I'm up way too late and the video isn't perfect, but what do you expect from a $15 camera?
Let's take a cab ride over part of the Durango to Silverton line. You'll see the section from Tefft to Silverton here, recorded with my new SQ8 and this rig...
The SQ8 works well for anything from HOn3 and bigger, although you may be able to make it work with smaller scale stuff, too.
MOVI0023 from Mike Lehman on Vimeo.
Sorry about the glitch entering Silverton. I still need to clean up some of the debris the drone blew around, but this is a little more down to earth than that. And yeah, the sound isn't synched for some reason, will see if that can be fixed, but you're lucky to even have sound at $15, right? I'll keep working on this, more videos soon. What else have folks been up to this week?
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
mlehmanWhat else have folks been up to this week?
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Mike that video does remind me of my first train video made with a $15 Hot Wheels video race car on a flat car pushed and pulled around the layout.
Joe Staten Island West
Mike L ... Glitch or not, I certainly enjoyed watching the video .
Bear ... The old steam loco looks good.
Here is a GE 44T on the branch line.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
I must admit my heart went to my mouth when the chopper lifted off the camera to fly out for processing.Ick!
Hey Bear,
Now that did give me a chuckle. Combine the two forms of photography and I could make a real mess
I did find a previously unnoticed bit of drone destruction while doing the video early this morning. Where the two signals are visible leaving Tefft, the one on the left had its "concrete" base broken, apparently by one of my lousy drone landings. A little CA will fix it right up though.
Joe,
Funny you should mention the apparent video speed. On the computer, the video runs at about half speed when reviewing it. I figured, what the heck? and posted it anyway. Now it seems as if it was shot from a hurtling Hot Wheels car (but I'm pretty sure no 1080P in the HW.) Another bit of weirdness I need to look into along with the mismatch between video and sound. Maybe this is why the SQ8 is so cheap and there's a SQ9 model floating around for $25? Anyone have one of those?
Garry,
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Hoping to get the bugs out, but it might just be the Roach Motel of cameras -- it's certainly priced that way But I'll get my money's worth out of it if it manages to discover my long-lost PA nose door somewhere in the hidden track. For that, I built the standard gauge "tunnel rat"...
Enjoyed the video,Mike. Nice to get another perspective on how your layout is,uh,laid out. I like the 480,too - is that brass?
I'm just slinging cinders and "yard mix" this week,so nothing to show,but here's a pic from the past - a local drifting past the car shops:
Happy weekend!
Mike
middlemanEnjoyed the video,Mike. Nice to get another perspective on how your layout is,uh,laid out. I like the 480,too - is that brass?
Mike,
Nice action shot!
Yep, the 480 is a mid-90s run Sunset K-36. I added Soundtraxx, wipers, coal, and a little detail here and there, plus recently converted to a working front coupler.
I'll probably start a SQ8 thread once I get better organized. Once you see the hidden track, you'll really have a "beneath the scenes" view of things. Despite the glitches, the aboveground journey does really give an improved idea of how things are laid out.
Here's a different angle of a freight crossing Hammer Creek.
Great work everyone!
Mike:
What a great view of your incredible layout! So much to take in!
Here is my meager contribution. I'm starting to round up enough stuff for my nine stall roundhouse. I want it to look reasonably cluttered inside, as I have seen in a number of shots of prototypes. The first thing I built were some simple shelving units. Don't look too close, they aren't very precise:
I messed up! I cut twice as many horizontal shelves as I needed, (just to add to the tedium of making all those repetetive cuts I guess). Next step after paint will be to figure out how to make them look reasonably full without having to make dozens and dozens of itty bitty pieces. Any suggestions?
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Hi All,
Great stuff already.......Mike I'm glad I stopped on My drone idea, too much involved for the time I want to use...at least not with My ceiling anyway! But You are getting there.
Dave,
For Your shelves...hopefully You have a color printer, makes it easier. After trying to fill up some scenes with tiny little parts like photo etched tools and things....I went with another way.....main reason being, I spent so much time putting all the tiny things together, only to find out, at normal viewing, through windows and doors, that You really can't see them anyway. So I searched on Google Images for any and all the things I could use to put on shelves, tables and such. Copied them and enlarged/reduced them to a close size to scale and set them in the shelves and what not to represent the shelves being full. If You glue them in at the right angle....they'll pass....My inspection anyway! In the pic' is the Fix-It plumbing store withe the interior copied on My printer and reduced to fit. The three walls surround a couple of shelves, with pictures of plumbing supplies glued at an 45 angle to look full. Through the windows, it actually looks full, along with the figures inside. Actually city classic's got the idea from Me, but had to change some things due to copyright law, so they could sell them, also theirs are back-lit.
Take Care!
Frank
Thanks Frank!
I was considering some sort of printed images.
The roof of the roundhouse will be removable and it will be within a foot or so of the aisle so whatever goes on the shelves will need some sore of 3D effect, but for things like cans and the like printed labels would be very effective. I would only need a few per shelf unit. Anything in behind could simply be painted a similar colour, and the shelves obviously don't have to be filled right to the back.
I have some hand tool castings so I'm going to make workbenches with backboards to display those. However, I don't have nearly enough tools to fill the number of workbenches that I will need so printed pictures will be the way to go. I could put the 3D tools where they can be seen the best and use the prints in less visible locations.
Thanks again!
Sorry, there I go hijacking a thread again. Back to WPF!
I-9, K-1 double header.
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/60361449@N02/
Anthracite Modeler - YouTube
RDG Casey,
Great shot! Looks like the pusher, is doing all the work though! LOL
hon30critterSorry, there I go hijacking a thread again.
Bear:
Not 'rubbish' at all! That is pretty impressive for HO.
I have been trying to assemble a ship model. I reiterate that it is the hardest kit I've tried to assemble. The squarish pieces go together fairly well, but gluing the curved bow is proving difficult.
To add to the WPF, good work by everyone. That ship looks like a challange.
My contribution, some beat-up gondolas, with coil loads. I ususally over do it, so.....
Mike.
My You Tube
Playing with On30 on my HO railroad. Gives a sense of distance. Engine lettered for Joppa Iron Works and others for Deer Creek & Susquehanna. My railroads are a "what if" scenario. Didn't do any sound editing on this one.
Mike Habersack http://rail. habersack. com
Maryland - the land of pleasant living...
Thanks for kick-starting WPF, Mike!
You're having way too much fun with those cameras! You have the sky and ground covered. What's next? The Mole camera boring through your benchwork?
I did some "on-board" video maybe a year ago and was surprized, as lots of folks are, of how much the camera shows unfinished work behind the normal viewing angles. It prompted me to add a little thin plywood and styrene here and there to make a better view.
Oh, and I thought of your layout when I saw THIS photo over at Classic Trains:
http://ctr.trains.com/photo-of-the-day/2017/01/california-zephyr-on-a-detour
Neat Stuff!!
Thanks for the photo of the dusty past, Bear!
So, Garry, the CB&Q isn't all stainless steel streamliners on the "Racetrack"? Nice shot.
Middleman Mike, I like seeing all that Armour Yellow in your coach yard. Reminds me of when I was ten and my dad took me out west on vacation. We stopped at North Platte, Nebraska just as three "The City of—" trains were being switched and there were UP yellow passenger cars everywhere. After about twenty minutes of a flurry of activity all three trains departed and the scene was still again.
I'd love to be in that '53 Eldorado, Grampy. There's a place near Alliance, Ohio where the Pennsy parallels the highway and I remember trying to catch up to one of the "Blue Ribbon" trains. Great memories!
Your roundhouse build will be fun to watch, Dave. As others have mentioned, it's all about tricking the eye. We are really building miniature theater sets.
Your interiors look great, Frank. I remember seeing them in other threads and they have given me lots of guidance in making my own.
Casey, what a perfect action shot! I can't help but imagine the sounds that would accompany such a scene! Excellent work!
Matt, I can share your frustration in building that ship hull. Lots of joints and fitting-up. I have a Sylvan resin ore boat kit that also required a great deal of nasty fit-up work. Keep at— it and good luck!
Again, Mike, I love those beat up gons! No, I don't think they are "overdone". I have seen some really rough looking cars, especially those in billet and coil steel service. Very nice!
Mike (#4?) That is a great looking video. Very convincing scene. May I inquire as to your editing software? I use Premier Elements. Looking Good!
For me it was mostly bench-work in the shop this week. I have finally neared completion of the New York Central H-10a that I began some months ago.
Here are a few "before-and-after" shots:
Above is the 1961 "As Delivered" LMB model. I had to make a few repairs so I thought I may as well "update" some of the details, such as that headlight and those poling pockets!
And here she is right out of the paint oven...
Then, finally, the "after" look. Just a little more touch-up work, headlight glass and class-light MV lenses, a bit of weathering and I can call her DONE! I put a TCS KAT22 decoder in there and the 'ol girl hauls freight like nobody's business
Since I had the airbrush out I also painted a B&O auxiliary tender that will be paired with a Q4 Mike.
And to take a break from painting I decided to put together a pair of Tichy wooden ore cars. These are great little kits and I recommend them highly...
Last-but-not-least...
The Tangent model of the PRR's X58 Boxcar arrived yesterday. Yes, I'm a modeler of many eras. I thought this "patch-out" job was neat and these Tangent models are absolute jewels in their details and painting accuracy!
Well, that wraps it up for me... on to more Great Stuff!!
Ed
Mike, Thanks for the WPF start-up and the fun little layout tour movie. I remember when Lionel came out with their mini on board camera, don't know the level of photo quality, but it cost a lot more than 15 bucks.
Matthew, I agree with Mike, that bow piece appears to be more than a fair challenge. What scale is the ship?
Mike H., Cool! Like watching an old silent movie from the 1920s.
Thanks to all and regards, Peter
HO-Velo Matthew, I agree with Mike, that bow piece appears to be more than a fair challenge. What scale is the ship?
The ship is n scale. It occurred to me this morning while skiing that I may be using less-than-ideal glue. I may try CA instead of the model masters stuff.
Thanks for the silent movie reference. I fell in love with the silents about 10 years ago.
This was shot entirely on my iPad using the 8mm for iPad application (works the same on the iPhone too). I don't think its more than a dollar or two. I pulled the file off of my iPad and reduced the file size in Sony Vegas Video, which is my normal editing program - although the iPad application has the right amount of grain and permits you to add the addition of a sprocket stutter with the touch of a button.
It it startling how good some of the video quality can be coming off of phones and tablets now - in fact so good that it catches my modeling errors....
mike h
Ed, great job on the H-10a! I love your "before and after" shots. I wish I would have done that (photography) with my BLI heavy mikado which I bashed and detailed to more closly resemble a P&LE H-9d. I see what you did with the headlamp and poling pockets. It looks like you changed the FWH pump and piping? It fills up that raised are of the running board nicely. What other changes have you made? I would like to see more photos when you are finished.
Thank you for the kind words, John.
Much of my research came from here:
https://nycshs.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/mikados.pdf
in addition to the several NYC books I have. These engines had many variables, even as built it seems no two were the same. Mine is a Lima and that places it in the lowest number range of 1 to 65. The number I chose, #6, was the lowest number that had the side-mounted air compressor (later a second one was added as my model represents) and the feedwater pump mounted where mine is.
It was a fun project and it is nice to see an old 1960s era brass model still earning its keep!
I didn't document every step but here are a few additional photos...
The above shows two new air compressors, feed water pump and pipe (even though it isn't piped to the outlet of the pump the photos show it coming from near the center of the pump?) New whistle, bell generator and Sunbeam headlight, new class lights and shut-off valve at the dry pipe.
Yes, that poling pocket HAD to go. I filled it in with solder and carved it to shape.
When I see the Division Point model going for around $1300. I'm glad I did my own customization on this LMB model and kept the total cost to a third of that price.
Fun Stuff!
Regards, Ed