On September 15, my In-ko-pah Railroad was host to several visitors, as part of a regional layout tour held by the San Diego Division of the National Model Railroad Association. I shot the event using time-lapse photography.
Music by Eric Matyas
www.soundimage.org
https://youtu.be/iHXdhL85-r0
Enjoy!
Cool Ray!
Did you actually let guests walk through the railway?
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Yes. There is a path across the middle level; it's designed to be invisible from normal viewing positions.
It's been a while since I posted anything here. I recently finished adding some interior details and lighting to the Mineral Ridge Mill, on my 1/24th scale In-ko-pah Railroad. Here are a few pics:
A view of the sorting house interior with the newly added lights:
As darkness falls, the lights bring the mill to life:
Looking through some of the windows:
Looking up the street towards the ore bin, sorting house, and trestles:
Enjoy
That mill looks great!
Rob Spangler
Ray, Your mill is remarkable.
Thank you for posting the pictures. I love your railroad.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Ray! Good to see an update! I've missed them.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Excellent work Ray!
Mike.
My You Tube
Great work Ray!
Are you using LEDs or bulbs? The colours look good.
Thanks! All of the buildings in those photos have warm-white LEDs. Some of my earlier buildings used grain of rice bulbs, but they kept burning out. So I've been gradually replacing them when I do maintenance on the older buildings.
The project I've been working on recently is one with very significant personal meaning...
I finished the exterior of the stone building on the left in 2013:
I designed this building to represent a former bank building which has gone through many different occupants over the years, and is currently home to a custom jewelry shop. It was intended to be a tribute to my brother Jim and his wife Maggi.
After finishing the exterior, I built the removable boxes that form the two interior rooms. Here's the room for the ground floor:
That was as far as I got -- adding lights and details to the interiors got put on hold while I worked on getting some of the other Mineral Ridge buildings put together. After the untimely deaths of my brother and his wife in 2016, I wanted to go back and finish this up, but it was much too painful emotionally. Only in the last few months have I gotten to a place where I felt ready to take it on.
The first item to complete was the door of the bank's vault. It's loosely modeled after this vault door in the ruined Nye & Ormsby Bank in Manhattan, NV:
Several parts are missing on the prototype, so I also relied on photos of similar vault doors that I found via Google.
The door and doorframe were built up on a sheet of styrene:
After trimming off excess material around the door frame, I began adding hinges and locking hardware:
Once assembled, I painted the door in an era-appropriate style. I added a slight bit of weathering and scuffs to represent typical wear on a vault in an old building which has at times been virtually abandoned. Then I glued the door assembly to the wall:
Next I made some ceiling lamps, using three different styles of acrylic beads for each lamp:
Wider holes were drilled through two of the beads to accommodate an LED. The base was sprayed with black primer, then hand painted with brass paint:
The remaining two beads were glued together, then glued to the base. Holes were drilled in the ceiling and the lamps were glued in place:
Now I need to make a display case. The lower half of the case was built using sheet and strip styrene plus a couple pieces of Sintra PVC board:
The frame for the glass front was assembled from styrene strips, using a pair of machinist's blocks to keep everything square:
The rest won't be visible so it isn't fancy:
After I painted the case, I glued a tiny LED into the inside of the display area. The wire leads run through a hole and out the back:
I used slide cover glass for the top and front of the case. It was glued in place using clear silicone sealant.
I made a small, round table using bits from an old robot model I bought years ago, plus a styrene rod and some styrene sheet material. The display bust was made of thin Sintra with styrene details.
Another display was made by cutting down a plastic cake pillar and capping the ends with thin pieces of Sintra:
Here is the finished interior:
I used real photos of my brother's jewelry for the frame photo displays on the walls. The jewelry inside the display case was made by reducing photos of his work and adding a black background. This was printed onto self-adhesive vinyl, then sprayed with flat clear coat. Then I used a very fine brush to carefully apply artist's gloss medium to each of the items, making them stand out from the flat background.
That's all on this for now, more later.
Amazing work, Ray. Thanks for letting us see your progress.
York1 John
Ray, that is absolutely amazing! Your work on the safe door resulted in an incredible model.
Hi Ray,
Absolutely sensational work!!
Aw, c'mon, Ray...you're pullin' our leg, aren'tcha? Those pictures gotta be of real full-scale buildings and interiors, eh?
Beautiful work...I generally refrain from using this Emoji, but can't possibly click it enough times to reflect how impressive I find your work to be...
Wayne
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Ray, Seeing your fantastic modeling is always a treat. Your work with 'Sintra' board is truly inspirational.
Thanks and regards, Peter
Amazing work. Thanks for the pictures.
Beautiful work!
On everything I've seen in this thread. Im thinking the word impressive may fall short
TF
Took a break from modeling to do the videos from my Nevada trip. Now I finally have some modeling to report...
I wanted the second story of this building to be a silversmithing workshop. I only had one very tiny photo of my brother's workshop, which gave me a rough idea of how it should look. I also Googled some photos of similar workshops which helped me get a better idea of the details.
I started by making a bunch of tools and other items to hang on a simulated pegboard:
I also modeled a slab cutter, which is a special saw for cutting raw stone into slices. The largest part was made from a block of Sintra PVC, sanded to shape and skinned with .020" styrene:
Another machine I modeled is a combination trim saw and cabochon grinder/polisher:
I made a lot of other items, installed them in the room, and added lights:
A couple shots looking into the room from outside the window:
The last thing I did was make a pair of exterior lamps to light up the store front. After finishing the wiring the building was complete and I installed it on the layout:
.
Ray. I am new to the Forum and have just looked at a few pictures. Amazing is an understatement.
I was going to have a quiet weekend, but not now. I must read through this thread.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Outstanding,Ray! Thanks for all the pictures.
Mike
middleman Outstanding,Ray! Thanks for all the pictures. Mike
I agree! Excellent craftsmanship, Ray.
As usual, your attention to detail is amazing, right down to bird poop on the window sills!! At least, I think that's what it is supposed to be.
Right now I am concentrating on getting track laid and getting the layout running, but your work makes me look forward to the time when I can get back into building and detailing structures.
Cheers!!
My next project is underway...it's a repair and upgrade of the Dos Manos Drugs building which was finished in 2010.
This structure was built much differently than my current methods. I used real rocks and mortar for the walls. There are pros and cons to this type of construction.
Pro: It holds up well in all weather, never needs to be repainted, and you can't beat the appearance of real rocks.
Con: The only way I could find to make the interior accessible was through the top, so it had to be built in two pieces, and I couldn't make the interior removable. It's not completely moisture-proof. It's heavy, and although it's sturdy it can shatter if accidentally dropped. And unless you have a stone saw it's hard to make stones to fit arches, etc.
Anyway, the real problems with this structure were with the other materials. I had used thin, clear plastic to glaze the windows. This stuff aged very badly, becoming yellow, opaque, and eventually warped and cracked. I used styrene to build the "wooden" parts of the structure, and although the styrene is ok, the paint on it has become worn and faded. Also, I had used incandescent "grain of rice" bulbs to light the interior, and these all burned out rapidly.
Here's how the building looked after I removed it from the layout. A few parts broke off as I was handling it:
I started with the ground floor, since it would be the easiest to repair. The first thing I had to do was remove the displays that were mounted in the windows. These were glued into place but luckily I was able to break them loose without causing any damage:
The displays are in much better condition than I'd expected, and just need to be cleaned up a little. The paint on the "wooden" sidewalk has almost completely worn off, so it will need to be repainted.
Next I removed the plastic glazing from the windows. I was worried this would be difficult, but all I had to do was press on the plastic with a blunt tool, near the edges of the window frames, it it popped loose. When I got enough of it loose, I grabbed it from inside the structure and pulled it off. With that weathered plastic out of the way, you can now see that the interior details are still in good condition:
The red and black paint on the framework was in pretty good shape, just a little dull. The paint on the underside of the balcony was much worse:
I repainted the underside of the balcony, and touched up the red and black frame to brighten it up a bit:
I set that part of the building aside and turned my attention to the second story. I removed the corroded plastic from the windows, but that was as far as I got:
The entire balcony is badly faded and needs to be repainted. Several parts of the railing have fallen off:
This end of the balcony railing and canopy is loose:
It would be easiest to paint the balcony if it were separate from the main structure, but with the exception of the loose bits at this end, the rest is very securely attached. I don't think I can remove it without causing significant damage, and I don't want to be forced to replace it.
So for now I have to put on my "thinking cap" and figure out the best way to go about repairing and repainting the balcony.
I just got some new LEDs in the mail today, which I will be using to replace the incandescent bulbs that were originally installed in the structure.
The whole structure is very well done and will look better with the spruce up, but I continue to be amazed by your ability to detail interiors. They look incredibly real. I'm glad that they have survived the last 10 years.
I wonder if gel CA or epoxy would work to re-attach the balcony post to the wall, assuming that it won't pull the stone loose?
Thanks Dave!
hon30critterI wonder if gel CA or epoxy would work to re-attach the balcony post to the wall, assuming that it won't pull the stone loose?
Yeah, I will probably be using thick or gel CA to tack down the loose end.
I think I will have to paint the balcony in place, and just carefully mask off everything else.