Gathiel Knight's Farm Buildings
By Stefanie Martin and Jason Hasert

Gathiel Knight was inspired to start building barns in 1990 when he saw his son pretending the family couch was a barn to park 1/64 tractors under. He thought there must be a better way to farm the carpet. It was time to add some detail to the ole rug farm. Using scraps of wood from his work shop and tin foil for a roof Gathiel constructed his first model barn.

Having such an interest in older barns, Gathiel built display cases in the shape of barns to house all of his son's model tractors. It was such fun creating the shelves, he started building models of local barns. He noticed that many of the old time barns he had seen as a child in his community had begun to disappear from the landscape. He saw this as an important step in preserving history. Family and friends enjoyed his work so much, they began requesting replicas of barns that were sentimental to them. Gathiel, through talking to customers, quickly realized that the details of the buildings were what made the memories come to life. He is careful to mimic every nuance of buildings, flaws and all. 

Gathiel and Judy Knight sell TTS member Jarrod Birch a shed at the Hopkinsville, KY farm Toy Show

In order to build the buildings to scale and with full detail, Gathiel, if he is in close enough proximity, goes on site to the barn in question. Video taping begins and all the details are recording into his mind. If the barn is already demolished, Gathiel prefers to work with pictures for details, but if pictures exist the customer's memories have to do. 

Once Gathiel has all the details of the barn to be built, he heads back to his shop and the work begins with him using a jigsaw to cut a 2 x 4 into scale of 1/64 "planks." This tedious work is a shadowing of the old procedure used to build real barns at the turn of the century. Trees were taken to the saw mill and cut into lumber with a rough finish. 

The assembling then begins when he glues the replica boards together to create the frame. Clothespins hold the frame together until the glue dries. Each beam, roof eve and truss is accounted for during the project. A tin roof is created by running real tin through a special roller that Gathiel acquired at an antique sale. If a project calls for a shingled roof, Gathiel uses sand paper to cut individual shingles. 

Gathiel Knight's first tobacco barn.

The aging process then begins when Gathiel paints the barns black and Gathiel's wife Judy dabs gray paint onto the black. These barns are then ready for completion of all details. No hinge, opening door, opening window or chimney is overlooked. He even adds famous slogans such as "See Rock City" and other advertisements to special projects, his favorite being the "Bull in the Woods" chewing tobacco add in his own private collection. His favorite tobacco barn is a replica of a 1000 foot tobacco barn in Trigg County, Kentucky. The barn no longer exists but the family still farms and wanted a model of how the barn looked during the 1950's. This project even has working lighting throughout the structure. 

Predominantly, Gaithel builds tobacco barns found in his native Christian County, Kentucky. Dark fired are tall and have a small burning fire at the base to cure the tobacco whereas burley tobacco barns are built with many rafters to hang tobacco to dry. The detail of these barns has gained such a reputation that the United States Tobacco Corporation has purchased many of these barns to give to clients as far away as Russia and Japan. Even though tobacco barns are his favorites, he also builds stables that would have housed animals and stored hay. He also has build log cabin houses and one of his most impressive projects is a 1800's model of a flour mill complete with a turning wheel. 

Gathiel Knight in his workshop building model barns.

These barns are also popular 1/64 display collectors, and great for creating vintage farm scenes. These barns are great detailing for a modern countryside display. Large and modern farm equipment look more realistic when one of Gathiel's barns is in the background. They are also a great way to build a model farmstead and store your 1/64 combine, tractors and trucks. If you would like to have one of these customized barns, contact Gathiel Knight at 6175 Mt. Zoar/Hoptown Road, Hopkinsville, KY 42240