DIY's working on the railroad

[tmcc man]

Well, just finished watching the show, lets see what we all thought about it. Well, my dad came and watched it with me. He likes the idea of a layout in a box. I think i might go buy something like that and put it in my basement, cause i have some HO. Well all in all i thought it was very informative.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Last night's episode almost seemed like an infomercial for Woodland Scenics. Only a very small part of what was shown translates into the toy train world. The show has a very heavy HO bias.

I think I'm beginning to understand how people of color feel. At least it's only my trains that are being discriminated against.

[tmcc man]

Elliot, you do have a point there. That is all they used for the project

[Big_Boy_4005]

Last weeks episode was better for general model railroading. In that one they were discussing structures, and gave some good general tips that were scale independent.

There were a couple of things that weren't Woodland Scenics, like the suitecase connectors for the electrical (which I have been using for years). As O gaugers, if you missed it you didn't miss much.

I think last night's episode was only part 1 of 5, and future parts will cover more general techniques. I would expect to see things like tree making, balasting, rock molds, ground cover, more structures, and detailing covered in the next 4 weeks.

Just in time for Christmas, imagine that.

By the way, I think Woodland Scenics is one of the underwriters of the production along with Kalmbach and some other manufacturers. Or perhaps they just donated materials for the exposure.

[3railguy]

I have a feeling they chose HO because it is the most popular scale modeled and HO dominates train stores as a whole with the largest selectiion of product. This is television so they will go for the largest market they can. HO scenery techniques can be used in any scale.

[FJ and G]

Elliot,

Glad I tuned in to Battle of the Bulge instead.

Kalmbach mailed me a DVD that will take several months to digest as far as layouts go.

I still have to pay them tho (but $10 aint bad for a couple hours viewing)

[laz 57]

I thought the DIY show was ok.
Neat to get the graduated incline right. Cost must be on the high end.
I like doing it the old fashion way of trial and error.
laz57

I will still watch the show I think we all could pick up some tricks for our own layouts?

[Big_Boy_4005]

Dave, I have had the Dream Plan Build series preview DVD for weeks now, and still haven't watched it. If you pay them you will get more at the regular price of, I think, $29.95, though they can be returned. I'm just not wanting to get started with that. Keep in mind that series is very likely to be HO oriented also, though I hear there are layout tours, and more general tips.

Laz, the Woodland Scenics inclines are cool, but would only be useful for us if they made them double wide.

You know, they may be missing the boat not making a couple of those kits for a classic Lionel 4x8 plans.

[Jumijo]

I enjoyed the show and look forward to more. The layout in the box is a great idea. As the show stated, the kit takes a lot of work out of the fabrication phase. I'd guess a lot of anxiety, too. The kit seems to go together pretty quickly as well. It's lightweight too. Although it's HO, many things can be learned and applied to other scales. For instance, I thought the way the wires were soldered to the underside of the tracks was great. Most times, hobbyists solder to the sides of the rails, leaving the wires to be seen. Upcoming episodes are going to focus on scenery, which is useful no matter what scale you choose.

I guess if one wanted to be cynical, they could say it's nothing more than a commercial for the maker of the kit. I say, who cares? There is a TV show on each week solely devoted to model railroading. I greatly enjoy it and have learned plenty from it so far.

Jim