Kitbashing Speedy Andrew's

This is the second installment of my "how-I-did-it" articles chronicling the development of my NMRBO22 entry diorama.  For part one, see the previous post on how I made a brick street with track for a horse-drawn streetcar.  In this post I'll show progress pictures and discuss my thinking behind turning an AHM "Speedy Andrew's Repair Shop" into my "Strickland's Speedy Service and Souvenirs".  For some interesting history on the original structure, and other fun kitbashing ideas using these kits, see JD Lowe's 30 Squares blog and search for "speedy" or just click the link.

In the photo above you can see some of the kit parts laid out alongside my mock-up and a few other parts I had in mind to use.  The mock-up was made by photocopying the kit walls and gluing them to cardstock.  In the end I didn't use the brick card or the pre-printed shingles but did use the metal doors and shutters.

Here are the original kit parts.  I like to use as many of the walls as possible, even if they don't make it as walls.  Not pictured is the wood textured "ramp" you were to place at the garage entrance; that part became the two signs over the drive-though bay on my model.  Speaking of which, that was the element that made my redesign click.  That big false-front entrance wall is the dead giveaway for the kit origins.  I had to do something to disguise that, so I re-imagined it as a sign above two pillars, using cut-offs from the walls to add bulk.  The "interior" wall from the kit became the drive through ceiling.

Another trick I used to hide the kit's origins was to eliminate the "L" shape of the building and reorient the main entrance in relation to the big sign.  The weakest elements of the kit, in my opinion, are the windows and doors.  I subbed two metal doors (either Dyna Models or maybe Sequoia, I can't be sure) and added Tichy shutters to the windows.  On this wall I shifted one window a bit towards the door so they'd be symmetrical and used the shutter to hide the gap that created.  The little bump-out at the back of the building is the sort of thing that just happens organically during kitbashing.  Once the main building is set, those remaining pieces you haven't used just cry out to be used somehow!

And here's the finished structure, showing the final elements I used to hide the kit's origins - the standing seam metal roof in place of the cast shingles and the signage.  DISTRACTION!  If I'd only used the main sign with the lovely arch in the top it might have been too easy to say "oh, that's that old AHM kit I've seen before".   The two signs on the sides perpendicular to the main sign, centered as they are over the drive-through, create a sense of weight and bring balance to the structure over and against the main building with its side-entrance and porch.  

The building in situ, with a mini-scene to tell the story.  Strickland stands on the porch welcoming the dapper gent, who has just pulled up in his brand new 1914 Austro Daimler 18/32 Cabrio.  Jeb and the kid look on, wondering just how much this man will buy.  No doubt they have a hundred other questions they'd love to ask him.  If he stays long enough maybe they'll get to.  He's just the sort of tourist they've been seeing more frequently ever since the county paved Orange Avenue, opening their part of central Florida to the rest of the state, and beyond.

The other side of the building, with more signs.  The brick paper I did use came from Walthers - from the middle of the last century.  It was the right balance of red, orange and gold to suit the colors I had in mind for this building.  The large signs were created in Gimp, the ads are from JL Innovative and other sources.  The smudge pots don't look too dirty or rusty because they're new.  They're resin castings from California Model Company and are the right style for the period.  So too the gas pump - it came with the kit, and is actually a pretty close match for the ones used in the 19-teens.  The more common glass-top pumps didn't become popular until the 20s and 30s.  

Leave any questions or comments down below, and thanks for reading.

 

 

Old Florida Brick Street

This post is the first of several detailing how I built my diorama for the Walthers National Model Railroad Build Off 2022 (nmrbo22 in the tags).  In this installment, I show how I built the brick street.

When I decided that I needed to have a brick street on my diorama I began searching for options on how to make one.  Walthers sells a plastic kit with injection-molded segments that looks pretty good, but then you've got to deal with section joints - not impossible, but not how I wanted to go.  Also, it's pretty hard to get the crown of the street looking realistic.  Brick texture sheets in plastic and laser-cut material are also available but present similar challenges.

Here's a prototype image of the look I was going for.  This image in general was a great source of inspiration for the overall look of the diorama, with a streetcar track added of course:

Finding no ready-made solution, I looked into making my own.  First I tried hand-embossing brick using a paintbrush ferrule with the bristles removed and bent into a crude rectangle.  The material is DAS clay and the girder rail is simply two rails with one laid sideways up against the web of the other.  This is the result:

This wasn't half bad, but the "bricks" looked more weathered and rounded, like rough stones.  The girder rail looked okay but again was too large and urban for my early 'teens setting.  This technique was also a lot of work and my carpal tunnel nerves were not happy after just this small test piece!  So, I ordered a 3D printed brick roller from Rail-N-Scale on Shapeways.  Here is the result of that first test (you may want to open link in a new tab for a better view):

MUCH finer detail; almost too fine, but I'd rather err in that direction than to be too chunky.  No special rail needed - this is code 83 flex.  Using the tool as it came from the maker was awkward, so I followed Martin's (Marklin of Sweden) advice and made a roller arm.  I used a cheap detail paint roller from the hardware store, all of $3.00.  The smaller roller with the ridges is for street track while the wider one on the handle is for making plain brick texture.

While the DAS clay comes in a nice terra cotta color, I wanted a dark, over-fired red and blue-black color scheme for the bricks based on existing historic brick streets in Florida.  Google "The Old Brick Road" and you'll see a surviving example of an early Florida highway.  Here's what I came up with on my test sample:

And here's how it looked on the diorama after all the scenery was in place.  There's a defined edge but as you can see, the dusty sand has found its way up onto the street in places, especially at the intersection with the dirt road.  This image was not submitted to the contest primarily because of the background - the street just drops off into nothing behind the streetcar.  However, note the camber of the road - something that would have been very challenging to do with styrene sheet or other brick textured material.

Final thoughts on the tool and technique; the tool is worth it but it takes practice to use and patience to let the clay rest before texturing.  The fine texture means mistakes such as drifting or over-marking the texture aren't as visible unless you look closely or the light catches the brick detail just right.  Will I use this tool again?  Absolutely.  There is no finer-scale brick texture out there unless you're willing to draw your own and have it laser cut (as Tim Warris did for his Bronx Terminal).  In fact, it has me rethinking the paving on my Pine Branch Park street scenes.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to share this article.

Time to Think

Another "pre-stuffed" shot of the garage.  Future staging yard?  or...?

 

"You have to think about your stuff more than you realize but not as much as you’re afraid you might."

- David Allen, Getting Things Done

 

These days I'm thinking about my stuff.  Moving does that; it causes us to reevaluate our stuff.  Where will it all go?  To those moving into a larger space the question is simple to answer.  But for those downsizing or adjusting to a differently laid-out space the question is harder and involves a longer decision tree.  What is this?  Will I keep it?  When was the last time I used this?  Is it worth more to keep or will it cost less to replace?  When the cost of the home is divided by the square footage and that price-per-square-foot number sinks in, suddenly the question of what goes where takes on a whole new weightiness and heft.  The value of the stuff comes into question in terms of return on investment, play value, sentiment, etc.  

The quote above from David Allen, one of my favorite authors and a person I'd consider a mentor through his writing and videos, is especially apt at this time.  A few moments each day thinking about the stuff - asking the appropriate questions about it and making determinations - pays great dividends in generating movement and actions that lead to a well-organized home full of the sort of things we love and want to surround ourselves with.  Chief among those questions is this, "How do I want to use this stuff?" or a better way to put it, "How does my intended use of this stuff reflect who I am and who I want to be?"  Yes, I know, a deep, philosophical question on a model train blog.  You may be thinking this is too much, it is just stuff after all.

But I'd argue that the thinking is worth it.  Kristi and I have always told our boys, "People are more important than things".  Does our relationship with our stuff reflect that reality, or our intention to live that way?  Is our home a place for people beyond our family?  Does the placement and care of our stuff enable us to be closer to one another, open to others, or does it reflect a more private life?  Or all three?  My garage will be my space - hence the possessive pronoun - but will I share it?  Will the railroad I design for that space be a private world, only occasionally viewed by family and friends, or a more public space?  How I answer that question will have a bearing on how I arrange the stuff in the space.

Set Back or Step Forward?

 

 

The new garage before the rest of the stuff arrived.

To answer the question in the title, YES to both.  First, the setback.  Despite all the difficulties of the previous garage home, I had grown accustomed to it.  I had made improvements to the space, mainly in keeping rodents out.  I could find a tool or supply in thirty seconds or less and had room to work.  There was a plan for building and operating the railroad, as well as other projects such as helping my son build a pan-tilt-zoom head for live-streaming or creating a diorama for the 2022 Walthers National Model Railroad Build Off.

Now, in a new space, I have to start all over.  New critters to keep out.  New holes to plug.  Dust and debris (just look at the pile of clay roof tiles along the wall!)  And, this space is detached.  If I want to get to the railroad I have to traverse the summer heat or winter rain.  At least it doesn't snow here.  In addition, I've got a long honey-do list and home renovation projects that must be done sooner than later.  That pushes any hobby space improvements far down the list.

...on the other hand...

This space is mine.  No need to get permission from the landlord to make any necessary changes.  Oh I had a long list of things I'd have done in our rental IF the place was ours.  Well, now this place is ours, and I can do what I want to make it wonderful.  I waited too long to improve previous places we've lived, and each time we moved I was a bit saddened that I should have or could have done this or that if only...  So this time I'm not wasting any precious moments.  Call it a mid-life crisis or whatever you will; I'm motivated to make it happen as soon as possible.

And while the layout will languish until everything is unpacked, modeling will not cease.  I've got an army to paint - Rebels and Storm Troopers and Speeder Bikes!  After tasting how fun it was to play a game of Star Wars Legion last Thanksgiving, I resolved then to get this game going in the near future.  That time is now.  I can set up a painting desk in the new house and enjoy a few moments each evening putting paint on plastic so that we can play an exciting tabletop game in our dining room.  

Finally, does this mean the blog is back?  Well, yes, but there's no guarantee it'll be anything remotely regular.  As I mentioned in the previous post from two months ago, I believe blogging is for fleshing-out ideas beyond what a picture can convey.  I will continue to use Instagram and link that app to Facebook to keep my family and friends updated, but if anyone wants to learn more this will still be the place to do that.  Thanks for reading.

"The only difference is that today, with what we know and what we're learning to do, we really can bring our dreams to life. It takes a lot of work, but the truth is, if we can dream it, we can do it." - dialogue from Horizons at EPCOT Center

A Time of Transition

Hello readers!  It has been a few months since my last post and in that time I've been thinking about this blog.  While I set out to create a place to share my hobby with family and friends, along the way I began to realize the blog was a creation unto itself beyond my original ideas.  I also realized that the blog wasn't working like I'd intended and that simply creating posts for their own merit, while interesting, wasn't enough to sustain the effort I was putting into that work.  Add in the Walthers 2022 National Model Railroad Build Off contest, and the blog was the first thing to go to make room for that undertaking.

Now there's a move on the horizon to a new home, and a new phase of life.  My mother will be moving across the country to live with us and this is a wonderful, exciting adventure for her and us together.  There's no firm timetable as of yet, but as with any such transition, it will happen when it happens and it will likely happen all of a sudden.  The hobby as it stands, and so much else, will be put on hold and set into stasis until we're settled into the new place.

Will the blog resume when the dust settles?  I don't know.  During the construction of my entry in the Walthers contest I have begun utilizing Instagram and Facebook to share my progress as it is far simpler than creating a blog post.  I believe blogging is for writing, explaining, and presenting ideas that require more than a photo can provide on its own.  (This is why "Wordless Wednesday" posts make little sense to me on a blog platform.  They may not be useless in a larger scheme of sustaining interest in a blog; they just aren't taking full advantage of the functionality of blogging.)  But I have found far more connection to my family and friends through those platforms than on blogger.  This was the original thrust of the blog after all.

Thank you to all who have regularly visited this blog.  I hope to post an update on the topics I've begun here, to tie up loose threads, sometime in the next year if not sooner.  

Galen

More Practice

After sharing the last post about Practice, I immediately thought of a few ideas about how model railroaders might do just that - practice!  In no particular order, here they are:

Fos Scale Models Kit of the Month Club

This is a pretty cool idea from a relatively newer craftsman kit manufacturer who has been making deep inroads into that market.  If you've watched Jason Jensen build anything, you've likely seen a FOS Scale Models kit, and probably one of these offerings.  For about a dollar a day, you get twelve kits a year.  Or to put it another way, for the price of one South River Model Works or Fine Scale Miniatures kit resold on eBay, you get twelve little HO scale structure kits.  

Now $375 sounds like a lot all at once.  But how many modelers buy a single craftsman kit for that much, only to leave it on the shelf because they're afraid they might ruin it?  And ruin it they might - the fear is not unfounded if their modeling eyes have been bigger than their skills!  Setting aside the Sunk Cost Fallacy, I think it is still better to practice new techniques on smaller models over a longer time, than to dive in and take on a huge project only to lose steam part way through and leave it to gather dust.  Practice can give a person confidence to take on a larger project because the necessary skills are no longer unknown variables.

Walthers Build-A-World

Another option with a high cost up front is a new offering from Walthers.  Designed to build a full range of skills from laying track to building scenery and structures, this is a service that delivers - literally - a box of tools and supplies to your doorstep each month for six months.  The modeler follows along with a video series where experts guide them through the necessary steps to complete that month's tasks.  At the end of the process the modeler has completed one of three dioramas, (selected beforehand).

Again, $399 is a chunk of change.  It is also the cost of a new locomotive with DCC and sound, less than season tickets to the NFL franchise of your choice, and FAR less than season tickets to any NBA team.  How many movies can you see for $400?  With popcorn?  You get the idea.  While both of these options could possibly be assembled more cheaply by purchasing your own supplies or small kits, the missing factor in either case would be the pre-arranged delivery schedule.  That kit is going to show up each month.  That can be a wonderful external stimulus.

Other Options?

I have tried twice to write something positive about model railroad forums and the NMRA, only to end up grouchy and irritated.  Suffice it to say, if you find either of those options helpful, whether through periodic "challenge" builds on forums or the Achievement Program of the NMRA, good for you.  Personally I have issues with both even though I have only participated in forum challenges in the past.  Unfortunately the Attaboy Culture, at least for me, tends to rob praise of any meaning and bury or outright dismiss honest criticism as being harsh or a buzzkill.  Neither setting seems to be conducive to any structured form of practicing a technique or mastering a skill through repeated, deliberate activity.

That said, I believe joining with a group of like-minded peers to take on a group build project or learn a new skill together would be a great benefit to anyone willing to give and receive constructive criticism.  There are stories, legends really, on old VHS tapes, about "round-robin" groups with contrived names like "Hartford Workshop" or "Friday Night Choirboys" that would work on each other's railroads, visiting a different home each month.  Does anyone do this anymore?  Sure, many modelers may be lone wolves by choice and some of us by default, but if being part of a small group like this is possible, it could be a venue for the kind of encouragement and feedback that drives good practice.

If it is to be...

...it is up to me!  That was the slogan printed on a long ream of printer paper (the kind with the holes down the sides on strips you'd carefully tear away...remember that?) that hung in a middle school band classroom I visited once.  Sometimes practice is simply done as a daily discipline, mustered and motivated by a passion within or driven by a performance deadline.  Sure, a peer group for feedback would be great, but when the op session is over and the snacks have been consumed and you're left alone in the train room, who do you have to please, ultimately, but yourself?  

I for one like the idea of practicing a technique - not just trying out a new thing once - in order to gain confidence in my ability to create what I'm envisioning.  For me one such technique is applying static grass.  I only recently built my SG-1 static grass applicator and have used it exactly twice, just to try it out.  But before I apply even a blade of grass to the Pine Branch Park scenery I will be practicing on smaller test strips to learn how it behaves best and see what I can do with it.

What skill do you need to practice? 

 

Practice

The YouTube algorithm suggested this video as one I might like to watch.  It was right, this time.  I don't know anything, really, about this man but I like what he has to say in this video.  I also think there's a few nuggets for model railroaders to mine here.

There's one idea that Mr. Roberts proposes that really stuck with me and caused me to ponder; practice.  Model railroading, like it or not, is a creative art form, and is a reflection of the modeler's skill.  I say, "like it or not" because I think there's a tendency among some modelers to say, "I'm not an artist" as a way of excusing what they believe is a poor scenic result, or as a way of distancing themselves from the more overtly artistic modelers, such as the oft maligned Malcolm Furlow*.

They may resign themselves to a "Plywood Pacific" railroad, since track laying, benchwork and wiring aren't considered "artistic" skills, but engineering skills.  While these skills do take practice to master, it could be perceived as easier and less painless to relay track or fix wiring instead of ripping out scenery.  That may be because these functional aspects of the railroad are less heart and more head, so to speak, whereas scenery reflects a vision of a place that is likely connected to a mood or feeling.  We are less likely to rip out or redo something we're emotionally invested in.  

And I think model railroaders are more likely to use the word "experienced" when speaking of a skilled modeler, rather than someone who is naturally "artistic", meaning they don't need experience, but are born talented and take to a skill easily.  "Mastering a skill" is not a phrase I hear used by model railroaders.  That sounds too much like work, and this is a hobby, right?  Well....um....Is the implication there that hobbies don't take skill? 

Perhaps the problem is one of practice.  While I think it is environmentally irresponsible and perhaps signifies a lack of planning, there is some merit to Joe Fugate's "Chainsaw" layout idea, wherein the first layout a person builds is understood from day one to be destined for the dumpster.  That's because it is a test bed on which mistakes can be made without fear, knowing you likely won't be keeping the thing.  It is in essence, a practice layout. 

But maybe there's a better way.  Recently I was reflecting on a diorama I had built and some of the mistakes I made during that project.  One such mistake was in the use of overly-coarse texture to represent a dirt path.  On close examination, my Dad remarked that some of the particles were large enough to be stones when viewed next to the man and his horse standing on that path.  He was right, and that observation was spot on.  While I haven't decided on the final disposition of that diorama, I'm not going to toss it in the dumpster!  The offending texture can be scraped away, vacuumed and replaced, or the structures and figures removed and used elsewhere.  (Full disclosure: I did take a hand saw to it, however, in order to divide it for use on a previous railroad.  I had initially planned to put it on the Pine Branch Park pike, but changed my mind.)

This is where people who paint miniatures or make sketches have an advantage.  A sketch can be recycled, literally, and a miniature can be stripped or painted over.  Scenicking a diorama or a larger area involves much much more than just paint or pencil and paper.  At bare minimum there's a layer of paint, then glue, and some sort of ground cover.  In more advanced scenic work there can be many layers of color and texture plus trees, shrubs, rocks, details, etc.  Starting over isn't as simple as tossing a model in a sonic cleaner with some LA's Totally Awesome.  

So how DO model railroaders practice?  Building many dioramas?  Multiple railroads?  And what about clubs?  The aforementioned diorama was built as part of a club challenge to kitbash a Life-Like General Store.  I used it as an opportunity to try some new techniques and materials, but is it practice?  It certainly fits with Mr. Robert's idea of a group challenge with peer feedback.  

I've been at this hobby long enough to see my own skills improve, but I can say without doubt that I have not "practiced" any of those skills.  I play the piano and I practice daily - deliberate practice.  I solicit feedback from peers and am considering taking some lessons again to improve my skills.  Though I am being paid to play the piano, I would still practice to improve my skill and thus increase my enjoyment of the instrument and the music I make with it.  So how much more would I enjoy my hobby if I practiced those skills that cause me grief - enough that I'd rather watch YouTube than sit at my workbench and face a potential failure?

*By the way, I absolutely love Furlow's work just as it is and I have always found it inspiring and enjoyable to look at.  When this pandemic is past us, the California State RR Museum's Model Railroading Exhibit is on my short list of places to visit sooner than later, primarily because Furlow's San Juan Central is on display there.