Weekend Update - 08/16/2009

[Philip H]

Last I checked, Lance is using full paper walls on his Downtown Spur layout.  HE often cuts out the doors and sets them back in to create a mroe 3-d effect.

I'm pretty sure he just does that for mocking up the buildings.

not according to his website . . .

[Sokramiketes]

http://www.lancemindheim.com/progress_photos.htm

Catch up, Tom... gees   

[sizemore]

do you actually jump?

No because the cost and insurance prevents us from actually jumping. Same reason why you see more (fully restored, fully functional) warbirds in museums than in the air.

Just to put a plane in the air costs about $2500 an hour. Not to mention you only get about 450 flight hours before a plane needs to be fully rebuilt which costs about $350K. Then you tack on reproduction chutes which run in the $5-10k range, you could run a T10, but the correct chute is a T5. Then you tack on insurance on top of that...just to jump out of a plane...way too much money.

There is the Airborne Demonstration Team ("ADT Jump School") however sources indicate there are some serious safety concerns and it's somewhat costly to go there.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Every time I see it, Lance's work amazes me.

[sizemore]

Every time I see it, Lance's work amazes me.

Great scenery. His N scale loco work inspired me to be a rivet counter a long time ago!

The S.

[asciibaron]

Every time I see it, Lance's work amazes me.

he does this for a living, right 

[tom mann]

Wow, that makes me feel better that Lance is going the whole way with cardstock.  I wasn't going to post that I am using cardstock, because I was afraid that Lee would accuse me of just spending good money on paper and Skibbe would tell me that real building is done with styrene. ;D

I'll drop Lance a line and see how he seals them and how they hold up to MD humidity.

I actually thought the cardstock method was old fashioned until I saw the article in MR.  The freighthouse that the author built is great - and available as a free kit from the maker.

[Philip H]

Based on his articles, website, and some emails he was kind enough to answer for me, he seals it with Dulcoat, and affixes it to styrene (!) cores using 3M Super 77 spray adhesive.  I think his basement (which used to house the N Scale Monon layout) is fully climate controlled, so I doubt humidity is a problem.

[asciibaron]

I actually thought the cardstock method was old fashioned until I saw the article in MR.

funny how things go in cycles - what's old is new again.

one of my first models was a card stock version of a C&O station - it was in "Easy-to-build Model Railroad Structures" from 1958! i just remembered that book existed and now i need to go on the hunt for it at my parent's.

[tom mann]

I've been fixing stuff to foam core.  My uncle (an architect) once gave me some old foam core models he built in college.  After 15 years, they still looked good.  I was going to use the Krylon Preserve It! spray.

Lance has answered all my questions, all very promptly.  His self-published track plan books feature good ideas.

[Hiroe]

I've been obsessing over trailers, trying to build up enough loads for a decent Z train:

and an older, more grimy 45 footer:

Gary, this is a put-on, right? There's no way those could be z-scale. Be honest. They're HO, aren't they.

[pfs]

I've been obsessing over trailers, trying to build up enough loads for a decent Z train:

Gary, this is a put-on, right? There's no way those could be z-scale. Be honest. They're HO, aren't they.

z train is a priority train with UPS trailers if I recall correctly. And the pic is prob N.

[Hiroe]

I've been obsessing over trailers, trying to build up enough loads for a decent Z train:

Gary, this is a put-on, right? There's no way those could be z-scale. Be honest. They're HO, aren't they.

z train is a priority train with UPS trailers if I recall correctly. And the pic is prob N.

Uh, Okay. I'll buy that for a dollar.

[ednadolski]

I've been obsessing over trailers...

Gary excellent work! You'll have to post a blog with the technique!

Seconded!  (and thirded and fourthed and fifthed ... )   

Ed

[Hyperion]

I've been obsessing over trailers, trying to build up enough loads for a decent Z train:

Gary, this is a put-on, right? There's no way those could be z-scale. Be honest. They're HO, aren't they.

z train is a priority train with UPS trailers if I recall correctly. And the pic is prob N.

"Z" is BNSF's symbol for the highest-priority of intermodel, not necessarily a UPS load (though it's a safe bet there's some on there).  "Q" is the symbol for Guaranteed intermodal, and "P" the symbol for Premium intermodal.