Weekend Update 3/24/13

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Built some shacks out of styrene for the Company Town:







The outhouse does "double doody" as the knob for the slide switch turnout control (there's a cross-support directly under the throwbar so no Bullfrog).

Also made a video on how to scratchbuild with styrene to try to help take the mystery out of it and get people to populate their layouts with unique structures instead of the Walthers catalogue.
Here's the Abridged 5-minute version:

And the two-part step-by-tippy-toe-step tutorials are on my website in the "Tips & Tutorials" section: http://www.yardgoatlayoutdesign.com/28.html

Also started fleshing out the mine tipple scene with an office, tufts, and more trees:



Also made 30 more pines while watching the US win a World Cup qualifier in a blizzard.

Also just got Helicon focus stacking software, thus the going crazy with the photos

More photos on the Engineering Report.

Thanks for looking, and thanks for sharing all your nifty work.
This thread is always inspiring!

[Dave V]

[Catt]

MC,I just saved both parts of the shack videos to show my sister how easy scratchbuilding is.

This is my latest build, it's to cold to paint (30 degrees) so it is still in white .

[MVW]

M.C., thanks for the video. I've only made two very rudimentary attempts at scratchbuilding, so this was very helpful. And your tip on the rectangular hole punch saved me about $20, as I was going to buy a tap from Micro-Mark. That was worth the price of admission alone. 

Jim

[Erik W]

Somehow I wound up buying this book:


 . . . and this DVD:


So, I've been enjoying them.  I'll be doing more painting on my SOO -2 this weekend.

Erik

[M.C. Fujiwara]

M.C., thanks for the video. I've only made two very rudimentary attempts at scratchbuilding, so this was very helpful. And your tip on the rectangular hole punch saved me about $20, as I was going to buy a tap from Micro-Mark. That was worth the price of admission alone. 

Jim

Well....
Those rectangular punches are VERY VERY cheap.
As in, if you squeeze too hard the metal handles actually bend.
I've gone through 3 of them so far 

The Micro Mark "Nibbling Cutter" seems like a better deal at $13, especially if it lasts longer than a couple shacks 

[Dave V]

Somehow I wound up buying this book:


 . . . and this DVD:



Erik

Resistance is futile...

One of us.  One of us.  One of us.

[flight2000]

Nice Brian! Whats your technique to get the fading look?

Craig

Thanks Craig.  I use Polly Scale Aged White diluted with 70% isopropyl alcohol.  75% alki versus 25% paint.  I'll start spraying until I get to the level of fade I want and then go from there with the rest of the weathering.  I did a lot of trial and error experimentation, but a certain Weathering Book by a certain forum owner    also helped a great deal... 

Brian

[Hornwrecker]

I've been flocking up a lot.  All the light green areas is static grass applied this week.  At least it's starting to look like spring, if only on my layout.

[rsn48]

Puddington,

Congratulations on your accomplishments.  I'm from a long line of military, I was in it, just retired, and currently my son is in the Canadian Army posted to Shilo (poor guy....lol) and a dear friend about to leave for the next Afghanistan rotation, she first goes to Shilo, then out of country.  I can only guess how many thousands of hours are behind your award qualifications.

[up1950s]

Pud , for a guy that was let go after so many years of work , you have been an inspiration to everybody in how you absorbed that blow and proven to all in earshot . You are much more than that old job . Congratulations , you deserve the respect of all . Your family must be so proud of you .

[up1950s]

My first attempt at weathering a steam locomotive. Having only done diesels before, I was sort of at a loss for where to start and how to go about it. I found a Model Railroader article from August 2002 entitled “Realistic weathering for steam locomotives”. Pretty good article as it breaks the process down into steps that are easy to follow. I'm pretty happy with the results.

Very nice Bill . I have a compulsive desire to always graphite the smoke and fire boxes even though some prototypes didn't have it or are so dirty they don't show through . Your results came out terrific . I need to try to get past that damn graphite bottle , it's like a drug to me .

[up1950s]

M.C. Fujiwara

Museum quality sir .

[LIRR]

Nice work M.C., I agree with your styrene thoughts, quick and easy scratch building is the way to go. Much cheaper than the typical kit....I knocked the three of these together in a couple of evenings.....

[DKS]

Inching closer to the release of this ubiquitous little beastie:





Under macro magnification, it may look a little rough around the edges, but it is kind of small after all; here it is posed on a dime:



It's obviously based on the Grumman LLV, but with some deliberate deviations in order to avoid licensing issues (for the same reason, the kit will not include USPS decals, sorry to say). I obtained some official drawings of the LLV, so its overall dimensions are accurate at least.