Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
Hello, Again I would like to thank everyone for their input. There are some more people who I would like to respond to and make some comments as well. In regards to Snake. [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by Snake A "scratchbuild off" sounds like fun and I would love to participate. Hopefully this can become something we do again and again. Some of us are retired and have more time than others to dedicate to modeling. I have read where some folks only have a couple-three hours a week for their hobby. I recommend keeping this in mind when setting start/end dates. The categories and the entry levels sound good. I guess the entries would have to be based on integrity. I.e. an experienced modeler would have to be honest enough to not enter his/her model as a "beginner". Enough "notice in advance" time should be allowed so that we have time to do research, get photos, drawings, etc. prior to starting the assembly/building process, again integrity would apply for the date you "started" building the model. Will you be considering those projects that are completely freelanced versus those that are a replica of a prototype? Looking forward to the "scratchbuild off" and reading all the "help" and "how to" questions that will be propagated by this competion. I am sure this will be a GREAT learning experience for us all. Have you considered asking MR if they would/could help with certificates/ribbons for the winners. It would be nice for the winners to have something to display on their layout for their efforts. Maybe a special note under their number of stars here on the forum. Keep us up to date on your decisions. [/quote] I hope to this is something I can host again and again. This is something that I have chosen to do out of my own pocket and on my own time so the ability to do so will depend greatly on the amount of participation I get, and the amount of assistance I can get from places willing help out. You have a point on the integrity thing. It is something that I never even thought about. I guess the only thing I can do is let them enter and hope it doesn’t get abused. As far as the notice in advance goes, I do not think that will be a problem. That is why I have started a discussion on this now so that people can start thinking about if they want to enter or not and if they do what they want to build. I figure at the rate I am going It will take me about three weeks to get my ducks in a row and then I will allow a period of time before the start of construction that modelers can use for research and acquiring of materials. I am going to consider a prototype for this event to be a non-issue. If you want to make a painstaking recreation of RGS #4 in On3 be my guest. I feel it should share an equal footing with a model that someone built of Captain Proton’s Rocket Loco. In this contest I am trying to stir the imaginations of modelers and get them to pu***he envelope of their skills. I do not want them to be hindered by whether or not their model will lose ground because it is prototype or not. As for the help and how to question. I am looking forward to them to. As has already occurred on this thread, A person that has not built anything from scratch before was asking for something he could practice on. So I gave him a basic tool shed he could cut his teeth on. I am willing to render assistance and information to all those who ask for it. Yes I have considered asking MR and other model railroad magazines for help. As I am writing this I am in the process of writing a formal email to the staffs of these magazines and hopefully I will be able to gain their support. I am checking in on this thread daily and will keep everyone apprised as to what is going on. Oh while I am still responding to you Mr. (or Ms or Mrs. perhaps?) Snake, I would like to thank you for going over how to scale items from photographs. You covered the topic with more eloquence than I would know how to broach the subject. In response to Mr. Tpaulsen [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by tpaulsen I qualify as what most of you would call an old fart and I think the concept of going back to scratch building is simply marvelous. I hope you guys get your contest up and going. More power to you. And, yes, welcome to the 50's. Model railroading was fun then too. Tom [/quote] Well I definitely think I qualify as one of those snout nose punk kids of Generation Y. (I am 21 years old) But I however developed my modeling skills under the wings of quite a number of what my generation refers to as “Old School” modelers such as your self. I am quite proud of that fact. And once again, I respond to Dough [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by Dough Thanks Greyhound. I'm going to give the shed a shot next weekend. I am in college as well and modeling constanly gets pushed down as a priority. I usually have big surges and then slow periods. My old hobby shop is now much more of a drive as well. But I'll give it a shot none the less and also pratice with some kitbashing before moving on. There is also a Model Rail show coming soon and I hope to pic up a few ideas as well as supplies there. I'm just trying to figure out what I need ahead of time. [/quote] No Problem. I am in the last year of college my self so I understand fully what you mean. My situation is complicated by the fact that I live in the State of Wyoming and there is only one hobby store in the whole state meaning I am essentially dependent on mail order and E-bay to get things I want. As such it is much easier for me to walk down to the lumber yard and brows the miniature lumber section. And brows the crafts store for scratch building supplies when it comes to a lot of my model building. Lastly I would like to make a general response to some comments I have received via E-mail and over AIM. As I mentioned earlier, This contest is for everybody. If you have never scratch built anything before in your life. Now is your chance to seize the opportunity to do so. Your model does not have to be an elaborate recreation of some Rio Grande Southern Prototype painstaking recreated in miniature board for board, rivet for rivet. It just has to be a model that once stared as a sheet of nothing fancy, and through model building skill and imagination made something cool from it. Also an elaborate workbench is not necessary. You can scratch build something with only a hobby knife, a straight edge, and some Elmer’s glue. If any of you have built some of the basic kits this hobby offers, you already have all the tools you need to participate in this competition. Also construction materials can be anything you can cut glue and arrange into what you want. It can be styrene or Basswood, or just simply Foam core and cardboard. I have made things from all 4, all with good results. If you have to cut up cereal boxes for construction materials, by all means do it. Again, thanks everyone for their responses and input. I will keep everyone apprised. Sincerely, James.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag

Update Reply

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Model Railroader Newsletter See all

Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!

Subscriber & Member Login

Edit post

Post Body

Tags (Optional)

Subscriber & Member Login

Users Online

Search the Community