National Model Railroad Build Off 2023 Diorama

Here are some images of the diorama I built for the Walthers National Model Railroad Build Off this year.  Click on each image or open in a new tab to see them larger.

This year I chose to depict a lakeside setting in north-central Florida in the 1920s.  Most of the folks on the diorama are having fun or engaged in other leisure activities.  I say "north-central" Florida due to the inclusion of surface rocks, an element required by the product bundle I purchased for the contest.  These are rare in the state, but limestone outcrops do show up here and there.  The other elements were the big white farmhouse, some Woodland Scenics Deep Pour Murky water and a short plate girder bridge.  I also chose to include Walthers' Mission Style Bungalow and to kitbash a Rix overpass into a concrete arched bridge.

The hardest part of this year's diorama wasn't building the thing, but photographing it.  I tried three locations before arriving in the driveway using the neighbor's landscaping as a backdrop.  I was most pleased with seeing the diorama in full sun, but the sticky wax I used to hold some figures in place didn't like it, nor did some old decals I applied to the Jordan mail truck.  

I think this will be the final diorama I build for this contest unless there's a bundle I just can't pass up next year.  While I enjoyed the last four months of model making, I've got bigger ideas for the Pine Branch Park railroad and would rather put my energy there.  Plus, I've been enjoying painting minis and playing Star Wars Legion at my local gaming store.  I've got a few tubs of assorted bits I've been collecting that will become terrain pieces for that game.  But the biggest draw right now is the desire to rebuild old rolling stock and get some vintage trains Back on Track.  The weather around here is just beginning to heat up so it is time to stay inside and build models.

More posts on the diorama will appear eventually.  Details, design, and other thoughts.  Thanks for reading.

Burma Shave Signs

 

The Burma Shave company used to make roadside signs to advertise their shave cream.  These were placed along the road in a sequence, inviting motorists to read their message as they drove by.  First appearing in 1927, the signs were continually updated with new jingles through 1963.  I model the late 1920s and so a set of Burma Shave signs just barely fits into my era.  

I've been considering adding a set to my National Model Railroad Build Off 2023 diorama but have yet to decide if I'll include one.  It is the sort of detail that may or may not fit depending on how the scenery evolves.  Ditto telegraph poles, but that's another topic.  Anyway, I found this archive of Burma Shave jingles, nicely organized by year:

http://burma-shave.org/jingles/

If you are a stickler for prototype accuracy, now you can sleep well knowing your roadside advertisements are appropriate for your era.  Whether or not they fit your locale is up to you to determine.  Perhaps the book mentioned on the jingle page can help you there.  I like to know I'm close enough but I won't lose any sleep using a jingle from the wrong year, and some are funnier than others.  The selection from the 20's is limited and none are railroad related.

I hope the readers of this blog might find this site useful or at least get a chuckle from some clever ads.

2023 Diorama Update - Farmhouse Layout

Entering the final lap, not quite the final stretch, for this year's NMRBO diorama.  Track is down, painted and balasted.  Bridges are installed and the road has been paved.  All the landscape structure has been shaped, plastered and painted (though not yet in these photos).  Now comes the planning stage where smaller decisions are made.  This post is about just one such decision - where to place the chicken house.

In the first photo you can see the little red shed behind the main house, with a pale green wagon next to it.  Ditto the second photo, but I've rotated the shed and wagon 90 degrees counterclockwise.  Right now I'm leaning towards the second orientation.  But I've been cogitating over this one for a while.  I had thought about a barn in that space but it was too much competition with the main house.  The chicken house is just the right size but getting it placed has been more challenging than I first thought it would be.