The weekend is here! What do you all have planned?

Morning all.

The weekend is here.

I am working towards the release of two of my smaller, "affordable but never compromising" kits -- which will be available to order next week from my website (found below, if interested). These are a single piece 3D-print, which only needs the walls painting and the roof adding. Simple yet effective! Both of these dioramas took just two-three evenings to complete. The structure itself was a single evening.

Hope everyone has a good day!

Can't quite believe it is March already...

I am working on two small kits for my "Keep It Simple" lineup. They should be available fairly soon.

I hope you all have a good day/weekend.

To combat spam user signups (we've had a few recently), I have switched to admin approval when registering. Until we reach significant signup traffic, this will be the most effective way of moderating who's in or who's out.

Anyway, between my day job and some other recent business, I continue to make way on my upcoming kit offerings. I'm very excited to share them all soon.

I hope you all have a good day.

Happy New Year everyone!

May this year be the best yet for you all.

Modeling, health, happiness, and beyond!

... of 2023!

I hope you have all had a great year and will have a prosperous 2024.

Being in the UK and most of you in the US, I'll be in New Year before you so I'll be here waiting for you all. So here's to it everyone.

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a great Christmas! Are you as stuffed as a bird?

Hobby-wise, my wife bought me some new paints and for myself, I have invested in some new 3D printers! Lots to do.

The New Year is just around the corner. The shelf of shame cries louder.

If you're looking to change the time/clock on the forum from its default EST setting, users can do this individually to suit their location.

To do this:

• Click your Username in the very top left.
• Click "Look and Layout"
• Choose the appropriate setting from the "Time Zone" drop-down list.
• Be sure to click "Change Profile" at the bottom of the page.

Fixed a thread of Jerry's that was missing some posts/pages due to problematic image attachments. If any of you happen to find old threads that seem to be missing posts/pages please drop me a PM. I can fix them for you.

For today though, family day!

Morning all.

I announced our upcoming line of smaller kits yesterday, our "Keep it Simple" range. Coming in 2024.


These will be perfect for beginners or that small space on your layout you just don't know quite what to do with.
They will be inexpensive ($20-30, depending on the design) but they will never compromise on the quality you've come to expect from the Keep it Rusty brand.

We plan on launching with around five unique designs. I'll be keeping the forum updated when we launch!

Have a great day everyone.

Morning all.

Car trouble yesterday so a fat portion of the day was eaten up by that.

Today is all kit design though.

Happy Holiday everyone!

Adding photos to the forum is something I want to try and streamline. If you just want to add a couple of photos, attachments are easy to use -- simply utilize the click or drag-and-drop option at the bottom of any reply. Utilizing the forum's gallery, however, is slightly more difficult.

So why use the gallery I hear you cry? Well, it's a nicer way to keep organized for when you want to showcase a diorama or ongoing project. You can create an album, give it a description, etc. It is also easily discoverable to other members. With that in mind, it is a better tool to use for your images so let me explain the process:

1. Click the Gallery button in the menu above. Click "Add Picture":

 

2. On this new page, click "MyGallery" button in the top row:




3. On this new page, click "Add Category"



4. The Category is really another name for your album. Let's give it a name and you can also add things like a description, thumbnail image etc.  Once ready, click the "Add Category" button.



5. You'll then have an empty album ready to fill with images. Here, simply click on the appropriate button. "Add a Picture" or "Bulk Add Pictures":



6. You can add up to 5 images at a time. Click Choose file for each photo. Then click "Bulk Add Pictures" or "Add Picture" when ready. Please note: this can sometimes take time to upload. Click the add button only once. It may appear nothing is happening if you have large files but it is uploading.



7. When the process is complete, you'll be presented with a screen like this:



8. Rinse and repeat, adding your photos to the same category until your album is ready. When it is, click on each photo you wish to add to your forum post.




9. With each image page you will find a box below it labeled "BB Code". Click the small blue icon to the right of it. This will copy the code. Then, simply head to your forum post and right-click and "Paste".



10. Done!

Morning all.

Didn't get a lick of modelling in over the weekend. I did clean the gutters though. And some repair jobs around the house. It was one of those weekends.

Today though, I'm designing a water tower in 3D. I've decided to print them for the new kit, as opposed to the modeler having to build them. The support will still need to be constructed from stripwood though. (edit: water tank is now done. Onto another design!)

In forum news, I have found a way to regenerate some missing thumbnails for attachments. If, on your travels, you noticed some older posts were not showing a preview for an attachment at the end of the post... they should now (unless there is a deeper issue for that particular attachment)

Hope you all have a good day.

I'm up early with the kids, just like every day, so I'll open up today.

Hoping to get some time to finish a design I've been working on the new kit. I am also sourcing some new materials.

We will all be heading out later today though. Family day out.

Morning all.

Thanks again for all the birthday wishes for yesterday.

Will be spending a large portion of today continuing work on my new kit for next year.

I hope you all have a good day.

Modelers,

After almost two years in stasis, we're back online!

You're reading this post as a result of a lot of restoration work, and for those who were previously members of the forum you can log in to your accounts where you will find your post history, post counts, galleries and even private messages are all in place (as of early 2022)

Whilst this forum is back "as it was", this should be regarded as a new beginning for the forum. There have been a few subtle changes already and while this forum will remain dedicated to railroad modeling, more changes will be rolled out over the course of the next few weeks and months to ensure the forum continues to grow, reaching and welcoming new members. You will all play an important part in this.

Other important notes

1. If you cannot log in email me at rr@keepitrusty.com with your full name and username. I can reset your password for you (if the forgot password option doesn't work for you)

2. I have restored the Gallery and most post attachments! You may find some older posts/threads that still have some missing attachments. Some may have a "digital corruption". Simply, this is an irreversible error caused by the original method used to back them up. I stress, all of the surviving elements of this forum were pulled from a "burning fire".

3. Profile avatars got lost in a void! I tried to salvage them, but they were long gone. Please re-upload them to your profile when appropriate.

I've been quiet, but for a good reason — I've been working on something exciting. And we've been packing the house to move back to the UK.

So, what's exciting? Well, I've been buying... investing, I should say... drum roll please...

I'm officially making craftsman kits!

Starting this summer (all being well), I will be producing two HO scale craftsman kits a year. They will be large, they will be fun and they will almost always be limited to runs of 100. I've already designed the first one — featuring a large, a medium and two small structures. An entire industry!

Now, I know I'm still a fresh face round these parts — heck, you might have even stumbled across this and be thinking "Keep It WHO?, what is this blabbering buffoon waffling about?"... well, here's what I can promise you: I will be making sure these limited kits are worth every penny! That means top quality lumber, metal and 3D printed castings, exhaustive instruction manuals. You name it.

Speaking of pennies, though, there's a particular reason I'm going into production and I'd like to share it. The only time I get at the workbench is in my free time – after work, in the evening. Which, coincidentally, is also the free time for the rest of the family (my wife, my toddler). As a result, I often I feel guilty for shutting the workshop door and having some fun. Those that know me know I'm a big family guy. I've always wanted MY hobby to give THEM the gratification it gives to me — a time free of stress, anxiety and worry. So I came up with this two birds, one stone scenario:

100% of the profit from selling these kits is going towards my daughter's education fund & my wife's astronomical PhD bills.

They may never understand why I (and millions of others) take time from the real world to squirrel away into the wee hours working on a miniature one... but at least they can benefit from it.

So that's what I'm going to do, starting with two kits a year.

Now, things will go a little quiet again over the next number of weeks because a) I'm still working everything out and b) we're moving back to the UK. Don't worry though, I'm figuring out all the logistics to make sure shipping charges remain sensible for US/Canadian customers. Right now I'm projecting $30 USD, all in. Covering customs, taxes etc... That's UPS, tracked and within 4 business days delivery time (from pickup). Air freight, baby! Not a bad deal, right?

I'll be making regular updates in the meantime, including the set up process over the next number of weeks. There will be no hiding from the moment the first kit hits, too. And when it does you'll be able to purchase it right on my site, www.keepitrusty.com, via a secure Shopify checkout you can use any debit or credit card with.

Until then... send me any questions or queries. Even if it's for a kit you'd like to see.

And remember, keep it quality... Keep it Rusty!

After some delay, I finally got my latest diorama across the finish line! This is a diorama of a FOS Scale Model kit, Hollis Pest Control.

I had so much fun building Lamont Camera that the moment I finished building the Flux Mill a few weeks ago, I immediately got started with another FOS Scale Models kit.

Just like with both of those builds, I set out looking to once again play with verticality and different terrains, landforms and textures. My initial thoughts was to set this diorama in a rural setting, but after some further thinking, I settled on a more urban environment (it offered more opportunity for what I wanted to play with — water, bridge, brickwork, fencing etc...)

I built the kit pretty much to Doug's instructions, only adding a scratch-built awning for the loading bay and some extra details like chimneys and ducting. I did alter some roofing materials.

The base is entirely pink foam from Home Depot, built up in layers. The paving was made from spreading an even, but thick layer of joint compound, carving when dry. The road is the same recipe I used on the Flux Mill and Lamont Camera.

The flowing water was made using a sheet of acetate that was tapered and covered with epoxy. When dry, white paint was streaked over the top of the hardened glue. For the foaming water, Woodland Scenics Snow and Mod-Podge (Glossy) was mixed to create a white slurry. Careful application made it appear natural and animated. The deep water was a simple, colored pouring of Envirotex Lite.

For the bridge, I used a Rix Products kit I picked up for $8 and added 3D printed road railings. Other 3D printed details include the tall gas tanks, old dresser and the air compressor (a SierraWest print).

As most of you know, I'm more of a model builder than model railroader. That said, I do like creating a yard scene.

As such, I'm on the hunt to find the most detailed HO rolling stock. I want cars with brake lines, cylinders, hardware... it's all in the details!

Blackstone Models make some exquisite models as a fine example:



Only trouble is, Blackstone are HOn3 and can be very pricey (sometimes over $100 for a single car!).

Foothill Model Works make great stuff for On3 and I found a company called P-B-L make great stuff for Sn3... but struggling to find the love for good ole' HO.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Friends,

I have processed and uploaded my F&SM photos I shot using my DSLR.

I spent a little more than the 3 hours George was open (15 minutes or so) and he was a gracious host. Seeing the layout was an absolute dream. I got a tour pin and George even gave me a signed copy of his book (to replace my dog-eared version!).

I have named my album, "F&SM Stories", after some of the smaller stories I found myself documenting.

To preserve quality, I have uploaded them all, uncompressed, to an album I have created on Flickr.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWMxDDD

Here's a taste:





As this album is public, I have disabled the download function in effort to minimize re-distribution at lower quality. At Flickr, they are displayed in their uncompressed, original quality, in a large 2048 display size. This is a fantastic platform and I'm happy with the way they look.

Should anyone wish to have a full 8000x8000 sized original, drop me a message and we'll work something out!

Enjoy!