February 27, 2009 | Comments Off
Sure you are committed to railroading but are you bold enough to get yourself a tattoo?
Well, some of our fellow railfans have done just that.
February 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
As the demand for goods slumps, railroad boxcars have been filling up yards. And when these fill up companies are looking at dormant tracks and rail sidings to store these cars.
The nation’s five largest railroads have put more than 30% of their boxcars — 206,000 in all — into storage, according to the Association of American Railroads. Placed end-to-end, the cars would stretch from New York to Salt Lake City.
Meanwhile, the locomotives also been idling at the yards. This scene from Colton, California though sad, is quite impressive.
[via Trainz forum]
February 25, 2009 | Comments Off
Marklin-Users has some scratch building projects if you need an European flair for your layout. These HO scale plans of a loco shed, signal bridge and a freight station were created by Oded Kain and are in a JPG files.
Each side of the structure is clearly labeled and Oded does a great job showing the assembly diagram in color which make it easy for us.
If you are going to build these with cardstock, you would first print them out and then glue them on the cardstock. Then cut out the various parts. To apply texture, print a texture sheet using Modelbuilder or buy them from Scalescenes. Glue them on the cutout parts and proceed from there.
After i finish my barn, i plan to take on the freight station. As always, i will post my progress here.
So do check out Marklin-users for lot of good information and tips. I particularly liked the one about the cats 
February 23, 2009 | 3 Comments »
If you like to scare the paint off your scale figures, build them a paper model of the Bates House(from the movie Psycho) for them. The plans come in a pdf format (11 pages) and includes instructions.
The Bates House and other haunted collections are done by Ray Keim and are free to download and build. Though the mansions look complex, I am sure the finished building will be a treat for your layout. Check the builder’s gallery for inspiration.
About Scale/Printing:
The Bates House is in 1/66 scale so to convert it to your scale divide the scale number by the scale you want to model to get a percentage enlargement or reduction value.
For example, to go to HO (1/87) scale :
66/87 = 0.7586 which is approximately 75% reduction. So when you are ready to print, check your printer options where you can type in a percentage of reduction or scaling. Punch in 75 and you will have an approximate HO scale drawing ready to print and cut.
So, if you want to go to say O (1/48) scale:
66/48 = 1.375 which is approximately 137% enlargement.
For N scale: 66/160 = 0.412 which is around 40% reduction.
So, in summary, the Plan Conversion Formula Factor is:
(Scale of drawing plan / Scale you want to model) X 100
Reduce plan by the above factor if less than 100 or Enlarge if more than 100.
February 20, 2009 | Comments Off
This scene (WARNING: large image file) from the Kuranda Scenic Railway from Cairns, Queensland, Australia proves that trains do go through some of the most amazing parts of the world.
February 19, 2009 | Comments Off
As promised in my last scratchbuilding project, i wanted to show you my method of fading a sign for use in Modelbuilder.
I used Paint Shop Pro version 9 for this but you could also use the free Gimp software. The functions might be in a different name but will perform the same function. And as in any project, play with the effects/numbers to see what feels right for you.
The tutorial plays itself except in some slides, you will need to click the “arrow” button to proceed. Click on the picture for the video tutorial:
Note: For those interested, the tutorial was created using the free Wink software.
February 18, 2009 | 1 Comments »
Amtrak’s Acela Express, is cutting its lowest fares as much as 25 percent to entice business and leisure travelers.
Passengers need to get their tickets at least 14 days in advance will be able to travel between Boston and New York for $79 one way or between New York and Washington, DC, for $99 one way. These tickets are offered for travel between March 3 and June 26 and are non-refundable.
February 17, 2009 | Comments Off
I almost finished the barn this weekend. The roof needs to be done and some details here and there need to be added. For more detailed steps, including materials used and making windows, please check my scratchbuilding series.
The most important lesson in scratchbuilding is having fun. When the fun turns to be a chore then please stop. Rushing through the modeling, thinking of it as a chore will cause any of the following: a nick or cut on your model by your sharp hobby knife, a touch of paint where you don’t want or a dab of white glue somewhere undesirable. Yes! all of these happened to me so i decided to stop trying to complete it for this posting.
Click on the picture for the barns’ progress so far:
February 13, 2009 | Comments Off
Trailer for the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. Car crashes in a train movie! Go figure!
February 13, 2009 | 1 Comments »
Somewhat similar to the old BASIC snake game…
