Some 18-20 years ago a Jim/James Lucas sold scratch built structures on Ebay. I never won one as the prices really went high as you will believe when I post a few photos.
When I built one of the Boiler Makers kits for Jimmy D., he also had a Jim Lucas build one. I don't know if this is the same Lucas or not.
One build went on Jimmy's Pennsy Middle Division. I was happy to see Jimmy used my build of Boiler Makers on his layout. The one Mr. Lucas built traveled with Jimmy for a year or so to the trade shows.
Anyway, I was curious if anyone has any of Mr. Lucas' structures or knows if he is still building.
Here are several photos of Mr. Lucas' scratch built Earl's Auto.
I copied the photos from the Ebay sales auction.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416171843.jpeg) (http://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416171843.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416171856.jpeg) (http://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416171856.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416171909.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416171923.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416171937.jpeg)
More in a few.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416171950.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416172006.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416172018.jpeg)
More to follow.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416172049.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416172100.jpeg)
And, the final three of Earl's Auto.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416172122.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416172141.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-120416172153.jpeg)
Tom,
I remember that modeler. Never purchased any of his builds but after checking one of my backup drives this morning, may have found photos of some of his past Ebay offerings. Let me post a few photos that was saved on my b/u drive as a future modeling reference and tell me if you think this is his work. Bid on his auctions too, but they all went for big bucks years ago, and never won one. May have taken dozens of photos of his auctions because his builds were outstanding.
Tom
Tom,
Thanks for checking in. The top photo may be one of his but I'd need to see the entire structure or at least a full frontal look. He really weathered the walls much more than the walls in the top photo. This next structure has less weathered walls than normal for his work.
Here is his Wilson's Milk structure.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-140416142705.jpeg)
Tom ;D
How about this structure. What came first the chicken or the egg?
Lucas' Hotel Davenport with Finnigan's Bar.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-140416141554.jpeg) (http://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-140416141554.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-140416143336.jpeg) (http://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-140416143336.jpeg)
Or George Sellios' Hotel Darby with Callahan's Bar?
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-140416142021.jpeg) (http://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-140416142021.jpeg)
Looks like some nice builds. I wonder what happened to him.
Impressive work.
Jeff
Quote from: S&S RR on April 14, 2016, 06:42:11 PM
Looks like some nice builds. I wonder what happened to him.
John,
Jim was/maybe still is a superior modeler. I have other photos of his work I'll be sharing over the next few weeks.
Tom ;D
Quote from: Zephyrus52246 on April 14, 2016, 07:55:31 PM
Impressive work.
Jeff
Jeff,
Thanks for stopping by. Wait 'til you see his others. Very impressive to say the least.
Tom ;D
Tom (ACL),
Figured out how to identify the work of the mystery structure builder. All of the photos that were ever posted on Ebay by him have a underscore 12 in the file name. Have over 100 different photo builds saved on my b/u drive. Check these photos out , and look at the file names, as I did not change the file name years ago when the photos were saved. The photos I posted yesterday are all his work. After you are done posting all the photos you have to show, I will check my photos to see if anything is missing. Also did not have a photo of Wilson's Milk found on my b/u drive, so might have missed some of his Ebay listings. Mike Engler just posted a photo with a link of a Master Creations build by him from several years ago in this thread too.
Thanks !
Tom
http://modelersforum.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1973.0;attach=21675;image
I would say there is a good chance "Earl's Auto" and "Roscoe's" were built by the same modeler based on the siding treatment and the style of shingling in both.
Very accomplished structure builder.
You guys have been looking for Mr. Lucas for a long time:
Model Railroad Forums • View topic - eBay crazies
www.kitforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3206&start=60
Re: eBay crazies. Thu Nov 04, 2010 11:12 pm. I have not heard of James Lucas. He does good work. Will James Lucas be at CSS 2010? Will you be at CSS ...
A Jim Lucas made one post on MRRForums in 2009.
Mastercreations Coach works
Just finished another project, thouht I would share some photos. A very nice kit but the instructions will drive one nuts. best thing is to
work from the pictures.
by Jim Lucas
Fri Aug 21, 2009 4:31 pm
Forum: The Craftsman's Workshop
Topic: Mastercreations Coach works
Replies: 20
Views: 2215
Here is the link: http://kitforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2623&p=42082#p42082
This is quite a diorama. Several photos in the thread. Someone must know this fellow.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/21-140416222320.jpeg)
I've thought about attempting a scratch-build of the coachworks kit- that build is very nice!
Bob C
Mike,
Thanks for the research on Lucas. I do believe he was the one who built the other Boilermakers Brewery for Jimmy D. I remember now sending him an email and asking him if these were his builds. He responded in the affirmative.
Not sure where he is now.
Tom ;D
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on April 14, 2016, 08:38:40 PM
Tom (ACL),
Figured out how to identify the work of the mystery structure builder. All of the photos that were ever posted on Ebay by him have a underscore 12 in the file name. Have over 100 different photo builds saved on my b/u drive. Check these photos out , and look at the file names, as I did not change the file name years ago when the photos were saved. The photos I posted yesterday are all his work. After you are done posting all the photos you have to show, I will check my photos to see if anything is missing. Also did not have a photo of Wilson's Milk found on my b/u drive, so might have missed some of his Ebay listings. Mike Engler just posted a photo with a link of a Master Creations build by him from several years ago in this thread too.
Thanks !
Tom
Tom B.,
You may be correct. I renamed all my files so I have no clue! One I didn't rename in my Jim Lucas file had 33-12.jpg.
I have 118 photos of Jim Lucas structures. I'll post them here over the next few weeks. I'd like to see what you have as well if you don't mind posting them.
Tom ;D
I remember attending an early CSS in Mansfield. Not the first one, I think, but maybe '08 or '09. There was a table set up in the vendor's room by the right side door. It had several postcard sized photos of the models shown here as well as others (except the Coachworks). One of the show organizers (He whose name must not be spoken) was nearby and I asked him about them. He told me they were photos of scratchbuilt models that had been sold on eBay, and that the modeler's name was Jim Lucas. The photos caught my eye because I had seen them on eBay and also had saved many of them to now old hard drives. I seem to also remember that he said Jim was from California. Anyway the plan, at the time, was that Jim was going to produce them as kits. I never heard any more about this and, sadly, it seems it never happened.
I checked the old forum, and Jim Lucas joined in March 2009. He made only one post. The one referenced above, and the last time he visited the forum was 2011. In 2009, when he joined, he listed his age as 75. If so, he would be at least 82 now, so he may be retired. But I hope he's well and still building great models.
And that's all I have to say about that.
Geo2rge aka timbob60
Quote from: ACL1504 on April 15, 2016, 10:00:42 AM
Quote from: tom.boyd.125 on April 14, 2016, 08:38:40 PM
Tom (ACL),
Figured out how to identify the work of the mystery structure builder. All of the photos that were ever posted on Ebay by him have a underscore 12 in the file name. Have over 100 different photo builds saved on my b/u drive. Check these photos out , and look at the file names, as I did not change the file name years ago when the photos were saved. The photos I posted yesterday are all his work. After you are done posting all the photos you have to show, I will check my photos to see if anything is missing. Also did not have a photo of Wilson's Milk found on my b/u drive, so might have missed some of his Ebay listings. Mike Engler just posted a photo with a link of a Master Creations build by him from several years ago in this thread too.
Thanks !
Tom
Tom B.,
You may be correct. I renamed all my files so I have no clue! One I didn't rename in my Jim Lucas file had 33-12.jpg.
I have 118 photos of Jim Lucas structures. I'll post them here over the next few weeks. I'd like to see what you have as well if you don't mind posting them.
Tom ;D
Tom,
Here are the 2 photos that we have here with file names with @ 33_12 or 33_12_sb on my b/u drive. See if they match the photo at your end. Also note... he did also use the letters _12_sb in some of his file names too......Have not done this type of work since my time in military intel... ;D
Tommy
Quote from: Timbob60 on April 15, 2016, 10:53:22 AM
I remember attending an early CSS in Mansfield. Not the first one, I think, but maybe '08 or '09. There was a table set up in the vendor's room by the right side door. It had several postcard sized photos of the models shown here as well as others (except the Coachworks). One of the show organizers (He whose name must not be spoken) was nearby and I asked him about them. He told me they were photos of scratchbuilt models that had been sold on eBay, and that the modeler's name was Jim Lucas. The photos caught my eye because I had seen them on eBay and also had saved many of them to now old hard drives. I seem to also remember that he said Jim was from California. Anyway the plan, at the time, was that Jim was going to produce them as kits. I never heard any more about this and, sadly, it seems it never happened.
I checked the old forum, and Jim Lucas joined in March 2009. He made only one post. The one referenced above, and the last time he visited the forum was 2011. In 2009, when he joined, he listed his age as 75. If so, he would be at least 82 now, so he may be retired. But I hope he's well and still building great models.
And that's all I have to say about that.
Geo2rge aka timbob60
George,
Great information, thanks for digging it up and adding your comments. I just reviewed my old build thread on Boilermakers Brewery on the old forum. Jim Lucas did in fact build the second Boilermakers. Check near the bottom of the page.
http://www.kitforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5203&hilit=boilermakers&start=290
Tom ;D
Tom B.,
Here is my 33-12. It's the back of Wilson's Milk.
Tom ;D
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416124953.jpeg)
The Union Ice Company is one of my favorite Lucas builds. I have plans to scratch build one in the distance future.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416133258.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416133315.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416133522.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416133620.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416133651.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416133705.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416133746.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416133800.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416133820.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416133835.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/24-150416133852.jpeg)
I remember now emailing Mr. Lucas back in 2010. I sent him a photo of one of his structures and asked if it was his model. He responded and said it was.
I also asked him if he ever considered doing any of the models into kits. He sad he had and was thinking about making a few into kits. I never heard anything after that.
Tom ;D
Gregg W. teamed up with Jim Lucas on many of the fantastic dioramas for Gregg's layout. I assume its the same guy.
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22998
There are links to the diorama builds a little down the page, and Jim is always given credit by Gregg, so you should be able to work out which builds he was involved in. Some of the best dioramas ever built IMO.
Cheers, Mark.
Quote from: mark dalrymple on April 17, 2016, 05:47:42 AM
Gregg W. teamed up with Jim Lucas on many of the fantastic dioramas for Gregg's layout. I assume its the same guy.
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22998 (http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22998)
There are links to the diorama builds a little down the page, and Jim is always given credit by Gregg, so you should be able to work out which builds he was involved in. Some of the best dioramas ever built IMO.
Cheers, Mark.
Mark,
thanks for the update, but i have another question to expand this thread. What ever happened to Gregg W. Another great modeler is missing and inquirying minds would like to see how he is doing on his C&D railroad.
Frank / Erieman
Yes. That GreggW thread and layout is one I have pored over. Fantastic work!
John
Mark solved the riddle. Jim Lucas worked with Greg Wenzel (GreggW on RRLine forum) on many spectacular dioramas, and Gregg's layout is incredible. Here is a link to the RRLine thread on his C&D Railroad. The first page has links to many of the build threads on the dioramas. Gregg hasn't been active on that forum lately, but I will try and get in touch with him:
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20915
Gregg posted this reply to the same question directed to him on another forum on the 10th of this month.
I have been very busy lately, enjoying work, travel, family and life in general. No time yet for modeling, but I am getting "the modeling bug", so maybe soon. You will find more modeling examples at the following two links. http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26790
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22998
Enjoy!!
Gregg
It was no riddle for me, Mike, I often check in on Gregg and Jim's amazing work for inspiration.
Cheers, Mark.
IIRC, one of the last projects Gregg posted was a huge (Gothic?) barn Jim scratch built based on photos of one from upstate NY. IIRC photos of the finished barn were posted on RR line. Again, IIRC, the barn was auctioned by Gregg with the proceeds going to charity. I have searched but cannot find this anywhere on the railroad-line forum. Anyone have any ideas how to find this?
Quote from: jerryrbeach on April 18, 2016, 01:24:27 PM
IIRC, one of the last projects Gregg posted was a huge (Gothic?) barn Jim scratch built based on photos of one from upstate NY. IIRC photos of the finished barn were posted on RR line. Again, IIRC, the barn was auctioned by Gregg with the proceeds going to charity. I have searched but cannot find this anywhere on the railroad-line forum. Anyone have any ideas how to find this?
Here is the link, it is on this diorama, excellent modeling !
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=28560
Tom
Tom,
You found it! Thank you!!! While I found the barn to be atypical of most barns in upstate NY, Jim's scratch built version is breathtaking, IMO.
If you haven't checked out this latest thread that Tom posted you are missing a real treat. Dozens and dozens of photos of a kit-bashed diorama by GreggW and Jim Lucas. The scratchbuilt barn below by Jim is beautiful, but then so is the entire diorama.
A person near and dear to our hearts has solved the question of what these two great model builders are up to now. Stay tuned!
This photo of the barn is one of many on this thread: http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=28560
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/21-190416095423.jpeg)
I'm bumpiong this thread as I found more Jim Lucas photos.
I'll be adding them in the next week or so.
Tom ;D
Just amazing work by Greg & Jim.
Every once in a while Gregg pops in on RR Line. He's hoping to get back to modeling very soon. Lets hope he does.
Jerry
Cool thread packed with awesome links and pics. Thanx Thom...
A few years back when Greggw was most active I followed his great layout and builds.
Quote from: tct855 on March 28, 2018, 01:05:31 PM
Cool thread packed with awesome links and pics. Thanx Thom...
Thom,
I'm going through several dozen photos and getting them ready for press. Stay tuned.
Tom ;D
Quote from: Lynnb on March 28, 2018, 02:30:38 PM
A few years back when Greggw was most active I followed his great layout and builds.
Lynn,
Gregg and Jim did some fantastic and crazy top of the world work. I never get to tired of looking at the models they have created over the years.
I didn't know Gregg had a layout.
Tom ;D
Ok Tom I'm going to make a couple assumptions, 1 Greggw and Greggw are one and the same and 2 http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=22998 this is the same Greggw's layout. He was one of the modelers that got me away from modeling a flat layout.