Weekend Update 4/19/20

[up1950s]

https://publicdomainflix.com/last-clear-chance-1959_fd1441065.html

[DKS]

This week's highlights include working crossing gates (that I'd built 22 years ago):

Build details start here: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=49183.msg659983#msg659983

I also managed to solder an 0201 LED to the end of a brass rod, wire it up, and make it work to produce an old incandescent streetlight:



And to wrap up the week, I started work on a bar-restaurant (the yellowish blobs are candles on the tables):

[hegstad1]

I've been working on power for my North Coast Limited project.  There are more details in the weathering forum. 

[chicken45]

I think I got my bricks figured out for MG Tower. I built one of these 8 years ago and was never truly happy with it.

Started with a base coat of Box Car Red and peppered in some lighter and darker bricks.


Then I started different degrees of mortar wash:


Next I tried a brown wash over 1-3 and tried just a brown wash on 6, and a thinner wash on 4 and 5. I also added brown wash on 1-3 (not labeled in this picture.  Think we have a winner!




I am happy with it. You can still barely tell I colored individual bricks. There's a good ways to go on this, but this is a good starting point. I will eventually get some darker grey bricks with colored pencils using the Mann Methodd^(TM).



Here's my original by comparison. I made the mistake of using Robert's Brick Mortar on this. The product is good and easy to work with but it didn't work so well with these shallow bricks. It's basically a powder suspension, so it wipes off. I forgot to seal the paint before the mortar so some of it got a little pink in spots. My biggest challenge is going to be getting the walls to line up, because...they don't.

Apparently sometime after 1963, the windows were painted this nice cream color, but there's a color photo from '63 that shows deep red window frames, so that's what I'm going with. I'll also be adding glass block to the first floor front windows.
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[Tom L]

Being unemployed and not having to drive my son to any sports, I have completed enough projects for many Weekend updates. Update to last week, I have finished my depot and am waiting for a warm day so I can paint it. The roof is masked off pending painting.
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I also painted and decaled this, thanks to decals by K4 Pacific, on a Athearn car. I usually weather my rolling stock and the prototype didn’t stay new looking for long, but I am going to leave it fresh out of the paint shop looking.
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I’m more partial to the earlier  MSTL paint schemes but the Red and White scheme is growing on me
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Tom L
Wellington CO

[C855B]

https://publicdomainflix.com/last-clear-chance-1959_fd1441065.html

There's a Wikipedia page on the film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Clear_Chance

[Dave V]

Here's my ancient 1970s-era Model Die Casting HOn3 2-8-0 kit build.  For a moment she had the most amazing sound too, but in a moment of carelessness I toasted the Tsunami2.  Fortunately it's a warranty replacement, so when it comes back she'll be even better.  For now she's wired for DC.  I detailed her after D&RGW class C-25 #375 as she appeared in about 1940.

[coldriver]

Still working on scenery expansion projects on the Oregon Joint Line 

[Iain]

I think I got my bricks figured out for MG Tower. I built one of these 8 years ago and was never truly happy with it.

Started with a base coat of Box Car Red and peppered in some lighter and darker bricks.

A few questions about the brick, if I may:
Is this brick sheet?  If so, from whom?  How well do the bricks scale?

Did you do the cuts on a Silhouette or similar?

[BCRail_FSJ]

Gravel base texture finished for both roads and industrial areas.   Its all rather bleak looking right now (quite appropriate for Fort St John in April) but the next step is to add some patchy static grass so that will finally add a bit of colour.

[samusi01]

Spent a few hours this morning guesstimating dimensions off of an old photo to get a 35' flat rack 3d model; first pass is off to Shapeways to see how it'll turn out. General plan is to laser-cut the wood decking (tan material in image below) once the local fab lab re-opens.

[nkalanaga]

Samusi01:  I don't remember ever seeing one of those in Pasco, but it does answer my question of when such containers were developed.  I have some kitbashed 20' flats for my 1974 narrow gauge, and have long wondered if anybody had them earlier.

[johnb]

Back in October when I went out to Shawmut to chase the Big Boy, I picked up a pair of spikes from the old Sunset Route mainline. They have been sitting on my tool box since.

Today, I decided to put them to a good use while working on the far end of the yard. I took my four foot rule and marked straight lines from one end to another. I then took the old Atlas Mikado with the Dimi Trains Vanderbilt tender, added an inch or so to the length and decided that is how much room I needed at the end of the run around. I put the #6 crossover in place and laid the track to the egde of the layout. I put glue under the flex track, and used the spikes and a can of acetone for weight.



The Gandy Dancers from Laguna de los Borrachos worked on the Washington Blvd yard tonight and Rule G was quickly broken.



They got the job done quickly and got the two sets of crossovers connected. They plan to come back in the morning and work on laying track in the yard.

[spookshow]

I had to pretty much exhaust the national supply of Bluford Shops corn in the process, but I finally finished my last cornfield -



I haven't quite decided if I'm going try to make gantry tracks through the field by pruning out plants. It could just be that it's been a perfect growing season and Farmer Johnson hasn't had to fire that thing up even once 



As pictured, I didn't have much luck getting the spans to arch (the styrene rod I used just wasn't cooperating). I've been trying to talk the guy who makes the gantries (Baldylox on Shapeways) into making an etched brass kit for the spans, and now that I've actually finished I suppose he finally will, lol.



Anyway, it's nice to be done with all that. Now I can get back to making buildings (something I actually understand  ).

-Mark

[Bryn]

Just a quick group shot of various N scale weathering on my diorama.




MTL 40' High Cube box car. The trucks and underframe a various shades of brown acrylics, the body is AKs winter streaking grime and the wooden deck is white primer with a thinned oil wash of brunt umber.




Currently building up various layers of effects on a FVM 40' model. Once completed I'll do a write up for each model.