Hobo Jungle

[AG]

Andre, please show us some photos of what you are making in brass these days, or any RR projects you've been working on.

I will do.
AG.

[AG]

AG, good to see you again!!! I hate it we never got to meet up in Florida that one time.

Jon,
for our luck, mistakes made , make and will make have solutions.
AG.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Another talk and the postmen stopped stuffing my mailbox. My current favorite courier is USPS because I know my three mailmen.

That says a lot. Not a bad thing to develop a cordial relationship with they who deliver stuff to your abode. Being nice to these people generally is reciprocated with good service, and it doesn't cost that much to be nice.

Rich

I agree with you completely. Our mailman is a considerate and thoughtful gentleman. And I know how to say Thank You. Of course, I wouldn't expect him to pick-up a 42"x30"x27"
box holding a model , which is why I use ups for such a service.
Murph

[AG]

Andre, please show us some photos of what you are making in brass these days, or any RR projects you've been working on...!

Good idea, Tramp!
Andre, May I suggest you show them your fabulous business card

Andre visited me at the recent (October) TCA Meet @ York and gave me one of his business cards - I have never seen anything like it. It instantly gave me the idea of his offering the service of making building signs for those of us who like to build buildings and craft scenes. For me, having realistic and attractive signs that name the business was a problem, esp. since I did not want them to look like something merely typed on a word-processor. His card is sturdy, thick (enough for a scale sign) and seems adaptable to millions of ideas. The card even felt cool.

Show 'em, Andre
Murph

Thank you Frank!
i will show my business card as soon as i can.
glad you like it.
AG.

[2railjon]

Thanks, Rich!!
My biggest fear of moving back north would be the ambulance that waited for me in the street every time I shoveled my driveway!!!!

I still get chills remembering the photos Tramp shared of the 6 foot snow drifts Daisy and him had to shovel to get out their door!!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Thanks, Rich!!
My biggest fear of moving back north would be the ambulance that waited for me in the street every time I shoveled my driveway!!!!

You get a snow blower like I have or the little tractor like Sarge's, but it really doesn't matter if it's over a foot here; everything closes and you wait a day or 3 until the road is plowed. You stay home, put some wood to the fire, build models and read books.

OTOH, it's been in the 50's for the past couple of days here in No. VA. --- might have to mow the lawn if this keeps up,

I still get chills remembering the photos Tramp shared of the 6 foot snow drifts Daisy and him had to shovel to get out their door!!

Again, if it gets deep around here, and that happens maybe once a season, you can't go anywhere anyway since the roads aren't clear. Clear the driveway, put some wood to the fire, build models, read books, and don't worry......

[2railjon]

It was 60 degrees here Christmas Day and I enjoyed a brisk Harley ride!
Glad I was able to get a ride in as it's rained every day afterwards.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

It was 60 degrees here Christmas Day and I enjoyed a brisk Harley ride!
Glad I was able to get a ride in as it's rained every day afterwards.

I think your rain is just a few hours out from arriving here, Jon.

[2railjon]

Enjoy!!! But unfortunately we have another round hitting us this afternoon as well.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Enjoy!!! But unfortunately we have another round hitting us this afternoon as well.

Yes, we had a rather nice sunny morning, but then it turned to total cloud cover and the weather mads look like we're going to see several days of on/off rain.

No matter - I'm off for another week and have a shop full of projects to attend to as well as the best of intentions to actually get into my layout room and get some work done there, too! That might take a day to just clear the floor and track first,

[2railjon]

Rufus, go for it!! I just ventured the darkened catacombs under my layout and wrestled out a replacement transformer for Tramp!! I think I'm ready for a Sunday brew!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Chocolate Bock! Interesting.....

Actually, my son was over and cleaned out a bit more of his leftover stuff we have been storing; left behind a bottle of pear cider and another nice bourbon barrel aged stout.

Got a structure kit to finish up painting and then it gets installed on the layout - that will force the issue on attacking the layout room and getting into some scenery work this week. Have to get into painting the backdrop on the 2 remaining walls, too. So, some serious tidying up is on the docket!

[2railjon]

Rufus, I've seen a few close ups of your layout, but never seen any that showed the size or your progression on it. Where are you hiding the photos at????

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Rufus, I've seen a few close ups of your layout, but never seen any that showed the size or your progression on it. Where are you hiding the photos at????

It's very shy,

And, pretty small.......

Maybe after I get into it this week and get it under control I'll put together a few pictures.

I used to have a couple of bits of it on Youtube,

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Murph,

Bob Turner also has commented that he posts photos and no one comments.

I don't think that means no one is looking. My vocabulary of golly, gee whiz,
very nice, etc., is used up rather quickly. I am impressed with so much that
I see on MTJ I use up my vocabulary of nice things to say very fast.

Perhaps, using up such vocabulary is a good thing. I guess it depends on a person's point-of-view.

Roger, From my limited and totally subjective perspective, what I enjoy is the conversation, and esp. conversation between like-minded peers in a hobby. It's not so much the generous adjectives I am looking for - I am not sure I am looking for anything in particular; perhaps, reactions and perspectives, at least.

My work proves its worth to me by selling. Applause and/or criticism on forums helps me evaluate if I am on the right track, having effectively expressed a scene's message or missed the mark. I have never just "kept my own counsel" and enjoy hearing from others immensely. Many hundreds of Insta-Ramas have sold and I have worked on or entirely crafted numerous complete layouts. If something has not sold by the 3rd (or maybe the 4th) trip to York, PA, it gets pulled apart or integrated into my own layout, figuring that, perhaps, or evidently, I may be the only one who likes it/or the idea of it on a layout. If something looks good, I enjoy hearing that, esp. since I make my little Insta-Ramas, as I call them, to make somebody happy, if just to help them accomplish a layout they do not have the inclination and/or the time to craft bit-by-bit themselves.

Frankly, when Mr. Kughn bought Insta-Ramas by the dozens, Tony Lash bought them by the arms-full, and Mrs. Miller bought two for her office, I felt I was well on my way to feeling good about what I was offering to our hobby, albeit primarily via the limited exposure I was afforded via the York TCA venue and through OGR magazine, which was more than enough for me altogether. Lionel itself is a client.

I declined an invitation to display at the E. Springfield, MA January shows, for a variety of reasons, one of which was not needing to do so, and the other being my absolute prohibition against driving in what could easily be snowy weather. I wouldn't want to promise to be present then not show up.

If there are glaring errors or unrealistic crafting, I'd welcome knowing that. And if somebody feels a particular vignette was particularly effective, I'd love hearing that, too, of course.

What I have no interest in doing, here, is disclosing/explaining how I make my scenes, who and what my resources are, and where I get my ingredients. I will not conduct a craft-work seminar. Layout Refinements is a business, after all, small, but all mine. I am Layout Refinements.

If a conversation cannot find itself constructed around that understanding, I will get the point.
Murph
P.S. Thanks for always being interested in my work, Roger, and for saying so, here and in-person.