Good Morning,

Rick thinks for the coffee and breakfast. The temps must be quite the change for you. Safe travels and hope the packing goes well. NO the lumber ever showed yesterday; hopefully today.

Curt hope your Dad's VA apt. goes well with good reports.

Tom hope you sleep better tonight; nap time?? Looking forward to the update if you feel up to it.

How's everyone else.

It's a cloudy 35 with a high of 45 here. Getting Ellie out of the house this afternoon making a trio to the $1.25 store then stopping at Arby's for a few roast beast & cheddar sandwiches...yum. Maybe some bench time this am working on the boiler build.

Have a great day!! Be well, safe travels, and keep warm.

Kyle I was wondering when I mentioned the sturdiness; that looks much better.

Mike thank you for the nice compliment; much appreciated.

Kyle nice rebuild. One question though, from your photos do you have any support under the foam? Otherwise I wouldn't put much of any pressure on it or it'll end up on the floor; as in a massive gorge.

Good Morning,

Rick thanks for the coffee and breakfast. Hope the shipping from Jersey to AZ. doesn't put too much of a dent in your wallet; it ain't cheap anymore. Say hi to Jerry and Diane for me.

Curt sounds like you had a busy day yesterday. Hope the water pipes aren't a big issue. I've seen photos of the Blue Sky Freight House and it looks like a nice kit.

What's your plans for the day.

It's a cloudy 30 with a high of 35; had a little white crap hit th ground yesterday pm. An errand to run shortly then some bench time starting on the boiler build. Hopefully my lumber shows up today at some point so I can continue with the Challenge.

Have a great day!! Be well, keep warm, and safe travels.

Mike that's coming along nicely; you're going to have a nice fleet of cars when you get finished.

Curt thank you for your nice compliment.

Rick thanks. Yes Rich came up with a really good idea and I do have a piece of the straw left so it's very doable when I get to it.

Mark that's quite the building. Your imagineering techniques are really good; but I think you'll be seeing windows in your sleep after this build.

Jerry and Rick thank you both.

Jerry I was thinking as I start detailing inside the building I might show a failed rafter on the left side busted and the end on the ground with the other end still on the wall; we'll see.

Dave thank you and I'll keep the oils stains in mind since this will be a woking steam engine.

Jerry thank you so much; I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.

Philip glad I got your attention.

Since I'm waiting on items for the Challenge, I went back and did some work on Hank's:



This is a new 3D printed item from Rusty Rail; a twin cylinder vertical steam engine. When I saw this about a month ago I knew I wanted it for the Shop since it's something totally different from the norm. The detail is incredible, very clean, and the price was very reasonable.

Started by spray painting the entire piece with flat black primer. After than dried I went over it with a mixture of raw umber & rust chalks with clear alcohol. After that dried I very carefully, so as not to break any tiny parts, went over it with a dry brush removing some of the excess chalks until I was satisfied with the look. The base was dry brushed with raw umber and grey chalks.





Here's a couple more photos of the rest of the engine. I'm going to add another pulley on the empty shaft so it lines up with the belt line making the control lever facing the front of the diorama and the steam pipe is facing the back so a boiler, yet to be detailed, steam line can be attached. I really like the look of this steam engine and it's uniqueness.

When I'm not working on the Challenge, then I'll make a concrete base for the engine/boiler area then start detailing the boiler. As always thanks for stopping by and for all your great comments and/or suggestions; they're appreciated.

Ron keep the white stuff up North. Hope you finish up the boxcars so you can get going on the Challenge.

Mike I get my wood from Northeastern Lumber. They're in Mass. so I usually get it in about 3 days from when it's ordered.

Tom glad you guys are feeling better but don't overdue; enjoy your nap.

Good Morning,

Curt thanks for the coffee and breakfast. Hope the un-decorating goes quick.Glad you were able to get the case together despite the colorful adjectives.

Rick enjoy your lunch with your friend.

Jerry Happy belated Birthday to Diane.

What's the rest of you doing.

It's 32 with a high of 36 here. Daughter and a friend went to Buffalo, NY to watch a NHL Sabers game yesterday; hope they won. Some bench time in the forecast working on Hank's while I wait for my lumber delivery; hopefully tomorrow. That's about it from here.

Hope everyone has a great day ahead!!! Be well and keep warm.

Rich thanks for your input and I have been giving the idea some consideration but probably not the way y'all expect.

Mark thank you. Once the the building is glued together then I'll run a beam across the front opening. As far as the roof goes there won't be much of one left. Thanks for the suggestions on the extra rafters.