Weekend Photos - July 2024

[Jim K]

That is a good looking NYC critter. Love the critters!

[RBH29]

Jim K, nice work on the paper model. Looks very realistic!

[healey36]

Jim K, nice work on the paper model. Looks very realistic!

Yes, a terrific job on the paper model!

[webenda]

Jim, your paper relay house keeps attracting my attention.
This is the fifth time and it still looks amazingly like what I have seen along railroad tracks.
Especially the color. How does paper manage the weathered silver paint look?

[webenda]

Sharp photo, Pete. Now that looks like what the name, "critter," implies to me.

[Jim K]

Wayne, et. al.

Thanks for kudos. Well most of that paint color is straight from Clever Models. Some of it comes from very slight misalignment of the what I'll call the exoskeleton that is mounted on the walls. And some comes from just a tad of gray paint!

Jim K

[healey36]

Now I'm a bit self-conscious about my version cobbled together from a couple blocks of wood, bits of cereal box, a couple nails and two plastic repro insulators:



I needed a terminus for some utility pole wiring and this serves the purpose (seen here before the wires were installed).

[Jim K]

Yeah right Healey,
Your cobbled items are better than most manufacturers' best. Ya' know, I need to service a couple of those transformer insulator skirts! Really crude in the Trolley Park on the Circle Route. Ha. Those 027 radii catch ones eyes at times. Look away and.........

Train ON!

Jim K

[healey36]

Looking at your poles and wire, Jim, the last thing that might catch my eye is a couple of handmade insulator skirts askew. Catenary in almost any form just fascinates me...no way I have the skill to devise and erect such a system, much less make it functional. Just terrific.

I've got a half-dozen projects in process, but I should really defer all of them and focus on straightening up the frame on the Flyer 3015 I bought from Trainz recently. They mucked it up when they packed it (the site photos revealed no bends in the frame pre-purchase). The thing was well packed as far as materials goes; it just somehow got bent when they wrapped/taped it up. No damage to the box, so it would be tough to lay this at the feet of FedEx. Some folks have had this sort of problem with Trainz in the past, others have not had the experience. They offered to take it back, but it's otherwise a nice example, so I don't want to give up on it. Just an unnecessary repair.

[healey36]

Model railway unrelated, but some pretty terrific temporary scenery and figures...Pickets Charge, Gettysburg, July 3, 1863:



Historicon, Lancatser PA, July 20, 2024. A lot of work, that.

[healey36]

Table for the Battle of the Red October Tractor Factory, Stalingrad:



Some game-masters go a little crazy, lol. Can't tell if this is the game's aftermath, or it hasn't started yet.

[healey36]

Crankin' down to the end of July and I feel like precious little is getting done. This, a battered Lionel MPC-era milk car, has been laying in the project pile for awhile...finally got around to a repaint:



Simples...diassemble, remove the old decals, rough up the faux chrome finish a bit, then a respray with some Rustoleum flat black enamel and an overspray of clear satin lacquer. Decals by K4, I think I have the reporting marks on the wrong end, dammit.

Wanted something to line up appropriately behind the 41 "critter":



Maybe a boxcar or gondola next, if I can find one that's in rough but complete shape.

[RBH29]

Another nice project Healey! I wouldn't have thought of applying matte black and then overspraying with a clear coat. It came out great. I look forward to your project posts. Richard

[healey36]

Another nice project Healey! I wouldn't have thought of applying matte black and then overspraying with a clear coat. It came out great. I look forward to your project posts. Richard

Thanks, Richard. I have terrible luck getting decals to adhere to flat paint, so I typically give something a shot of clear satin to get a semi-gloss finish that the decals like much better. After the decals are applied, I give it an overspray of either clear satin or clear matte, depending on whether I want a scale look or something with a bit of shine on it.

I sometimes do the same thing when painting figures. An adherent to the two-foot rule, I use washes to get the detail highlighted, and sometimes starting with something that has a shiny finish helps the wash flow. A clear matte overspray at the end finishes it off with a scale look.

I'll say one thing, the K4 decals are printed on paper that is quite thick. Sometimes the edges are visible, especially in bright light.

I'm running out of simple projects; I've got a few tinplate repairs I need to do that I'm not really looking forward to.

[webenda]

USOX 12001 looks great. Now your growling/grinding army turbine switcher has something to pull and push around.

Did I mention my army turbine switcher growls and grinds on AC also? On DC it only grinds. I think it needs to be greased and oiled.