Project Update: Finescale Miniatures JS-13 Elijah Roth & Sons

The biggest news of the past week is that Model Power is closing the shop. Apparently the business model they have been relying on for about 50 years is no longer working. Really sad news. They have been my source of inexpensive HO scale vehicles and unpainted figures. They also made very nice detailed flex track. I don't know if it was good and reliable but looked very good on dioramas. Only hope I have that someone picks up their molds and restarts production at least of some of the Model Power products.
Last night I watched a movie called "Get Low". The movie setting is in 30s. I was interested not only in its plot but also in the period it depicts. I am sure set designers use some amount artistic license but I didn't see a single vehicle painted in other color than black. That matches my impression of the era but then some manufacturers like Athearn sell or used to sell HO scale vehicles painted in a range of colors. Is it historically accurate or just marketing trick? I am sure some people must buy one of each color, others don't want all of their vehicles to be black so there is greater chance to sell more by offering variety of colors. I am split between historical accuracy and what makes diorama look better. I want to find out the truth though.
E.Roth diorama isn't moving forward at a pace I would like it to. Every task I do takes more time than I think it should. Last night I expected to done be done "planting" within 30 minutes. Instead, it took me nearly 2 hours and it isn't done yet. I still have to apply one type of scenic material which I have skipped this time around since sidewalks haven't been weathered yet. I am not that much in the rush but on the other hand anything that doesn't get finished before summer has lower chance of being done during it...

Project Update: Finescale Miniatures JS-13 Elijah Roth & Sons

Here I am again. This time I am very serious about finishing it. The lighting is built in. The issues caused by Envirotex have been corrected. Almost all sub-assemblies have been built so the rest pretty much is straight forward. I need 1 or 2 vehicles to put on diorama though. The ones I had built for Houligan's have been sold so I have to make new ones. I think I'll do 4 Jordans this time around. This way I'll waste less time cleaning my airbrush. Other than that I don't have much to report. The pictures should tell the rest.

Project Update: The Magic Shop by FOS Scale Models

I haven't abandoned Magic Shop completely. Actually, when you look at it there is not so much left to do. One good night session should do it. And then, of course, I still need to make diorama. I have been sketching some ideas for it in my head but I am not seeing whole picture yet. Perhaps I need a good hike in the woods to finalize it...

Project Update: Tidewater Wharf by Builders in Scale

Recently amazing work of Emmanuel Nouaillier has been brought to my attention. You can see it for yourself here http://www.009.cd2.com/members/how_to/nouaillier_a.htm. Emmanuel quite regularly publishes his how-to articles in Continental Modeller magazine. Three month digital subscription to the magazine for around $16 gives you access to the back issues starting from 2011. Besides Nouaillier's work there is plenty of info on layouts from all over the world. Should I event mention that I am on board? I have three months to digest all of it and decide if I want to continue my subscription.
The another piece of news is that apparently Preiser has re-released its unpainted figure sets. It has been very hard to get them over the past few years and now I am seeing big influx on eBay. It is good news to those who like painting their own figures. I particularly like the ability to customize them. By customization I mean not only painting but changing figure features. Yes, I perform surgery on them!
Talking about main the feature of this post I am still in chaos. I am still shuttling parts and sub-assemblies of Tidewater home and back. Some of them have been sitting on my workbench for days if not weeks. I am focused on other projects when modeling at home. I really need to finish two or three projects within next few months. After this goal is achieved I will be more flexible but by then I should be done with Tidewater
as well...

Project Update: Wicked Wanda's by Bar Mills

The oldest project now is finished. It has taken me 4++ years to do it. For the most part it sat on a shelf collecting dust. It was very hard to re-motivate myself but it was something I had to do. The unfinished projects just kept accumulating taking up valuable shelf space. Not to mention all painted, purchased detail pieces and figures in little containers everywhere.
This is the first one of two or three projects I want to finish before building something new. The commissioned ones don't count. Ideally it would be nice to finish all of them but spending a year or so working on old stuff seems a little unrealistic. The ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 is something I can handle.
The problem with really old projects is that they reflect my ideas from 3 or 4 years ago. A lot has changed since then. I wouldn't construct diorama the same way now. Good thing including Wanda's I had only two projects in diorama construction phase. I am free to do the other ones new way. Only I have to keep in mind that once I start building diorama I need to make sure I finish it. Few years down the road thing may look differently.

Drawing Board News: Bun's Seed and Feed by E.L.Moore

In 4+ years I have been in the hobby I have accumulated quite impressive number of kits. I have built some 30+. I surprised myself when I counted them all. It isn't the only thing I do, i.e. collect and build kits. I also collect reference material of various structures I hope one day to scratchbuild. The material consists of photos, plans from magazines, drawings from Library of Congress, etc. Once in awhile I get bit by the bug to do scratchbuilding project. I have started few of those and all of them are based on photos. I usually hit a roadblock when I need to figure the dimensions. Many of the structures are monster sized in HO scale. They need to be selectively compressed. I am not quite certain what is the best way to do it and this is where my interest vanishes. Because of that I am trying different approach this time around. I am using plans drawn by E.L.Moore and published in MRR. The dimensions have been figured out already. All I need to do is to finely tune up everything. I may add, remove or change features as I go to make the structure more interesting, to add a little more character.
I am using CAD software to do this. TurboCAD in particular. The maker of it used to sell outdated versions for very low price. They even used to offer one extremely outdated for free. It was limited to 2D. Not like I do much of 3D though. Actually I do non of it. Anyway, I know how to use TurboCAD and it fits my needs. One feature in particular I like is ability to load a picture and draw over it. The neat thing is that it loads the pictures in real size. That eliminates a need for measuring tools and is more accurate. I can scan some scale windows, load pictures, trace over openings and create templates for cutting window glass. Or use it for some other purpose.
So far I have traced the plans and have created three sided drawing. Next step would be to match all dimensions, make changes to the design if desired, and proceed to engineering part.

Project Update: The Magic Shop by FOS Scale Models

I have added contact me gadget to my blog. I don't know when has it become available. I am quite sure it wasn't when I started this blog. Anyway, now anyone including bots and spammers can contact me for whatever reason. Go ahead email me.
On another note I have learned recently that AK Interactive founders, Mig and the main man behind Valejo, have split up. It is a little old news. All of this happened back in October. The fallout of this is that AK Interactive US distribution has disapeared. The product is still available directly from Spain but I am quite sure delivery time and cost have increased. Weathering Magazine is now being run solely by Mig. I am not sure about its future though. At least first four issues I own relied heavily on AK Interactive and Valejo products. The situation is kind of odd now. Will Mig still advertise and support his former partner by including articles in his magazine that reference to AK weatering products and Valejo paints? Or will he promote home brewed solutions? I would vote for latter. With some product lines going away or getting harder to obtain it would be nice to know the bassics.
Oh yeah! The main topic is Magic Shop progress. Despite having my hands full with Tidewater, Ideal Hosiery, and yet another diorama I have almost finished, I have managed to inch forward this project a little. I don't have much to report other than the fact that the structure has not so common shape and therefore some care needs to be taken gluing walls together. The pictures tell the rest.