Modeling Tools

 

So on my shopping trip today to Walmart for food and Groceries for the next month, I was able to buy some chalk for weathering. I have been looking for colored chalk for a while but the Walmart i frequent has been out of stock for a while. The above picture shows two boxes of chalk. The one on the left is from my local Dollar store and the one on the right is the box that i purchased today. The orange, reds and the brown will make good rust colors and the greens will be handy too.

I also decided to try some heavy duty foil which of course i will compare to the normal foil for making my car bodies.

Rod Stewart

Would you believe it? Rod Stewart is also a Railway Modeler too.
Watch the Youtube Video Here

Junk Yard Cars

While searching around the internet, i found an article on how to replicate car bodies perfect for a junk yard scene. The article can be found here on the HO Railroad.com website.

I thought it was a wonderful idea and would fit into a scene of mine. You can see my attempt i made above. I however just used normal aluminum foil as i just wanted to give it a try and didn’t have any heavy duty  foil. Once i can find some or acquire some, the quality of the body may improve but I’m still quite happy with the end effect.  Just need to add some dull paint and it should be complete.

In other news, I seem to have found a model store that will be my source for all my modeling needs. It is situated in downtown Penticton and prices seem reasonable. The store named “Finescale Models” stocks nearly everything i need for modeling. My big dilemma at the moment is “To Train or not to Train” That is the question. Should i get into rail modeling and build my cities around the trains or continue doing what I’m doing and scratch build just houses how i want it.
I am doing as much research as i can to see whether or not i will be interested in doing it. Other questions raised are, How do i go about running trains in a small space? Research has so far found this website, (Carendt Micro/Small Layouts), with over 1500 small layouts to look at.

Modeling

Since i last made an entry, i have ventured into the world of Modeling. There are no catwalks involved in this modeling though and I’m not too sexy for my shirt. I keep my shirt on for this type of modeling.
I have finally found a hobby that i am quite interested in and keeps me entertained for hours on end. It started with scratch building a small house from ice cream sticks. As i write this, i now have the original house and 4 other buildings i have built from scratch and a mountain side.

What i like most about this type of modeling is the ability to do what i want. I can take a photograph or an image in my head and turn it into my own little world. I can make it as detailed or give it as little detail. In my world though, i like to give it as much detail as possible.

Doing research on modeling i have seen that i have a lot to learn in this hobby of mine. There are some very skilled craftsmen out there and i would love to get to half of there skills. As for me right now, i will keep plugging away and learning as much as i can. Only today did i learn a good use for my used coffee grounds that i just throw away. I can use the old coffee grounds as dark earth for my landscapes if prepared correctly. Perfect. Cheap earth! You will find that advice here.