When I first got back to this wonderful hobby. I soon realized a lot of things I wanted weren't available right off the shelf for what I wanted to model. I am fairly confident that with practice, I will someday be able to kitbash or build from scratch, things that I want on my layout. Be it a loco, rolling stock, building or something else. How about sharing your proudest accomplishment ( I love photos ) and tell us how you have improved your skills. What was your Eureka moment learning how to kitbash or scratch build? I hope to be really inspired.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Brent, my proudest accomplishment in this hobby is definitely the weathering on my U23B. I worked my tail off weathering it and applied I don't know how many different powder layers to get it just right. Even though I don't model the ATSF i still love their paint schemes and that shell will wear that paint scheme and weathering job until it disintegrates (I'll be buying a new shell to repaint into my freelanced RR though).
This locomotive is where I really started developing my weathering skills (which still have a LONG way to go) and was also my first project where I REALLY worked hard and had the results I was aiming for to show for it (there were other projects I worked hard on but didn't come out as I had wanted). So I suppose you could say this is the locomotive where it all came together for me and I love it.
Here's some pics of it (lol, these are back when I had my old bedroom):
Enjoy! And I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's EUREKA moments!
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
IF I had to pick one, it would be my waterfall scene:
Have Fun.... Bob.
Well, believe it or not, my proudest accomplishment was building absolutely "Bullet-Proof" benchwork for my eight year old Yuba River Sub.
Now, before you all snicker and say, "Oh, big DEAL!", allow me to tell you that I am the son of a man who was an architectural engineer and whose hobby was absolutely Exquisite woodworking. And I inherited NONE of it from my Dad, God rest his wonderful soul. In fact, every time I was in his workshop he'd kind of 'cringe' when I went for the power tools.
I tried, but the talent just Wasn't There. And of course, my mother was no help, every time I picked up saw or hammer, she'd have a heart-attack because her incredibly musically talented son was going to cut off every finger he owned. She KNEW it!
So working with wood was never one of my strong points. Until about eight years ago when I decided: "You know, if you do this SLOWLY and CAREFULLY and PLAN it out, it might not be a Major Disaster, after all.
Luckily, I had planned on using foam construction for the top of the layout, for which I can thank (or blame) an article in Model Railroader. So all I had to really work with were 1x4" open-grid bracing. Out came the--GASP!--power saw and the electric drill and the electric screwdriver and the level and the tape and the Square, and I went to work. Slowly and carefully. And by Golly--I was able to DO it! Each new section just made me stop and admire my handiwork. In fact, my neighbors probably got tired of being hustled physically into the garage every time they passed by and watching me jump up and down like a ten-year old grinning, "Isn't this GREAT?"
So, considering my background and total lack of talent when it used to come to boards, screws and things that plug into wall-sockets and make enormous amounts of noise (and sawdust), I've managed to construct benchwork that has lasted without ANY structural adjustments for the past eight years.
I'm very proud of me.
Now if I could just figure out how to fit that backdrop in that I forgot to install in the first place--
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
So far it's building a credible version of the Red Jacket Trestle near where I live. It's not finished yet, but it's closer than anyone else I know!
I haven't had one yet at least as far as I'm concerned just working through one obstacle after another at this point But the one thing I am proud of present is all of my hand laid turnouts are working flawlessly and every turnout on the layout now has an under table switch machine and all are dcc controlled, not really a shining moment but a little something at least.
But i have to say Tom I think your being a little critical of your modeling skills looking at your photographs your railroad is very impressive, your scenery looks real good and unless your really good at trick photography your bridges and structures look really good as well.
WOW, you certainly have impressed me Cory.
Great work, you should be very proud of it.
Johnboy out.....................
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
last mountain & eastern hogger WOW, you certainly have impressed me Cory. Great work, you should be very proud of it. Johnboy out.....................
Fixing stuff! When I started this great hobby I was told I was wasting my time with used cheap stuff I got off E-Bay. Would not track or stay coupled, and there where the worn out Athearns Engines as well. I will match my cheap Tyco and Bachmann cars against any of the high in stuff when it comes to rolling and tracking! How many people can say they can pull 32 TYCO Old Dutch Hoppers around a 18 inch turn. And if you could, would you post about it?
You cannot see all of them.
Then I got into steam and had to learn how fix BLI steamers. I guess the thing I am most proud of was fixing my PCM Y6-b. After running it for 200 plus hours, it started shorting out. Sent it back to BLI and they could not fix the problem. Larry does all the Y6-b's and said he has seen 4 with this problem and he never could fix any of them. He offered me a credit, but they had no PCM Y6-b's left. Told him no thanks and send it back to me. Her she is doing a coal drag again.
It is what all steam engines should be! Has pulled a round 80 cars up a 1.5 percent grade at K-10 Model Trains.
All so sort of proud of the new section and the foam cliffs.
I will do better as I go.
All so fixed my PCM Big Boy as well!
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
The Trenton Interchange on my DT&I. Far and above the most useless, confusing, and downright 99.6% perfectly prototypical thing I've ever done. It's the point of this hobby entirely to me. Fun, with no point, rhyme, reason, or simplicity. You do it because it drives you crazy, but drives you crazier not to.
For me, it was planning and building this, including the scratched trestle in the distance, handlaying two turnouts from scratch (custom-built in place), and figuring out how to reverse entire trains with the diagonal bridge and PSX-AR that powers it and the rest of the loop. In general, getting a second and improved model railroad....oh, almost forgot the spline roadbed! And the aluminum window screen and ground goop overlay. They were new to me, too, and on only my second layout. I guess using flextrack instead of EZ-Track was a substantial departure from the first layout, too. So, yeah, this was quite the accomplishment for someone who had very little experience and who attempted several new methods of construction.
For me it was completing a paint/decal project. I dont often finish things I set out to do. Mussing up a tidy factory paint job isn't always something I'm keen to do, but I decided that I had to start patching my locomotives. After trying and failing (more than once) to post a picture here, a link will have to suffice. Its nothing too impressive but I thought it was cool as the modeled loco is an actual engine I've seen in the area that I am modeling/plan to model.
Heres a link to my model of Union Pacific #1448 (former DRGW unit)
Note: it is a little blotchy because the dullcoat hadn't dried completely when I took the picture.
-Cahrn
Oh, I don't know ... maybe it was having my trackplan published in the May 1971 issue of Model Railroader.
Mark
Crandell - it is always a joy to see pictures of your layout posted here. Would it be too greedy if I asked for more?
Hi!
The Hobby gives us all unlimited opportunities to learn and express ourselves in so many ways. My "proudest" accomplishments are probably two things, the layout itself and a structure.
My last layout (11x15 HO 2-level) lasted from 1993 to 2008. As the majority of folks that saw it over the years were non-model railroaders, they were impressed. They realized that carpentry, wiring, design, painting, model building, etc., went into it (but typically didn't know a diesel from a steamer). And, the fact that I was a "desk jockey" for "big oil" and could work with my hands impressed them even more.
Ooops, there was one exception. When I was between wives, I dated a "well to do" lady whose first reaction when viewing the layout was NOT "oooohhhs and awwwwws". It was "how much did all this cost?" Needless to say, our relationship didn't take long to go downhill.
My other "proudest" accomplishment is the scale model I built of my deceased Grandmom's home in Anna Illinois - right across from the IC "racetrack". It was here where I spent 1950's summers and fell in love with the IC steamers and streamliners. When I decided to build a model in styrene, I had no idea how complicated it would be.
First of all, there were few models with hip roofs. I ended up with two of the Atlas "Barb's Bungalows" and did some serious kitbashing to get it "right". The second challenge was that the house was built on a small hill, with the front door opening to the ground level, and the rear door opening up to a porch "one story above ground". Ha, I found out real fast that building a replica is much harder than free-lancing. Also, there was a lot of sentiment in the building. Anyway, I use a picture of it as my Avatar, and when I look at it I tend to remember "good times".
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Sir Madog Crandell - it is always a joy to see pictures of your layout posted here. Would it be too greedy if I asked for more?
I'll send you a PM, Sir Madog. Thank-you for your interest and appreciation of my little empire.
-Crandell
The accomplishment I'm most proud of (so far, anyway!) is finishing my module of the ATSF's Canyon Diablo Bridge.
I had to design the framework for the module, scratchbuild the bridge, figure out how to cast the piers (I ended up casting them out of concrete), and figure out how to do the rockwork. It challenged me at just about every step, but I conquered it.
Robert Beaty
The Laughing Hippie
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The CF-7...a waste of a perfectly good F-unit!
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the
end of your tunnel, Was just a freight train coming
your way. -Metallica, No Leaf Clover
Excellent, Robert! It is a most impressive structure, and once you have it all done up, weathering and all, it will be a first class showpiece that should appear in MR! At least, I'd look forward to seeing it published there.
At this point in time, I have to say that my proudest accomplishment is finally getting off my dead end after 20-30 years of inactivity and starting to build models again. I also have to say that most of the credit goes to you great folks on this forum that plant the seeds to get me going. Thank you!
Chuck
Grand River & Monongah Railroad and subsidiary Monongah Railway
I think my proudest accomplishments is my scenery in general. I'm working on a tunnel/mountain and that is turning out well; ballast, trees, water, etc I can actually see as convincing when I look at it. I never thought I could pull off anything convincing when I started seriously modeling nature.
Modeling the N&W freelanced at the height of their steam era in HO.
Daniel G.
My proudest accomplishment was being fortunate enough to have a photo published in the July, 2009 issue of Model Railroader Magazine and 3 published in the 2010 Walther's catalog. DJ.
Running a train with two CF7's over Robert's Canyon Diablo bridge....
Oh, wait, that would be one of my most meanest moments....
That scene, discovering new techniques and documenting it on my old website.
http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/4x8/
Which lead to articles in RMC.
Harold
It's an interesting and thought-provoking question, and I've spent an entirely disproportionate amount of time pondering it since it was first posted. Here's what I've concluded -
My proudest accomplishment thus far is the fact that, at least in my own eyes, each project I undertake (scenery, painting/decaling, buildings, what have you) seems to come out better than the previous one. So in other words, I'm most proud of my own modeling skills improvement, particularly in the last couple of years. Perhaps some day I can eventually claim to actually be pretty good at some particular facet of the hobby.
Jim
"I am lapidary but not eristic when I use big words." - William F. Buckley
I haven't been sleeping. I'm afraid I'll dream I'm in a coma and then wake up unconscious. -Stephen Wright
selectorExcellent, Robert! It is a most impressive structure, and once you have it all done up, weathering and all, it will be a first class showpiece that should appear in MR! At least, I'd look forward to seeing it published there. -Crandell
Thank you, Crandell!
Yeah, I still have work to do on the beastie yet...I still want to install all the internal bracing, but I didn't want to do that until I knew that the bridge would actually hold trains in continuous use. I also need to install one of the BLMA signal bridges on the module.
tin canRunning a train with two CF7's over Robert's Canyon Diablo bridge.... Oh, wait, that would be one of my most meanest moments....
I lust looked in the other direction.
Of course, I seem to recall certain CF-7's having difficulties making it around the layout. Or maybe that was wishful thinking.
I will say my "proudest accomplishment" is...............going form a 4x8 to a 12x13.
"Rust, whats not to love?"
Robby, I know what you mean. Sometimes even deciding to take that next step is a huge accomplishment. And that begets yet more big accomplishments. Such a developmental hobby.
As an addendum to my post earlier, I forgot about my water under the comgination girder on the diagonal bridge. I had a clear and shiny planar surface made of epoxy. It was pretty, but not very realistic. So, I thought of what I think must be a unique solution (I have never seen it mentioned anywhere). I mixed a little plaster of Paris and some Huader Medium Green from Wally's into a vial with another batch of the epoxy and covered the clear layers that existed. When that dried, I stippled on a thin layer of gel gloss medium. It turned out better than I had hoped...at least in photos. It is too dark and green when standing over it, but I know that the process works and can lighten the mix next time.
I'd have to give the nod to my subways. When I started, I had been out of the hobby for 40 years, so I had a lot of learning to do. My first "Wow, I can really do stuff like that?" moment was casting Hydrocal. I just bulled ahead and made my own latex molds for the platforms and walls, and slowly it came together:
My subways are mostly underground (as they should be) and most of the track can't be seen from above. My wife couldn't figure out why I spent so much time detailing the tunnels, only to cover them over and build another railroad on top of them. But, I'd always planned on having the motorman's point of view, using this spy-cam inside the lead car:
It all comes together in the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ5OvZtI-QU
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Even though my accomplishments are minor in comparison to some posters, to date my proudest accomplishments are
1) laying my first 2 handlaid turnouts and seeing that they actually worked, no matter what I ran over them. And they even looked better than the Atlas Custom Line turnouts I was familiar with.
2) building my handheld DC throttle. I redesigned the circuit to use a 4 wire, coiled telephone handset cord for the tether. On my own, I thought of using a relay to get the wire count down and avoid voltage drop to track power in the tether. Plenty of other folks have come up with the same idea before and since, but I didn't know about it at the time.
And as has been pointed out, it's very nice to see one's skills improving over time. I imagine that if/when I complete these projects, they will take over as my proudest accomplishments:
1) building the Keystone Shay in HOn3.
2) remotoring and detailing an FED 2-6-0 in HOn3
3) hand laying a dual gauge turnout and/or 3 way stub turnout
Fred W