Weekend Photos - November 2025

[Rufus T. Firefly]

There are better 1:50 and 1:48 scale people available.

And $12/ea might be pretty good,

[robert.]

If you follow cabin fever auction. They often have bags of unpainted figures sell for $10-20. 75-100 figures at that price is pretty good.

[webenda]

https://www.cabinfeverauctions.com/
Thank you, Robert.

[webenda]

This week's display in my desk hutch.

[healey36]

I really like the look of that little tank-engine, Wayne. Thinking of finishing it?

Nothing new this week, so here's a shot from the archives (2020). This is The Old Man's Consoli/Western Coil Zephyr running around the Christmas tree:



After he retired, he took up the search for the Zephyr he'd craved since childhood, American Flyer's 9900. He'd begged his father for one for Christmas that year, but received a Hoge 900 instead (one of the most God-awful looking toy trains ever made IMHO). I recall he looked at a number of 9900 sets, but most had cosmetic issues he couldn't stomach, so he eventually "settled" for this very nice Consoli. He never had any interest in Lionel's Flying Yankee (his father and his brother were solid Flyer fans).

The Consoli set he bought even has the rare VistaDome car, a car he never ran with his set. He was too much a purist, recalling the time he'd seen the real thing at the 1934 Century of Progress fair in Chicago. He could talk for hours about that and the M-10000, both of which debuted that year. It really left a mark on him.

[webenda]

I really like the look of that little tank-engine, Wayne. Thinking of finishing it?

My thoughts are:
Could I polish it?
I like it the way it is.
Maybe it would look good in Southern green.

...a Hoge 900... (one of the most God-awful looking toy trains ever made IMHO).

I like the Hoge 900 that Dave Smith restored.

Hoge 900 Streamliner
by Dave Smith
https://youtu.be/pvSWmyc7TdU?si=w2T3JDOcrhfr3HFB

[HONDO74]

Nothing new this week, so here's a shot from the archives (2020). This is The Old Man's Consoli/Western Coil Zephyr running around the Christmas tree:
After he retired, he took up the search for the Zephyr he'd craved since childhood, American Flyer's 9900. He'd begged his father for one for Christmas that year, but received a Hoge 900 instead (one of the most God-awful looking toy trains ever made IMHO). I recall he looked at a number of 9900 sets, but most had cosmetic issues he couldn't stomach, so he eventually "settled" for this very nice Consoli. He never had any interest in Lionel's Flying Yankee (his father and his brother were solid Flyer fans).

The Consoli set he bought even has the rare VistaDome car, a car he never ran with his set. He was too much a purist, recalling the time he'd seen the real thing at the 1934 Century of Progress fair in Chicago. He could talk for hours about that and the M-10000, both of which debuted that year. It really left a mark on him.[/quote]

Western Coil & Electrical/Antonio Consoli
https://tcawestern.org/western.htm

[healey36]

Thanks for that Hondo. Always amazes me that a company like Western Coil made these in the years shortly before the war, then the Consoli's bought up the remaining inventory years later and started making sets again.

Hit the local train meet this AM...here's a couple pics, including my sole purchase:



Not as well attended this year as compared to prior years...maybe this economy is truly weighing on folks. Still, nice to see the kids in attendance, along with the Baltimore American Flyer Club.

Decent little Flyer 1108 baggage...don't need it but had to have it. Stayed until the aching back started to give out, then headed home (about a mile away, lol).

[webenda]

[quote="healey36"Hit the local train meet this AM...here's a couple pics...[/quote]
First pic looks like a bag of O scale people all painted up and glued in place.

[healey36]

You'd have to do a bit of customization of your figures, Wayne, to get something looking like this lot. I've bent a few up over the years, adding shovels, removing/changing hats, etc., so it's do-able.

Finally got back to the tunnel tree-stand project this afternoon; I managed to get the thing papered:



Had hoped to have this done by Thanksgiving, but it's going to take a bit longer (no more than a week, hopefully). It's gotta dry thoroughly, then off to the paint booth. Hoping it's dry by Black Friday.

[webenda]

Finally got back to the tunnel tree-stand project.

It is looking more interesting, Healey. Why are some of the glue lines white and some black?

[webenda]

Seven Deeres on a Flat

[healey36]

Finally got back to the tunnel tree-stand project.

It is looking more interesting, Healey. Why are some of the glue lines white and some black?

I took the pic just a few minutes after the last bit was applied. Some of the glue was still drying, especially in places where it had pooled a bit or was running down.

Yesterday I sealed around the bottom edge with a bit of bathtub caulk/adhesive. There are a couple of spots/seams that need a little bit of touch-up; after that, it’s headed to the paint booth.

[healey36]

Seven Deeres on a Flat

That’s an interesting double-door boxcar in the background...what’s the story on that?

Happy Thanksgiving, Wayne, and all others here. Ran the dogs out this AM and it was barely 35 degrees. Time to get the turkey in the oven and get this old house warmed up a bit.

Paul R.

[webenda]

That’s an interesting double-door boxcar in the background...what’s the story on that?

I usually purchase cars and engines that are designed to operate on O-27 27-inch diameter curves. I saw this Lionel 6-17207 O Gauge C&IM Chicago and Illinois Midland Double-Door Boxcar, listed for US $14.25, on eBay. The price was right, and even though it is advertised as 1:48 scale, minimum radius O-31 in the catalog, I wanted to see how big it was next to Lionel's smallest boxcars, the X6000 series. So, I ordered it. I remember having the same reaction to it as my urologist had when he saw the X-ray of my bladder stone, "It's HUGE, it's HUGE!"

The red stripe: The red stripe on a Chicago & Illinois Midland (C&IM) double-door boxcar was purely a decorative design element from a specific era's paint scheme, and it had no special operational or safety meaning.
---Gemini AI

As it turned out, this 1:48 scale car has no problem with 27-inch diameter curves.