“Well, seeing as how I am the least handy person on this planet, and cheap to boot, here are a couple:
Since my layout is in a permanent winter mode, I wrapped the plywood bases in white bedsheets —
It makes a a great “canvas” for laying down landscaping and a SUPERB conduit to run the wiring between the sheets and the wood – no drilling required.
The “snow” is actually a ceramic product: Duncan’s no-fire snow, available, among others, online at Amazon. You can paint or sculpt it on, and it dries to a plaster-like state.
More recently I wanted to add some ice-covered ponds, and as I dislike mixing chemicals, etc. for water effects, I went to the nearest drugstore and purchased a couple of ladies’ hand mirrors, you know, the kind they carry in their purses. I laid down some snow and partially buried them, feathering the edges with more snow.
But then I wanted a larger ice-covered swamp or pond, and here comes the cheapest solution of all: I headed to the kitchen, ripped off a good-sized sheet of food clingwrap (like Saran Wrap), painted the bedsheet in the colors I wanted to show through, and laid the wrap on top with a little landscape cement. You can make it smooth or rippled, and it looks great!
I hope these help.
Bill”
“I am new to this hobby and learn a lot by my mistakes.
The buildings you build usually are put together with super glue.
If you get super glue on your fingers and thumb, it will take days to get it off.
Solution: spend $3.00 for Nitrile disposable gloves, ten to a pack. (not latex, one size fits all.)
It will be the best 30 cents you ever spent per pair! Just throw them away when done.
Bruce
Fallbrook, California”
“Hi Al, nothing new to show this week re my model railway, not sure this is of interest but being our wedding Anniversary on Wednesday, I took My wife out for a treat… to our best visited and favoured area, a walk along the old Railway track / path on the North Yorkshire Moors.
Of course we finished with some Steam Trains and a ride on one, the countryside here is just starting to turn summery, so enjoyed the day very much…
Regards
Dave
The very latest ebay cheat sheet is here. Still going strong.
That’s all for today folks – please do keep ’em coming.
And if you’ve decided today’s the day, the Beginner’s Guide is here.
Best
Al
Great to see a properly-shot video – amazed it was on a phone too!
We are off to the NYMR ourselves next week – hope we have similar weather 🙂
Steve
Happy anniversary Dave and Mrs. Dave
Bruce, I use regular modelling glue. It is far more forgiving than super glue. You have a bit more time to work with it as well. Happy Anniversary to Dave and his bride. Your pix were wonderful! Cheers! NJ Mark
Forgot to say CONGRATS to Dave on the anniversary.
I managed 53 years wed this April.
Rob
What a beautiful ride. It gave me quite a bit of ideas for my layout, that is when i start building it.
And the music, “Oronoco Flow,” is one of my all time favorite pieces of music.
Rich
The countryside is beautiful! I enjoyed that as much as the train references!
Happy Anniversary, Dave! I enjoyed the train ride. The countryside is beautiful.
Dave,
Happy Anniversary to you and your wife.
Bruce,
In the event you forget to wear the gloves, “borrow” some of your wife’s finger nail polish remover. It works very well.
For Bruce: Another solution is to use fingernail polish removal to get rid of the superglue on fingers, etc.
Always enjoy our readers’ tips. Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful video Dave.
Happy Anniversary Dave and to your wife. Great way to spend your anniversary.
Thank you for that wonderful video. What a beautiful place to live. It is a shame that we in the States have forgone the pleasures of rail service. We have become so caught up in our daily pursuit of what ever we think is important, that we have forgotten the really important things in life. I have watched this video 10 times and enjoyed every second of it, and will watch it many more times to come. Again, thank you for sharing it with us and inspiring the enjoyment of the pleasures we take for granted.
Congrats to Dave and MRs. Dave!. “A day in the Sun” was not quite accurate. It looks like Yorkshire May weather is similar to May weather in Limerick, IR. (No trains there!)
R/S,
MacInSoCal, N Scale, UP, SP, ATSF, Transition Era, Barstow area
What a lovely video. Dave incorporated just the right amount of background music. Not too loud and not too soft, just right. The country side was quite lovely also. Very enjoyable. Congratulations to Dave and his Wife, I wish them many more.
Happy Anniversary Dave.
Eric
Wonderful video showing Gods Wonderful County!! Well done Dave and Mrs Dave and congratulations on your wedding anniversary – may there be many more of them.
Why is it that the English countryside is the most beautiful of all countries???
Thanks for sharing that lovely video Dave, what a great way to spend your anniversary & congratulations to you both of course. We love Whitby & the NYMR.
I was in Eastbourne last week, we had a trip on the Bluebell Railway it was lovely bluebells out as well.
Next day went to Brighton Model Railway & Toy Museum, well worth a visit if you haven’t been.
I enjoy all your video’s,
All the best.
Regards,
Dave.
Me and the wife rode the Great Smokey Mountain railroad through the mountains and a big lake last summer. We were in an open car. It was a great ride and something we will never forget. Love the country and saw so much by rail. Probably top speed 35 maybe. It was a all day deal and at the end of it the had the train museum with the biggest ho train layout ive ever seen. We had a great time and it looks like you 2 did too. Happy aniv. Dave and wife!!!! Farmer AL
great video,well done Dave and your wife thanks for sharing very relaxing and nice to share with other people over and over again nice to see you both enjoy the same interests.
Congratulations to you both from Edmonton, Canada and thanks for taking us through such beautiful countryside. I love Yorkshire. And I was delighted the first steam loco on the video at Grosmont was 4MT 80136, the same running number as the 00-gauge Bachmann (lined black with early BR crest) parked on my track right above my laptop heading an assortment of goods wagons. I should couple up my Pullmans instead for an even better match! We should be glad those authorities justifiably keen on minimizing global warming haven’t shut down heritage steam locos.
We were married a week before Christmas, so I think I’d best stick to dinner in a nice warm country pub! Great video Dave.
Rod
Happy Anniversary, Dave! Wonderful video – thanks!
As the earlier poster stated, super glue is a poor choice for gluing styrene plastic. Likewise for the “goop” plastic model cement that comes in tubes. Styrene cement is liquid and comes in a bottle with a brush. Rather than adding defacing crap to the surface of the plastic, it melts the plastic, which welds itself in the process of the solvent evaporating.
Bad-looking models are the near-certain outcome of using the wrong glue. I’ve wrestled with many messed-up plastic buildings built with super glue and it is a pain. Cyanoacrylates have their place but it is a narrow one: They are the best solution for fast-drying bonding of wood structures. Still, slower-drying wood glues create a stronger bond. I successfully used cyanoacrylate to build a 500′ scratch-built trestle in n-scale because I didn’t want to clamp and wait for hundreds of pieces of timber to dry. It was nice to be able to glue, hold 30 seconds, and move on to the next piece.
Thank you all very much for your comments and Congratulations on our Anniversary …a nice way to spend the day , so glad you were all able to share it with us …Dangerous Dave and Mrs Dave (Deborah)
perfect video!!!!!