Weekly Photo Fun 8/14- 8/20

[Espeefan]

I wondered. Not being an N&W expert I wasn't sure. I knew they were building compounds long after everyone else had given up on them because of the maintenance issues. I wasn't sure which were and which weren't, and your video didn't let me see the front cylinder set close enough. I thought...maybe...but wasn't sure

 

[mdcustom]

Dan: The tank band tightners are not difficult to make, next tank I am building I will shoot a series of step by step shots.

Matt Dillow
MD Custom Models

 

[UP2CSX]

Matt, beautiful water tank. I can only imagine the problems keeping everything squared up building that tank. Mine would look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Alan, I sure wish I was going to be on the receiving end of that SP unit. Very nice paint and detailing. I remember that experimental scheme and often wondered why the SP never kept it since those big letters on the tank match the bulk of the engine.

Crandell, I know you'd never buy an MTH steamer, I was just thinking this is one of the few times I'd really like a working smoke unit that looked real and didn't foul the track and scenery. I've seen O. Winston Link photos of those Y6B's on pusher service in the winter and the smoke plume was spectacular.

Got my new camera so now I'm like Sandy, trying to figure out the hard things, like how it turns on. I finished my city hall and jail yesterday since I could finally stand up for a few hours. I even got the exercise yard with the chain link and razor wire done so I'm going to try and get a few photos up today.

 

[Selector]

Jim, I gotcha now. I missed the allusion to smoke in your comment...don't know why. In all the trackside footage, the better stuff, that one can buy on DVDs, it seems that often is it only the lead engine that billows the black stuff while his second is minding the shop properly. Even the pusher at the back end is burning cleanly in the videos I have seen.

I have to say that I am not a fan of the run-pasts with belching. I know that it is for effect, but it kinda spoils it for me...I like steam and their crews too much to want to be impressed in a bogus way like that.

BLI is placing synched to chuff smoke units in their next steamers to directly compete with U-no-hoo. A shame. I don't need the extra cost, the effect, nor BLI's worried glances over to the other guy's tables. Just give me the real goods, please.

-Crandell

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

BLI is placing synched to chuff smoke units in their next steamers to directly compete with U-no-hoo. A shame. I don't need the extra cost, the effect, nor BLI's worried glances over to the other guy's tables. Just give me the real goods, please.

-Crandell

Hear, hear! They're doing the same thing with their diesel offerings. I just want a good loco. I can do without the sound and sight effects. All that does is add another $150 to the already high price.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Bent sheet metal at the crossing. A '67 Mustang was rear ended by the fire chief's fully restored antique '68 Ford Galaxy 500. A close look at the Black and gold Mustang will reveal something you won't see on one you buy from Hot Wheels.

 

[UP2CSX]

Jeffrey, looks like you swapped out those horrible Hot Wheels "wheels" for some thing that looks a lot better. Is that one of the Mini-Metals fire chief cars that has the moveable hood and detailed motor? I've got a scene set up in the back of the fire station with three mechanics with their heads stuck under the hood.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jim: The wheels are all from Hot Wheels. They're just all the same size so the car looks more normal and doesn't look like it's begging for a speeding ticket. I have another car around here somewhere I'll have to do the same thing on. It looks too much like a pimp-mobile for my taste. The fire chief car is a Mini-Metals offering and yes it does have the movable hood and detail engine. Looks like a 428 interceptor to me. My parents had one back in the early 60's and man, would that thing move!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 

[UP2CSX]

Jeffrey, those Hot Wheel cars do look a lot better with different wheels. The first patrol car I drove was a '68 Ford Galaxie and that 428 would move that 4900 poiunds of metal pretty good. Those police cars look good too. Model Power did a good job a cheap price.

I finally got my city call and jail done. It's a WS Municipal Building with a little kitbashing and repainting. They are a nice model for the money. This is a front view:

This is a closer view, which shows some of the mistakes I still have to fix. Looked fine until I saw the picture.

Here's Rodney, one of the Hillside jail's frequent fliers, trying to make his escape from the exercise yard and hung up in the razor wire. You can't see it too well but he's also got Rex, the Hillside police dog, hanging off his butt. One of the chain gang guards is on the other side of the fence with a shotgun waiting to put him back on the road crew so Rodney's pretty much had it no matter which way he goes.

 

[jbaakko]

Nice work Jim! I love the action. What'd you use for the barbed wire? I recently picked up a package of Roco's version, which is basically a single strand of wire wrapped around another single strand.

Speaking of which... I've been looking into what I can make for my first etched metal attempt, does anyone thing an etched barbed/razor wire fret might work? Basically it'll be a long strand of etched barbed wire, etched out of a ~.005 sheet of brass.

 

[MLW]

Decals for my freight cars..

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[GrampysTrains]

MLW, Very nice lead Alco.

Matt, you are a real craftsman.

Alan, nice job on that loco.

Jeffrey, nice additions to your police force.

Jim, you've done a great job on the building and scene.

Another angle of GP7 No.633 at Blackwood.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Thanks Grampy. Those are two 2005 Crown Vics I found at the LHS in Alexandria. My other police car is a Chevy Caprice.

 

[railroad-guy]

Thanks Grampy. Those are two 2005 Crown Vics I found at the LHS in Alexandria. My other police car is a Chevy Caprice.

Nice cars, just to new for me.

My layout is set in Tennessee about 1947. I was lucky to see these on sale. Hard to find older cars in O Scale. Well 1/43 but close enough.

 

[V&AL]

Jim,

VERY NICE!!

is that a PD C-10 I see hiding behind the building in the last pic?

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

That's what it looks like.

 

[rhoward]

Jim, I like the "lock up". Don't think I'd want to try climbing that fence....

DJ..... WOW! ......... WOW! That about sums it up! BTW, I think we have some of the same rock molds........

Got a bit more done on the hillside scenery yesterday and today. While I was waiting for the glue to dry, I snapped a couple more photos of the area.

While this is still a work in progress, you can now see a definite cut in the tree line for the line poles coming up the hill. As soon as foliage is added and some forest floor greenery and detritus, even more trees will be added to the front and edge of the layout here.

73

 

[UP2CSX]

Thanks, Josh. The razor wire is just bright silver 28 gauge bead wire. Using the old three foot rule, it looks just like razor wire, especially since razor wire is usually hung pretty haphazardly. I got it at Michaels and it comes on spool, like thread. I'll bet it would work fine for barbed wire also and it's like $3 for 90 feet of the stuff. The hard part was the chain link fence structure. The posts are all hand cut and then set in drilled holes and held together with CA. The chain link fabric is real metal called Activ-Metal and was no problem once I had a strong frame built.

DJ, thanks for the compliment. I tried some better lighting this time with a few moveable fixtures, a shorted exposure, and better F stop. I think it came out better. I can see your guy at the fence is doing some actual work now. Who made the pick-up? I love those tires.

Jeffrey and V&AL, that is indeed a '72 C-10. It's the Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue truck. We always got the oldest, cast off junk so I had to duplicate that for the layout.

Dan, nice old Ford Highway Patrol car. Was that RTR or did you have to build it?

Ray, Rodney is pretty unhappy, between Rex biting on him and being caught in the razor wire. The boys will just enjoy the show for a while before they cut him loose. That's going to be an outstanding scene once you get the pole line in, the trees complete, and the track and roadbed weathered.

This is a wider view I took of the back of the jail, trying to show the antenna I built on the roof. I didn't use any extra lighting and I don't think it looks anywhere near as good.

 

[wheeler1963]

A couple of scenery items that I've been working on this week.

The classic double outhouse.

Generator and fuel tank set. These will end up on MOW trains eventually.