Miniature Christmas trees from Walmart

At some time before last Christmas while at Walmart I came across miniature Christmas trees. 6" ones were $1 each. 9" were $2 and smaller 74 cents. Some of them were covered in snow, others in glitter. I bought few smaller covered in snow. I figured I could possibly get off most of the snow with a wire brush or similar tool. Then I would spray paint them green and after paint dried sprinkle on some scenic grass. This is something I have yet to try.

It is no secret that majority of Christmas merchandise goes on sale next day. I didn't get out until the second day so my selection wasn't as big as it possibly could have been. All it was left was several
9" tall Christmas trees in glitter and some ornamental stuff.

I decided to give it a try and see if I can cover up all that glitter. This is where I am at with this experiment. After spraying with green paint some of the glitter is still showing through. I am hoping that after I sprinkle the trees with ground foam and hit with the dulcote the sparkles will disappear.

Building Trawler by Maritime Art Pt.3

Finally I will be able to get back to building what I like most. It was educational to do something else other than structures for a change but I won't be switching hobbies. I don't exclude possibility of building more boats in the future though. I would like to construct a layout with a waterfront so a boat or two will be must. For the time being I am going back to working on the structures.

Building Duffy's Coal by FSM Pt. 2

FOS Scale Models has new web site. It is www.fosscalemodels.com and it is completely re-designed. It is all around well done but the best part of it is large pictures. They showcase the kits much better than the old site. It makes me reach for my wallet...
When it comes to Duffy's I don't have much to say. It is moving along and if I don't make any mistakes then it will fall together without too much effort.

Building Utility boat by Maritime Art Pt.1

Finally I am picking up some speed. First two or so weeks after coming back from Europe were tough. It was hard to get in a mood to build something. At some point I even thought I was going to give up the hobby. In addition the second season of The 100 came recently out on Netflix which I have been waiting for for quite some time... Yes, I did some serious binge TV watching. I hadn't done anything like this since I got Netflix streaming service and discovered Lost. That was in about 2009. So... I have caught up with all the shows I had DVRed as well so I am ready to do some serious damage to my stash of the kits and the pile of unfinished projects.
Before I did any rigging on the trawler I viewed it as being extremely intimidating. I had my reason. Provided diagrams are useless, many pictures on the CD that comes with the kit are out of focus or show something else other than rigging, the manual is full of unfamiliar terms. No surprise that got into deep procrastination mode. However, since I've had the trawler and the utility boat in my possession for about a year I felt quite guilty. I wanted to make some progress but in no way I could get myself out of procrastination so instead I started working on the utility boat. I should have started with it though. It is simpler. The hull is of better quality And the rigging isn't that complicated. It came with extra detail pack included so instead of one boom my version will have two. That adds some extra rigging as well which I am about to start working on. However after all I would have been better off had I started with the utility boat.

Building Duffy's Coal by FSM Pt. 1

I have been gone for a little haven't I. I took a trip to Europe that got extended by a day due to Lufthansa cabin crew strike. I am back now and I am back to building models. Modeling is still a little challenging due to the jet lag. It is hard to stay awake in the evenings yet. I used to get back to normal in a few days but not this time. I am not sure if I am getting old or it is just that time of year. My all previous trips to Europe except for one were in the summer.
After I got back I found that Trainmasters TV episode with George Sellios and F&SM was available so I didn't waste too much time. Unfortunately my Google phone didn't want to cooperate and ruined whole experience. I use screen cast feature to watch videos on a big screen. Before upgrade to whatever version of Android it worked fine. After upgrade I am getting all sorts of problems. Sometimes video stops and only audio keeps going. Sometimes video and audio is out of sync. Other times it throws "Video cannot be played" and quits. I have read that it most likely is because of WiFi bugs in newer version of Android that show their ugly heads more often in older Google phones. I doubt that the issue will ever get fixed. I recently upgraded to yet newer version of the operating system but the situation didn't improve. Fortunately, there are other solutions available. I bought mini HDMI to regular HDMI cable for my Kindle Fire. I had some concerns that it might not work but I was wrong. The cable was exactly what I needed. I didn't spend much time watching Trainmasters TV but I can say that quality of the video has improved. It is much sharper now and has no playback issues. Now I need to find time and watch George Sellios video again.
Coincidentally I am working on one of the George creations. Duffy's wasn't on my short list of kits to build but I have been asked and I have taken the opportunity. I don't think I will be pointing to the errors too much if any at all unless I make my own. So far so good. Like always the pictures don't reflect the current status of the build. I have made a little more progress since then.

Building Trawler by Maritime Art Pt.2

Exactly one week ago FOS Scale Models introduced their fall limited edition kit Printers Row. I am surprised that the kit is still available as of right now. I believe last year's kit sold out in 5 days. To me the Printers Row is as good if not better than the Red Hook Wharf. I am not sure if over all drop of interest in craftsman kits has something to do with it or perhaps "investors" got disappointed by eBay sales of the Execution Rock and the Oyster Hill. You can still expect to make some $50 selling
these two kits but that is far lower number than if you happened to have the Red Hook Wharf for sale. It sells for about a double of what the list price was. Another possible cause may be release of the Red Light District some 6 months ago. Not everyone's wallet can handle two kits of such caliber per year. In any case let's hope everything goes well and the Printers Row gets sold out in the next one or two weeks.
The pictures of the Trawler I am about to post are some 3+ months old. However up until last week the kit was in exactly the same state so the information isn't that outdated. Since then I have pushed it to the top of my priority list and I have actually some work done. The boat is shaping up...

Building Smith Coal & Ice by Railroadkits Pt.1

Two days ago I got home after work very late. I took my car for a maintenance and missed my more less OK traffic window. I had a plan to build some models that night but after spending some time looking for the tools and supplies I finally gave up. Instead I decided put together a shelving unit, get things out of the boxes and get at least a little bit more organized. It wasn't easy. Under normal circumstances whenever I bring new thing it somehow finds its place. When everything is out of place at once it becomes huge puzzle. I managed to get about 15% of stuff organized that evening but at the same time I came to the realization that after I put in another shelving unit, bookcase, and a table I pretty much won't have room left for a layout. I'll have to make some radical changes when/if I start one.
I have been building Smith Coal for some number of moons. It is my filler project. Whenever I can't go to the next step while working on a big project or simply get tired of it I get out Smith Coal. I am not so far from the point when I will have to start turning it into diorama but it may be also the point where it stalls. I have a little backlog to take care of first.

Building Red Hook Office by FOS Scale Models Pt.1

Couple of days ago I received a text from my cell phone service provider that I had maxed out on my data. Only then I realized that the video stream I had been sending to my Roku didn't come through my WiFi connection but through the cellular network. The good news is that today is the beginning of the new billing period and the usage goes back to zero. However, from now on I need to make sure my data is off when I do screen casting.
I couldn't keep myself from building something during the move but I needed something small, something that I could possibly finish before I get back to my regular projects. FOS Red Hook Office was just the kind of project I needed. In the past I have modified in some way all Doug's freebies I have built. I didn't want to break the tradition so this build isn't exception. So far I have replaced the front wall with shingled one. To do that I had to cut new one from chipboard and glue shingles on it. I couldn't use the original because the thickness would have changed and I would have had to make too many adjustments to the other parts. I also added back door that I cut out of laserboard to match the one in the front. I have few more changes coming as well so stay tuned.

Final pictures of the Grandma's House by Campbell

Joe Fugate told me about Trainmasters TV at National Train Show in Atlanta back in 2013. I have been curious about it ever since but I didn't become a subscriber because I didn't want to watch it on a computer. Few months ago I asked Trainmasters TV if they were planning on making an app for Roku and/or other stream devices. They told me that I could use cast screen feature of my smart phone to send the stream to my Roku and watch videos on a big screen. Unfortunately my Roku was too old so I spent few months debating myself whenever I should get a new one. If not for TMTVs summer sale most likely I would still be in the same state. Actually two things happened at the same time, TMTV summer sale and Roku discount for an upgrade, so I cracked and got new box and became TMTV subscriber for a year.
So far I have watched two episodes.  I found them to be a bit too heavy on real trains. While I don't mind learning about 1:1 scale I am more interested in smaller scales. It looks like later episodes  are more geared towards modeling so it is all good. What I am missing at the moment is a chair. I am watching my TV sitting on the floor still.
I have completion of another kit yet to report. This time is an oldie. It is the Grandma's House by Campbell. It wasn't an easy build. The kit was very old. I don't know if sugar pine is brittle by itself or it was the age of the kit but I had to re-glue several wall pieces back together. Also after making the base according to drawings I found that not all wall dimensions match the drawings. Since I didn't have base material left to start from the beginning I had to sweat a bit to get more less acceptable placement of the base relative to the rest of the structure. Well, it isn't finest piece of my work but given challenges I had to go through I feel like I did decent job.
The experience with the Grandma's House raises the question whenever it is worth buying any of the old Campbell kits. Perhaps not even new as well because I am not sure if new kits are being produced using the same die cutting process and if sugar pine is still being used. It is possible that I would be better off if I obtained just the drawings and built from scratch.

Final pictures of Dill's Market by Laserkit

I have spent my last two nights at the new home. I guess I have officially moved. Last night I was assembling back a desk that will become my workbench. Unfortunately couldn't finish the job because the desk got damaged a little in the move and some parts had to be glued back together. It is still nice desk though and I don't want to ruin it so I need to find some kind of protector. As soon I get this done I will be back building models.
Meanwhile I have some pictures of the project a finished right before the move. It is Dill's Market by Laserkit. The signs are not from the kit. I thought without them the structure would look too boring so I added few.
Occasionally I get inquiries about availability of my projects so perhaps I should mention that I don't have it anymore.

Building The Millett Creamery by South River Modelworks Pt.4

Moving isn't something I do very often. In fact I haven't moved for 14 years but I am about to do it. We are downsizing but I am getting bigger modeling room. I will have enough space for a medium size layout but I this point I am thinking about small one just to see if it is something I would enjoy. No promises though.
I have been packing on and off for the past two weeks. Along with it I have been trying to finish the creamery and last night I finally achieved the objective. I will pack it over the weekend and on Monday it will be on its way. I will have one less thing to worry about when final push comes.

Building Shady Grove Texaco by Bar Mills Pt.2

This is the season. FSM has announced their new kit. After several years of disappointment they have finally released something I really like. Still no credit card or PayPal orders though. I truly believe not accepting them is hurting the sales. It is much easier to put something on a credit card than spend hard earned cash. It is even easier to buy with PayPal Credit and have 6 months to pay. With several major kits releases coming every fall majority of modelers have to make decisions which one or two to get. Guess who wins. The one who makes it easier to order. Anyway, I am not running FSM. Nor polls, nor hurting sales can't convince them to add something as simple as PayPal button to their web site.
While I was typing Southriver Modelworks has released their latest which may as well be their very last kit. It is smaller than usual but still very interesting kit. People will line up over night to get this one. I may grab 5 of them and then profit on eBay.
Today's update isn't really new. I cut out diorama base, applied dirt and some scenery at the same time as for FOS Magic Shop. The thought was that I could do more by working on several dioramas at once. Time savings would come from gathering all tools and supplies and cleaning afterwords. I would have to do all this only once. It worked in some degree. I had three dioramas and they were taking up too much space. I had to move them around to get access and it wasn't convenient. Most likely I won't do this again unless I get more space.
The pictures are perhaps 6 weeks old but I haven't done anything to diorama since then so they reflect true current status.

Building The Millett Creamery by South River Modelworks Pt.3

I am back after a month or so of hiatus. First I took one week of vacation. I was on the way home and already planning my next modeling steps when things got really bad. Because of that I had to extend my time off and fly to Arizona for a few days. After returning back I had hard time getting back into modeling. Ironic thing is that I always complain about how I am tired of working with my brain and how nice it would be making for living with my hands. I found out hard way that unoccupied brain isn't what I want under certain circumstances. Therefore I spent quite a bit of time mindlessly watching TV instead of building models. I feel better now although "whys" and "what ifs" still pop up in my head from time to time.
All right. Time for pictures.

Building The Millett Creamery by South River Modelworks Pt.2

I had quite eventful several weeks or so. That affected my ability to work on models somewhat and a lot on ability to take pictures and update my blog. The major events with biggest impact have been adoption of a kitten and lightning taking out half or even more of house electronics. The kitten is becoming less needy as she grows and I have been able to restore our equipment to near pre-lighning level by obtaining new or fixing. Finally I am able to spend more time in my modeling room.
Speaking of Millett Creamery my path leading to this point wasn't all straight. After test fitting the additions I realized that outer side of one of the side walls of the main building had shape of a bow vertically and horizontally. Of corse, it had to be the one where clapboard office attaches just to make it more interesting. I couldn't fill the gap with drywall spackle like between brick wall sections. To solve the issue I have decided to move whole addition forward so that it extends by the thickness of clapboard wall and cut into stone foundation so that clapboard wall overlaps main building wall a little covering up the gap. I also have had to make few other adjustments there and there too to make everything fit. Given circumstances I am pleased with the end result. However, I am not done yet. I will have to redraw all docks as well since they wrap around some parts of the additions and as designed they won't work anymore.