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.