Weekend Update 1/25/15

[Ken Rice]

Something from the other side of the layout:
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I no longer have to do my test runs with the powercab that's supposed to live on my workbench.  That's an NCE SB5 and power supply, feeding the layout through an EB3 set for 2.25 amp/10ms trip.  The coiled wire heading up through the benchwork goes to an RB02 radio base station.  At the other end of the radio signal is a cab04pr.  I know it's old fashioned but I just like running trains with a knob on a pot, not an encoder or push buttons, or even worse a touch screen.   

[rodsup9000]

Southern Pacific GS-1 Painted in Southern Pacific Lines Passenger Colors.





Jason Smith
Tomball Locomotive Works

 Damit Jason, Your killing me with all these SP loco's. I guess this is another one for me to build. Another very, very nice build.

[BobS]

Lift Bridge Installed

[chuck geiger]

Having to keep costs down and not too many trees on the Northern Colorado high plains, I used reindeer moss
from Hobby Lobby. Soaked in it gold acrylic paint and sprinkled light green, yellow grass on it. The armatures
our from our mums. Trunk painted gray. Not quite sold on the armatures.

[superturbine]

Hey thanks Otto and Rodney,

Its driven me CRAZY trying to color match the correct green.  This is the 3rd and final repainted version.  I think I am finally happy.

[Roger Holmes]

I finished the church that I made from the top two modules of the CMR Fyfe Building. Here's the start.  The top module as designed was to have a large mechanical room with five vertical fans.  I built a bell tower instead and then built a tile roof to match the contours of the ends.



I couldn't get diamond slate tiles that I wanted because all of the usual distributors were out so I used Evergreen 3/8 inch tile and laid the roof out on the diagonal which proved to be a bigger pain than I thought. 

The bell tower was cobbled up from scraps from the CMR kit (including three sets of the louvers from the vertical fans) and a lot of Evergreen strip.  The flashing around the bell tower was a fun evening of trial and error fitting since it had to fit around the ribs that I added to the corner pieces.  If you look through the louvers you can see the "brass" bell-- real metal--12 for $1.69 at Hobby Lobby.  I took my wife with me and it was $60.00 by the time we checked out.  Expensive bell!




I added a foundation and built a set of steps with Evergreen stock and strips.  The lower front windows were converted to doors and crosses made from Walthers window muntins were put into the insets where the Fyfe shield logos were to be.



I captured some stained glass windows from the web, sized them to fit the N scale windows (with the help of my secretary) and had them printed on clear sheet.  I added LED lighting--I will do a separate thread in how I lit the building for less than $4.00-- which really brought the church to life.  The stained glass detail is obvious in person but difficult to capture in photos.








The rest of the Fyfe Building is almost complete and should show up here in the next week or two.

[arbomambo]

Hello all,
some more work on this module today...added some figures to the "Dari King", painted the road and the 'earth' base, striped the road, then created the 'tar-filled' cracks...
Next are the gravel shoulders and parking lot.
~Bruce

[arbomambo]

Having to keep costs down and not too many trees on the Northern Colorado high plains, I used reindeer moss
from Hobby Lobby. Soaked in it gold acrylic paint and sprinkled light green, yellow grass on it. The armatures
our from our mums. Trunk painted gray. Not quite sold on the armatures.

Love the static grass application as well!
Bruce

[arbomambo]

I finished the church that I made from the top two modules of the CMR Fyfe Building. Here's the start.  The top module as designed was to have a large mechanical room with five vertical fans.  I built a bell tower instead and then built a tile roof to match the contours of the ends.



I couldn't get diamond slate tiles that I wanted because all of the usual distributors were out so I used Evergreen 3/8 inch tile and laid the roof out on the diagonal which proved to be a bigger pain than I thought. 

The bell tower was cobbled up from scraps from the CMR kit (including three sets of the louvers from the vertical fans) and a lot of Evergreen strip.  The flashing around the bell tower was a fun evening of trial and error fitting since it had to fit around the ribs that I added to the corner pieces.  If you look through the louvers you can see the "brass" bell-- real metal--12 for $1.69 at Hobby Lobby.  I took my wife with me and it was $60.00 by the time we checked out.  Expensive bell!




I added a foundation and built a set of steps with Evergreen stock and strips.  The lower front windows were converted to doors and crosses made from Walthers window muntins were put into the insets where the Fyfe shield logos were to be.



I captured some stained glass windows from the web, sized them to fit the N scale windows (with the help of my secretary) and had them printed on clear sheet.  I added LED lighting--I will do a separate thread in how I lit the building for less than $4.00-- which really brought the church to life.  The stained glass detail is obvious in person but difficult to capture in photos.








The rest of the Fyfe Building is almost complete and should show up here in the next week or two.

Absolutely Amazing build!
~Bruce

[Kisatchie]

Hmm... no gargoyles...?

[tom mann]

This week was pretty busy.  I was impressed with the lighting in Josh's ( @chicken45 ) house, so I installed 8 recessed lighting fixtures in my kitchen and dining room.  Each one is a 9W LED (equivalent to 65W flood) and I'm impressed that I have this much light now.  I'm sure I shortened my life crawling in the attic, breathing old insulation and dirt.

I also weathered an assortment of HO and N scale cars.

[Cajonpassfan]

Roger,
that church is very very nicely done, on several levels. You do know your architecture...
Regards, Otto

[rodsup9000]

 Roger,
 I agree with Otto. You did a some amazing work with it.

[Roger Holmes]

Thanks guys for the kind comments.  Dee, you may be on to something with the gargoyle idea!  Otto, I considered architecture as a career so I guess that's why my favorite part of the hobby is  building structures and cities--I get to play architect when I come home from my "day job."

[Lemosteam]

A conductor and his lantern for the Polar Express.  Below is a shot of Tom Hanks, sans mustache with a lantern a hangin'.



Roger, agree that church looks GREAT!