Here is a tale more than 90 years old, yet its unsolved mystery remains to this day... 

I recently built a 1/48 diorama of a little Sonoran village, San Lorenzo, Arizona. The diorama was entered in the model contest at the 33rd annual Narrow Gauge Convention in Pasadena, California last August. It was awarded the Gazette Award by the editor of the Narrow Gauge and Short LIne Gazette.

Recently, I photographed the diorama out in the desert for the upcoming magazine article for the Gazette, and enjoyed seeing how the natural light really enhanced the models. Here are a few unpublished photos:

I have been too busy modeling to post progress, but I finished a Mexican oxcart (called a carreta) and have a few photos to share:

The carreta is basically part of an old Revell western kit dating back to the late 1950s. I added scratchbuilt wheels, a hay bale load, and a pair of oxen.

Here's a mission I just completed for my little Sonoran village of San Lorenzo. It is made from blocks of florist foam, spackling compound, wood, styrene and acrylic paint:

I recently upgraded my saguaro cacti on my Arizona-themed layout:

More to come in following installments.

Some things don’t change...including many traits in ourselves and the people we know best. We can always change our behavior when motivated or compelled to do so...to quit smoking, lose weight, etc. But as research has shown, our personalities and preferences that form as a young child tend to be the foundation that helps define us through our lives.

I have a thing for little Porter locomotives...and when Bachmann announced their Tsunami sound-equipped models, I was delighted. Once running my 0-4-2 and 0-4-0 locos, however, I found they tended to stall and cut out to the point that they simply remained on the shelf.

I explored cleaning track using several high-tech options...I added pickup shoes underneath added brake detail...on and on. Nothing seemed to a) consistently solve the pickup problem while b) not adding any new problems or issues. I was stalled just like my locomotives.