A small scene going on the new section of the layout. This is on the SKOL spur that runs out to the Port. Thanks for looking!
Progress on my faucet water filter to become a tank of some sort: I have some pipe I can insert into the spigots on the bottom (top in this inverted position) when I decide where it goes on the layout. Let's get tanked! (the weird brownish zigzags behind the nearest structures is an odd shadow effect of the flash)
Got a couple of HO scale truck projects going. This one is an old Sheepscot cast resin 1950 vintage Autocar C90. It will eventually go with a late '40's Fruehauf stock trailer. Most of the vehicles that I have built have been special purpose for stuff like the oil patch. This will be the first straight tractor that I've done in awhile. It will be roughly patterned after the attached prototype photo. The front bumper and exhaust stack are off to the right in the photo (in front of the truck). Sorry 'bout the lousy cellphone photos, but that's all I had with me at the time.
More progress on the kitscratched/scroungebashed/frankensteined tank: Ready to prime: The blue ring is a repurposed retaining ring from a lid off a container of mints. I was looking for something 2" in diameter and it fit the bill! Primer on: Just plain gray automotive primer. Painted and final details: Overall painted with some leftover auto paint I used to patch up my dearly departed 2003 GMC Jimmy (gone in 2016). Then used a silver paint pen to touch up the scaffolding, and a gray paint pen for the ring at the bottom. I also added that silver thingamajig on the side, just because it looks cool. Just as I took that last photo, the batteries in my camera died... so no layout photos yet... Best part is the fun doing it.
Camera batteries are charged, and now photos of what may be the final position for the tank: From the other side of the layout: Not bad for a spur-of-the-moment frankenbash job.
Okay, way too many projects going on, but it's fun. The initial idea on the MOW truck came from Tom Holley, a forum member. I'm building a Quanah, Acme and Pacific (QA&P) MOW truck and two trailers that will be QA&P. The trailers, I confess, are not Frisco prototype. But they were cheap, and that always speaks to my heart and my pocketbook. The trailers are Sylvan cast resin intermodal trailers that normally sell for $19 each. I got them for $9 each. The GMC cab over engine (COE) that is the basis for the QA&P truck was bought in the same purchase. It was also half price. Since I mostly model 1945 to 1955, a 1977 truck just would not look right to me as a MOW truck, so I back dated the truck to that era. The MOW truck photos came from Mike Condren's public website. It will be equipped similarly, but with some concessions to the era I model and to my modeling skills. A few photos are attached of the basic truck and the scratch-built crew cab that goes behind the stock cab. Nothing is anywhere near complete, but it gives the general idea. The trailers...well, I took some pretty liberal licenses with this project. They were originally going to be a couple of QA&P intermodals. But I found a 1951 Freightliner tandem axle tractor, not single axle, and decided to do a trailer with pup setup. Promotex makes a nice and inexpensive dolly for the rear trailer for $4.50 and some correct hitches to attach underneath the front trailer. So that saved me scratch building that entire rig. Files showing the proposed paint and the trailers in their current state are attached. If any of you are into vehicles--mostly HO, there is a great website that has thousands of trucks, trailers, cars and detail parts. The name is truckstophobbies1-87.com. The owner's name is Steve Beekhuizen and he is extremely helpful. Yesterday when the pup trailer idea hit me, I called him. He had the part numbers memorized for the proper dolly for the front of the rear trailer and the hitch for the back of the front trailer. He added them to an existing order so that I didn't have to pay shipping twice. It's fun just browsing the site. I've bought over a dozen trucks from him.
Do rock formations count if I do them at my kitchen table, er workbench ? What if they are still on the drawing / sketching board?
Yeah, the COE's are pretty neat. Since the prototype was a 1970ish COE, it seemed fitting to make the 1950 model a COE, as well.
A little progress on the QA&P MOW truck and some painting on the QA&P trailers. The trailers are going to be tandem trailer / pup like CF started using back in the fifties. Got a long way to go on both, but there's no hurry... The truck cab is going to need some weathering. The paint came out a much brighter yellow on the resin casting than on the styrene.
On the bench are three books and two DVDs about wiring and operation of DCC. For the DVDs I will need a player to view. I found the add on CD player that plugs into my new computer that doesn't have one. So I may have to pull out the defective old one that has one or go over to Wally World and see it they have one. The books are difficult as well. My eye is going out and my newer glasses got smashed by a car. So I'll have to wait for the VA clinic to wake up. But still tinkering on a new layout. HO/DCC and N/DC.
After lots of head scratching I figured out what might be a plausible 1950's era hoist for the bed of the MOW truck. Off the subject but Clare Gilbert, the owner of Sylvan models ( manufacturer of the basic truck kit) is a terrific person to deal with. Some of the tires on one model were deformed. I e-mailed Sylvan and he said he'd not only send me replacement tires, but he also asked what other models I had ordered or was working on and he sent a set of tires for everything I've bought recently. Once those tires come, the truck will be done except for decals and weathering.
I just added a NWSL The Puller and The Quarterer to the work bench. I like the old Bachmann Spectrum steam locos, and as we all know, Bachmann gears suck! In the past I have looked for driver sets in order to get new gears. Then I didn't have to replace the gear myself. But if you can find a set of drivers, it can be expensive, and you're stuck with another Bachmann gear. So now I will replace them with NWSL gears. In the middle of replacing this gear on a set of 4-6-0 right now.
It seems some models don't want to be built. They just want to stay in the box as un-built kits. This Chevrolet COE that is now a QA&P MOW truck is one of those. This model has been a challenge every step of the way. Sometimes you just have to realize that it's only a model and not that important in the eternal scheme of things. Once the replacement tires finally arrive from Canada this thing will be glued together, weathered a little and stuck on the layout. The trailers haven't been as bad, but they have also been somewhat of a challenge. They've got aways to go, but I'm waiting on tires for them, as well.
MOW truck is just about done. It will get a little weathering, and the figure closest to the truck will be painted to look like he's wearing overalls.
