the MRH Forum

Thanks to MRH and Joe General discussion
Reply
Regular poster 435 posts jimcubie1 Regular poster 435 posts
jimcubie1

Thanks to Joe and other forum members.  I am modeling  the station at White River Junction VT.  Here is a bad photo.  I am posting to thank Joe and other forum posters for the ideas you have given me.  Joe posted about using silver solder -- all twelve lights are silver soldered.  Another person posted about resistor arrays -- since I need 12 1K resistors the arrays neaten things up a lot.  Many fellow cricut users helped. (In time this will be set down in the concrete so the bottom edges will be clean.) This station was modeled and featured in an old model railroader about 18 years ago.  I have done things differently, not better.  The surface is copy of the brick used on the building, taken into photoshop and printed as sheets. The cupola comes from old models, as recommended in the MR article, luck to find on ebay.  The celestory is cricut cut cardstock folded.  For windows, I drew them in inkscape, had them printed as decals (white) and applied to clear acetate.  Allows the windowpane separators to be to scale.  They are inset by a white cardstock cutout. Cricut also cut the arches, the MR modeler used a forstner bit.  He found jewelry for the exterior lights.  I designed in them in inkscape printed, cut and folded them.  Inkscape also allowed me to make the brick arch decoration -- using photos of s single brick and then "scattered" along the arch, and printed.  So it has been fun and frustrating.  Cardstock works very well on a basic rectangular box, but is hard to use when the corners are odd angles.  IT is  also hard to tighten it flat against the roof edge. I used scotch removable double sided tape extensively as I fitted and refitted the 4 pieces  which are on an mdf frame. Also cardstock is fragile and I live in constant dread of leaving a thumb print on it.  So thanks fellow forum members for all your ideas.  I have posted under "scenery" the challenge I face in making the weather vane and the model that goes atop the station.

MG_0423.JPEG 
Reply 0
Rick Sutton Prolific poster 4,360 posts
Rick Sutton

Jim

That is one gorgeous model! I found it very interesting how the methods have evolved over the years.

Thanks for posting.

 

.......what's up with that window next to the baggage  door?
Reply 0
joef MRH Founder 17,528 posts
joef

You guys are great

Yes, the MRH forum is a great place to kick around ideas. That’s why I love to come here to kick around all manner of things with you guys. You will hold my feet to the fire if needed, and that’s a good thing. You make me *think things through* and I appreciate that! So Jim, love to hear how we’ve been able to help you out with this hobby we all love!

Joe Fugate​
Publisher, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine

[siskiyouBtn]

Read my blog
Reply 0
bkivey Regular poster 363 posts
bkivey

A Great Looking Backdrop

The foreground, colors, and distance fading work perfectly. Nicely done. 
Reply 0
jimcubie1 Regular poster 435 posts
jimcubie1

YOur column -- my first read

Your column is the first thing I read in the magazine -- bought washers as you recommended, and those orange electrical connectors, and your research on track cleaning was a great service to the hobby.  I looked in vain for years for scientific tests on cleaning methods  and all I got was"well I've always used alcohol....."
Reply 0
joef MRH Founder 17,528 posts
joef

Thanks, Jim

Thanks for the kind words, Jim! One of my hobby heroes was Linn Westcott, the prominent editor of Model Railroader in the 60s and 70s. I always appreciated how he kept pushing the envelope in the hobby, and I am trying to do the same. I look at how we've been doing something in the hobby and keep asking ... "is there something better?" Also a passion has become the absolute most flawless operation possible. That lead to me doing a lot of digging on track cleaning ... what is black gunk on the track and how is it formed? What can we do to reduce it and keep track and wheels clean longer? Finally after a ton of research and experimentation, things gelled and the dielectric constant of solvents bubbled up to prominence. That's what chemists do to make the best solvents for cleaning electrical contacts like in switches and relays. Ah-hah! My latest fun project is the cover story for July -- zip ballasting. I've managed to boil ballasting down to two simple and quick steps ... and it goes lickety split. I now look forward to ballasting because it's so quick and simple now.

Joe Fugate​
Publisher, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine

[siskiyouBtn]

Read my blog
Reply 0
Al Carter tabooma county rwy Prolific poster 1,117 posts
Al Carter tabooma county rwy

@Joe

Joe,

Elsewhere you posted a photo from the forthcoming July issue, which showed the Deluxe Materials Ballast Cement.  Based on your comments about their products a few weeks back, I bought several of their offerings, including the Ballast Cement, and I'm here to attest to what a great product that is!  No more mixing my own ballast cement...  this stuff stays mixed in the bottle, and flows nicely through the micro-tip, and dissipates through the dry ballast - no pre-wetting needed.  I am really stoked about this product, as you can tell.  This stuff is the cat's meow, not that I know anything about cats....

Al Carter, Mount Vernon, WA
Reply 0
Pennsy_Nut Prolific poster 3,659 posts
Pennsy_Nut

Leaving us hanging

So now we sit here with our tongues hanging out waiting for the July MRH. Talk about dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit! I love it. Always something new coming from MRH/Joe and the other authors.

Morgan Bilbo, DCS50, UR93, UT4D, SPROG IIv4, JMRI. PRR 1952.
Reply 0
joef MRH Founder 17,528 posts
joef

Doesn't work with Woodland Scenics ballast ...

Quote:

Deluxe Materials Ballast Cement. Based on your comments about their products a few weeks back, I bought several of their offerings, including the Ballast Cement, and I'm here to attest to what a great product that is! No more mixing my own ballast cement... this stuff stays mixed in the bottle, and flows nicely through the micro-tip, and dissipates through the dry ballast - no pre-wetting needed. This stuff is the cat's meow ...

Yep, Deluxe Materials Ballast Bond is the cat's meow for sure.

However, it doesn't work with Woodland Scenics ballast. With stone ballast (Arizona Rock or sifted pavers sand, for instance), no prewetting needed. But with Woodland Scenics ballast (made from crushed and dyed walnut shells), the Ballast Bond glue still "balls up" ... but I've solved that and now no prewetting needed for Woodland Scenics ballast too!

Joe Fugate​
Publisher, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine

[siskiyouBtn]

Read my blog
Reply 0
Reply