Showing posts with label greenies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label greenies. Show all posts

Thursday, December 19, 2013

083 The Navajo Mining Railway - A Little Christmas Shopping

I got the opportunity to do a little Christmas shopping.  Let's see what I got!


For Black Friday, my wife and I treated ourselves to a new color laser printer.  The photos I usually use are printed low quality and on cheap paper.  They look great!  Our old one is leaking toner and is getting pink on everything.


From our kitchen, two small cans that contained green peas.  These are handy for holding parts, especially for the airbrush cabinet I'm about to crank up.


From the Train Shoppe, a code 83 Peco wye for the back side of the layout going into hidden staging.  Hopefully I'll mount it this weekend.


Christmas card boxes with clear lids.  I'll use these!


I went by the dollar store.  Got four new metal project pans for $4.  I'm throwing away all my old project pans that have glue and paint on them for these shiny new ones.  What I'll do is keep all the components of a kit or casting project on them so that I can move then easily on and off the workbench.


Make up sponges.  While is was funny having the 6'2", 250 lb male in the cosmetics aisle with all the ladies laughing at me...I did find them.  Told them I was a cross dresser on Mondays.


Small containers.  The dollar store is a great place to find small containers.  I use them constantly, and damage them with paint or glue frequently.


These can hold parts, or screws or minature people which is probably what I'll use them for.


You ALWAYS need emory boards, daddy!  My very sick little girl (croup) was staying with me this morning in the shop.


Here is a box for wood scraps that I'll use in the Christmas card box.


For making "greenies" or figure sculpting I use this blue/yellow epoxy material.  I got it out for some sculpting in the next few weeks.


And the granddaddy of all fun tools!  I have FINALLY gotten my own Calibre Cutter.  These have been off the market for years and are VERY expensive.  They are similar to the NWSL chopper, except they slice instead of chop.  Big difference!


The sawing swing of the blade cuts like a knife with less deflection, much like a chef's knife.  This makes a much more precise cut.

That's all for this morning!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

082 The Navajo Mining Railway - Power to the People! Building a Fleet of Folks



My philosophy of model railroading, as I've written many times before, is this:

Railroads are about people, not trains.

Let me explain.  No train exists without the work of multitudes of people.  Engineers, designers, craftsmen, construction works and all the many people that make the trains go.  Nothing about a railroad operates or exists without people.  The story of the railroad is a story about those folks involved and their stories.  By focusing on the people, the story that is the railroad really comes to life.

You can bash a Bachmann HO 44-ton loco into a rugged On30 Center-Cab diesel for your railroad!

See how people really make the model come to life?  This is a Boulder Valley Model's conversion kit that has been heavily detailed and using Arttista figures in O scale.  I encourage you to visit Boulder Valley as they have some incredible On30 stuff!  Photo on Boulder Valley site.

So people are important on the layout...and you need a lot of them.  In O-scale a painted figure is $5-$7 each, unpainted is about $3 with two hours of work to decorate it.  Even a small layout like mine can easily use 100 people.

Here's what I see wrong with most layouts:
1.  There are not enough people
2.  The people on the layout are not painted correctly
3.  There are not enough varieties of people
4.  People are often from the wrong time/era, or dressed wrong
5.  The painting of the people is usually too bright
6.  Model train figures are too thick and often out of scale

I've seen many a work site model on a railroad with five people.  In the 1920's a lot of labor was done manually and a job site would have workers scattered everywhere.  You may have a choice of about 6-8 figures in HO scale that might fit the bill, and from their you are duplicating.  If they are prepainted you'll have Darrel, my brother Darrel and my other brother Darrel all working at the same site.

Here are some solutions to the problem of population:
1.  Start gathering people before you build your layout!  Don't wait!
2.  Every time you go to a hobby shop or train show, buy some people.  Build your collection!
3.  Learn how to paint miniatures...and change the paint schemes on painted models
4.  Learn to change the figures and customize them
5.  Make your own!
6.  Start a people swap with friends, or five friend "people" on their birthdays!

Make my own you say?   Why yes!  It is possible!  In fact, I've found that if I sculpt a good figure I can get exchange that figure for MANY castings of it with a figure supplier, who are always looking for more masters.  I have tinkered with this, the carving of "greenies" as they are known.  Greenies are made from a special two-part epoxy that is workable and bonds to itself.  Greenies can be turned into spin cast molds which produce metal castings.  Or resin castings if you prefer.

Below are some links to get you started.  Follow along with me on future blogs as I make some Navajo miners for the layout!

Will from Storm the Castle's How To Series on Sculpting:
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-bor7koo_Q
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRxvPk85Mnc
Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEdQVuAZjdw
Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UpkoY-GC1o
Part 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzthmgnOmLA
Part 6 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8th5iPaollU
Part 7 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-1K9toCiGU
Part 8 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8eE8vDVB5s
Part 9 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXTobRCbkfY
Part 10 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT70PEwNqPA
Part 11 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TtkzKIAWkM
Part 12 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8RDG0kfSmA
Part 13 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr1UOAiYCTQ
Part 14 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCu-SXvAVqE
Part 15 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsBhITtmKvI

Michael Chartres from across the pond:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z089P3TdNoI

Sculpting figures:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rMqFlxggr4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWYrNWO5bFw
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCbUfuYweDc
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4u8Ka6dH8c
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOotMF9qQX4
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABwsl83d9VU
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLZHm9zONGs

Painting figures:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiTDBN2pbrg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SN_JuLnCA0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HWrf8axHTs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIzxQP2XxlY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODqCZEzfdl4

Painting fantasy miniatures
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pJJ5UODBfQ
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TqNRk2tKrw

Casting figures from Will at Storm the Castle:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ_qwuxUrjw
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXeX5VjAw-4
One part mold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTq6qkWbpsY

Other educational links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoMLvLuUlHc

Take some time to look at these videos and consider making your fleet of folks!

Wizdom:
1.  Can't find what you need?  Build your own!
2.  Youtube.com is a great source of how to videos on most every subject
3.  You can never have enough people on your layout