N Scale Money Saving Modeling Tips

[Mark W]

Buy some garden slate rocks at your local hardware/garden center to crush, sift, and dye your own ballast, rip-rap and fall rock.   The difference is incredible, and it's insanely cheap compared to Woodland Scenic or Arizona Rock and Mineral!  A 4 dollar bag is about 30 pounds of usable rock, vs 8 bucks for about 6 ounces of AR&M.

Fall Rock


Z scale ballast

[peteski]

Seriously?  You haven't heard of 'lifehacker.com'?   

There are lots of people who use it with a positive connotation.   
Maybe they're all just younger than you.   

I don't know - the Urban Dictionary seems to be something that is used by today's youths and its definition also defines hack negatively.  I don't want to hack anything or be hacked in any way.   You guys can just hack away while I do some fine modeling work myself.   

Feel free to call me "an old fart" - I am getting old and I am a prolific farter! 

[wm3798]

The idea is to hack your way through to a slick solution...  Nothing negative there.

Here's a favorite that made one of my best projects possible...

I needed a gazillion windows for my scratch-built Cumberland station.  I tried hand building the frames and sashes for a few pilots, thinking I could resin cast them.  When I found out they were too delicate to cast, I resigned myself to scratch building the windows.  Seeing my lament, our late resident wizard Zox solved the problem with laser-cut self adhesive paper in the right colors...



It took weeks of excruciating work and replaced it with a satisfying evening's project...


Lee

[peteski]

The idea is to hack your way through to a slick solution...  Nothing negative there.

Here's a favorite that made one of my best projects possible...

I needed a gazillion windows for my scratch-built Cumberland station.  I tried hand building the frames and sashes for a few pilots, thinking I could resin cast them.  When I found out they were too delicate to cast, I resigned myself to scratch building the windows.  Seeing my lament, our late resident wizard Zox solved the problem with laser-cut self adhesive paper in the right colors...

Lee

Lee, but hacking implies that something is done in a rough way, haste, half-assed, or poorly.  What you did is not a hack at all - it is a very slick and precise solution. Totally opposite to hacking.

[pnolan48]

Buy lichen at a floral supply store. You'll get a huge bag for a few bucks.
Buy styrene by the 4 x 8 foot sheet and cut it up into smaller pieces.
Make your own glue by mixing 75% MEK with 25% toluene.
Use weeds for trees and shrubs. Better than lichen.

[Mark W]

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/lifehack

[craigolio1]

Buy some garden slate rocks at your local hardware/garden center to crush, sift, and dye your own ballast, rip-rap and fall rock.   The difference is incredible, and it's insanely cheap compared to Woodland Scenic or Arizona Rock and Mineral!  A 4 dollar bag is about 30 pounds of usable rock, vs 8 bucks for about 6 ounces of AR&M.

Fall Rock


Z scale ballast

This interests me big time!  Can you please elaborate?  Perhaps you could show us a piece of the material as purchased and describe how you crush, or other wise prepare it?

Thanks, Craig

[chicken45]

Lee, but hacking implies that something is done in a rough way, haste, half-assed, or poorly.  What you did is not a hack at all - it is a very slick and precise solution. Totally opposite to hacking.

Sure...hacking with an axe is different from the precise skill set for hacking computers.

[chicken45]

Also, this discussion of the word "hack" is going to lead to us being meme/bannered by @tom mann.

[chuck geiger]

Thanks for the input on the title and the ideas.

[up1950s]

Nice Chuck , thanks for a better title .

[ncbqguy]

All
The "old school" term for such Model Railroad suggestions would be "Kinks" or alternatively "Kinx".
Since we're talking about our Hobby and not social media/metrosexual stuff the established term would be fine.
Of course, that's just my old fart view!
Charlie Vlk

[peteski]

Nice Chuck , thanks for a better title .

Yeah, what he said!

I also don't get why someone would down-voted your post.  WTF is going on in this forum!?!?!?!?  This it getting to much like politics - so polarized and so touchy!  I fixed it for you.  I think that being able to see who voted on a post would quickly solve this problem of down-votes at a drop of a hat.

[Dave V]

My favorite hack is owed to @davefoxx...using black craft sand from your local Hobby Lobby/Michael's/AC Moore for N scale coal:

http://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Kids-Crafts-Activities/Crafts/Black-Bottled-Sand/p/23517

Not only does it look fantastic (it has the right grain size and the sparkle that oil-washed coal should have), but that $2.49 bottle will outlast me.

[peteski]

My favorite hack is owed to @davefoxx...using black craft sand from your local Hobby Lobby/Michael's/AC Moore for N scale coal:

http://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Kids-Crafts-Activities/Crafts/Black-Bottled-Sand/p/23517

Not only does it look fantastic (it has the right grain size and the sparkle that oil-washed coal should have), but that $2.49 bottle will outlast me.

I wonder if this is the same stuff that is used by the paving crews when they seal cracks in asphalt roads.  They seal the cracks with soft sticky tar, then they sprinkle this sparkly black sand-like stuff over the tar to make it less sticky.  They left a small pile of it once and I grabbed a handful thinking it would make a good N scale coal load, but for the life of me I don't remember where I stashed it.