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.

 

 

New beginnings

Like the smell of a new car, the word new triggers emotions in us.  Some of us are terrified of new things, while others ride a dopamine high of elation that comes with new things. A new car could symbolize a sense of accomplishment and pride, while a new job could be a whirlwind of anxiety.

A new blog. So what? Thousands of blogs are created every day, and every sociology and philosophy major on planet earth thinks that their blog should be universally read, and bring profound wisdom and change to it's readers.  I don't give a crap about all that.  I build models, and draw pictures.  I don't do it for the Blogosphere, or bored soccer moms who pin crap philosophy on their Pinterest boards. I do it for me. If other people want to follow along with my nonsense, great. If not, I will sleep just as good tonight as I did last night.

I decided to start a new blog to go along with my new life.  I recently left the Army to pursue "happiness".  I've been all over the world, sacrificed personal and family time, and worked hard to make it to a place where I was unhappy. I realized that the good times that I had while in uniform were being increasingly crowded out by personal misery.  I decided it was time to go, and do what makes me happy: drawing and building things. So soccer mom...put this philosophy on your Pinterest..."It's never too late to start something new."

I've got tons of things happening right now, the Marsh Creek Railroad currently only exists in my brain, but is beginning to take shape in both On30 and HOn30 scales. At this point, I've got lots of projects going, and it seems like I can't finish anything. I don't think that is going to change anytime soon, because I've just made a deal to keep the Empire out of here for good.  Wait...What? Lando? I was saying, another new beginning seems to be taking off with a jump start, which is keeping me from finishing my projects. A craftsman kit business?

Stay tuned....