Doug, Brian's layout is located in Lemay, Mo It is a freelance layout. In fact, I will be attending an op-session there next Wednesday. Fun to operate! John
Adding another couple tunnel units to the QA&P, so a renumbering was in order for some older SD40 units. The 747 is the latest addition, the decaling is done now to get a gloss coat to seal the decals, then bend up some handrails for the front and rear, install the others and glazing, this one is coming to an end. These need to get the decals sealed then just a bit of weathering to the patches.
Thanks Steve Jim John You guys are the best! I will get some images of my Laboratory and parts sources When I get home John. Thanks again guys.
Now thats funny Jim This is the west wall, locomotive storage cases, Rio Grande and Frisco, and a couple small storage cabinets. Along the west wall is the tiny closet full of unfinished locos and cars. It has been some time since I have bought a car or loco. East wall with a peg board full of parts, wheel sets, Sherline lathe and mill, to the right is and old Paasche paint booth and a couple Paasche brushes, and a whole bunch of paints and machine tools in the drawers of that desk and cart. This desk is where I spend most of my time as it is where most of the smaller parts and hand tools are located. Those drawer cabinets are all full of parts from loco trucks to highway trucks, 3 more loco storage cases too. Boxes pictures, glues just all kinds of stuff. One of the drawers of detail parts. A bunch of loco shells and frames. That is a quick tour, of the laboratory
Tom: You posted while I was typing! I'm ENVIOUS of your detail parts stash!! I'm a'feared I do not have enough of the staple items I'm going to need for the long haul. It won't be long and I'll be in a hurt for Detail Associates eye pins. I wish SOMEONE would acquire the DA line and start producing some of the staple items that DA produced. (Like those eye pins.) LOVE the display cases full of engines! Andre
Thanks Andre. I hear ya on these parts. What happened to DA anyways? My LHS still had some new DA2206 eye bolts and I got a few, but they are like 6 bucks now. Other people make them but most are etched metal, and just dont look right to me. With most if not all new locos coming pre-detailed its gonna get, harder for us grunts to get parts to detail these old engines, I have boxes of detail parts in my desk, they are feeling like gold anymore.
Thanks Jim! You are a great inspiration for me, with your modeling skills, not to mention your just a good guy. I always value your comments and input. I am working on a scale USMC M60-a1 tank to spar with you LOL!!
Well, I think I have my New Year's resolution....clean up my dang workbench. Fantastic models and workshop! -Bob T.
A source for eye bolts/pins I ordered a few and they are just wonderful and cheaper than DA. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Barkers-Tr...762077?hash=item4b7105f15d:g:Qb4AAOSw2stbkRqK
Tom: That's good news. Same wire dia. as DA? How do they compare to DA's in so far as being circular? (The most visible one looks somewhat elliptical.)
Yessir Andre same wire dia as DA. As far as elliptical, from what I have in stock from DA's are really no better in mass than Barkers. Below you can see Yarmouth, Barkers and DA's eye bolts. Yarmouth seem to be a few HO and a few other and a few N scales, and like any etching a bit square on one axis. Barker does seem to be a bit elliptical but man the $$ is sure right, when your using 10-15 for a unit. DA when you can find them, are horribly over priced for less than Barkers and are hit and miss in quantity as well as quality.
Thanks Tom. Without enlarging the pic, the Barkers and the DA parts look close enough for this boy, too. From typical viewing distances, there will be zero issues. I'll show this thread to my friend that's also in a pinch for eye bolts. Andre
Trying to keep some of my builds on this thread. Well, here is a project I have been working on and off for almost a year. First it was the problem of finding enough Evergreen Plastic pipe to make the load, ended up buying from Burbank CA, 10 bags (2 pipes ea) of 1/2" pipe, cut to 12" long. Then I needed a jig to aid the build of these loads, some scale lumber for the wood these loads sit on and separate. The pipe was another thing to paint, first was a coat of white primer, then took a long piece of wood strip glued a small cotton ball to the end, dipped in rust colored paint and painted the insides of the pipes and then painted about 2 scale' of the ends, masked the ends and painted the pipe with Rustoleum safety green that was decanted into a 2oz scalecoat bottle. The jig has marked lines where to place the strips of lumber, so they line up with the channel plastic installed on the decks of the cars. You can see the wood strips under the pipe and the center wood pieces are inside the metal nuts used to hold it all together while drying, Used matt gel for glue. I next used 1/64 graphic tape to simulate metal banding around each set of 2 pipes, repeated this process until I had 6 sets of 2 pipes glued and banded. Then I started gluing 3 sets of 2, to make the load, I then used 1/32 tape to wrap the entire load. That was a challenge. I then placed scale 8x8 into the channels and applied glue to the strips under the loads, placed the loads on the car and let them sit over night, resulting in removable pipe loads on these 2 BLMA 89' flats. Kinda looks like dis. Being as these car have shift-able loads, there will be placement restrictions on trains, cant be next to tanks cars or other HAZMAT loads. Thanks for looking.
