Brian’s been back in touch with some great tips on creating some model railroad scenes.
You may want to refresh your memory about his 6×12 N scale.
This time he shows us how many ‘small scenes’ there are in his layout – it’s a wonderful video:
“Hi again, first of all have to say your site is powerful, that last video I sent you up around 2K views already!
So… at the risk of wearing out my welcome, here’s another.
Goals with this one are two-fold.
1. To show the importance of small scenes on a model railroad. Viewers will note the trains are simply for background. It’s what’s in front of the trains that are the stars. The small scenes.
2. This video was shot on my iPhone and edited with iMovie. Something we can all do, no need to be hesitant, this technology is designed to empower us. So let’s do it.
Viewers will note the footage is shot with the phone horizontally instead of vertically and I also used “rail fan” views for everything.
Thanks again my friend,
Brian
Gainesville GA”
Now on to Jerry:
“I have a layout I’ve been working on or started on in 2010… My wife gave me permission to actually take over a spare bedroom and after a while took down a wall between the bedroom and the living room.
I built a double decker layout and started building a helix but halfway through building I had an accident at work and almost severed my spinal column doing by a dislocated spine misalignment.
Pulling too many pallets of water and windshield washing fluid. Didn’t have it fused but had a rod inserted next to the spine screwed into it. The layout went on hold for at least six to eight months, then I found out I couldn’t finish the helix because my reach and bending were limited.
That’s still where I’m at today. Helix is not finished.. I can’t get help… Only comments that came back is “I’ll buy your rolling stock and track to help you!”
Yeah right! If that was my intention all the time! Idiots!
So it has been left unfinished for years…
Jerry”
A big thanks to Brian and Jerry.
I love they way Brian has created his ‘small scenes’ – please do leave a comment below if you’d like to share your thoughts on this one.
That’s all for today folks.
But please do keep ’em coming – you lot seem to have gone to sleep, it’s all very quiet this end…
Greg’s been in touch with his model power CN freight train cars – they look fab:
“Hello Alastair,
A few weeks ago I was looking up some details for a model railroad car I was working on and discovered the Distributed Braking Containers that CN railroad uses in the winter to supply air pressure in place of an extra locomotive.
After I finished the project I was working on I started working on building these.
I even wired a red led into them for end of train lighting.
I showed them to a few fellow railroading friends and they bought all the ones I had made.
So I’ve been hard at work making more and trying to stay ahead of orders on these. They add such a nice detail.
Greg”
Now on to Dave:
“hI Al, just uploaded this video showing the CMX track cleaner, how it works for the cleaning of the tracks and also the liquid I use for this.
Also I have tried to show and explain how I used the Green screen method of editing to put myself on to the video, not the easiest of explanations to do, but hope a few can get a idea of how its done, maybe there are easier ways and some of the members can give advice or better still a video showing how this is done…
Regards
Dave”
Now on to Tom:
“I just started this layout in January this year.
It’s on two 4×8 sheets off plywood and foam.
Tom”
A big thanks to Greg for sharing his Model power CN freight train cars, and to Dave and Tom too.
Please do leave your comments below – I’d love to know what you think of Greg’s braking containers.
Brian’s been back in touch with a very short but useful youtube on How to get good videos of model trains:
“Hi Alastair,
This submission a bit different than what’s normally seen here. I do note that more and more model railroaders are taking advantage of the television studios in our pockets these days, aka Smart Phones.
A bit of background. My career was in television news and corporate communications. As a News Director and Executive Producer I got to work with some very talented videographers. Later in corporate communications working with some major television providers I continued to see how video equipment became less bulky and more importantly less expensive.
Technology as you well know, and you prove it with the work you do here, empowers us all to tell our stories, including model railroading.
One thing I do see however, is so many people holding their smart phones vertically instead of horizontally when shooting video. Sort of like turning your big screen tv on its side at home. You get a narrow picture with black bars on each side instead of the full 16×9 ratio we’re used to seeing on TV and our Digital Devices.
So here’s some comparison shots of the same scenes from my own model railroad, first we see vertically, then horizontally. There is a difference! The second example I’m including is something called video sequencing. In this case a locomotive leaving the roundhouse, going on to the turntable then heading out for work. I shot the same scene three times from different angles then edited the sequences together. The technique adds interest for the viewer.
Video editing is a skill set for sure, and I get to use it all the time with some pretty fancy productions. But like the equipment, video editing software like iMovie is so intuitive and easier to use than one would thing. And yes, empowering.
You just have to give it a try!
So here’s the video:
Brian”
A big thanks to Brian – I do get quite a few mails asking about How to get good videos of model trains – Brian’s youtube is very helpful.
These are my sidewalks .They are not tacked down yet or painted yet.
I used the shelf trim with the glue side up to walk on.
Then i used coffee stir sticks to stiffen it and to raise it up. When glueing the sticks, stagger them to keep it stiff.
I added a strip onto the bottom and attached to the stir stick’s to act as water guttering (warning Al, don’t use white glue as it wont stick well). I use instant glue.
To turn left or right with the sidewalks, place sticks left or right as in photo.
When you finished a section, take fine sandpaper and run it along the road side of the sidewalks yo make it square and smooth. Then glue a small strip to make the guttering.
Now for the 1/100 scale or Ho scale bike. I used left over Led posts ya cut off. If you are really interested in how to make those bike’s i will send in a more informative way to make them. Was pretty easy. But i think you agree and use the word dang it’s small, honestly Al.
I think my bikes look more realistic than any plastic bike you can buy at this scale, if you can get them and i dont think ya can. Seat and peddles will be added later.
Im trying to make a sort of jig to follow how to make a mass amount. I could see a bike race on the road with these. I also attempted a kids bike. Now understand,this is my first tiny bike, so wont be perfect.
Tell me what ya think.
Can ya see a bunch in a bike rack in front of a store or something, or a bike shop?
Kim”
“i have a tip,i make a lot of stone walls,i first coat the screen or surface with plaster. after its dry i mix another batch with what’s called rainbow cement color (its cheep) comes in black or red,a little black makes gray.
i then coat the surface with almost smooth surface.let dry and take a small screw driver and drag across the surface to make bricks,the red really looks like brick.the screw driver goes through the red or gray layer and makes motor joints.
Mike”
“I use the plastic sprues left over from a model. I take them and use them for metal piping for oil refineries, gas stations, rooftop vents, etc. I also use them for scenery, pipe loads. I cut them down to the size of the load, I also drill out the ends, and then paint them whatever color you need to give it a more real appearance. I don’t have a pic handy, but I just made a fuel island for my truck stop. Hope someone can use this idea.
John”
And lastly, on to Michael:
“Interesting stuff. In case it might appeal….I’m an Englishman living in New York…building my second ‘N’ scale layout with the help of my stepdaughter who is now 32 yrs… the first one we made was in California when she was 11 yrs.
The whole point of this one is to use as little as possible things from the model shop (which are lousy in NYC anyway) and also to make it as individual and asymetric as possible…. it’s going to be a sculpture/diarama of New Mexico that happens to have trains.
My rolling stock is nearly all pre-owned (second-hand things) that we bought as ‘broken’ and rebulit/painted whatever…the baseboard is an open 3’x3’x3′ cube that the scultor downstairs in my factory/loft used to put sculptures on, covered with teo sheets of plywood from the dumpster….the furniture factory on my ground floor supplies foam that I grind up for foliage etc and we collect coffee/tea for ground cover/ballast etc.
We break ALL the rules..train liveries are all my designs, passenger cars all lit with their own LED/batteries inside…I have a flair for rebuilding locomotives, old pre-war American ones are particularly tricky in steam (the first trick is to put current pick-ups in the stupid 8 wheel,2 truck tenders so that the short wheelbase 6 driving wheels don’t stall on the turnouts (points) …the list goes on…just thought it might be of interest..specially ” What Not To Do’ written in a funny, entertaining way.
My loft overlooks the Harlem River by the Park Ave lift bridge which carries ALL the trains out of Grand Central (sadly now only boring details) and there is a freight line IN THE RIVER on piles which takes the CSX garbage trains from New York to Virginia twice a a day so I am not lost for references.
Here’s a few pix of how we have progressed since December
Michael”
A big thanks to Brian for his how to get good videos of model trains youtube, and to Mike (his layout jogged my memory: N scale canyon layout.
That’s all for today folks.
Please do keep ’em coming, because it does feel like you’ve all gone to sleep from this end.
