Flash Tip

The classic Woodland Scenics metal kits are (in)famous for their quality - both positively for the wonderful amount of detail included in the parts, and negatively for all the flash and general cleanup involved in making them look their best.*  I enjoy them and have spent many happy hours painting them.  Recently I began preparing the parts of the Diamond T Flatbed Truck kit.  It will feature prominently in the "streetcar track deconstruction" scene planned for Pine Branch Park.

So here's the tip:  Leave the wheels on the sprue to clean out the flash from the spokes and around the tires.  THEN cut the wheel from the sprue and dress the remaining flash/sprue remnant.  I use Xurons to get a clean flush cut without damaging the tire but if you cut too deep into the tire, just dress it with a file and make that the part of the wheel that sits on the road.  I removed and cleaned two wheels before realizing how much easier it would be to leave the wheels on the sprue and do this work.


*Granted, there are some early runs that don't have nearly as much flash to trim as more recent runs.  I think - this is just my hypothesis - that the older castings are cleaner because the molds are newer.  Is this the case?  Regardless, I tend to look for older kits for this reason and find them to have less flash to remove and fewer casting defects.

No Visible Means of Support

Look closely at these three photos and see if you can tell what is different:

If you said the garage looks cleaner then God Bless You!  It is, somewhat, but no, that's not what I'm highlighting.  The title might be a clue or maybe not.  Okay, okay, here 'tis:

This was a birthday present back in May.  This tripod can elevate the camera high enough to get the first two shots, then lower to allow the closeup in the third.  Naturally I can bring the leg extensions in and make it even shorter.  It will live inside next to my workbench most of the time, though I hope to have many more reasons to bring it out into the garage in the days ahead.

Kidding Ourselves

My son's trains on the shelf below Daddy's trains in 2007 when he was only 2.

"Let's not kid ourselves that in model railroading that we are duplicating prototype railroading.  Our grades are too steep.  Our trains are too short.  Our curves are too sharp.  Our switches are too sharp.  Area is limited.  Rails are too high.  Ties are too regularly shaped and spaced.  Wheel flanges are too deep.  All our trains run with electricity, with a most unrealistic sound.  We persist in running steam locomotives in face of prototype dieselization.  But we do the best we can, and we have a lot of fun."

     -Bill Schopp from Trend Book 138, "Model Railroading", 1956.

Needle Drop

A little while back Steve Ramsey over at Wood Working for Mere Mortals made an unusual suggestion.  Go to YouTube and type into the search bar "img xxxx", with the x's replaced by a four digit number.  It is likely you'll find some random video with a handful of views.  Why so few?  Because the person who posted it just left the file number as the video title and may not have included any tags.  Perchance you might just find something worth watching that you'd never even considered.

I did this and here's one of the videos I found:

What are the odds that it would be model train related?  The first was a drag racing BMW.  Pretty cool.  The very next autoplay was the video shown above. 

Pierre had 19 subscribers.  Now he has 20.

Red + Yellow =

I need an orange grove in this spot.  Maybe, just maybe, one morning I'll come out to the garage and find it.  Magical plastic cross-pollination?  These days I think anything is possible.  Who knows?

Pandemic Perspective

This is mostly a social opinion piece, with only a little model-railroad-related content.  Even so, please read on; I promise to not be too controversial. In fact, I hope it will help some folks out there manage stress and anxiety during a difficult season.

One phrase I've heard again and again since mid-March when the self-confinement and protective isolation began is, "...with all this extra time...".  With all this extra time, I've gotten so much _____ done (insert long-overdue project of your choice in the blank).  No doubt, there are more than a few folks who, due to being furloughed or outright fired now have "extra" time on their hands.  I feel for anyone who is watching their savings dwindle away (if they had any!) with few prospects of a job waiting for them in the near future.  Maybe they're just putting an optimistic spin on what is really a rotten situation by crowing about all the spare time they have and how productive they've been.

A similar narrative has come from the modeling community, both plastic addicts and train buffs alike.  One popular meme image showed a room full of kits, a stash of shame as it has been proudly named, with the caption, "We've prepared for this day!" or some-such.  There is a popular opinion floating around that introverts who would typically prefer to be at home working a puzzle or reading instead of socializing, now have permission to blissfully engage in whatever hobby or pursuit they please without fear of scorn.  They are, in fact, the perverse victors in this time of suffering as they hunker down in a hobby room to practice their craft far from the dangers of the viral world swirling outside.

I only wish this was the case in our house*.  For the loner, or the empty-nester, this may be the case, but if you're a stay-at-home-parent, (pun intended) then you likely have had less time than you may have had before.  That has been the case for our household.  We are fortunate in many ways - still able to work safely, with access to grocery delivery or pickup, a garden producing fresh produce and four eggs a day from our backyard flock.  Our income has not been diminished except for some discretionary funds from a side job I had.  But the time I would've gained there has been lost to other responsibilities I'm fortunate to have.  My kids learned how to 'Zoom' to finish the school year, and my wife's job moved online.  I'm still chief cook and bottle washer.

I've learned something very important about myself in this time; as an introvert who gains energy from time spent alone, it is not enough to just 'isolate' in a garage or hobby room or closet.  There is a real need to know that I can pursue my creative pastime without having to let the dogs out or bring them in because they're barking at a neighbor, or answer the phone, or deal with the kids, or any number of interruptions.  I need to know I can have this time free and clear of any other responsibilities.  This is part of the escape factor of the hobby and I know it is important to so many creators out there.

The puzzle in the images above was worked over the span of a few days.  At 1500 pieces it was just a smidge too large to fit on our card table, so the family agreed to work it on the kitchen table where we eat our meals.  A waterproof tablecloth covered the pieces during the assembly and came off after the dishes were cleared so that work could continue.  I know I'm blessed to have a wife and kids who can all sit down and eat at the same table, every night, and who even enjoy working a puzzle with dear old Dad.  We're blessed to have our health in this time, good food to eat, and a house to live in.

But I'm most thankful for being able to sequester away in our bedroom at a little table we've put there where I can file some detail parts or sketch a track plan or paint figures.  I'm especially thankful for my wife that will keep track of the dogs and the kids and the phone while I'm recharging my introvert batteries in that time.  I hope you, dear reader, have the opportunity to recharge and be refreshed in this time.  If you're an introvert, or if you live with one, maybe this post will help.

*I do have the shameful stash of kits, my home hobby shop, and one of the first things I did after the self-isolation lockdown began was to sort my era-appropriate kits into full kits and rebuilds so that I can build or rebuild one when the mood strikes and the time is available.  But I'm not counting on being able to build them all in some grand quarantine 24-hour speed paint build.  I'll be lucky to get one finished, if I manage to start it at all.

Cameo Components

Synergy!  This post is about gathering together a few ideas that seem to have converged into my mind all at once.  Pull the thread with me:

http://ghosttownmodels.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-small-block-of-buildings.html

Friendly acquaintance and fellow blogger Darryl Huffman's post really unlocked something in my head that allowed divergent streams to come together.  Recently Darryl has been making these little gems; tiny little scenes on a space the size of a business card.  In the post linked above he combined them into a scene along with a section of road between them.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MountainGoatModels?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=819061195

I've known Greg Baker, aka Mountain Goat Greg, since the early days of the Big Blue train forum, back when it was 'The Gauge', I think.  Greg has an Etsy store in which he sells itty bitty HO scale dioramas that fit in a 2" display cube.  Recently I was searching Etsy for a related item when I rediscovered Greg's modeling.

The video above is interesting on its own as a static grass tutorial, but for me it has taken on a value beyond simple instruction.  Having just built my own static grass applicator (StaticGrassOne) I revisited Martin's excellent video.  Can you guess what stuck with me about his method?  I'll tell you - he made little test squares for varying textures.

Is it clicking yet?

Google defines cameo as:

1. a piece of jewelry, typically oval in shape, consisting of a portrait in profile carved in relief on a background of a different color.
2. a short descriptive literary sketch which neatly encapsulates someone or something.

   "cameos of street life"

I'm going to create cameo components - little dioramas that can be placed adjacent to one another to form a larger scene.  These cameos can stand on their own as expressions of ideas, or as combined they can tell a story.  Functionally they will serve as test beds for scenic techniques, but also places to display models that may not have a place on the current Pine Branch Park railroad. 

Take for example this tower I scratchbuilt a few years back:

A bit of ply, a layer of foam, and rudimentary scenery, yet it is a complete statement about the structure and its location within the bounds of the diorama.  The sidewalk implies it is next to a road, and knowing it is a grade crossing tower implies it is next to railroad track(s).  The sidewalk may also imply an urban or suburban environment, but that context could be changed based on the adjacent cameo components.  (By the way, the static grass on this diorama is from a sheet of premade grass texture, cut to fit).

A few decisions will have to be made regarding the thickness of the base and general dimensions in order to ensure compatibility.  However, once that is set I anticipate this could be the start of something really exciting and fun.  More about the first foray into this format in future posts.