Howdy Dave,

The roof came out fantastic. Nice work.

Have fun,
mike

Howdy Mark,

Wow! It's great to have photo references, and your model nicely reflects the inspirations.  Just WOW.

Have fun,
mike

Howdy folks,

Larry, Dave, Tom, Mark, Ron, Philip, and Rick, thank you for your comments and for looking at the build.  It was fun.  

Dave, I only have room for one derrick, but that's a great idea.

Have fun,
mike

Howdy Larry,

Excellent work on the engine.  The finish is perfect.

Have fun,
mike

Howdy Ron,

The construction of these cars highlights your modeling skills.  The boxcars look fantastic.  The underbody details demand mirrors under the track so you can see the details.

Have fun,
mike

Howdy Rich,

The details look great.  The porch adds a lot of character to the foundry.  Congratulations on a fine build.

Have fun,
mike

Howdy Kyle,

The bumpout mod looks great.  Looking forward to scenery, etc.

Have fun,
mike

Howdy Tom,

The roof looks amazing.  The flat iron looks great in that location. 

Have fun,
mike

Howdy Curt,

The foundry finished nicely.  The colors and assembly are perfect.  

I'm looking forward to your next build.

Have fun,
mike

Good morning,

Rick, thanks for opening, coffee, and breakfast.  Good luck with the packing.

Curt, the Blue Sky looks like a fun build.

Larry, good luck with the wood and boiler build.  Thanks for the reference.

Dave, building bridges and scenery sounds like fun.

Karl, wishing you a fun day at Andy's.

Jerry, good luck with the new building.  Have fun with Rick.

How is the rest of the crew?

It's a bright and brisk morning at 28F, rising to 55F this afternoon.  Winter is finally here.  

Hope to finish work on the combine today and start working on the layout.  

Have fun,
mike

Howdy folks,

Ron, Curt, TomACL, and Philip, thank you for your comments.  Philip, yes, I plan to decal it.  I designed Dulux gold decals, but have failed to coat them.  They blurred.  I'm going to try a non-lacquer coating next.

Weighting the combine was easy.  I added a stack of flat lead to each compartment.  

Here is last night's photo of the weights with the coach on its side.


The combine will be ready to go with the addition of the couplers, brake wheels, and decals.  I will weather it lightly.

Have fun,
mike

Good morning folks,

Curt, thanks for opening, the coffee and breakfast.  Congratulations on the display case assembly.

Rick, enjoy lunch.

Larry, hope you enjoy the bench.  Where do you purchase your lumber?

How is the rest of the crew?

It's a bright but cooler morning.  High today forecast for 58°F.  Still working on the combine.  

Have fun,
mike

Good morning folks,

Curt, thanks for the coffee and breakfast.  Good luck with the display case.

TomACL, good to hear you guys feel better.

Larry, good luck with the challenge build. 

Philip, good luck with the scale real estate.

Jim, glad your wife's knee is on the road to recovery.

How is the rest of the gang?

It's a rainy morning, warming to 70°F this afternoon.  The combine is coming along.  

Have fun,
mike

Quote from: deemery on January 09, 2026, 05:44:04 PMMike, you can get some pretty skinny solder :-)  I remember hammering a solder strip into the shape to fit into a narrow slot.

dave

Howdy Dave, I've been using sheet lead I purchased 20 years ago.  I will check out solder sizes at the store.  That might be an additional weight in the thin spots.  Thanks, mike

Howdy folks,

Thank you, Rick, Larry, Jerry, Curt, and Philip.  Davie, thanks for the weight tip.  I used that approach on several cars, but these spaces are a lot smaller.  Still, that may be the route I go. 

Today was a good day at the bench.  I finished the underframe, truss rods, trucks, and couplers. It was a peel and stick paper that I painted black.  It fit perfectly and went on well.



Have fun,
mike