CCK 18177 - Takoma Shops in HO Scale

[Raymo]

Ha Ha! Yeah, transfer tape can be like walking into a spider-web sometimes. You almost can never get it all off..

[JimF]

Jaime,

Is that just foamcore board the structures are sitting on, with the road and tracks sketched in?

Also, for anyone else like me who did not recognize the name, Tim Warris is the owner of Fast Tracks (handlaidtrack.com)

Jim

[NEMMRRC]

Jaime,

Is that just foamcore board the structures are sitting on, with the road and tracks sketched in?

Also, for anyone else like me who did not recognize the name, Tim Warris is the owner of Fast Tracks (handlaidtrack.com)

Jim

Jim,


That is Gatorfoam the structures are resting on and indeed I sketched with pencil the boundaries of the business plot, the road and the railroad right of way. I likely will trim the size of the diorama to make it easier to manage it as I continue to build. As you can see it takes up a lot of real estate and almost all of my workbench.

I buy my Gatorfoam from Gatorfoam/board Dave at https://www.gatorfoam.net.

It's good to know Tim Warris is the owner of Fast Tracks. I have used one of their jigs for making straight track and it works fantastic.


Jaime

[NEMMRRC]

I've been taking time to sort through my stash of model train stuff the last couple of weeks. I'm fining all kinds of stuff I had forgotten I had.


I found a set of HO scale unpainted figures. I cannot recall where I bought them and who the manufacturer is. They came in a plastic bag with the number 83911. There are about 50 or so figures in the bag.





Anyone recognize these? There are also seated figures included in the set. For now I only need standing figures.


Along with these I found a can of my all-time favorite cheap Walmart grey spray primer. It still works. I think they discontinued the cheap grey primer around two to three years ago. It is a real shame as it is really nice and was only $0.99. So, I used the cheap Walmart grey spray primer to prime the figures above.














If your Walmart still has some stock of this spray grey primer, buy it all!!! I wish I had bought more while they were still available.


More as it develops.


Jaime

[Janbouli]

Jaime , they are from Preiser , I found them painted , they must have ( had ) an unpainted set as well.

[Janbouli]

Now that I see them a bit larger I'm not sure , but some of them really look like the ones you have.

[NEMMRRC]

Now that I see them a bit larger I'm not sure , but some of them really look like the ones you have.

Thanks!!!!


I believe mine match some of the ones in the set you posted. I'll keep the color photo as a reference.


I wonder how much they pay the folks that paint all those figures at the Preiser factory....


Jaime

[NEMMRRC]

Have you all noticed how HO figures never have on plaid or checkered or paisley or polka-dot clothing on........


Jaime

[NEMMRRC]

I added some beefy handrails to the stairs found on the front of the main building.







It's time to start getting the diorama base ready. So I decided to go ahead and glue in some flex track. First I painted it with the cheap grey primer from Walmart. I recently learned about UHU glue. It is supposed to glue anything to anything. We will see how that goes.





This UHU glue is clear and dries clear. It is gooey. It is stringy. It smells bad. It flows easily though.







Surprisingly, this UHU glue grabs on fairly quick. Nevertheless, I weighed the track down overnight to make sure.







"Danger. May cause drowsiness or dizziness. If medical advice is needed, have product container or label at hand. Keep out of reach of children. Avoid breathing vapours. Dispose of contents/container in accordance with national regulations. Contains methyl acetate."





This UHU glue is made in Germany. I bought it from Amazon. It is kind of like Walthers Goo except it is clear and flows easier. If you have ever used Beacon 3-in-1 glue it is a lot like that. Anyway, it did the trick and now I have one more glue choice (white glue, canopy glue, wood glue, Aileen's, CA, transfer tape, glue stick, etc....).


Once the track was secure I nipped off the extra bits with rail nippers.










More as it develops.


Jaime

[Jerry]

Nice progress Jaime.  Your doing a great job on this.


Jerry

[darrylhuffman]

Jaime,

If UHU glues anything to anything, how do you get the cap off?

[NEMMRRC]

Jaime,

If UHU glues anything to anything, how do you get the cap off?

German engineering...


Jaime

[NEMMRRC]

In the past I have used DAP Crackshot to put down a road surface on my dioramas. It dries smooth and without cracks. It is much easier to work with than water putty. This is what the product's container looks like:







I went to my local Lowes to find some and they don't carry it there. So instead I went with the regular pink spacklling. We will see how that turns out.


I made a road foundation out of an old "FOR SALE" plastic sign.







I applied the pink spackling.





I used a damp foam brush to smooth out the surface.


I let it dry overnight to make sure it is ready for sanding.





It needs another coat.





Rinse and repeat....


More as it develops.


Jaime

[NEMMRRC]

A second coat did the trick.


I sanded it all with some 100 grit sandpaper.


Here is how it turned out.










I wanted to try this "Pavement" paint from Apple Barrel I picked up for 50 cents at Walmart.





On the photo above you see two blobs on the right. Those are "Pavement" straight from the bottle. The one in the foreground was applied with a sponge and the one in the background was applied with a brush. In the background are blobs of "Pavement" mixed with "Granite Gray".  If you want to model asphalt then the pavement is a great choice. If you wish to model pavement then the "Pavement" mixed with Granite Gray (or some other light gray) is a very good choice. Your mileage may vary.


More as it develops.


Jaime

[deemery]

I always appreciate well-documented experimental model railroading!


And next time you buy paints, look for the color called "Asphaltum" - it's a great color for "scale black" on wood.



dave