Well Guess I will open. I have been a little spotty on posts lately. Saturday I met up with Scott Hurley (Mercrr22) and Carl Smeigh to visit the Suncoast Fine Scale Modeling Center and have lunch together. We even had time to visit Carl's layout and get a peek at what he has been up to. Great company, great Modeling Center, incredible layout (in the making) and a Great Time. Hope to do it again sometime. Here are some photos at the Center.



S Scale Town





Have a great day folks.

Jim D

8:30 and I am the first? Well hi everyone. Plan to work on making windows with 3D printer today. Other then that 1:1 chores. Have a great day.

Jim D

Good Morning;

Looks like a late sleep in crowd today. Hope I did not offend anyone by saying Happy Halloween. I only mentioned it as a generic, non offensive, politically neutral.... Oh whatever, Happy Halloween.

We are enjoying nice outdoor weather so not much going on modeling related.  So here is today's ad from 1942.

Have a great day.

Jim D

It is 9 am so I guess someone needs to jump in and start the chat. Good Morning from Central Florida. Warm and sunny. I am continuing education on CAD and Arduino. Slowly beginning to understand and look forward to using the knowledge on the layout.  Hope everyone has a great Sunday.

Jim D

Good Morning;

Guess I have the honor of opening today. I'm first this morning at eye doctor to get left eye zapped. I was told I have 'narrow angles' which leads to a form of glaucoma. Right eye done last week, left eye's turn. Nice to know some issues can be fixed before they are an issue.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Jim D   

A friend asked me to create a sawmill scene as part of the local museum's operating layout located in Lady Lake Florida. The layout depicts the various high points of the local area as connected to the Atlantic Coast Line R.R.. The sawmill was called Hesters, was located one mile south of town, had a siding and operated until 1931.





The FSM #140 kit looks like a smaller version of the Hester Mill operation and due to size restrictions I decided to use it as the centerpiece of the scene.





At this point I have completed the mill and next need to set it on the layout and add the details to complete the scene.

Start on trip up north, hope everyone has a great day.

Jim D

Thought I would surprise everyone and open the day.  Not a lot to share. Wife visits the doctor for 'normal' stuff, a maintenance guy is coming to update our attic ladder with an electric version and I will be working on lighting up current project. All in all a great day. Hope the same is for you. Now for coffee and checking up on everyone else's postings. Here is a scene from a friend's layout to start the day:



Jim D

Wow, I get to open two days in a row. I guess this group is starting to enjoy their weekends!

Today the Boss and I will be joining the local Methodist church.  I've have been slowly working on Skeeters when time permits, days just fly by.

Hope all have a great weekend but thinking of those (John, Curt and all others ) dealing with someone's end of life.

Jim D

Good Morning World;

I am sure others are up and most likely on second cup of coffee f coffee but I will open the day. Plan on enjoying working on Skeeters, I have been doing other stuff time to get back on it.

Hope everyone has a great day. John, still thinking of you and your Mom, it is (was for me) a very tough time.

Jim D

I need to change up the beginning of this build thread, the first was just boring. So here is the true reason why Skeeters came to be on the Holland Odessa Railroad. It's the honest truth!

Work on the latest business located in Mandryville continues: G. DeMayo Chemical Co. specializes in the manufacture of the world famous Skeeters Fly Dope (mosquito repellent). Business literally took off when a local family, the Taltails, reported mosquitos had carried their baby off. No one in town even knew Mrs Annie Taltail had been pregnant. A massive search was conducted for baby Taltail but no trace was found. No matter, Skeeters Fly Dope flew off the selves as fast as it could be made. Production continued night and day, resulting in the construction of the first Coal powered electric generation facility west of Cleeevland (not yet built). The father of the lost baby, Carpy Taltail found work at Skeeters as Mr. G DeMayo took him under his wing due his terrible loss. Years later Carpy was made Production Manager. As such he learned the secret ingredient of Skeeters and sold it to DeMayo's competitor, a fellow by the name of Coopertone, who was desperate, being on the brink of bankruptcy. However this no good sonderal would not profit from his cheating ways. The secret ingredient Baron (Run Fast or Go Home) DeMayo had developed was none other than what we call DDT today. He was caught trying to leave the factory with a second veil . He quickly drank the evidence and was fired. Last anyone saw of him he had grown a couple of eyes and a tail. Some say a creature in the nearby canal was seen swimming that looked a lot like Carpy but most think he just Croaked.  DeMayo went on to bigger things but to this day legend has it no mosquitoes were seen in Mandryville ever again.

And with that let's begin: Skeeters Fly Dope was an imaginary chemical factory that operated at the turn of the last century. As such it will fit on my Ohio side layout perfectly. I have the directions and templates but no kit. I attempted to find the person who made the kit but to date no luck. They made 300 of this incredible kit in 1994, sold them and never made another. So without the kit I am going to make the structures using a Cameo 3 from Silhouette and a Cricut Maker. It is primarily because I am using these craft machines that I thought a kit build thread would be interesting to others.

So here is the original structure that was built by Dave Frary (he is spotlighted in the directions) for use in the advertising of the kit:



Pretty neat isn't it?

Late start today I guess. Weather great, coffee even better. We have the bathroom being redone so I will be staying in home today. Hope everyone has a great day.

Jim D

Note: I am adding this note after I completed this kit. If you are thinking of making one of these hotels or are looking for thoughts on the kit I ended the thread with an Observations, thoughts and suggestions post. So go there first to learn what I learned and then enjoy making this great, challenging kit.

I decided to treat myself to build one of the more complicated kits for the Holland Odessa R.R. Every small town in the early 1900's had a hotel, often it was the social center for the community. I saw this kit and knew it would be perfect for the small layout I am creating. To help keep me focused I decided to attempt a thread as I build this extensively laser cut kit.

I have for the last couple of years been building smallish kits, often making significant modifications so they fit the layout better and to help me improve my building skills. With this kit we are going to stick to the directions as much as possible. I want to see how well I can make a 'clean' kit with the finished product as close to what the designer intended.

So Here is the box the kit came in:


The kit comes in several packages for the various sections of the building. There is a lot of laser cut parts, especially detailed windows and railings:


The horses in the picture are for another project, they got in the picture by mistake. The full length fireplaces are resin and look very well detailed. There are no metal castings as far as I can see at this point.

The directions are extensive on how to proceed for each step but offer little in the way of tips and suggestions for various building techniques. They clearly state this in the introduction saying the kit is complicated and you need to know what you are doing as far as technique goes since the directions need to focus on helping you carefully build the structure correctly.

It is a little jarring reading each step. The kit has been out for a few years but the stapled black and white (except for the colored cover page) directions contain quite a few misspellings and incorrect grammar. I would have thought they would have been corrected over time and they certainly are not what I expected of a high end builder like Bar Mills. No matter, it looks like an exciting kit to make. I plan to take the directions apart from the stable and place them in a three ring hard cover binder. Other then being in black and white the two sided printed directions are clear and well organized.

More in a minute.

Over the past year I won a HO Scale Customs photo contest receiving a small Railroadkits.com kit (The Scale Shack). I also received a free FOS Scale Models kit (Rosco's Roast Beef Stand) by buying a $50.00 kit when they ran one of their specials. Together with some amazing textured paper from Greece and the first Jorden I ever built I plan to make a small diorama. The paper will be used in several areas, the main one as the column for a lighthouse.

So here are the four main components of the diorama:



The scene will be of a setting next to one of the great lakes during the 1930's. The depression is taking its toll but life goes on. A lighthouse will dominate with a food stand, the keeper's house and bus making up the major structures.

The design of the base is like I used at a scenery clinic during EXPO 2018. The textured paper can be bought on ebay. What makes it different is the amount of texture as well as the quality of the printing. I was told by another forum member the paper was originally designed as wall paper. It was a flop so someone got the idea to flip it over and print the brick scenes.

I used a stone texture to cover the foam base. The back will act as a seawall for the scene. A small brick version is used for the foundation on the shed, which will now be the light keepers house. I may use yet another style as the scene progresses.

Here is what the original kit from FOS looks like:



I decided to see how much detail I could add to the small kit. Changes included adding rafter tails, changing the main roof to a wood shake style, adding trim boards where needed, sanding flush the clapboard around the windows and door for better fit. Windows are Clover House glass. The front part of the structure got a little bit of interior added as well as a door to the back building. To address how water can get off the sloped front roof I will add a drain and downspout. A kick plate is already in place. Some additional trim pieces need adding but that is it.







The Light keeper house, like the roast beef stand had some changes made. Here I used a new style of wood shake that is made of real wood. To make the structure look well used I bowed the roof and even had some green mold added.

The bus is a Jorden 1934 version. It is the first Jorden I have built and was a lot of fun assembling.

Finally the lighthouse. At the moment all you can see is the column with the stone applied. I look forward to figuring out how to make it come to life, as well as the entire diorama.

Till Next Time, thanks for reading.

Jim D

 

I am slow off the block on starting my kit on this build challenge, which is also my first follow along thread, so we will see how it goes. I met Tom at the Albany EXPO and loved his train stories and remember how he had laid out his plan to circle the country by train one day. His passing just after the show hit home. I am glad I met him and happy to include a building in his name on my layout.

I bought Deckers Tar Soap made by FOS Scale Models a year ago to be one of the major industries in the village of Mandryville on the Holland Odessa R.R.. The layout time is 1910 so the building will be in fairly good shape. I selected it as space is at a premium which is more of a large diorama at 6'x4' with an operating train. The structure is interesting with its angles and roof changes, lending it to be a small metal stamping operation having two story piston style stamping machines.

The attached pictures show the kit as it arrived. The directions are very complete as can be seen. There are several castings included and the windows / doors look very good. I will be adding to the castings as well. I am also thinking of changing some or all of the walls to brick.

I found an early thread on this structure done by Karl which I have studied. It's link is as follows:

http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18371&SearchTerms=Soap

So next posting we will get started.

Thanks

Jim D

I am hoping those of you coming that have done this before can suggest a list of tools to bring for the hands on clinics. I have listed below the items the people running the clinics I am going to ask we bring. Was wondering what you experienced members bring as well. I have listed below the items my clinics call for:

For Clinic 101 - Tips and Techniques

Bring basic tools; x-acto, razor blades, tweezers, white glue, assorted brushes, alcohol and ink wash, mineral spirits.
Paints: water based - brick colors, browns, tans, greys, concrete color.
Also Burnt Umber artists oils.

Electric Clinic:
·         Soldering iron – a regular pencil type soldering iron should work fine.
·         Solder – regular rosin-core  electronic solder – NOT plumber's solder!
·         Hobby knife with #11 blade
·         Cutting mat - or something to protect the work surface
·         Small straight edge
·         Tweezers
·         Wire cutters / strippers
·         Needle nose pliers - Round nose pliers too if you have them
·         9-volt battery (get a new one)
·         Magnivisor or some means of magnification

Thanks

Jim D

The wife is letting me  out to play so I am going for first time. Who else is going and does anyone know the area to suggest a time and place to get together or has someone already covered this.

Jim D

Last year I used a local perennial flower of Ohio (it grows in zones 3 to zone 8 for you gardeners), called Sedum Autumn Joy to make a batch of trees for my layout. At the time I simply followed a video on YouTube by Luke Towen called 'Five Minute Trees'. Even so I was able to make fairly realistic trees. These flowers bloom in September then go to seed. They will be ready to harvest by November.  The seed pods can be cleaned and made to look like the American Elm. They are 25 - 60 feet in HO height with a trunk diameter from 1-4 feet. Attached you will find pictures of an actual American Elm in winter to see the branch structure. The next picture shows the harvested seed pods. Next is the natural armature after it has been cleaned of the pods. These pictures are of the few seed pods I had left over. You can expect to get even better looking armatures with new clippings.

Woodland Scenics offers a natural armature tree product that looks better then average, retail cost about $9.00 for a dozen 'trees'. The stem structure looks something like Autumn Joy but much less robust. I've attached a picture of their package for comparison.

More in a second.
.

I noticed there are not a lot of treads on scenery in the forum, yet scenery makes a layout come to life! I love working work on scenery while relaxing, say in front of a fire on a cold rainy night!  In April??? You have got to be kidding but three days ago I did.

Perhaps the reason there is so little said in this forum are there is a lot of video's on YouTube. Without a doubt the best I have found is:

http://www.bouldercreekrailroad.com/

Luke Towen produces well made video's showing a wide range of primarily scenery tutorials. If you haven't seen the site yet check it out. His wire apple tree is fun. I made the following using MOST of his ideas while sitting in front of that fire. In the first picture you can see apple trees often do look like the tree's in the Wizard of Oz. I took the picture in January near our home in Holland, Ohio.

Changes in techniques I made from video:

1) I shaped the branches to mimic local area trees, not all types of apple trees have the bent over look. I asked the people at the orchard (MacQueens Orchard has a store open year round) why the limbs are that way. They said it was pruning, some years the trees are so heavy with apples the limbs can break off if thin and pointed up.
2) I used Woodland Scenics latex, but diluted it with 50% distilled water. This allowed the latex to work into the cracks much better, provided a more uniform application and allowed better control.  As you use 14 strands of wire to start the trunk it can get too thick for scale realism. Even applying the 50/50 mix the truck is almost too thick. Next tree I will use 12 or perhaps 10 wires to start.  I plan to make a total of 6. Use ONLY distilled water any other will react with the latex and ruin it. It took three applications to cover the wire.
3) I applied two coats of paint with an airbrush of medium gray and then a light coat of dark brown to achieve color of local trees. I dry brushed a very little amount of white on the trunk. As it is mostly covered not sure that was worth it.
4) I used Woodland Scenics dark forest clump foliage rather than course turf shown in video. I did this as the leaves in the local area are dark and I happened to have the foliage on hand. I ground up the foliage to make it like the course turf and it worked fine.
5) Finally, as you'll see it does take time but the wire can be done literally while watching TV. I will make the other five needed in batch mode, latex painting and airbrushing are not TV friendly.

What you end up with looks nice. The apples themselves are big for the scale, more like the size of cantaloupe then apples but any smaller I doubt would work.
Enjoy the video and the pictures:

The Holland Odessa Short Line Rail Road started ten months ago. My wife and I retired after I sold the family business of thirty-three years in 2012. Until ten months ago we traveled, played with the kids and grandkids, golfed and enjoyed Holland Ohio in the summer, Odessa Florida the rest of the time. Then my bride was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer. So we stayed in Ohio as the boss (wife) and doctors got rid of the uninvited guest. I am glad to report we are about done with the eviction. One more surgery and we can again travel back and forth on our terms. Given what she went through doctors say 99% cure rate.

As we were stuck in Ohio through winter (I grew up in Upstate NY so I knew what is coming) I decided to indulge a thought I had for some time, my own hobby, specifically model railroading. We had a small loft with an open area near my desk. I decided to learn the hobby and put a HO scale layout in that area.

I found this Forum when I bought a small kit from Railroad Kits as much for the 'how to' DVD that came with it as the building itself. Written boldly on the box was; "Check out modelerforum.com". I had found the mother load of knowledge.  Since then I watch, read and learn. In the couple of months since finding this site my ability to model (and enjoy) this hobby dramatically improved. This forum has nothing but experts and now me, the complete beginner. I've posted twice once asking about a Jorden model, the second  just to say thank you and show off the scratch built canal boat I had finished. The first time I was given a great welcome and the knowledge I needed. The second again I was welcomed and this time asked for more pictures.

Frankly I had to think about it. What could I possibly share? You folks really are light years ahead of most, even the pros (actually you are the pros). Then I realized what I could share; a fresh look. I don't have the forty years of knowledge or even one good original idea on modeling. But the hobby has changed in many ways, the internet being the root of most change.  What I am hoping to gain is even more knowledge from you talented people.

So welcome to the Holland Odessa Railroad, a fictional short line set in two vastly different parts of the country, NW Ohio (Holland just west of Toledo) and west central Florida (Odessa, just NW of Tampa). It is September of 1908. The left half of the layout will be Ohio while the right will transform into Florida. At the moment all work is essentially happening on the Ohio side of the layout.

I'll stop here for now, some pictures, two showing reality, the others my little world. Future posts will be less talk more action, promise.