Good Morning Folks;

Well coffee is on, bacon is sizzling, eggs ready for the pan, grab a glass of orange juice and pull up a chair.

March is living up to its reputation, it has come in like a lion. I hope everyone in path of today's weather is ready, the storms expected are scary strong. We are lucky here in Florida, just another nice day. Yesterday we went outside and saw the rocket heading up to the space station, it never gets old to see. Then on TV I saw the first stage come back and land. Unbelievable. 

Yesterday I made good progress on my current model, adding some lighting, placing signs, even put some gutters and downspouts on it. I am at a stage where I am doing what for me are the fun things. Today hope to finish signs, electric and start cleaning up the look of some parts. Hope everyone has a great day. 
Jim

Good Morning;

Looks like a late start, for those in Florida, look to the east coast tonight around 7pm as they send the rocket up to get the astronauts that are stuck at space station. It is the third try but I think this one will be a go.

Off to coffee, hope everyone has a great day.

Jim

Morning Folks;

Clubhouse open and coffee is on. Grab a mug or get a soda out of the frig, a new day is here. Woke up to chilly weather  today but nice and sunny so not bad at all. Plan to get my walk in soon then some house chores. After will get some work on the layout today.Hope everyone has a great day.

Jim 

Good Morning Folks;

Just sat down to check what passes as news this morning on internet with a freshly ground coffee in hand. Dunkin donuts on the counter, help yourself.

We woke up to 40 degree weather today, chilly for us but going into the 70's with blue skies! I watched the latest Starship attempt yesterday as they fired it off in Texas yesterday. The advances they are making between SpaceX and Blue Origin are nothing short of amazing. Watching the launch pad actually capture the first stage booster after sending starship on its way was incredible. Then to once again have engine failure on starship and in real time watch it go out of control, ugg. Just shows how complex it is going to be to travel into space. I was told number 9 attempt is already planned, amazing.

For myself, I am going to be content with scratch building and finishing the loading docks for around the model warehouse project today. We have the a/c guy coming for annual maintenance too but that is about it. Well off to morning walk, hope everyone has a great day.

Here is a photo of a FSM kit I made for the local museum a few years back. It represented a real lumber operation in the area around 1900 called Heasters. 

Jim

Good Morning Folks;

Looks like a late opening to the clubhouse. I am already on my second cup of coffee but for some reason moving slow today. We are suppose to get a change in the weather today with storms this afternoon. I saw morning news and they showed MN, cold and snow. Anyhow for those following the winter challenge this is the last month. I need to catch up to all the builds but I will tell you some really fine modeling has gone into this years structures! Impressive.

So yesterday's photo was sugar cane, who knew. Today's looks pretty cool, enjoy.

Jim

Good Morning Everyone;

Yep, coffee is on and diet sodas for those who prefer. Clubhouse doors now open. We have had some great weather for last few days and looks like another great one out there. I am working around the house a little and then out to the garage for some playtime. 

Todays photo is well I am not sure but looked different.

Jim

Hope everyone has a great day.

Good Morning Folks;

I'm up early so clubhouse is open, coffee ready and soft drinks on ice. Hoping one of you guys that know how to cook (I can ruin a bagel) lites the stove and scrambles some eggs. Did not get much sleep last night, no reason just happens sometimes.

Yesterday after some colorful language I was able to get almost all the lights on my project working in a solid reliable manner. Two of the hand made outdoor fixtures still acting up, might have broke a wire in the neck so will look into that today but overall electric is done and I can get back to the fun stuff. I think I will design some neat downspouts for the project to look like the old copper style used back in 1900's.

Well off to another cup of coffee. Oh today's high 75 so windows already open. Have a great day.

Jim

Good Morning Folks;

Looks like I get to open the club house and start the coffee, Dark Roast Starbucks today.  We are going to have Chamber of Commerce day today, started out at 54 and going up to 78 with not a cloud in the sky. Same tomorrow.

Not sure what is on today's plate, I imagine some benchtime will work its way into the schedule. Well clubhouse is open, heat is on, grab a cup and enjoy the day.

Jim

Good Morning;

Woke up to gray rainy weather, oh well, good day to play on layout. Coffee is hot and donuts available. Hope everyone has a great day. 1910 Power Building. I used it as a model for one I made.

Jim

Good Morning Folks;

I will open the clubhouse today. Potbelly stove on, coffee brewing and pastries set out. Grab a chair.  Woke up to chilly gray weather. Apparently we have a freeze warning coming in tonight so Florida will be cold like most of the country tomorrow. 

I am still not happy with results on the roof of building I am making so think I will start again and see if I can do better. Other than that not much on agenda today. Have a great day. Todays photo is of an old 1900 mill located in central Florida called Hesters Mill. It did have a railroad siding.

Jim

Hope everyone remembers the Hallmark Card promotion day! Woke up to the smell of dark french roast coffee! Simple toast with jelly on the menu today. Weather? Well let's just say you should be down here in Florida today!

I worked on making and installing just ten outdoor lights on the flour mill yesterday, those hair thin magnetic wires are a pain in the a@@ to thread and solder. But it is done and who knows what we will get into today. I do know I am taking my sweetie out for dinner later.. Have a great day. folks.

Jim

Good Morning Folks;

Coffee is on, donuts ready. Planning some bench time and who knows what. Have a great day.

Jim

Hard to top an earthquake for excitement, but I'll try.

How about free magazines?

Here's a screenshot of just some titles I found on Libby:



My local library is a member of a larger consortium of local libraries and as such offers Hoopla, Flipster and Libby which are different digital streaming platforms.

My library offers access to them for free. Obviously, your library might differ.

All three offer some magazine titles amongst their listings, but as far as I can find, only Libby offers titles of interest to the subject matter here. Here is a screenshot of titles I got after searching "Railroad" within Libby's magazine section.

Searching Libby's magazines for "modeling" returns more periodical titles like Model Rail, Model Engineer, Model Railway (Australia) but at 4 pages of results, too many to capture in a single screen shot.  Of note to many here is that list also contains Fine Scale Modeler

I searched around before posting this information here, here is the best I could come up with as a relative newcomer.  Moderators please direct it to where it fits best.Hard to top an earthquake for excitement, but I'll try.

How about free magazines?

Here's a screenshot of just some titles I found on Libby:



My local library is a member of a larger consortium of local libraries and as such offers Hoopla, Flipster and Libby which are different digital streaming platforms.

My library offers access to them for free. Obviously, your library might differ.

All three offer some magazine titles amongst their listings, but as far as I can find, only Libby offers titles of interest to the subject matter here. Here is a screenshot of titles I got after searching "Railroad" within Libby's magazine section.

Searching Libby's magazines for "modeling" returns more periodical titles like Model Rail, Model Engineer, Model Railway (Australia) but at 4 pages of results, too many to capture in a single screen shot.  Of note to many here is that list also contains Fine Scale Modeler

I searched around before posting this information here, here is the best I could come up with as a relative newcomer.  Moderators please direct it to where it fits best.

Good Morning;

Clubhouse is open, coffee is ready. Not sure what the day will bring today. Have a doc appointment for skin check and have to clean garage again. Other thenn that day is mine. Oh, we have a pool going in as well. It seems to be coming along. Have a great day folks.

Jim 

Good Morning Everyone;

Well it is already Christmas Eve, where did the year go? The clubhouse is open, coffee on so let the the day start. I'm making some progress on the flour mill and some more time put in on the bridge idea I have. I hope to do a little more on it today in addition to helping fix the house up for Christmas. Our daughter and husband are joining us tomorrow morning so should be a great day. Have a great day everyone.

Jim

Well coffee pot is on and ready so I will open the club house for the day. My football team, Tampa Bay Bucs found a way to keep playoff hopes alive but not by much. I made progress on the flour mill yesterday and hope to continue some today.

We got our first frost of the year last night but I like it since it kills back the bugs here in Florida. As for today, just some house work and then bench time it looks like. Hope everyone has a great day.

Jim

Looks like I will open the clubhouse today. The wife and her sisters are already off to shop at Costco's and a outlet mall so it appears the pups and I have the house to ourselves. I'm in the garage as I write this and I see one of the pups is at the golf cart looking for a ride so I know at least one thing I will be doing today. I also plan on more work on winter challenge build and watching the Bucs on TV. Just another crazy day at the Donovan's. Hope your day is great too.

Jim

I will be placing a build thread in the contest area as well. It will not be judged for the contest but will be judged for the AP program the NMRA has. I will be scratch building a 1900 flour mill that used coal steam power to operate. It will incorporate ideas from several actual buildings of that time and will highlight the use of 3D printing and laser cutting techniques. This will be the second try at building this structure from scratch. Have you ever built something and when done just said, 'that looks terrible'. That is how the first attempted I did came out. I hope what I learned the first time will help me do better this second time.



Here are photos of actual buildings of that time I will use as reference and what the first attempt of this facility came out looking like.

Modeler Forum
Winter Challenge 2024

Purpose - Modelers share their techniques and ideas as they model a railroad themed diorama. It is through the sharing of ideas others can learn both innovative and time proven methods of construction for our great hobby.

Time frame -  All submitted build threads must be completed by March 23, 2025. Judging will be completed the following week and winners announced at that time via the Forum. Winners will also receive an e-mail along with instructions on how to receive their winning prize.

Prizes! -  New to the Winter Challenge the Forum will be providing three prizes for the winning submissions. They consist of the following:

1st Place: Oddmunn Brother's Mill (the big limited edition kit) - $360 value


2nd Place:  Tower Six at Carter's Crossing & The Scrap Merchants Place - $140 value


3rd Place:  The Old Boiler House - $39 value


Prizes were produced by fellow member and super modeler Craig Rusty of 'Keep It Rusty' Ltd.. We hope they increase interest in the Winter Challenge as well as the Modelers Forum itself. This non profit site is a learning resource helping hobbyists learn from others to become more proficient model builders. It contains information along with photos from hundreds of hobbyists from at least the last twenty years.

Rules :

• All dioramas must be no more then 12 x 24 inches in size (30.5cm x 61cm). They must be modeled in a standard gauge such as N, HO, or O. Narrow Gauge sizes are of course allowed!li]
  
  • The diorama must be built during the time of the contest by the participant themselves.
  • At least one structure must be part of the diorama scene. It may be built from a kit or scratch built. Extra credit is given for scratch built structures.
  • All build threads are to be posted in the new 2024-2025 Winter Challenge Topic located on the Forum. Extra credit is given to detailed build threads. Further, posting must be limited to only this Forum during the time of the contest to help promote the Modelers Forum during this time. Simply have friends visit the site to show off your work in progress. You can use links as needed to point them to our site.
  
  Judging:
  
  We have three certified Master Modeler Railroader's of the NMRA who all previously judged at the national level of the NMRA acting as judges for this contest, Bob Hamm, Carl Smeigh and Mike Evens have graciously donated their time for this contest.
  
  The criteria that will be used for judging is a combined version of the 'Structure' and 'Scenery' contest forms used by the NMRA for contests with the addition of a new section called Thread Description. A copy of the form is attached to be used as reference as you build your thread. A total of 175 points will be achievable with the highest point count being declared the winner, second and third place will be the next two highest point counts. The Build Thread Section is worth 50 points to reward clear and helpful building technique sharing.
  
  
  
  As this is a thread contest instead of your typical on site contest the judges will be reviewing what you write in your thread in place of you filling out the Judging Form.  Use the shown form as a guide to ensure you address all the things the judges will be looking to see accomplished as you write your building thread.
  
  You can contact the moderator of the contest Jim Donovan at cirrusmisty@gmail.com if you have questions. You can reach him either directly or through the Forum's internal mail system.
  
  Not only participate but recommend the Challenge to your modeling buddies and have them join in the fun!

Good Morning All;

Good news, political ads have stopped, bad news ads by trial lawyers promising millions for your suffering will now fill the gap. Oh well.

Today's plan calls for more CAD work on the re-worked Flour Mill. I enjoy it and it is coming along. I have a vision in my mind of how it will look with historical photos to reference, loving it. Learning a lot.

Hope everyone has a great day. Dave I did not have the issues you are running into, not sure what doctors you are using but in Florida there are a couple organizations that are the true pros for this stuff. St Luke's is probably the best and Mid-Florida a close second. These days I ask how many of this (fill in the blank) surgery they have done, if they know the number I don't want them, I want the person who says 'too many to remember'.

Jim