C-WW I'm at the point now where I want to start super detailing some areas. It all started after looking at a book loaded with photos of the Franklin and South Manchester. Wow! So, where can a person find/make junk and garbage to throw around a scene? Particularly inexpensive, or free, junk! [ March 29, 2006, 03:38 PM: Message edited by: watash ]
Sajay, One thing, never throw anything away! If you wind up with leftovers from a kit don't toss them! put them in a box, soon you will need a bigger box!! I always look through the Walthers catalog or the old modeling magazines for ideas. I have a couple of softcover books I got, something like "XXX detailing tips for structures & scenery". The older of the 2 has a lot of frugal tips, don't know if it's still in print. Many have tried to get George to market all the neat details on his layout to no avail. If you can, rent the Allen Keller videos on George's layout there are some good ideas on those! 2slim
Sajay, Do you have any old locos or parts to them, how 'bout plastic wheel sets, now that you've gone to metal, or the original couplers that came with some boxcars or locos? Hope this helps.
I have some old rusty Bachmans sitting on my "scrap track" in my yard(whoever said that Bachmans are good for nothing are wrong..lol). Don't throw away those pieces of track that were torn apart, paint them a rusty color and lay the ties and rails along the track like the prototypes do. As mentioned above, take some old wheelsets and maybe some gears from old locomotives and rust them up and lay them beside the engine house or car shop.
take something really hot to some of those plastic vehicles(Bachmanns) pain them a little heavy weathered, and you have a junked auto that can go ANYWHERE.
Funny! I have an old Bachmann steamer sitting behind the engine house collecting dust. They do serve a purpose - not the intended one mind you.
We've been cussing & discussing MR reviews, the NMRA, brass, and crap models put out by manufacturers, and an idea has come to me. While you COULD modify some of the locos & rolling stock for use on your model RR (I have two AHM gons modified in such a manner, and they're carrying scrap), you could also take scrap Tyco & LifeLike (pre-Proto), weather the crud out of 'em, cut 'em up, and place in a scrapyard- kind of an HO scale Pielet Brothers (the scrapyard across from EMD in La Grange, IL) I would recommend judicious use of Floquil Rust, Grimy Black, & similar colors to make the scrap metal look really pitiful.
Painted plastic drinking straws make good pipes... and tinfoil weathered with rust looks great as scrap sheetmetal. D6
I went to a near by machine shop for scrape shavings to put in my gondola cars to simulate scrape metal and weathered it up till it was sad looking and installed it in my cars You can even set it around a scrape yard and such, the good thing about a near by machine shop is that most chances you can get scrape shavings of aluminum and do your own thing to it and 30 years down the road it didn't rust on its own!!!! You make it rust by means of paint and weathering. And won't have to worry about replacing it or cleaning it up for the mess it would have left if it were tin, steel, or iron. Also aluminum is non magnetic and won't collect in the motors of your loco's. Which is the best part of using it [ 24 March 2001: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
Thanks for the help guys! Any suggestions for vacant lots, areas around buildings, etc.? I'm especially interested in cheap, or free, and readily available junk.
Old watch and clock parts make great gear junk.I use them on and around my machine shop and roundhouse.Looks neat leaning against the walls. RRman48 RUSTYB FRISCO4EVER
sajay, I have been taking the older dead engines apart from 1970-80s AHM, Lima, IHC, etc. that I have gotten at shows, etc. These have great gears in the trucks for loads, etc. Steve ww.NYandW.com
