We're moving

As things change, we have to adapt and make decisions that effect how business is done. I have decided to move from the free hosted blogger website to a more robust website. The website home page will be the landing page for both my professional and personal modeling endeavors, and I hope that you enjoy it. You can find the website here: at Marshcreekmini.com The driving factor behind the move is that marshcreekmini.com will have a more traditional storefront page where customers can browse and shop our models. The design engine for the hosting service is much more intuitive than using code to try and add PayPal buttons on a blog. It works, but I feel that marshcreekmini.com needs to be more professional and polished.

I haven't decided how I want to handle this blog, if I want to shut it down completely, or use it as an "archive" of most of 2014. Either way, I will still update it in the short term, and be sure to check us out at marshcreekmini.com

Thank you for your patience, and God Bless.

Rich.

Indian River & Northern Railway #2

As you can see, IR&NR #2 is complete. It was an absolute joy to build, using the Toma Models kit. I believe that even without the addition of the kit, the Minitrains F&C locomotive could easily be detailed and weathered into a hard working little workhorse for your narrow gauge pike. 

Go build something awesome. 

Surgeon General's Warning

Minitrains Fiddletown & Copperopolis Locomotive

About a year ago, the deep dark caverns of web geekdom where most dare not go were beside themselves with joy and anticipation when Minitrains announced that it would be making an "American" locomotive in HOn30.  Leaked photos confirmed that unlike their European releases, Minitrains was diving headlong into the American market. At that time, I was just beginning to entertain the idea of getting involved in HOn30, and I was intrigued by this little teakettle, but I decided to wait until I had heard more about it before I sank the money into something I had no experience in.

Fast forward to this afternoon, when the mailman dropped a small box packed with foam peanuts protecting an even smaller box. I opened it up, and was immediately impressed with the quality.  I raced into the basement to put it on the track, and see how it ran.  I couldn't believe how nicely it ran on my horrendously awful track. Almost as nice as a modern N scale diesel. There was no need to push start it, and it ran at scale speeds very nicely. It didn't crawl along the track, but it started fairly well, and moved about Buzzard's Cove effortlessly, and without sounding like a milk jug in a blender to boot!

I'm going to need a handful more of these little guys.  Seriously.  In fact, I'm so thrilled by this little bugger that I'm considering liquidating all of my On30 gear that will never get run to finance more Minitrains locos.  I'm hooked, and it's bad.

Surgeon General's Warning: Minitrains are highly habit forming, and could lead to foaming at the mouth.

Go build something awesome!

Moose-stake?

Among other various projects, it's about time I use the 3D printer to build a model. 

The image on the left is my rendition of the image on the right. It's Moose Peak Light Station on Mistake Island in Maine. I  only had two dimensions to work with, and photos online, so close enough is good enough for my application, considering there aren't many good lighthouse kits available. My plan is to print the major components in ABS plastic on my desktop 3D printer, and scratchbuild the rest of the details. I may use it to master a kit, either in resin, or a multimedia kit in resin and hydrocal. 

It may be something interesting to try with resin foam to keep the weight down.  We'll see.

Go build something awesome.

Losing good things

From RMC's Facebook page, Friday August  22, 2014

It's amazing how fast things go from terrible rumor to the truth. Earlier in the week, someone on Facebook had said that they had heard that Carstens was going to be selling RMC and Railfan and Railroad and just a few short days later, this pops up on my news feed. It's always a shame when good things come to an end, and some people take it harder than others. I subscribed to RMC a few years ago, for about 3 or 4 years. I enjoyed the articles, particularly anything to do with scratchbuilding and kitbashing, even if the models were not of interest to me. It was nice to read about how modeler's coped with not having something readily available, and the skills and techniques used to produce magazine quality models.

The news of Carstens shuttering operations came yesterday.  This morning, I woke to gloomy skies, and scattered showers.  Normally, I don't mind dreary days, because it gives me an excuse to sit at the workbench.  Today however, we move my Stepson into his dorm, for his freshmen year of college. I'm not particularly happy about the weather, although I don't mind getting wet (years of the Army will numb you to being miserable) the dreary skies won't help my mood.  . He's become one of my own, and after having someone around for a decade, you get used to them being there. I'll admit that I'm sad to see him go, and I'll also admit that we have plans for his room...but that doesn't make sending off a kid any less difficult. I'll be grumpy, and look to find ways to keep my mind off of it, which probably means workbench, and a stiff drink tonight.  Luckily, my wife's best friend is coming down for a visit to cheer her up, which will help me out quite a bit.

 I guess I'll have my models, some music, and some whisky, I won't have RMC, but I did finally subscribe to the Gazette...yesterday.

Wish him the best of luck, and pray that he paid attention to all the crap I used to say to him, so that he doesn't learn the hard way.

 Building awesome things always cheers me up, so I'm going to go do that. You should too.

What's in a name?

I don't do prototype fidelity.  Some modelers are obsessive-compulsive about getting things exactly right for a particular railroad, and I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that, it's just not my thing. I like building and detailing models, and scenes, and I am not overly concerned that a particular detail is out of place, that's why I don't really care to follow a particular prototype.

Image from http://www.mainenarrowgauge.org/history/maine-two-foot-railroads/

When I started Buzzard's Cove, I wanted to model a waterfront in 2' gauge. I wasn't trying to replicate the Wiscasset Waterville and Farmington, or any other of the Maine two footers. I wanted "Maine-ish".  Also, at the time, I was (and still am) interested in On30, logging and mining railroads, and my heart still belongs to Pennsylvania logging lines from 1880-1940. I have a thing for geared locomotives, and apparently (which I was unaware of) a penchant for diminutive Forneys.

I'll admit that I have no idea what I'm doing, when I have no idea what I'm doing.  Right now, I have no idea what I'm doing!  If you have noticed, I have not lettered any of my models in HOn30. The reason that I haven't broken out the solvaset is because I don't know what to call my fictional Maine 2 footer.  I could go the easy route, and buy sets for WW&F, or SR&RL, but even though I am not concerned with prototype, that doesn't feel right to me. I could also order some custom decals that just say Marsh Creek, but that doesn't feel right either, because Marsh Creek (MY Marsh Creek) is in North Central Pennsylvania, which is where the family farm is, and I was hoping to keep that name reserved for whatever logging line I might create.

Buzzard's Cove is an actual place in Massachusetts that I found by doing a Google Maps search. I just love the name. Dad and I used to fly R/C Airplanes at "Buzzard's Field" which coincidentally was not too far away from Marsh Creek.

What is all this blathering about Rich?  Well, I need a name. I searched last night for rivers in Maine, and panned around Google maps to find something that struck me, and somehow I ended up on Bear River, which I liked because it's the name of my dearly deceased Boo Bear, the lovable and dumb black lab who used to catch Jello eggs after my sister would spit them out of her mouth. (gross right?)

I also found Mad River (which isn't really a river, more of a runoff stream) that's in New Hampshire, where my Mom's side of the family is from. If I used Acadia (National Park) and Mad River RR I would probably confuse the heck out of some California logging modelers. (Arcata & Mad River).

If I took the semi-prototypical route, modeling something that could have been, I'm not really sure where to begin. I have plans to kitbash an Atlas Shay into an HOn30 model, so I want to include logging somehow, and of course, there needs to be a seedy waterfront. 

Image from http://www.maineboats.com/online/harbor-features/maine-eastern-railroad-route

I'm open to suggestions. I like "cool" sounding place names (Bear River, Mad River) and American Indian names (lots in Pennsylvania) and I also enjoy tongue in cheek (Gorre & Dapheited).  If you have some ideas, please post a comment to the blog, or comment on this post where you see it.

Go Build something Awesome.

HOn30 Headaches, Part deux.

Or..... Keep on truckin....

Continuing on with the theme of not being able to find things easily, HOn30 trucks are a bear.  It seems like many modelers just use Micro Trains Archbar trucks and couplers, because they can be found just about anywhere that stocks a decent amount of N scale gear.  As a convert from N scale, I have a handful of these as well, but as far as the trucks go, I'm really not pleased with their appearance, so I started looking elsewhere.

Doing a internet search for "HOn30 Trucks" resulted in a quick review of various truck options that I found here. Grandt Line Trucks and NWSL wheels looked like a clear winner until that I realized I would be paying $17 PER CAR to outfit them all.  Maybe when I'm independently wealthy, I can afford doubling the cost of my rolling stock collection, but for now, I'm cheap Charlie. 

If you're not familiar with Shapeways, you better get on the ball. 3D printing is the future, and Shapeways allows designers to upload their 3D models, designed in various CAD software programs, and print them out for a reasonable price. I found these trucks and decided to give them a try, because they work with MicroTrains wheels. I decided to order the 3D printed trucks as a test, along with some Grandt Line SR&RL trucks, and NWSL wheels, just to do a comparison. So far, I haven't yet received the Grandt Line trucks, but I have the wheelsets.

Yesterday, the parts from Shapeways arrived, so I took a little time to put them together.

L to R: Printed truck with 20" HO wheels, Printed with 33" N wheels, MicroTrains Archbar with 33" wheels.

As you can see, they are white, and they look a little clunky. I was a little worried at first, especially when I put a set on the Mount Blue Model Company car I am building.

Mount Blue Model Co. Dyer built 24' car

Not being the kind of guy to shy away from a challenge, I painted the trucks Engine Black, then hit some highlights with Grimy Black, and then washed the assemblies in a slurry of 91% isopropyl alcohol, mixed with Bragdon Enterprises weathering powders.



Final results

I think the results are very good. Not model contest perfect, but good enough for layout use given their cost, and the ability to actually get them in any quantity.  The next step is to tune them some, because they aren't as free rolling as other trucks. I am planning on ordering some Fox Valley Models 36" N scale brass wheelsets to use, the idea being that the heavier wheels will help the cars track better, and possibly roll more freely. They aren't cheap, but they are roughly 66% less expensive than NWSL wheels. With the Shapeways trucks, and FVM wheels, the cost to outfit a car will be about $6.

If you were hesitant about trying 3D printing, I suggest you give it a try, certain models will be better than others, based on the material used to print, and the design, but there is no reason to fear the future. I think the 21st century parts blend nicely with the wooden kit.

Go build something awesome!

King of seasons

The summer is soon over, kids will be going back to school, jackets and sweaters will be coming out of storage, and modelers will be heading back to workbenches. I got an early start this year on modeling season, in the hopes that I will get some projects cleaned up and finished.  I believe that Autumn is king of seasons, and living in the Northeast, I am blessed with watching the Appalachians turn from green to a cornucopia of blazing colors in nature's annual ritual.  

I decided that since I love fall so much, I should model it, that way I will always have a reminder that cooler temperatures are always coming, and bringing with them harvests, Halloween and hunting season. 

I took advantage of a back to school sale to buy some artist acrylics. I found the cheapest tube acrylics at the store, and got enough of a variety of colors to do simple backdrops ala Bob Ross.  Happy little red orange and yellow trees jumped off my brush and onto the Masonite. I'm a detail oriented guy, but for this, general colors, textures and shadows will do, because a lot of my work will be covered by trees, structures and details.  The idea  is to fool the viewer into believing that there is something behind the meager 12" deep shelf layout, rather than painting an Italian chapel ceiling. 

I am pleased with the results, and hope you are too. 

Go build something awesome.

HOn30 Headaches, Part 1.

Five79 Forney prepped for paint

On my kick of cleaning up started projects, I picked back up on the HOn30 Forney from Five79.  If you are a glutton for punishment like I am, HOn30 is a good scale to start with. There is no one stop shop for all of your needs, and no manufacturers really support the scale, except Minitrains, which produce a limited (but growing) line of locomotives and rolling stock, but only import into the US through a small hobby shop in California, that doesn't exactly have a "buy now" or shopping cart feature.  Sometimes I feel like Indiana Jones searching for the Holy Grail. "The penitent man will pass"....

This particular model I'm building is a a fine kit by any scale standards, and at roughly $65, not terribly expensive, until you realize everything you need to add on your own. Unfortunately, that $65 is variable, because it's converted from British Pounds, because the only dealer on planet earth for a Maine (USA) prototype locomotive is a shop in Scotland. Parkside Dundas is the shop, and you can find the kit here.  The rest of the story, as it is said are the other items listed here:

N scale Bachmann 0-4-0 mechanism.  You won't find this at any hobby shop, or online store. The old model has been discontinued quite some time, but because they run like garbage, people are always selling them on eBay and at shows.  Yes, I did say that they run like garbage. On anything other than perfectly clean and level track with no turnouts, the 0-4-0 will fail to run. They have horribly poor electrical pickup and transmission, and they tend to wobble a lot because they were assembled hastily in Chinese factories, and there is not enough weight to keep those 4 wheels in constant contact with the track. By adding electrical pickup with a trailing truck (see below) and piling on as much white metal as possible (the Five79 kit), the mechanism can be salvaged.

N scale trailing truck.  I'm using a Bachmann Spectrum Tender truck, because it has 4 wheel pick up to improve electrical contact. In the picture below you can see that I have filed off all of the molded on detail to be replaced with an archbar truck side frame. There are two contact pads that the wheels ride in, which transmits electricity from the track, to the wheel, through the truck, and eventually to the motor. This doubles the amount of electrical contacts the locomotive has, which, in theory, should dramatically improve performance.

Modifying the Bachmann Truck

N scale handrail stanchions. I used an old Gold Medal Models set. 

N scale pilot wheels and axle.  I used a metal one from an older Atlas car, and ground down the axle points with a dremel.

Of course, you need a variety of modeling tools, and not a small bit of skill. I told you that you need to be a punishment glutton didn't I? 

This is part 1 of a two part series. In the next installment, I'll discuss finding decent trucks and wheels for your freight cars.

Unfinished Business

It's exciting to see progress even if it's just 5 parts coming together over the course of 2 evenings. I was able to get the second (and final) gable dormer assembled and placed on the mine roof. For whatever reason, I put this on long term hold while I worked on other projects. I usually do things like that when I am faced with a challenging bit of construction, or when I don't know how to proceed. In this case, I think I just really didn't feel like fighting with geometry!

Whatever my reasons were, now that I have this part behind me, I know that shelving the project was foolish. It looks good in my opinion, and even if it isn't as perfect as I would like it to be, it looks better than an unfinished structure.

I guess my point in all this rambling is that while your models might have some flaws, finishing them is more important and rewarding than having a shelf full of unfinished or even worse, unstarted kits.

Go build something awesome.

Summer blues

Yesterday I was able to sit down and glue 6 boards onto a piece of cardboard. I know this sounds like a lot of work, and many of you are thinking that I should slow down before I burn out, but I am committed to push forward! (Maybe I should just be committed?) Summer is a terrible time for modeling for me. There never seems to be an end to the list of things that need attention outside, and I'm not a happy guy when I am sweating all over everything. Last night though, those 6 boards meant a lot. We're having a weird cool spell in Pennsylvania, where it is dropping to below 60 at night, and something about the weather cooling down gets me excited. Most people are losing their minds waiting for the NFL season to start, and I could care less. MODELING SEASON is coming up, as well as The holiest of holies in Pennsylvania, HUNTING season. Yes, kids get off of school on the first day of buck season here. I think it's more practical than anything, because hardly any boys age 12 and up would show up to class even if they were scheduled. Autumn is the king of seasons, and I can't wait for it. I'm thinking that tonight I'll steal another 20 minutes at the bench... Go build something awesome!

Quick update

It's been a while, I admit. When the weather breaks in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvanians go outside. I have been busy with 1:1 scale projects in the back yard, and continuing to rock a 4.0 GPA at school, along with all the Mr Mom tasks that round out the day. 

The most exciting thing to happen this year is the shop now has a dual extrusion  3D printer! ( see minion above) I have lots of ideas on how to incorporate the printer  into the models, so many more ideas than I actually have time for! One of the coolest ideas is how to use this tool to make MORE tools! I plan to build an x,y,z milling machine powered by my dremel, and a micro lathe, also for the dremel. 

Of course, the 3d printer will make quick work of complex masters for kits and conversions.  I have a two week summer break coming up from school, so I plan to get some modeling done during the hottest part of the day, so stay tuned...

Go Build something Awesome!

On30 Flat Car kit now available!

Flat car kits are available!!!

Price is $13.00, not including shipping. These are fantastic bare bones kits that can easily be used as a basis for all kinds of other cars. Super simple to assemble (two parts), and chocked full of subtle wood grain texture, they will look great on your layout. Minimum radius on this guy is about 10", so it will work well on small and micro layouts.

Look for a Gondola version of this car soon!

May the fourth be with you!

It has been a while since my last update. With better weather, many things around the house need work, so basement time gets scarce. 

There is some news on the kit release front, in the picture above, you see the prototype for the shorty flat car. I goofed on the coupler height, so it will require underset shank couplers. I have some Kadee 147s on order, but I might be able to correct the issue before production begins in earnest. 

There is also some major news coming soon, that I can't discuss at the moment, but believe me, things are going to get "wicked" awesome. Also, look for this same flat car to come as a gondola kit, for a moderate up charge, which will bring the line to 4 kits by July. My goal was 4 by the end of the year, and I am excited to be breaking that. I can't say for sure, but number five might be out in time for the fall show season, and ready for prime build time! 

Time to go relax...

Go build something awesome, and... May the fourth be with you!

HOn30 Shay

I love Shay locomotives. Well, I suppose I love all geared locomotives. Growing up in North Central Pennsylvania, I remember traveling the skid roads and jeep trails all over the mountains in Clinton County. What I never new, was that many of those jeep trails were actually railroad grades 100 years earlier. When I came to that realization later in life, I was shocked at how tons of steel and wood would climb 6 and 8% grades on ribbon rail to get logs to the mill, and how the hell someone designed and built these monsters with a stubby pencil and a slide rule.

I'm floating between 2 scales, On30 and HOn30, and by chance last night, I found an Atlas N scale Shay for a really reasonable price. I used to model N scale, but I caught the "n30" bug a couple of years ago, so when I decided to buy the shay (it didn't take long), I had thoughts of reselling and turning a profit, or maybe even dabbling back in N scale. I didn't want the model to convert to HOn30. That is until this morning, and I started searching for Atlas shay HOn30 conversions.  Most of the conversions I have seen look ridiculous, with a gargantuan cab, and a teeny boiler, with gargantuan domes, and a stack that is pencil thin and (seemingly) 20 feet tall.

If you have built one of these, and are getting angry with me, please un-wad your panties. It's not a personal insult. I just don't like the way it looks. You may, and that's cool with me. Some people think that Camelback locomotives are hideous, but I think they are wicked cool. Anyhootie...

I wasn't going to convert it until I saw this:

Photo Credit: Kermit Geary, Jr.
 

That is an honest to goodness 3 cylinder, 2 foot gauge shay. As Wayne used to say: "SCHWING!!!"

You know what is even better? That sucker runs...right MEOW! 

Better yet? It's in PENNSYLVANIA!!!

Shay S/N 3118 was built by Lima in 1920 for Good Roads Construction Co.,  Leachville, AR.  I'll spare the rest of the details, but in 2003, it was born again for Doug Kuntz (railfan), Foster Brook & State Line RR #12, Bradford PA.

Here are some more porn shots for you slobbering weirdos (like myself)

Photo Credit: Kermit Geary, Jr.

Photo Credit: Kermit Geary, Jr.

Photo Credit: Kermit Geary, Jr.

I found all these at http://biglittlerr.blogspot.com
Hope this gives you some inspiration to:

Go build something awesome...

Weathered wood technique

Here is my quick and simple method of weathering wood. Some people have asked me how I do it, and sometimes it's easiest to just show you what I do. It's not easy making videos though!

Go Build Something Awesome.

Changing plans

Last week I discovered that the Five79 Forney rolling chassis wouldn't navigate the north end of Buzzard's Cove. Forneys have problems with tight radius turns, and can have a large lateral movement of the rear of the locomotive when modified to take tighter turns. Long story short, it's butt was too big for the bridge. Insert your favorite Sir Mixalot or LL Cool J song about generous posteriors.

The only solution available for me was to rip out everything north of the creek (I need to name that I guess huh?) and modify the bridge, and change the track plan slightly.

The north end

You can see where the spur track originally went, next to the seawall. The divergent radius was too tight, and the locomotive was hopping the rails. I have also decided that the RDA Johnson's Loft and Boathouse was too big, and not aesthetically interesting enough for the front of the layout, so it was replaced with Bar Mills' Staton Marine. I have found that building laser cut wood kits is actually too much fun. I've been scratchbuilding quite a bit of stuff, and these little kits fly together at ludicrous speed. Now that Bar Mills is including injection molded windows with their kits, I'm hooked. My one complaint about laser kits has always been the windows. In my opinion, the wooden windows don't look as nice as plastic, because the mullions are far to thick, and the layering of parts is too easy to screw up, so your windows look crooked.

 

Demolition Man

 

While I had the track ripped up, I decided that I didn't like the long straight sea wall, so it came out as well. A new section of dock will have to be built to replace it, so that the boats have a place to tie off to and get their fuel and repairs from old man Staton.

 

 

Under new lights

The north end is still functionally the same as before, with the "exit stage right" track, and the spur, but now I think the scene is better looking, with the tracks going behind the structure. I carved a boat hull out of some balsa, and it will fit nicely along the dock. I think I could even squeeze another 10 feet out of the hull. We'll see.


Off to a train show to find some goodies....

Go build something awesome.

 

Enough is enough

This doesn't have a damn thing to do with trains, so if you want to know about how I do x,y, or z, it will have to wait. This is far more important than what we do with our choo choos in the basement. I'm going to get on my soapbox and talk about a damn travesty that is happening every day, and hardly anyone knows about it, unless you run in the same circles that I do.

Warning: if my choice of language during this post offends your sensibilities, cry about it. I'm going to use language that I know from years of experience, works at getting the attention of young men who hunt other men for a living.

Only 0.45% of Americans serve in the military, and of that figure, less than 1% see combat.  That ridiculously small percentage of men and women are shooting themselves in the face at an alarming rate, and they fucking need to stop it. STOP IT. 3 and a half.  3 and a half Soldiers I knew killed themselves. I say a half, because one of my Soldiers tried to suck start his sidearm, and his battle buddy found him on their kitchen floor and saved his life. The latest one was today, and I'm pissed off.

I sound pretty crass, don't I? There is a reason for that...

For those of you who don't know anyone in the military, it sounds cliché, but you really have no fucking clue about what it is like to volunteer to watch the people you love literally get blown up around you. Spare me the "war is bad" and political diatribes about illegal wars and all of the other talking points.  It is what it is. That is what we said, how we coped, and how we learned to accept that in far flung shitholes, people are really, really, fucked up. "Everything in Iraq is fucked up.", was the first thing that I heard that made any sense my first week there. I took that to heart, and I learned that what I was going to experience, was going to be fucked up, no matter what. 

The VA system is just as fucked up as Iraq is, and is of no real help, so it is up to friends and relatives, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters moms and dads to be the first line of defense in combating suicide. This doesn't just go for vets. "I'm not a professional" doesn't fucking apply when it comes to someone who you know. For fucks sake, have them email ME, and I'll talk to them. I don't give a shit!  I had to get between another one of my Soldiers, his 1911, and 3 cops with tasers and M4s at the ready...pointing at MY back to stop him from making a permanent mistake. The point is, that I am here, and I will talk to you if you need it.

"spreading awareness" of Veteran Suicide is a bullshit concept, just like all "awareness" campaigns. Veterans know damn well that their buddies are killing themselves, and the media sensationalization of the phenomena makes the rest of us look like psychopaths that you don't want your kids knocking on our doors on Halloween.

There are resources out there. There are people who understand, and are willing to talk. http://www.veteranscrisisline.net/ is just one of the many places vets can go to talk to someone, but you, dear reader, if you know a vet, you need to keep your eye on them to make sure they are good to go, because they volunteered to do the same for you, whether or not you even realize it.

Coming home was even more fucked up than going to war.  I've adjusted. Many of my brothers have not.

Go build something awesome.

Graphic Designers:

Graphic Designers: I have a need for some of your work. Although I know how to use photoshop and illustrator, I don't have the time to sit down and work on branding. 

I'm in need of some logos and headers that can be used on my kits, the Facebook page, and the blog. 

If you are interested, email me at marshcreekrr@yahoo.com 

1000 page views

WOOOHOOO!!!!

So, apparently you all think I am interesting enough that when I logged in this morning, The Marsh Creek Railroad had 1000 page views.

Thank You!

I guess that means I have to keep writing and taking pictures....

Hobbytown USA Annual Model Contest

What does Bruce Lee have to do with trains?  Everything.  More of that in a minute...

Yesterday my Mill Pond diorama won it's class (dioramas) at our local Hobbytown USA. I am pretty happy about that. I got a nice plaque, for the low price of three dollars (entrance fee).  More importantly, I got to see an old friend, and I got a chance to see models that ran the spectrum of very good, to very, very, bad.  Before you get a bad taste in your mouth for me "gloating", hear me out.  Even those really crappy models were on display, and I didn't see any of YOU there.  The people who had the balls to come out and compete are all winners, because they took time out of their day to at least show up, with glue runs, finger prints, and duct tape shadowboxes in tow, to share their hobby with others.

 As Model Railroaders, we kind of hang out with the other weirdos like us.  My friend today said: "ever notice that model builders are strange?"  Well, of course I had noticed, look at the two of us here!  We tend to be basement, garage, or attic dwellers, total geeks. Getting out to a contest or show to socialize with the other socially retarded folks is good for you, and competition is healthy. It also gives you ideas, and a chance to get to know other people who share your interests. 

What did I gain from looking at bad models? I got some inspiration to maybe try other genres of modeling. There were good ideas, just maybe not executed the best way.  Unfortunately, I couldn't really hang out and talk with all of the modelers, because I would have liked to give some of those guys some tips or ideas, and maybe I could have gotten some tips on my own modeling, and maybe those guys could have pointed out things that I could have done better that I missed.

Enough of the lecture. Here are some photos of my diorama.

So... Bruce Lee?  Did you watch the video? If I told you I am good, you would say that I am gloating. If I told you I am no good, you know I'm lying.  Become like water, and flow.

Go build something awesome.

Devil in the details

I'm now at the point in the diorama build where the nits come out to pick. I placed the logs in the pond, and now I just need to detail the scene a little. Saturday is the contest, and I'm pretty happy with what I have been able to accomplish in just under 3 weeks (to date). 

I still have too many projects, and too little time, for example:

* half a dozen HOn30 freight car kits to assemble

* On30 shay conversion

* On30 Porter rebuild (two of those)

* On30 Davenport detailing

* finish an HOn30 Porter

* finish my Mining micro in On30

* Buzzards Cove HOn30 micro layout

* finish the masters for my flat car kit

And...

This little guy. An HOn30 Forney kit, from Five79. While that is a pretty straight forward build, just like everything I do, I am over-complicating it by adding Radio Control. At least, that is the plan anyway. It's going to require me to get over my electronics mental block. 

I should probably start RC with an easier project, like one of the Porters in On30, and I may still, because I should be able to get this bugger running well  with the addition of a flywheel, and a conductive rear truck. I'm going to head to the Mid Atlantic Narrow Gauge Guild's annual module meet in Kimberton, PA in a few weeks to talk to the RC gurus of On30 to get some help, and maybe go from there.  

I'm not going to let this stuff stop me though, I'll just do what Dad taught me on my way to the Fort Benning School for Wayward Boys: "Just put one foot in front of the other."

Go build something awesome.

Patton said

"A good plan now is better than a perfect plan too late". Okay, so I am paraphrasing a bit, but they are good words to live by. On the 29th of March, the local Hobby Town USA is hosting their spring model contest, and I am entering a Diorama.  I started it March 3rd, so I'm under a bit of a time crunch, and I hadn't planned a diorama to build! 

I could be freaking out that my plan isn't exactly what I wanted it to be, or that I don't have enough time to add in all the details I want. I have had to dump a portion of the diorama (a log dump coincidentally) in order to have enough time to build the background wall (pictured). I didn't even know what I wanted the wall to look like, or what it represents. That would have stopped me a year ago. I can't stress about it now. I am under a time hack, and I have too much else to worry about. 

I think many of us stress too much about making sure everything is perfect in out modeling, and perhaps in our lives. Modelers are detail oriented by nature, and are easily stopped when a detail isn't  exactly as we want them to be. 

Nothing is perfect, so quit kidding yourself.  

Being driven toward perfection is an admirable quality, only if you know when to accept imperfections and move forward, otherwise, you will never accomplish anything, or worse yet, you will never start toward anything. 

Now,

Go build something awesome.

Dead Rail?

Over the last few days, I have been contemplating some pretty deep stuff, like:

Why do we drive on parkways, and park on driveways?
When is it okay to tell a person they have a hanging booger?
What makes an "innie" into an "outie"?

But the biggest question I have is:

Why do I get so frustrated building layouts?

I have the answer: I hate wiring. Hate is a pretty strong word, and I don't just hate wiring, I hate everything electrical.  Loathe it.  It's probably because I don't understand it, and that pisses me off. I could dive into books and websites and teach myself everything about electrical engineering I could ever want to know, but that would take time away from what I love, which is building, detailing, and weathering models. I'm not willing to do that. My modeling time is limited as it is, and I couldn't care any less to waste energy on the flow of electrons, amps, watts, ohms, and volts. 

Enter a few guys on the internet.

"Convert those locos to battery powered RC, and never worry about electrical again!" they said.  No worrying about any of the garbage anymore.

Well, I'm thinking about it, and I'm trying to figure out whether or not I can shoehorn RC gear into HOn30 locomotives, or if I'll have to run cheater cars with them.  The current (and only) HOn30 locomotive on the roster is a Railway Recollections Porter, which will probably not have the room for gear, without a cheat car. (a cheat car is a piece of rolling stock that is permanently connected to the locomotive that hides all the RC gear, It used to be pretty common for N scale guys to run cheaters with small steam locomotives).  I'm waiting on an order from Parkside Dundas to ship of a Five79 2-4-4 Forney that will go over an old Bachmann 0-4-0 mech, that are notoriously bad runners, mostly because of poor electrical connections (sounds like a candidate for RC). The Forney might have enough room in the cab and bunker to house the receiver and batteries. Once I get the kit, I'll be scrutinizing it thoroughly.

In the mean time, my Porters and lone Davenport in On30 would be able to run RC with one of my gondolas set up as an auxiliary tender (cheat car).  From what I can see, it doesn't look like costs would be much different than converting to DCC. 

Never having to clean track? Now that would be Awesome.

Who says Skeletons have to stay in the closet?

16' Shorty Skeleton Kit

 

Your short line needs some way of getting timber to the mill, enter the Shorty Skeleton. At 16' long, and 6' wide, this little bugger of a buggy will negotiate 12" radius turns on your backwoods layout. With the addition of your own preferred trucks and couplers, this little guy is ready to go. As a craftsman kit, some special tools are required, along with a moderate amount of patience and skill.

Contents of the kit

Kit includes everything seen in the picture. You will need to add your own trucks and couplers. I used Kadee #501 trucks and Grandt Line link and pin couplers for the model above. You'll also need an assortment of standard modeling tools, as well as a 2-56 Tap and a #43 drill bit.

Stay tuned for a how-to on my techniques for weathered wood, and rusty metal.

Go build something awesome.

Quantity

1 Kit $18.00 USD 2 Kits $35.00 USD 3 Kits $50.00 USD 4 Kits $60.00 USD

Late to the party

Skeleton kit with girly chain

I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this, and while I may be late to the party, I prefer to think of myself as being fashionably late. Fashion isn't something that I'm necessarily known for, with my combat boots, and realtree hat, but I digress...

Yesterday I was returning a product to AC Moore (Castn Craft mold release...don't buy it...it sucks) and since I had time, I figured I would "drip" around and see if I could find anything useful, and I did. In the bead/jewelry section I found myself very much out of place among tween girls and aging hippies, but I found chain. It's a little over scale, at about 14 LPI, with links scaling to around 4" long, but I didn't see anything smaller. It was $4.49 for 2 meters (6.5 feet), which is cheaper than 1 foot of chain from a model railroad supplier. Of course, it's shiny which won't do for us, so I dipped it in PCB Etchant for about an hour, and then dunked the whole works in a mason jar full of clean water. When it dried off (on a paper towel) it turned into a beautifully rusted pile of junk. The results can be seen in the picture. The more orange chain is how it looks coming out of the bath. 

While some people may say the rusted chain looks great, and I won't argue with that, it doesn't look like a chain that is used all day, every day. Iron chain that sits in your shed without oil will look like that, or maybe just a tad redder, but chain that is used constantly doesn't have lots of surface rust. So, I hit the chain with some odorless oil thinner (the kind artists use) and applied black, dark red rust, and dark earth colored Bradgon Weathering Powders.

Whether or not you choose to use girly fashion chain is up to you, but "Black" chain is just about as unrealistic as "Bling".

Go build something awesome

Almost Ready...

First casting gets painted and weathered

 

If you've been following along on Facebook, you'll know that I've made molds for an On30 skeleton log car, 16' long. It's of no specific prototype, like many backwoods logging cars. The picture above is an actual casting that is in the process of paint and weathering. I'm sorry for the quality of the photo, I take a lot of pictures with my iPhone, when I don't want to get the camera out.


I've been asked if it will come with chains.  The short answer is no, not now. The long answer is: If I can get a supplier of scale chain where I am not paying retail (read $6 per foot) I will eventually add them in, for an increased price. I know that's not what you probably want to hear, but facts are facts, and while I have been told that I'm a nice guy, I'm not going to give these away. At least I'm honest!

 

My goal is to provide affordable kits that are as highly detailed as possible, so some trade offs have to occur, and right now, chains are too expensive for me to provide customers without significantly increasing the price of the model, and I'm not willing to do that. I want to sell these things, so I can afford to produce other kits, and finance my own expensive hobby! 

Pre-orders of these kits will be open by the end of the week. I say pre-order, because if you all like these as much as I do, I have a feeling I'll develop a backlog rather quickly, and I don't want to get people's expectations up on being able to ship them immediately.

Now,

Go build something awesome. d

Inspiration

Dave Meek at Thunder Mesa Mining Co.  is sharing his structure plans with his readers. I'm not much of a wild west guy, but his is a really inspirational layout for me, because instead of trying to recreate the DRG&W, C&S, or a Maine 2 foot line in On30, it's based on fiction. It's also quite a change to look at warm Mesas instead of the tons of snow we have in Pennsylvania!

Big Thunder Saloon, Graphics by Dave Meek.

I chose 30" gauge (both O and HO scale) because frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. Model Railroading is supposed to be fun. Fun means different things to different people, and to me, the fun is building and detailing models. The Thunder Mesa Mining Company represents that, and it blends the science of modeling with art, creating a visually stunning, and fun displays. The railroad is based on Walt Disney's Big Thunder Mine attraction, so if you've ever been to the park, some of this might look familiar.
Dave lives the principle of:

Go build something Awesome.

A million miles an hour

My brain is moving faster than my hands can build, write and type.

I've committed to attending a show in July, and while it might be just over 5 months away, I feel as if I have no time to prepare for it. Trying to balance long range planning, with the things that have to get done right now is just insane. I've got so many ideas, and I don't seem to have time to even catalog, let alone prioritize them. My goal is to have 3-4 kits ready for that show, with around 100 total in stock. I have a ton of other things that have to get done in order for me to feel prepared for the show, finishing the display layout, getting a packing list together, and identifying shortages on the list, and fixing them.

It would also be pretty awesome if I could do some of my OWN modeling while the winter is still on...

Back at it.

Go build something awesome.

Madness

Just a teaser of the next kit. This tiny little part will grow into something much bigger. Anything is possible when you know how to eat an elephant. 

Go build something awesome. 

Creative kitbashes

 

Models and Photos By Al Judy

 

 

Customer photos!

Al Judy sent me a bunch of photos of the very first Marsh Creek Miniatures kits assembled...ever. Al works super fast, and had two done by 5 pm the day he received them in the mail! Two were built as mine prop carriers, one as a tool car, and one as a bite sized bulkhead flat. You can see all of them above.  You can see more of Al's work on his Facebook page, the Mill Creek & Lycoming Railroad.

 

 If that isn't enough Pennsylvania goodness, order a copy of the 2014 On30 Annual where Al has a layout tour featured in one of the premier publications for the On30 crowd.  Here's a few more shots of Marsh Creek's kits on Al's Layout.

 

 

Models and Photos By Al Judy

 

 

It makes me incredibly happy and proud to see something I have designed executed so well. Thank you Al for the pictures!

Like the kits? You can buy them here.

 

 

Go build something.
Rich



Online shopping?

 

Technology is fantastic. I am pleased to announce that you can now purchase the little On30 4 wheel gondolas directly from this blog! Ever since I offered these for sale, the most common questions I got was "do you take PayPal?"

 Of course I accept PayPal. What kind of a tech savvy train geek would I be if I didn't?

Keep checking back often to see the latest developments with the kits, the blog, and my pseudo philosophical ramblings.

Weighty decisions

Sometimes in life we have to make some really hard decisions, decisions that carry a lot of weight, and can make or break us. It wasn't an easy decision to leave a comfortable career with a great retirement, not with a family, bills, and a mortgage. The weight of the world was on my shoulders, and a misstep could crush me. 

16 years ago, I trusted my life to an 18 year old parachute rigger, who probably failed a couple classes in high school, and probably wasn't trusted much by his teachers, or parents. By all rights, I shouldn't have trusted him either. Sometimes though, you have to make a leap of faith, and ignore that kid, and put your fate at the hands of The Lord. He can help you carry that weight, and if it suits him, he'll make sure your parachute opens. 

I asked for guidance, and he told me to "put my knees in the breeze". I shuffled out that door, into the dark night,and it looks like my 'chute is opening. 

Have faith in your abilities, and put faith in The Lord. Enjoy life, and build stuff. 

The picture above is relevant...I swear. I added weight to my kit in a space I could find, by using small incremental weights... BBs! Together with your faith, you can find places to carry the weight of the world, through creative thought.

Go build something.

Rich

An unexpected surprise

Yesterday I was finally able to sit down and build one of the mine cars that I had cast. With life being so hectic, I haven't had a whole lot of modeling time since Christmas. I think they came out pretty good. There are some other things that I'd like to do with them, but overall, I'm very pleased.

 

 

 

 

 The surprising thing is that they have gotten quite a lot of attention in a short amount of time. I had originally offered them as trade bait, thinking I might be able to get some small kits or parts for them.  Since Thursday, with a very small audience on facebook, I've gotten orders for 16 of them, from as far away as Scotland and New Zealand. I was shocked. I personally thought they were a pretty cool little car, and they were up to my standards as far as detail (of course they would be, I built them), but I had no idea there might be enough interest to make them available commercially.

 

 

 The response was so good in a 5 day period, that I literally have run out of supplies to make any more kits than were ordered. I've got more resin coming, and I'm contemplating making a second mold to speed up production.  One of the guys who bought the first kits suggested that I work on a shorty 2 truck car, between 12 and 15 scale feet in length. Bachmann's 18 foot cars are wildly popular, and for the guys who like to run tight curves on small layouts, even smaller would be a nice to have item.

 

 

 

 

Between School, the kids' extracurricular activities, Cub Scouts, and finding time for the Mrs., things take me a while. I'm not a retired guy who has nothing but time on his hands. I wish I could spend as much time as I wanted in the basement sniffing glue, creating things, but right now that's not in the cards. There may however, be just enough time to turn my creations into a small hobby business...

 

 

We'll see. I certainly hope there is, but I'll leave it in God's hands for now. Or, like they say in Iraq..."inshallah" (As God wills).

 

Stay tuned.