided, small room includes a checkerboard floor, flat white walls with an upper brick extension and a see-thru window on the right wall.

Inside the shop-going left to right, there are tires and wheels hanging on a wall, a six-drawer filing cabinet with a water/oil can, gloves and other garge objects.

On the wall behind them are signs and decals, a small steel table with a yellow top and more product signs. The back wall has a parts shelf with parts and an air hose, a pegboard with tools, a horizontal drawer work table with a three-drawer wooden parts container sitting on it, a green cabinet, a potted flower, various paperwork and product signs on the brick upper wall.

On the shop floor is a pushcart with wheels, various car parts and accessories, a spare wheel and tire, a wooden chair, a heavy hammer, a wet floor stand-up, various car parts and scattered brick-a-brack on the shelves and floor.

Overhead is a gray shop light that works and a heavy sectional steel beam with a Garage sign.

It is remarkable how detailed and realistic each component looks. I can almost picture a small mechanic figure rushing around the shop looking for the right tool or car additive.

There’s so much to see! It’s hard to take it all in at once. Maybe that’s the point. Take the time to look at each section. Imagine yourself in a full-size replica of the Garage Workshop. Do you feel the slight slip of grease on the floor? Do you smell the oil, anti-freeze, brake fluid and exhaust fumes?

Imagine picking up the tools, leafing through the manuals, wiping your hands off on the rags and opening and closing each drawer.

Sit yourself down in the chair. Prop your feet up on the wheeled cart.

To really appreciate Rolife’s DIY Miniature House Garage Workshop follow this link to a video and photos.

Be sure to check out Rolife’s website to discover the other incredible miniatures made by Robotime. You’ve haven’t seen anything yet!

Isaiah 40:28 - Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.