MODELING It's Friday! 09-23-11 Weekend Modeling Plans.

Jim, you made the right call. New England will be soggy and wet this weekend, with unseasonably warm and humid weather besides. It's a time better spent working on your layout indoors.

I'll be heading up to New Hampshire on Saturday to take advantage of a 30% off everything in the store sale at Hobby Emporium in Tyngsboro, MA. (It's right on the border, so I'll do a bit of tax-free shopping a few hundred yards up the road, too.) After that, it will be back to installing window glazing, curtains, blinds and shades on the Merchants Row kit. The painting is done, so now it's time to think about the interior for the stores and a couple of the upstairs "apartments."

Still on the to-do list is the road in front of the diner, and turf and ground foam next to that. That's one of those "football projects" that I can work on Sunday while watching the games.

 

Going to my Local Hobby Store tomorrow to find handlaying spikes, plastic cement, end of track bumpers and a building sufficient for a yard office. Chances are pretty good that he wont have any of those except for the plasic cement. Pittsburgh or Teays Valley are just too far @ $3.69/gal for a day trip to spend even more money. My sister is moving to Hermitage, PA next month, so now I can always stop at the Pittsburgh hobby stores on the visit. I hear the B&LE/CP runs nearby, maybe railfan some of that area too if I get lucky.

Anyways, back on subject.... I also need to get more rubbing alcohol, white glue, etc for ballasting my yard. I have about 1/2 done, would like to get the other half done this weekend. Going back to work next week after 2 weeks off my wife and I to recover. I would like to get to laying out and installing my switch parts next week if I do actually find spikes tomorrow at the LHS.

 

Rainy weekend here in the DC area (not that I had plans out of the house anyway) and another early morning with the little now-1-year-old. So my weekend modeling plans have already been started! First, my son and I found a part of a wooden box that used to hold a magnet board for magnetic letters. The metal part fell off and the sliding cover went missing awhile back, so why not find a new use for it? We're turning it into a little diorama that can be used for testing locomotives, taking photos anywhere (outdoors especially), and just to experiment with scenicking skills. Should be fun.

Also, I just mounted the other coupler on the box cab and am working on trying a coupler on the 59-tonner. The conversion adapter is scratch-built using bits of styrene and I'm working on adjusting it so the spring works correctly. Not sure this will work though as it seems that a medium or long shank will likely be necessary. (update: necessity of a longer coupler solution is confirmed)

Might tinker with building a cardstock building if I have time. And I'll be lubing and breaking in my newest locomotive (a LifeLike SW9/SW1200 in Southern livery that my drummer got for me over 10 years ago and finally sent to me). Probably won't get around to the headlights on the boxcab, but we'll see.

 

If I get a chance, I am going to saw my plywood base and endplates for one PNW-On30 module and one PNW-FreemoN module. I have some Baltic Birch plywood and the non-rainy driveway days are going to come to a close before I know it.

Sunday afternoon I will be running the last day of the summer open houses at Portland Area N-Trak in SW Portland. Those in the area should stop on by as our club and BMRC (HO scale) will be closed after this until December. Time is 1-4 PM. Admission is free, but bring a little for ice cream if that appeals.

Adam

 

I'm sure excited to see how these progress.... :tb-biggrin:
My plans for this weekend include re-arranging the layout room. I've been so busy building and installing DCC etc., that I have let the place become a cluttered mess.........that has to change!! ( I share a 12' x 20' finished basement room with my grandson's small HO layout, and the "Thomas" we can't bear to get rid of, so it NEEDS TLC).
If I don't run out of steam, I'm going to install my new "Zephyr" system, and hopefully.........get back to running a train or two.

 

Well, I got home yesterday after being gone for work for the last couple of weeks.

Now that I have all of the track and switches on hand and the door ready, I plan on working on getting the trackplan finalized.

 

Picked up two BLMA modern signals for the layout. They are physically installed but not wired up yet. They are beautiful! (Can't believe I'm saying that about a model!)

Keep it up BLMA!

I also picked up more Kadee wheels to keep replacing..

Trying to start working on where the farms and some of the other scenery are going to go.

 

Scenery, scenery, and more scenery, the open house is only two weeks away.

 

I have a NS SD40-2 (Kato) to convert into a high hood NS(SOU) example with sound and working ditchlights

Jon

 

Not much going on here, just drilling a million #80 holes for grabs irons, lift rings, ect.

 

I put working signals on two of my T-Trak modules using Atlas signals and control boards. While they do work the signal aspects (leds) do not light up bright enough to be seen where the layout gets set up. I tried to use NJ International signals but they are wired opposite of the Atlas and won't work with the Atlas control bd,s. So this weekend and into a portion of next week i'll be wiring up the NJ international signals with relays on the modules.

 

That is a GP 60M and a GP 60B right? Where did you get the shells? Or have the FVM GP 60s hit the stores already?

 

Yes, they're a GP60M & B. They're JnJ shells that I was able to get for barely nothing on ebay.