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Upgrading and detailing Atlas telephone poles Scenery and structures
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Active Member 67 posts RockabillyShaun Active Member 67 posts
RockabillyShaun

Upgrading and detailing Atlas telephone poles! So I went ahead and picked up 2 boxes of the Atlas telephone poles. $6 for 12 of them.. that's pretty cheap! Anyway, right out of the box they are WAY to shinny and just look like brown molded plastic. First thing I did was paint them with "Scale-coat - Railroad Grime #2" I then painted the connections where the cables would be with "Apple Barrel - Ivory" Finally I installed the transformer bucket and the utility cabinets and painted with with "Testers - Silver" Check it out!

Oh and before they're installed the cheap plastic bases will be cut off!

 

 

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Shaun Toman's Union Pacific HO Scale Oregon Division 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124768892@N06/sets/72157645286735675

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BruceNscale Regular poster 493 posts
BruceNscale

Insulator Variety

Hi Shaun,

Very good attention to details, your railroad will do you proud.

FYI, when broken insulators were replaced, the colors rarely matched.

Please consider a few random replacements(green, brown or clear gloss).

ignature.jpg 

Happy Modeling, Bruce
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splitrock323 Prolific poster 1,364 posts
splitrock323

Gloss coat

To make those resistors stand out, use a small brush and paint some clear gloss over them. Adds a shiny look similar to glass and stands out against the flat colors of the poles. I also like to run my razor-saw or zona-saw up and down the pole to make it look tougher like real treated timber. Thomas Gasior

Thomas W. Gasior MMR

Modeling northern Minnesota iron ore line in HO.

YouTube: Splitrock323      Facebook: The Splitrock Mining Company layout

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Chris Palermo patentwriter Frequent poster 972 posts
Chris Palermo patentwriter

I've also done this --

-- and I often trim off the bottom 1 or two cross-members, leaving only one cross-member at the top with insulators. Having three looks too "busy" to me and would only be appropriate for very densely wired areas. For the rural countryside and small towns on my layout, one cross-member is fine. It also increases the likelihood that I might actually string simulated wire some day.

I also do some dry-brushing of gray and grimy black on the pole.

Chris

 
At Large North America Director, 2024-2027 - National Model Railroad Association, Inc.
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