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Weekend Photo Fun 22-24 March 2013

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  • Member since
    November 2002
  • From: US
  • 592 posts
Posted by 88gta350 on Saturday, March 30, 2013 7:41 AM

edit: stupid me posted twice

Dave M
  • Member since
    November 2002
  • From: US
  • 592 posts
Posted by 88gta350 on Monday, March 25, 2013 1:47 PM

I'm a little late to the weekend fun, but I just finished my first attempt at weathering a boxcar.  I was inspired by Robby P.'s entries into previous WPFs.  His rolling stock always looks so realistic.  Even though my work is no where near the caliber of his, I have to thank him for all the advice he gave me on how to get started.

I chose an old, cheap Model Power model for my first try.  It probably wasn't the best choice because the brown ends proved to be very hard to get any type of visible rust color/wear to show.  The model had horn hook couplers and I didn't have any Kadees that fit so I just weathered what was on there.

I weathered one side heavier than the other because I wasn't sure how much would fade after I applied the Dullcoat.  Looking back on it I think I overdid it on the grimy black on the heavily weathered side.  Too much black covers the rusty color.  Here's a few before and after pics:

Before:

The less-weathered side:

The heavily-weathered side:

A better view of the top:

I'll definitely be practicing on more cars in the future.  I'm excited to see how the weathering looks on more colorful cars. Thanks Robby for all the advice.

Dave M
  • Member since
    February 2005
  • From: Vancouver Island, BC
  • 23,330 posts
Posted by selector on Monday, March 25, 2013 12:15 PM

Brunton

...In late 2010, down came the layout, and the helix is no more. ...

..nnnnooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooo...!!! SurpriseSad

Not the helix.  Not THAT helix.  Crying

  • Member since
    February 2001
  • From: Wyoming, where men are men, and sheep are nervous!
  • 3,392 posts
Posted by Pruitt on Monday, March 25, 2013 5:56 AM

Thanks for the kind words, Derek and Crandell! Embarrassed

Crandell, what happened was a bout of temporary insanity! I got hornswaggled into local politics! Dead I ran for, and unfortunately won, a seat on our town council. Three years of essentially no layout progress. The darned council ate up ALL my spare time! Even our home renovations ground to a near halt. Angry

Then, as my term on council was winding down, came the KO punch for the layout - my company transferred me from Philadelphia to Charleston, South Carolina! Wilted Flower

In late 2010, down came the layout, and the helix is no more. I've got quite a pile of threaded rods, and about a thousand 1/4" nuts and hundreds of washers to boot! I also managed to salvage most of the track, which, given the current track prices, was a very worthwhile thing to do.

That's it in a nutshell. We'll see what the future brings!

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: North Dakota
  • 9,592 posts
Posted by BroadwayLion on Sunday, March 24, 2013 7:46 PM

Layout of LION:

The first shot is five frames stitched together, the second is three frames. See the red train on the helix: It moved between the second and third frame.

ROAR

The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Chamberlain, ME
  • 5,084 posts
Posted by G Paine on Sunday, March 24, 2013 6:08 PM

This weekend I have been designing another building using Even Designs Model Builder. The Bell Telephone building is based on the telephone building on Park St hill in Bangor, Maine where I grew up. I have mostly completed the front, and printed it out on plain paper to see how it fit. It is correct size and fits onto the hill, but the upper floor windows are about 25% too large. This is easily corrected in the program.

I started research on the building using the Street View in Google Earth. I saved a few views for reference. I found a stone wall in Model Builder that was close to the prototype, but no windows or doors were close. I used Photoshop Elements to extract windows, doors and other details from the reference photos, and imported them into Model Builder.

George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch 

  • Member since
    December 2003
  • From: Anaheim, CA Bayfield, CO
  • 1,829 posts
Posted by Southwest Chief on Sunday, March 24, 2013 5:58 PM

Working on two stores for the HO layout:

Matt from Anaheim, CA and Bayfield, CO
Click Here for my model train photo website

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    June 2012
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Posted by Burlington Northern #24 on Sunday, March 24, 2013 5:24 PM

SP&S modeler, 1960's give or take a decade or two for some equipment.

 http://www.youtube.com/user/SGTDUPREY?feature=guide 

Gary DuPrey

N scale model railroader 

  • Member since
    February 2005
  • From: Vancouver Island, BC
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Posted by selector on Sunday, March 24, 2013 4:51 PM

Mark, I dunno what happened, but your helix was a thing of beauty.  Did you shoot the bolt over a few months and then "lose your mojo?"  It seems like five or six years ago that you did that technical wonder, and then you dropped out of sight.

No matter any more.  If you keep up like you are doing, you'll be posting nice completed works in no time.  When you do post images of your work, it is top class.

Crandell

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
  • 21,484 posts
Posted by MisterBeasley on Sunday, March 24, 2013 4:04 PM

selector
I get the distinct impression that the quality of modelling has gone up a great deal since I joined the forum eight years ago.  Wow!!

I'd have to agree.

Looking back over my pictures, I realized that I've been working on Mooseport, the carfloat terminal area of my layout, for over a year.  It started as a group of cardstock mock-ups in November, 2011.

By July of 2012, the structures were pretty much done, but I still hadn't begun work on the apron and carfloat themselves.

Last month, I was here:

Now, with some careful camera placement...

There's still much to be done.  The parts don't quite line up yet, and the float is perched on pink foam and will need some dirty "water" around it.  But, it's almost there.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
    November 2012
  • 613 posts
Posted by UPinCT on Sunday, March 24, 2013 3:05 PM

I don't know Mark, I wouldn't say your stuff brings down the average.

That looks like some nice looking benchwork and  a great beginning.  And look it's even level.Stick out tongue

 I saw your saga about getting the layout going in another thread.  But, from the looks of this it will not be long till you have some trains running now.

Keep posting photos of your progress

Derek

  • Member since
    February 2001
  • From: Wyoming, where men are men, and sheep are nervous!
  • 3,392 posts
Posted by Pruitt on Sunday, March 24, 2013 2:26 PM

I guess it's time to bring the average down a bit!

After a several-years-long hiatus, construction finally began in earnest yesterday on my new version of the CB&Q in Wyoming.

This is what my construction crew accomplished yesterday - the benchwork for the Laurel, MT layout peninsula.

Doesn't look like much right now, I know, but it's a start. Trains will be rolling (back and forth, but rolling!) in the near future.

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Carmichael, CA
  • 8,055 posts
Posted by twhite on Sunday, March 24, 2013 12:52 PM

Great photos and projects this week! 

Nothing much new from me, been one of those weeks where I didn't have much time for modeling.  Here's another shot of my Burlington Pioneer Zephyr on its 1935 tour of the west--on Bullard's Bar viaduct.

Tom

  • Member since
    March 2006
  • From: Visalia, California
  • 308 posts
Posted by dcfixer on Sunday, March 24, 2013 2:02 AM

Agreed.  A lot very impressive photos this week.Smile

  • Member since
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  • From: Vancouver Island, BC
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Posted by selector on Sunday, March 24, 2013 1:08 AM

I get the distinct impression that the quality of modelling has gone up a great deal since I joined the forum eight years ago.  Wow!!

I still have nuthin' but oldies, so here's one I probably first ran in 2010.

Norfolk & Western power.

  • Member since
    March 2012
  • 11 posts
Posted by markdeimling on Saturday, March 23, 2013 10:24 PM

Did some weathering on my SD70Ace.

  • Member since
    May 2010
  • From: SE. WI.
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Posted by mbinsewi on Saturday, March 23, 2013 9:42 PM

I made good progress today on the "West" switch detail work of my siding. 

The radio tower is scratch built from styrene rod stock.  3 different sizes.

Some pics of the "East " switch details.

  • Member since
    December 2003
  • From: Good ol' USA
  • 9,642 posts
Posted by AntonioFP45 on Saturday, March 23, 2013 8:09 PM

"Excuse me driver, but does this bus stop at the railroad station?" Stick out tongue

"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"

 


  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Elyria, OH
  • 2,586 posts
Posted by BRVRR on Saturday, March 23, 2013 1:58 PM

Good stuff again this week everyone!

Here is one from the BRVRR:

Invader! The loco is an Athearn Ready to Run I picked up at the Lakeland show. The cars are by Walthers and part of the consist usually run with our Challenger. I haven't decided if I'm going to go whole hog with the loco yet. If I do, more details and sound are in its future. In any case, I'm going to have to put out the fire in the cab.

Keep the good stuff coming guys. You always make this the best thread of the week.

Remember its your railroad

Allan

  Track to the BRVRR Website:  http://www.brvrr.com/

  • Member since
    July 2007
  • From: Pottstown PA
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Posted by rdgk1se3019 on Saturday, March 23, 2013 10:15 AM

Some Cannon & Co. doors .......to replace the ones that cracked on the body shells of my SD45`s.

Dennis Blank Jr.

CEO,COO,CFO,CMO,Bossman,Slavedriver,Engineer,Trackforeman,Grunt. Birdsboro & Reading Railroad

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: San Francisco Bay Area
  • 835 posts
Posted by mcfunkeymonkey on Saturday, March 23, 2013 9:34 AM

Built some shacks out of styrene for the Company Town on our Wye Knot Free-moN module:







The outhouse does "double doody" as the knob for the slide switch turnout control (there's a cross-support directly under the throwbar so no Bullfrog).

Also made a video on how to scratchbuild with styrene to try to help take the mystery out of it and get people to populate their layouts with unique structures instead of the Walthers catalogue.

Here's the Abridged 5-minute version:

72IMW9IGT4I

And the two-part step-by-tippy-toe-step tutorials are on my website in the "Tips & Tutorials" section.

Also started fleshing out the mine tipple scene with an office, tufts, and more trees:



Also made 30 more pines while watching the US win a World Cup qualifier in a blizzard.

Also just got Helicon focus stacking software, thus the going crazy with the photos :)

More photos on the Layout Construction thread.

Thanks for looking, and thanks for sharing all your nifty work.
This thread is always inspiring!

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  • From: Flushing,Michigan
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Posted by HaroldA on Saturday, March 23, 2013 7:38 AM

Okay guys and gals.....This is a really big deal.  My first pictures posted to the forum and my weekend project.


.

There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....

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    September 2003
  • 10,582 posts
Posted by mlehman on Saturday, March 23, 2013 7:28 AM

I like the look of those cables. I used the smallest Clover House stranded cable (#282) on mine. Strong, looks good and cable-y, but it's not as delicate as what you used.

Mike Lehman

Urbana, IL

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Finger Lakes
  • 561 posts
Posted by TBat55 on Saturday, March 23, 2013 6:45 AM

Yes, from Anvil (think you recommended it to me - many thanks).  Used leather dye for stain and wife's elastic tread for cables.  Attaching buckets was hardest part.

Terry

  • Member since
    August 2002
  • From: Corpus Christi, Texas
  • 2,377 posts
Posted by leighant on Friday, March 22, 2013 10:47 PM

The third building for my N scale backlot western town might be called a a simulation of a simulation of a simulation of a simulation.  I used thin basswood sheet as the main element of the walls, with scale lumber adding to look like framing. Of course, the stiff wood sheet actually supports the framing instead of the other way around. This simulates a Hollywood false front structure which would be made up of scaffolding and framing holding up  lightweight plywood walls. 

                        

The front of this movie set building would have a little plaster painted to represent brick in the old days, or formed plastic or resin sheet nowaways with brick pattern. I used some old Walthers brick paper.   The full-size Hollywood phony building would simulate a frontier bank, built of brick to project an image of stability above the rough wood other buildings of the town.  The frontier bank might have some wooden columns or other wooden architectural elements as a frontier simulation of the carved stonework details found on the big city bank buildings back east in the 1870s and 80s.

 

 

But even those big city buildings were a simulation in a way-- commercial copies of styles from classic antiquity, the Greek temples and the Roman forum.  Hence the model is a copy of a copy of etc...

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Posted by mlehman on Friday, March 22, 2013 10:41 PM

Terry,

Nice work on the tram. Anvil Mountains Models, I presume? Got one myself. They're are sweet models and build-up easy.

Mike Lehman

Urbana, IL

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Finger Lakes
  • 561 posts
Posted by TBat55 on Friday, March 22, 2013 9:23 PM

Added an aerial tram (bucket tram) to get ore from a mine. Guys would ride in the buckets to and from.

Terry

  • Member since
    June 2012
  • 2,297 posts
Posted by Burlington Northern #24 on Friday, March 22, 2013 8:29 PM

a short amtrak train.

and some reeses pieces. Big Smile I can't help it I like candy.

SP&S modeler, 1960's give or take a decade or two for some equipment.

 http://www.youtube.com/user/SGTDUPREY?feature=guide 

Gary DuPrey

N scale model railroader 

  • Member since
    November 2012
  • 613 posts
Posted by UPinCT on Friday, March 22, 2013 8:21 PM

I just bought "Detailing Projects For Freight Cars & Locomotives" by Pelle Soeborg published by Model Railroader and was inspired to detail these Exactrail Gondolas based upon Pelle's project in the book.

I am switching to modeling Pan Am and am looking to up my level of detail.

Derek

 photo IMG_0660_zps450ce02e.jpg  photo IMG_0661_zpsca3148c7.jpg  photo IMG_0662_zps84fd23c4.jpg

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