Mike’s been in touch again, this time with his HO engine house plans (his last post is here).
“Hi Al…Here’s my latest creation from start to almost finished…needs roof finalized…This started out as a Little Caesars Pizza box….Enjoy all….
Mike”
HO engine house plans:
“Al, the best paint for foam is Latex house paint. I always look through the “mis-matched” paint at the big box stores. I look for the earth tones for painting scenery and any other colors for what ever I am working on next. Most times you can get it cheap. If you add a little water on top it will stay good for a long time.
Bob”
“Still working hard.
Michael”
A big thanks to Mike for sharig his HO engine house plans.
I do love seeing all your scratch builds – it’s amazing what you lot make out of the stuff most people throw away.
There are so many examples of this on the blog, here’s one that springs to mind:
I liked to today’s post. It reminded me of the good old days when all I used to publish is tips. I don’t get many sent in nowadays.
Thanks to Mike for sharing his update. I do love seeing them as the progress – and it also gets the message across: the only way you’ll have a layout is to get started. Course, I’m biased, but the Beginners Guide will give you a great start.
That’s all this time folks.
Please do keep ’em coming. Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
Best
Al
Nice, creative work. I love the homemade stuff. I also love the can of PBR on the work table. A man after my own heart.
Hi Mike.That scratch built engine shed looks great. I like the built stuff more than the plastic bought stuff. Like to see more when you get along with it.
Michael that is a darn nice scratch built water tower .Looks way better than a plastic job and looks way more realistic.Like to see more if possible.. Keep up the good work.
TANX the replies…but the water tower’s not mine…only building…Mike
Question…
I’m an American Flyer guy.
Might someone please describe the merits/disadvantages of “high track” and “low rack?”
Thanks.
JOe T.
excellent idea using recyclables for scenery etc
good work
keep em runnin fellas
stjohn in Long Beach calif
Hi Lee.
I take it that all the pictures are HO. My Layout is all ‘O’ guage scale, I have it about 1/3 finished layout with track, All my running stock in on the layout. I have not yet started the my building and scenery but will do that after all the layout is finished, which will be 25 feet by 32 feet. The electrical will be tremendous. I also have built a working overhead crane. This is a complete new layout which was all running 40 some years ago. I pulled it all up and stored it in the attic, and most of my locos were damaged from the heat and now I am repairing them. Most all of these locos are not being made anymore and parts are not available either so I make my own.
Best regards.
Richard.
Nice Scratch build there Mike , well done ….Dave
Well done, Mike! Now I can recycle/use those pizza boxes instead of putting all of them out in the recycle bin. To Joe, the disadvantage of “high” rail is that it doesn’t look as realistic or “in-scale” as low rail. The advantage is if you have any motive power or rolling stock with oversized wheel flanges it is less likely to derail. Same is true for code 83 versus code 100 HO rail. Hope this helps.
Norm in York, PA
i have been using n guage trains and want to switch to ho and i am going to use bachman tracks for the train. i am planning to use one diesel and 5 passanger trains, was told that they would not run on that track but was not told why. anyone know the reason for this? am getting pretty discourage. thanks for the info.
love the engine shed. a great job with the how to pics more helpful than only the finished product that i have seen.
Hi Gang…My layout is actually N Scale….Thank’s the compliments…..Mike
I really like the scratch-build tips. Thank you
idea’s idea’s you can never have too many thanks. IAN
good tip on the latex paint. Keep up the good work. Gator
Love seeing the scratch build stuff, improvised materials and seeing how all you creative minds make it come together. Always interesting to see! Thanks for sharing. Cary in KY
There it is in living color. The key to getting started in pix 2, All take note. A can or two of PBR gets the creative juices flowing.
So pop a top and you, too, can start an awesome hobby.
Tom is correct on Creative Juices Flowing PBR is the official beer of Burning Man and bought by the pallet, Works for us.
you’ll have mice living in your engine shed sniffing out the pizza remnants. Why not make sky lights to give it a finished look instead a flat homemade look ( ^^^^^ )
The Critic
Re: the water tower roof. It is a cone and very easy to layout in one piece. If separate boards are desired the cardboard can be scored while still flat.
Funny though, all the engines in that engine house smell like pepperoni…I wonder why…. 🙂
“i am planning to use one diesel and 5 passenger trains, was told that they would not run on that track but was not told why.”
That’s because those passenger sets will have more trouble negotiating the standard 18″ radius of most commercial track. They will more than likely uncouple or even derail on that tight of a turn. You CAN get a radius of up to 22″, which will help some, but I don’t know if Bachmann sells that particular radius or not.
Great idea, mr lee has print a house, bank, factory etc,. At reasonable cost all in proper color, etc, back it with cardboard, like your pizza box, NO ANCHOVIES , make it much stronger,
Have tried “building” a couple with limited success mostly because they are flimsy in G Gage. Which I have track, cars, engines , desire, limited right of way.
But, someday soon, maybe.
Pretty Kool.!!!! I am going to have to try that.
Best recycle use of a pizza box ever!
Bil, try balsa wood for a backer. It’s available in various thicknesses and widths, Also, it’s not much harder than card to cut.
A lot of stuff that goes into trash cans ends up on my HO layout. I dislike those plastic buildings because they look plastic. I find that toilet paper rolls make pretty good silos. Corrugated roofing can be made by rolling heavy weight aluminum foil around certain screw caps to make the corrugations. Various size cardboard containers can be made into tanks of various sizes. They can be painted with acrilic paint or covered with construction paper. It’s not a question of being “cheap”, but imaginative ways to use materials. “Anyone can build a kit”, but taking it a stage further by super detailing can turn an ordinary building into a mimiature masterpiece. I find that visitors comment on the “Scratch built” buildings I make and disregard the plastic ones. I find this is true of most serious modelers.
more work but cheaper than a kit. nice job