Shed a little creativity on us

[Anonymous]

I know I'm not the only one on here that has other interest besides model railroading. What are some creative things you've done to combine your other passions with model railroading???

I'm planning my first layout right now and since I love to duck hunt and I truely love the low country on SC (the most beutiful place on earth) I'm planning on modeling a flooded timber swamp as part of a logging operation. On the far side from the train I'm going to put a couple of duck hunters in a blind and ducks flying in. I've been brain storming of ways to make the ducks appear to "circle" the hunters just out of range.
I might even put a couple of coon dogs treeing on a big cypress tree in there somewere.

How about it folks? What neat ideas have you incorporated into your layouts? Don't be afraid to post pictures.

duck

[jrbarney]

Ducky,
There are some soft bound handbooks on animation available at larger hobby shops or online. The kite animators use a piece of curved stiff wire with a small paper kite on the distal end. Put a small motor on the proximal end. An alternative might be to suspend them from a pivot on the ceiling on monofilament fishing line and rig a fan to blow on them. Don't forget to add some decoys in the water near the blind and see if you can't locate a sound bite of a duck call to use on a playback loop.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[Anonymous]

I don't know how to think of myself - as a model railroader who takes photos, or as a photographer who models trains. I was a teenage model railroader but got out of the hobby after high school, marriage and a career. Got back into it about 20 years ago just so I could take some photos of models and submit them to magazines. Close up photos of models helped me greatly when I first started out, as all of the mistakes and out of scale things on the models would stick out so much. That's when I started replacing the cast on grab irons with wire ones - much more realistic looking!

The motto on my model railroad pass says "The railroad that photography built". This is true in more ways than one, as having my photos published in the magazines has more than paid for all of my toys! (800 photos published, 27 covers).



Bob Boudreau

[MisterBeasley]

Preiser makes a "Ducks and Geese" package. I haven't even built my benchwork yet, but I saw some at a show and picked them up so I'd have them for the "marshy" end of the lake, down by Moose Turd Junction. I think there's about a dozen in all - some walking, some swimming.

[Anonymous]

I must admit that model trains are the biggest passion that I have.

But I also model Airplanes. (Planning on modeling an airplane museum similar to the one at Write-Patterson AFB) My current project is an F-117 which will be followed up on design progression project of the P-51 (Model one of each P-51 A-H) I might build an A-2 Sky Master first. Im trying to make up my mind as to which paint scheme I want to paint my P-51B

I have a budding interest in photogrphy. I also enjoy music, and collecting baseball cards.

I target shoot, yet don't have the same enthusiasm as the rest of my family for hunting. But maybe I will go next season.

Finally I have considered Hot-Rodding, however that would take a greater infusion of money than presently demanded by my model railroad, so right now I am content to watch from the sidelines.

James

[dbduck]

as well as being a train modeler I am also a roller coaster enthusiast. I have buit a number of HO scale coaster track sections & have them secured on flats & in gondolas. My "coaster" train also has a few wooden crates containing "misc parts" as well as a container on a flat

[SpaceMouse]

I do Cowboy Action Shooting, I got a bunch of toy Bachman rolling stock in a "lot" I purchased. I'm going to throw them, draw and see how many times I can hit them before they hit the ground. (and maybe a couple times after that.) [:o)]

[Anonymous]

I figured somebody on here had modeled a couple holes on a golf course or something of that nature. I saw a cow hit by a train on here a few weeks ago. That was pretty cool looking. You mean nobody else has thought of modeling an outhouse hanging over a cliff... with stains on the rocks and little tiny bits of toilet paper hung up in the bushes???[:D]

[jcgisel]

I enjoy surfing in the Ventura area and I' m in the middle of laying track along the coast of California for the Surfliner. Hope that somebody will make the cars.

[SpaceMouse]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jcgisel

I enjoy surfing in the Ventura area and I' m in the middle of laying track along the coast of California for the Surfliner. Hope that somebody will make the cars.

Grew up on Oxnard Shores--surfed with the Campbells (who invented the Bonzer, the first 3 fin surfboard) Dude!

[northern_blues]

I suppose since I used to play golf close to scratch I should put in a couple of fairways and greens on my layout! Maybe a country club or something!

[Jetrock]

Making animated ducks would definitely be a challenge--especially getting them to look realistic rather than toylike.

One fairly high-tech solution would be to use a video projector to project video images (taken from long-range) of ducks flying onto a backdrop.

A low-tech solution: Put a scene of hunters waiting in a duck blind in the foreground, and paint silhouettes of flying ducks on the backdrop. That way they're far enough away to explain why the hunters aren't shooting yet, and won't necessarily draw too much attention to themselves (like a video image.) This kind of scene could provide a "treat" for viewers: folks looking at your layout would see the hunters and go "hm, what are they looking at?" and then notice the ducks in the background--or if they notice the bird silhouettes and then the hunters, a different sort of visual treat.

Depending on what era you're modeling, you could more closely tie the duck hunt into the layout--in more civilized times, many railroads offered duck-hunting expeditions: they'd stop in whatever part of "the boonies" offered the best duck hunting, drop off hunters, and a later train would pick them up later in the day.

My interests outside of model railroading are numerous, but probably most significant is my music--I perform with a band. I'd prefer not to leave links as my band is extremely offensive and grotesque and I would hate to ruin my nice-guy image with photos of the things I do on stage...

in addition to that, though, I am involved in my community neighborhood association and follow local politics, study history, and have a fairly large collection of books and music of various types. I'm also a recreational target shooter, as I think I mentioned earlier.

[Anonymous]

I also shoot ducks. Since I'm in New Jersey, I normally hunt in sight of brightly-lit casinos, a nuclear power plant, the Manhattan skyline, or some kind of industry. So, it was not a reach for me to have two guys in a jonboat hunting in a little marsh I built with Envirotex. I have a small industrial layout, and the guys are hunting behind my engine shed. Walthers had everything I needed, including ducks. I camo'ed the boat.

Also, since this is New Jersey, I have a dead body floating face down in the marsh, away from the hunters. This also is not a reach, as about 15 years ago, a man duck hunting with his son in a farm pond in north NJ came upon a headless and handless body that was dumped there. Probably a union official from Newark who didn't take "an offer he couldn't refuse." lol

Jim

[tomkat-13]

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/kempland/glassplate.htm

I collect old photos.....check out the link...some railroad photos from 1914-1917 taken in St. Louis Mo.....also some old buildings, streetcars,....balloon.....

[camarokid]

My daughter put in a minature golf course for our love of the game. Someday I might add a fisherman or two. That might be hard to do since I model the desert of the Southwest. Oh well, it's my layout.
Archie

[mustanggt]

I have a mechanics garage on my layout with some of my favorite cars out front- A Mustang and a Buick grand national. Out back, I'm gonna place some junk and a Unimog that belongs to the owner, me[:D]

[Anonymous]

I hope to find an HO scale model (or something close to HO) of my 1985 Buick Riviera. I love that car!

[jhoff310]

I am an avid kayaker and canoeist. I do a majority of my kayaking /canoeing in northern Michigan. I found the set put out by Merten or kayakers and canoers, I have my river cut so all I have to do is pour ot and place myself in my kayak in the river.
Jeff

[Anonymous]

Interest's other than model railroading?
Well I guess the member name say's a little:
Fords, 68 and 69 Torino's to be exact, currently helping my brother with restoring his 66 mustang. Drawing, watercolors, photography, building and repairing computers, music, movies, cooking (BBQ), remodeling the house. And yes I actually enjoy these things, but now I know why the wife say's I don't get enough sleep.LOL[;)]
oops can't forget salmon fishing on the Oregon Coast.

Chris

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock
My interests outside of model railroading are numerous, but probably most significant is my music--I perform with a band. I'd prefer not to leave links as my band is extremely offensive and grotesque and I would hate to ruin my nice-guy image with photos of the things I do on stage...

Now I'm curious to what matter of "extremely offensive" you mean. Your profile photo looks like Edward Norton in the movie "American History X". [#dots]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BoRockhard

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jetrock
My interests outside of model railroading are numerous, but probably most significant is my music--I perform with a band. I'd prefer not to leave links as my band is extremely offensive and grotesque and I would hate to ruin my nice-guy image with photos of the things I do on stage...

Now I'm curious to what matter of "extremely offensive" you mean. Your profile photo looks like Edward Norton in the movie "American History X". [#dots]

The clues are everywhere.....ya just have to search.
Jetrock you are cool [bow],not my taste in music.....(anymore) but i'll be letting some friends know about your site.

[eastcoast]

I like tall naked brunettes! Does that count??
I found an adam and eve set and painted the
nudes in a waterfall area. I also have built large
model aircraft and they are and will currently fly
above a JTF military area in the trainroom. My
love of sports is also apparent in many scenes
and in some of the vehicles and rolling stock.