Holland Odessa R.R.

[Jim Donovan]

Here are pictures showing the trail coming around the building with the new fall foliage and static grass added to both sides of trail.

[Jim Donovan]

The only part left to do is the back of the building but I am going to wait until I get Schwarz planted.

[deemery]

I remember when Micro-Mark offered a "static grass rake" (that was a woman's eyebrow brush.)



I'm sure you can find one for a buck or two at Wal-Mart :-)


dave

[Jim Donovan]

Finally, the building is lite in the front loading and back loading dock. I need to put a little more Tamiya clear yellow (X-24) paint on the LEDs to make the light more realistic for that time. The lights are dimmable but I have them bright for this picture.

[Jim Donovan]

Next up is Schwartz Stamping. I can hear the steam boilers whistling, the presses pounding, and the Stomping Tom Schwarz shouting to be heard. The windows are all open to catch the light breeze blowing helping keep the temperature inside under 100 degrees.  Ahh, the good old days.

You might have noticed that both Oostra Supply and Schwarz Stamping look a little different from previous pictures. I modified the buildings from the feedback received from other modelers. Schwarz especially had a lot of re-work done to it. Hope you like the changes.

At this point I am not exactly sure how I want to proceed with the parking area, loading area and outside staging area. Should I continue with the cut stone or go with straight laid American red brick, gravel, wood, dirt? I am open to suggestions. The right side of the photo below with foam board showing will be the road over to the train station, supply store and canal. I plan to brick (or cobble stone) the road up to the tracks. The other side will remain as is. Suggestions on that are welcome too.

[Jim Donovan]

.


So now we are caught up. Send me your ideas and until next time you can see Mr. Oostra waving goodby in the picture, or he might just be cursing because he has a freight car to unload and Schwarz is hogging the siding as usual.

[jerryrbeach]

Jim,

Beautiful photos.  The backstory with figures and other details really bring life to the layout. You really have a talent for scene composition.  Your trees and roads along with the angles of your photos really draw the viewer into the scene.  Your buildings look realistic, the changes you made have helped them look typical for your era.

I suggest you continue the road with the cobblestone past Scwartz Stamping before returning to dirt.  I think changing to brick in such a short space would look contrived.  The stone would make sense because any wagons loading or unloading at Schwartz would likely be fairly heavy. 

Looking forward to more photos!

[Jim Donovan]

Jerry;

Sorry it has taken me so long to say thanks. I appreciate the input and glad things are moving in the right direction.

Since my last update The Boss and I took a trip of a lifetime. We flew to Calgary, Canada and among other things, took the Rocky Mountaineer to Vancouver. It was all I could hope for. There were 18 cars on our trip with right at 1000 passengers. I was told it was the most cars they had had on a trip this year.

[Jim Donovan]

Next up; time to get T. Schwarz Stamping & Manufacturing Co. into operation. With orders piling up Stomping Tom has his work cut out for him. While his fiend Henry Ford has yet to come through with his promised orders (production of the model T went into full scale production in 1912) business is booming for his metal tile. It is all the rage for the banks, hotels and other businesses popping up like mushrooms in the Midwest. The Industrial Revolution is in full swing and the country has never seen anything like the growth it is seeing in this new century (1900's).

Schwarz Stamping was the first (and to this day only) kit I did a build thread while making it. It was part of the past Winter Challenge named after Tom Schwarz, a fellow modeler who past away suddenly after having just attended the 2018 EXPO in Albany. I was fortunate to have met Tom and got to know him briefly as I too was at that EXPO. If you would like to see the build thread it is here:

http://www.modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=4131.0

This kit started life as a Decker Tar Soap Kit made by FOS Scale Models. It was challenging for me given my level of skill, fun but also frustrating. The frustration came from me making the beginners cardinal mistake, trying new things directly on the model, rather than trying out the idea and practicing the technique on something else first. So I 'finished it' and set it aside. About a month ago I started tinkering with it again, fixing what I did not like until a couple of days ago when asking for advice a friend said simply 'stop'. Some of you know him, Dave Keuiswyk. He is one of the best modelers I know. I first met him at the EXPO as well. He told me the kit looked fine, stop fussing with it and move on. Good Advise, I was starting to see every little mistake.

So first here is the real Tom Schwarz (left), Dave is in the middle and Tom's friend Chris Mincemoyer (right).

[Jim Donovan]

So Stomping Tom Schwarz has his hands full. Lots of orders and a building that, let's just say, won't win any beauty contests but in his eyes is the beginning of a growing empire.

The building as it is now that I have stopped:







I have not a clue what happened to the last picture but I am just happy to be able to post. I am restricted to posting in the evening so suspect the server is having volume issues during the day but that is another story.

Next posting Stomping Tom should be in business.

Jim D

[jerryrbeach]

Jim,

I really like how Schwarz Stamping turned out in its final rendition.  The ivy in the wall is a really nice touch.  I agree with Dave, time to call it done. 

In my opinion there are two different types of modelers that post on craftsman type forums.  The first is contest quality modelers.  You know them, they're the ones that leave everyone in awe of their creations.  They try to achieve perfection in every detail, and are successful in reaching that goal.  Every knot hole, rotten board or cracked window pane is exact.  I realized some time ago that I would never be one of those modelers.  I am what I like to think of as a layout modeler.  Every model I build has flaws (mistakes, if you prefer) that keep it from being contest quality.  I refuse to obsess over the flaws because when taken in the overall context of my layout it is doubtful they will ever be noticed.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

[GPdemayo]

Well done Jim.....great looking structure. 

[Jim Donovan]

Thanks Jerry and Greg thanks for following along and the feedback. Guess I fall into the second type of modeler too. I enjoy the hobby and like sharing my progress but don't expect to be entering the NMRA national contest anytime soon.

Schwarz Stamping is on the layout and perhaps half the detailing for the site is done. I used a textured brick paper for around the building. The paper comes from Europe and really looks good if used in small areas and you use pastel chalks to help break up any patterns. I took Jerry's idea and carried the cut stone for the parking and loading area. As I mentioned previously, in 1910 the business was in charge of providing the sidewalk. Due to the heavy metal plating used in the stamping operation the cut stone was used all the way to the brick road. So here is Schwarz Stamping with Tom Schwarz himself sitting on the porch with his dog. He's waiting for the evening foreman and crew to arrive so he can go over to the grand opening party underway at Nueber Drugs.










I did not get as much done on the layout this year as I expected. The more I learn the slower I go. I have included a few pictures showing the layout as it stands for the winter.

[Jim Donovan]

Here is where Mandryville will stay for the winter, Deb and I are heading to our Florida home for the winter, I wish I had made more progress but I will be structure and vehicle building this winter.









Hope you like the progress, as slow as it was this year.

[jerryrbeach]

Jim,

Tom Schwarz is quite the dapper gentleman in his white suit.  As I've said before, I really like the way the sight lines draw the viewer into the scenes.  The pic of Schwarz Stamping through the trees is something I hope to achieve on my layout, though with different structures of course.  Safe travels on your way to Florida.