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Vagel Keller
Crew Chief
USA
722 Posts |
 Posted - 09/07/2010 : 6:04:42 PM
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Great job, Rick. Futzing beats a carefully laid out plan any day!
Vagel
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MarkF
Engineer
USA
9272 Posts |
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dlwrailfan1
Crew Chief
USA
574 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2010 : 9:59:13 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Harsco
Don..good point...as if steel making terms aren't confusing enough, USS had to have their own name for it...LOL. Thanks for the comments, guys...a little voice inside my head is telling me to remember I have an open house/ops session scheduled for the end of the month and to stop futzing and start cleaning up!
Yes, yes, my crystal ball is coming into focus, the fog is rising. I see a big event with modelers coming from all over to gather under two maples. I can read the sign now, it says the DoubleTree Hotel. It must be Princeton Junction, September 30 to October 3.
Still time to register for the convention. The HARSCO folks have promised to spiff up the steel mill, as much as possible -- tour guides have been recruited.
Click now -- the web site is www.mer.nmra.org. The registrar is ready and waiting. |
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MarkF
Engineer
USA
9272 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2010 : 08:53:06 AM
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| And to add to Eric's note, the op sessions (call boards) are filling up fast! I will be at Harsco's HTRR, as well as at Joe C's D&H and John Rahenkamp's CL&W. All three are excellent railroads to operate! I hope to meet some forum folks at one of these sessions. |
Mark
See my homepage at http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/
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Harsco
Fireman
USA
1101 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2010 : 10:28:10 PM
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Thanks for the comments, guys....I think Vagel hit the nail on the head: futzing is just another name for disorganized modeling ("I wonder what would happen if....").
Here's a sequence of pictures of me working through the Harsco Shipping Department area of the layout, which lies between Maclay and Division Streets. Harsco's chief product is rail, so there's gotta be a place to load the outbound finished product. Being frugal, I thought this would be a good chance to continue futzing around with the paper corrugated iron siding product I purchased from Miniature Planet. Here's some before, in-progress, and current state of the area:
Here's the area after Mark F laid out the sidings:
The background building flats are illustration board with strips of MP siding applied; the vertical lines are pencil; the rust is from pastel powders. The windows are an experiment still in the process of evaluation: wallboard joint screening with wax paper glazing and a black construction paper "shade". The jury is still deliberating on this technique and it may need further futzing and refinement.
Eventually the background flats will be further detailed with doors, lights, and piping, then attached to the backdrop using double-sided tape.
The crane is a Brawa kit I picked up for a song and a dance at the steel molders meet a couple of years back..in fact it was a "throw-in" when I bought the coke ovens. Despite the instructions being in German, this was one of the most precise, detailed, and enjoyable kits I have ever assembled. Originally designed as a container crane, it will be "re-tooled" to load rail into gondolas. I'm still debating whether to paint it a more safety-conscious color or leave it the nice factory green:
To create a canyon effect as well as hide the entire crane way to nowhere problem, I cobbled up a non-descriptive, typical "mill" building to serve as a view block. The walls are illustration board, the siding again MP, and the details Walters, Rix, and scrap box. To ward off warping, I used 3/4 x 3/4 wood bracing:
Not having a definitive plan but only a vague idea when starting, I often put these things together then go back over time and add details to them. This building was a bit of departure from the background versions in that both horizontal and vertical lines were drawn on with pencil. Like the others, weathering is pastel chalks. One nice side effect of the paper siding: if you don't like your weathering attempt, simply rub it off with a clean eraser!
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Edited by - Harsco on 09/08/2010 10:32:47 PM |
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RSCo
Section Hand
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2010 : 11:18:35 PM
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| Buildings are looking good Rick. I have the same crane sitting in a box somewhere in pieces - if you need parts,..etc. it doesn't fit my era. Another idea for those mill building windows that I saw at the Steel Mill Modelers Meet this past weekend - a fellow used those DPM warehouse window pieces and just cut and spliced a long strip together. The paint job on the crane is spot-on too - outstanding work as usual. |
Jim Musser
Hainesport, NJ
blog - http://mussersteelmill.blogspot.com |
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Steam Nut
Fireman
USA
1277 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2010 : 11:34:24 PM
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| I think that crane could realy load rail, Look out the gears are turning! |
Steam Lives! |
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Vagel Keller
Crew Chief
USA
722 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2010 : 11:47:46 PM
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That's the ticket, Rick! Always hard to tell just from photos, but it seems to me that those window strips are just fine from the perspective of the aisle. The overall effect in the corner is great.
Vagel |
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MarkF
Engineer
USA
9272 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2010 : 12:34:36 AM
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| Very nice work Rick! Geez, between the futzing, and now 'cobbling', you are getting a lot done! |
Mark
See my homepage at http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/
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LVRALPH
Fireman
5430 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2010 : 06:30:30 AM
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| Man, I wish I could futz like you. People that attend your open house will be pleased! |
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Harsco
Fireman
USA
1101 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2010 : 07:24:17 AM
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Jim...the DPM window idea sounds good...I have lots of Walther's windows from their modular kits...hmmm. As far as appearance goes, the screen idea isn't too bad for a background flat, but certainly wouldn't pass muster in a foreground version. I'm not satisfied with the waxed paper attempt either, at least not yet....more futzing is required. As far as the crane goes, I had everything in the kit...if nothing else, you should assemble it just to experience the sheer joy of parts fitting together almost perfectly; what a joy! Sorry I missed the Steel Mill Modelers Meet...how'd the presentation go?
Steam: the crane actually has metal gears (this will really get his gears turning!)
Ralph...you're being modest; I consider your work with signals the ultimate form of "futzing"...I would have thrown in the towel long ago. Many years ago I came to realize a basic formula about my skill level when dealing with electrons, ie: Me + electricity = two alarm inferno. LOL.
Mark: this is what a week's vacation will do for me....I really wanted to at least get the buildings "blocked out" in the corner before the end of the month, as well as finally settle on a track arrangement for Maclay. There's still a whole lot more to be done.
And finally, my sincere thanks to everyone who's checked on the thread...I'm humbled.
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Steam Nut
Fireman
USA
1277 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2010 : 07:49:54 AM
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| Metal gears already, Oh boy and have a ton of motors! |
Steam Lives! |
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BBLmber
Fireman
USA
4232 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2010 : 08:20:14 AM
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Rick, great job on creating thwe scene, as for the non existant craneway. How about a third building flat about an inch deep with an opening big enough for the crane to enter and where you can jut see the stacks of rail ends just inside.
Mark |
W,L,&E |
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nhguy
Fireman
USA
3666 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2010 : 2:07:57 PM
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Rick,
That scene is really coming together. I was kind of thinking the same as Mark. But I was thinking of maybe a loading dock along the front half of the building in front of the crane track on the right. Either that or bump out the front flat an inch or so. Your steel mill receives supplies to doesn't it? That would make for some more destinations with your cars. I do like the results of your futzing and cobbling. Keep it up!
Bill
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Bill Shanaman
Superintendent, New Haven RR in the 1948 to 1952 era
PMRA President 2013-14, OpSIG Member
NCE User Since 1999
Sugar City, Colorado |
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dnhman
Fireman
USA
1049 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2010 : 4:02:48 PM
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Rick,, well done that area is on its way to be another winner!
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Cheers!, Joe |
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Topic |
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Harrisburg Terminal Railroad (HTRR)
