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Post by Christian on Oct 24, 2021 10:49:06 GMT -8
29. More Roofness
What? Three posts in three days! I finished for now the roof pieces. There are still details to add onto the roofs, but the basic roof is finished at the end of this chapter. Note that I’m only slightly aging the roof. No rust or corrosion. I’m assuming galvanized steel and that’s what it looks like to my eye. Well, not in the first photograph – hang on. First I painted the chimney. I figured it would be easier before the roof were cemented in place. I used a couple shades of bricky colors. Dipping my brush in one and then in the other as I worked around the chimney. I touched up the flashing with aluminum and painted the top with concrete. I worked sooty black into the opening and let it ooze into the concrete paint which was still wet. Photograph one. In this super closeup you can see some roughness where I cut through the standing seams to let the roof cap hunker down. Photo two. Using a small fan brush I worked aluminum powder into the roof starting at the ridge cap. The photo is manipulated so that the aluminum shows better. The manipulation also exaggerated the dark blotches. The left side has the powder, the right is waiting. Photograph three shows the powder thoroughly brushed out. Photo four is a beauty shot showing the roofs finally cemented in place. I’m pretty giddy. But there is still stuff to do. Details, for example. “Details” are those things that break of easily! We’ll start that next time.
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Post by valenciajim on Oct 24, 2021 18:05:09 GMT -8
Great modeling. That house looks like it is in move in condition!
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Post by kentuckysouthernrwy on Oct 25, 2021 4:42:41 GMT -8
Great modeling. That house looks like it is in move in condition! Agreed
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Post by Christian on Oct 29, 2021 5:02:19 GMT -8
30. Frieze the Day!
Sorry about that! Today’s jobs were tedious. This is one time when the work took far longer to do than writing it up. First up, the frieze boards that are on the walls at the top of the gables. These are commonly one by whatever planks and were pretty wide in older days when lumber was cheaper. I used 2 X 10n styrene. It is thicker than necessary, but needed to match the thickness of the corner trim. These would have been easier to do before the roof was in place. But I waited so that I could use the frieze to cover any roof/wall gaps. It turned out that there weren’t any gaps which a test fit would have shown. I chopped one end to 45° on my cutting surface using my Olfa chisel blade. Photograph one. Photo two – I laid the frieze board on the wall and used it to mark where the corner trim had to be cut away. I chiseled off the bit of trim and then used a rifler file to finish the cut. Photograph three. Photo four shows one gable. Two more followed. After I finished the frieze I used a brush and my flat finish to coat the raw styrene. I really like not having to paint white trim! I also chased around the building looking for shiny spots which got a brush of the matte. And now the gutters. I should have done these while the roofs were off the building. It turned out to be awkward and tedious. If you do the roofs as Walthers and Faller Gmph intended the included gutters will work fine. Making them fit my replacement roofs would be too much work. They are huge anyway. I pulled out a package of Pikestuff downspouts, gutters, etc as shown in photograph five. The Walthers gutter is the white shape below one of the Pikestuff gutters. I cut and placed a gutter to fit the front “L” roof and turned my mind to the downspouts. The Pikestuff downspouts are too short. The Walthers are ugly. I pulled out some 0.035” styrene rod and tried to bend a downspout. It was, at best, okay. So I thought back forty years and pulled out a spool of solid 0.035” solder. Photo six. It looked OK with the gutters and everything else. Photograph seven. One way to straighten wire is to roll it between two hard surfaces. I couldn’t get a good grip on my scale ruler so I grabbed one of my weights which sit on the right side of my work bench. It made short work of straightening a length of solder. Photo eight is an innocent little snap of the gutters in place on the front “L”. Getting to that point meant going to Google to expand my repertoire of cuss words. I used both Tamiya cements and CA to secure the gutters. The downspout, on the other hand, was easy. Photograph nine shows the front gutter and downspout. I have the back and both porches to do before we meet again.
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Post by sd40dash2 on Oct 29, 2021 5:50:16 GMT -8
Hi Christian. Good job on the model! However, please remember to install downspout extensions. I drive by so many buildings like this (or with the extension fixed parallel to the downspout) and this is a good way to cause foundation damage and introduce water into your basement. Yes, the extensions are in the way when mowing the grass but they are a key element in the eavestrough system. Need to carry the water AWAY from the foundation; if you're not doing that then there is not much point to eavestrough.
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Post by Christian on Oct 31, 2021 14:53:18 GMT -8
31. Last Stuff on the Roof
Utilities. I’m modeling mid eighties and my little town is very progressive as regards to utilities. They are almost all buried. No pole lines and so forth. But there are still wires here and there as well as the various fixtures of the utilities. We have electricity, gas, telephone, cable TV and a left over TV antennas and satellite dishes. As well as clean water in and waste water out. All of these utilities can be modeled with little bits of stuff and add a lot of texture to the model. First up a bit of plumbing. And from my Googling there are again regional names for this. So, soil pipe, plumbing stack, stack vent, vent stack, and many more. It is a pipe sticking through the roof where ever there is water and sewer service. From Google I discovered a bazillion variations. A tidy stack pipe is shown in photograph one. Most older installations just used globs of roof cement and aren’t very tidy. Sizes are related to the number of fixtures inside the building and run from 1-1/4 ID pipe up to a lot bigger. The one in the photograph is bigger. 2” ID seems common on residences. Materials are also all over the place, but PVC has been the most common for decades. That’s what I modeled with a bit of 0.040” styrene rod. I drilled the roof and rammed in the pipe. I used a very small brush and some thick black paint to simulate roofing cement. Photo two. TV was in a great transition in the mid eighties. From over the air to satellite, to cable. This transition went on and is still going on as it becomes internet based. My townhouse built in 1998 has an antenna, a dish and two cable companies. We don’t use any of the above – all internet based. The Saxer house has an antenna and cable service. Probably the antenna would have been removed by the eighties or located into the attic. But a TV antenna is too good a detail to over look. Photograph three shows a typical antenna installation strapped to a chimney. That’s what I intended until I looked more closely and how it is attached to the chimney. I can’t do that firmly enough to withstand a hearty thump. So I went with a gable mount as shown in photo four. Photograph five shows the sheet of etched stainless steel antennas from Gold Medal Models that I used. When folks “in the know” start talking antennas my eyes glaze over and I start to mutter. So, I chose the antenna I liked at the moment I chose it! Photo six. Also seen in the photo is the sewing pin I used for the mast as well as diagonal cutters on the left and Zuron Photo Etch Shears on the right. (Xuron and Tamiya now make better scissors for etch.) Photograph seven. I snipped the head off the pen and pressed the point into a scrap of EVA foam. The Gold Medal instructions call for using CA to stick the antenna to the mast. I have several antennas that need re-gluing when I get a round toit. So I decided to try Loctite GO2 GEL which is some sort of super sticky adhesive. It stays flexible so maybe the antenna will stay on the mast. Elmers Stix-All is also a great flexible super sticky adhesive. Photo eight shows the gluing set up. I cut a bit of Pikestuff gutter and stuck it at the top to reinforce the antenna/mast joint. Also to simulate some sort of equipment case. Photograph nine shows the assembled antenna and mast before coating with ultra matte varnish. Photo ten shows the wiring for a roof top antenna. Yep, TV antenna wiring. It is one of those OMG things that isn’t so hard to do. The real wire sizes are extremely small in HO scale. But, I’ve got some really small wire stuff so even though my wires are oversize, they look fine. Photograph eleven shows the mounted antenna. Another scrap of the Pikestuff gutter serves as the metal piece across the gable. Way too thick, but I needed to bring it out flush with the end of the ridge trim. You can see the white coaxial cable winding down the mast and looping under the soffit. I used Plastruct 0.010” styrene rod for this. I will pick up on the coax later when I install the equipment box. Photo twelve shows the mast lightening ground which is 0.005” mono-filament. I used a brown Sharpie to color the filament to simulate older, bare copper. The clamps are slices of the good old gutter. All cemented into place with dabs of CA. Then dabbed with ultra matte varnish. The bottom is loose because it attaches to the earth ground which is waiting for paint. That will be the next chapter.
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Post by Christian on Oct 31, 2021 14:56:18 GMT -8
Hi Christian. Good job on the model! However, please remember to install downspout extensions. Hang on until chapter 34.
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Post by riogrande on Oct 31, 2021 15:07:47 GMT -8
What about a radon system
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Post by sd40dash2 on Oct 31, 2021 16:16:25 GMT -8
Christian, I am highly impressed by your attention to detail on this build as is usual for you. I love that you researched and posted schematics for us. Great job on the antennas as well as the washroom vent pipe. Try not to allow squirrels and birds and such to clog that pipe or else you'll have problems. Great job on the house. I'll put the venom away today.
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Post by Christian on Nov 4, 2021 14:21:23 GMT -8
32. Stuff on the Back Wall
Most utilities come into the house from the back. Water and sewage are on the front of the house because the right of way is under the street. The rest use the alley for the right of way and come onto the back of the house. Namely electricity, natural gas, telephone, and cable TV. As well as the leads from the antenna we have already installed. Sometimes the boxes and wires for the stuff get get into a big jumble. Photograph one is the back of my townhouse here in Virginia. Many versions of TV which are left over from previous owners. The top most box is my current Verizon FIOS gigabyte internet service. The box holds the fiber optic translator (?) and the exterior router. The lower box marked “Verizon” is actually from the GTE telephone service which was the land line installed with the house. Later bought by Verizon. Photo two is the other side of the back wall showing the gas meter which looks like it met the code inspector during the hour that the inspector was present. The fence and the air-conditioner switch box as well as the air-conditioner fan unit are too close to the gas meter. There should be three feet in all directions from any part of the meter that is clear. That isn’t possible with the design of these town houses and so, there it is. Photograph three shows the parts I’m going to use ready for paint. Every box is a different gray which is why there is a line up of eleven paint bottles. The green parts are from the Walthers Modern Industrial Park Series – Electrical Fixtures – Kit. From the left is a transformer for buried power lines, the electric meter and the gas meter. In front are small gray boxes for other apparatus on the wall. The blue air-conditioner fan unit is by All Scale Miniatures and is my first 3D printed detail. ASM makes all sorts of reasonably priced itty bitty detail parts. Including a Tesla charge station! Photo four shows the painted parts as well as the fifteen bottles of paint I used on them! Photograph five shows the parts installed and the TV antenna wiring finished. The gas meter is to the side of the house because that’s where there is clearance. Commonly done in the real world. This is the sort of photograph a modeler should never show – way to close showing way to much ick. Photo six is the photo a modeler should show. Pull back a bit and put everything in context. When the 1970s construction garage and asphalt driveway is in place this view won’t be possible. Don’t panic – the garage is not part of this build. Final details coming up.
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Post by valenciajim on Nov 4, 2021 20:14:21 GMT -8
This is just an unbelievably well done model!
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Post by Christian on Nov 8, 2021 5:24:34 GMT -8
33. I Changed My Mind
All through this I have said that I wouldn’t do a site. Well, it’s too fragile and needs to be mounted onto something before I finish up. Photograph one shows why. I’ve also knocked off both porches as well as other damage. It’s time for a base for protection. Because I covered much of the site and landscape in the Taco Bell build I won’t do much detail in this chapter – just skimming over what I have done. Photo two shows the asphalt driveway at the top (EVA foam,) the city sidewalk at the left ( Smalltown USA sidewalks cut to fit,) and the Saxer sidewalks partly surrounding the penciled outline of the house (white and black styrene.) These were built, finished, and aged the same way as the parking lot and sidewalks on the Taco Bell build. Photograph three. The front of the house will be lined with low shrubbery. I edged these strips which are either side of the entry steps with brick strips. Along the driveway you will see two orange posts which will guard the gas meter. The holes for these needed to be drilled while I could still fit a drill into the area. They are orange because I wanted them orange. Prototype probably would be yellow and as I’m typing I think that these might become yellow. Photo four. (Later note: they remain orange because the contrast with the yellow house is better.) Now we come to the part that REAL model railroaders (preface to chapter 22) hate even more than structures. Namely, scenery. There are a zillion ways of doing this and each has a YouTube video documenting that way. I learned Linn Westcott’s Zip Texturing way back when it was new and changed everything scenery wise in the sixties. I’ve changed all the materials I still use the concepts and the approach. “Whoa! Shouldn't you be using static grass. All the big names do.” Well, yes, I can do static grass. BUT, this is a lawn with short grass. Static fibers that are available are too long for HO scale lawns. Silflor has static $$$ mats which look fabulous. But the shortest fibers they use are 2mm which would be about 7” grass in HO scale. Plus the thickness of the supporting material. Together its too deep for a trimmed lawn. Not to mention waaaay too neat with all the grass stems perfectly vertical. I’m using ground foam from Scenic Express. Which is about three or four inches in appearance. It isn’t hairy, so I do lose that. Ground foam looks better in life than in photographs. Note: I'm not listing most of the scenery materials because I just grab a dap of this and a pinch of that. This chapter is really beyond what I promised and I'm not going to be excruciating in detail.) Almost all the materials come from Scenic Express regardless of the actual brand.Dirt in Illinois along the river bottoms where I am modeling is all but black when damp. The common grass is Kentucky Blue Grass which is also dark and tinging toward blue. (d’oh) My scenery and vegetation will be darker than found on most model railroads. Perhaps too dark, but its my memories! Photograph five. I brush a juicy coat of Walthers Static Grass Glue onto the area I'm planting. This glue drys slower than normal white glue or matte medium. It’s repackaged Noch Graskleber. Photo six. I sprinkled some asphalt colored gravel along the edge of the driveway. Photograph seven. Using a course strainer I covered the glue, mostly, with a darker and bluish shade of foam. Photo eight. I followed with a light sprinkle of a brighter foam. Perhaps too much, but it is what it is. (In retrospect, it is too much for the camera. The eye sees things differently.) Photograph nine. I lightly pressed the materials into the glue with a dry finger. Photo ten. I walked away for an hour until the glue looked dry. (And shiny. I’ll have to deal with that.) Since this is just a building base and not a railroad I turned it over and thumped the back to shake off the excess foam and gravel. Photograph eleven. I saturated the area with scenic cement. (Unknown brand. Scenic Express and Woodland Scenics have suitable materials.) You can dilute almost any acrylic medium, finish, glue, or colored paint for the same stickiness. Add a dash of alcohol to the dilute mix as a wetting agent. I walked away again until the grass plot had dried. I continued the same process around the house. In the back I left things bare because there are building parts that need to be cemented down first. And a garage when I’ve settled on that. Fixing the gloss from the scenic cement was next. BUT, first everything needs overnight to dry completely before proceeding. It might look dry sooner, but the mass of foam is still damp and can come up if you don’t let it dry. The next morning I airbrushed AK Interactive Ultra Matte Varnish onto the grass areas. I turned down the pressure to about 15 psi so that I wouldn’t blow things loose. Since this is a small base I was able to set it one edge so the airbrush was perpendicular to the grass. I sprayed a light coat. The Ultra Matte doesn’t do the white deposit thing that many clear finishes do on foam grass. It took care of the shine. Next I planted some clumps of crab grass using some torn Martin Welberg Type F Low Bushes. I also used a couple of green grass tufts by GamersGrass. I dripped a little of the Ultra Matte to secure these crab grass clumps. Photo twelve is where things stand. Next up: fix the antenna, plant the house, and (yep) finish the Saxer House!
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Post by tolbex on Nov 8, 2021 6:05:53 GMT -8
It's very useful that you share here this process but don't you think it's easier to buy plans that are aIt's very useful that you share here this process but don't you think it's easier to buy plans that are already made? For me, this is more practical them to spend that much time in every house. I'm in process of creating one and I bought my plan from boutiquehomeplans.com and I think this was the best option for me. In this way, I was able to save money and time since I'm often out of the country. Of course, someone might want to see everything in a small construction but I love digital projects. At least, I think is good that we have both options on the market and we are able to choose.lready made?
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Post by Christian on Nov 8, 2021 6:32:31 GMT -8
It's very useful that you share here this process but don't you think it's easier to buy plans that are already made? Many folks do that and have great satisfaction with their approach to the hobby. I come at the hobby differently and am also greatly satisfied with my approach. It's a great hobby with lots and lots of approaches. (For ten points use "great" and "approach" in every sentence of a post. )
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Post by lvrr325 on Nov 8, 2021 10:22:44 GMT -8
Some guys just plop it down on a grass mat of bright green dyed sawdust, too.
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Post by wp8thsub on Nov 8, 2021 17:15:56 GMT -8
Christian, I think you took a great approach with this project.
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Post by idgara on Nov 9, 2021 1:46:53 GMT -8
As I approach the end of your farm house build project, I assure you, you’ve done a great job.
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Post by Christian on Nov 9, 2021 4:15:35 GMT -8
As I approach the end of your farm house build project, I assure you, you’ve done a great job. As I sit here typing I have about an hour modeling remaining. Then write up the next and final build chapter. In a few days post the beauty shots. And turn to the next project which will not be a public build. It really cuts down on my productivity. But I've enjoyed it all. Particularly since I see a lot more model building on this forum. And better information about those builds. A hybrid of an elderly brass caboose and brand new Tangent parts. A few months ago, who would have thought?
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Post by sd40dash2 on Nov 9, 2021 4:47:43 GMT -8
^ Yeah, I have really enjoyed the builds by yourself, edge, simulator, slowfreight, kpack lately. You are certainly correct that documenting everything really slows you down as you have to stop work to take photos. BUT, there is a positive side in that the posted photos also reveal flaws not otherwise visible and create discussion and questions here. For example, years ago I was introduced to the joy of quality draft gear merely by he6agon questioning my choices of factory draft gear at the time. Having those moloco items in my parts box has since created several new possibilities for me. So yeah I suppose productivity is affected but the benefits in sharing as you have done can be immeasurable. Thanks again for sharing.
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Post by Christian on Nov 10, 2021 8:06:23 GMT -8
34. Planting the House
Pulling it all together. There will be beauty shots later this week, but this is the end of the construction. Whew! If you follow the instructions you can finish this house on a weekend. It will look good with just a coat of dull finish. I kinda went all out with dressing this house into something that satisfies a memory. But just one or two of the things that I did will make this house yours. Lets plant this house! Photograph one. I marked the perimeter of the house with a pencil and then brushed Walthers Static Grass Glue where the house and the loose parts will be placed. On the right of the photograph I let the glue run to the driveway where I intended to put limestone rock between the drive and the gas meter. Photo two. I squished the house in place and pressed light gray limestone ballast around the meter. From now on until the model goes onto a shelf I’ll be chasing away bits of this nearly white gravel. The final details are some figures. Mrs Saxer is a Walthers SceneMaster figure which is re-branded Noch. Details on these are not as crisp as the Preiser and Merten figures I prefer. Not as bad as the Woodland Scenics figures, but not something that you would want front and center. Since Mrs. Saxer will be obstructed by the porch I went with this figure. Her son, Jeff and granddaughter Joyce as well as Casper the cat are Preiser. I painted Jeff, but the others are prepainted. They have a bit of shine and Mrs. Saxer in particular is rather gaudy. Photograph three. I dribbled some washes onto the figures and followed with some ultra matte finish. Photo four. Rather strong in this extreme closeup, but the paint needs strong definition for the eye at a distance. Photographs five, six, and seven. I used bits of many scenic materials for the ground cover surrounding the house. The Saxers really need to get one of those weed whacker things. I’m not thrilled with the hollyhocks. They are Walthers (Noch) and really don’t twist and bed well enough to be realistic. On the other hand the rhubarb from Walthers looks fine. The hollyhocks might meet the weed whacker really soon if I can figure a replacement. This is a case of they don’t look good to the eye as well as to the camera. AND That's it!!! Cue the brass band!
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Post by sd40dash2 on Nov 10, 2021 8:20:20 GMT -8
I LOVE the final appearance of the details shown in the 2nd last photo. I think you nailed the look there and everywhere else. Just need to park a junky out of service automobile at the end of the driveway with some boxes on the roof and you're all set! LOL
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Post by stevewagner on Nov 10, 2021 14:25:22 GMT -8
I'm reminded of the good word from the Disney version (I think) of Mary Poppins: Supercalifragilisticespialidocious!
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Post by valenciajim on Nov 10, 2021 16:39:08 GMT -8
This one was more fun than the Taco Bell model. Thanks for documenting this project.
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Post by Christian on Nov 12, 2021 13:40:00 GMT -8
Just need to park a junky out of service automobile at the end of the driveway with some boxes on the roof and you're all set! LOL Nah. This family isn't like that. Mrs. Saxer's Cordoba with its rich corinthian leather is in the garage which is currently invisible. Jeff Saxer's car is a Chevy Cavalier wagon parked on the street in front. The reason why you haven't seen much on the garage is that that I'm undecided between four garages.
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Post by sd40dash2 on Nov 12, 2021 13:46:57 GMT -8
^ Mrs. Saxer passed away 2 years later and that Cordoba remained in the garage until the American Pickers discovered it when Jeff invited them over in 2019.
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Post by Christian on Nov 13, 2021 14:43:24 GMT -8
35. Final Post of Build
I may bounce post a couple times to keep the build on the first page for a few days. And then it can sink away. 17,993 words 241 photographs Started July one, 2021 Concluded November thirteen, 2021 Roughly two hundred and fifty views of each chapter. Lots of nice comments. One not so nice. Following are six “beauty shots” from a walk around. Photograph seven is what is on my workbench right now. It’s what “real” model railroaders do. Neither have been out of their boxes and I can hardly wait.
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Post by el3672 on Nov 13, 2021 19:01:53 GMT -8
JUST AN AWESOME BUILD CHRISTIAN!!!!!!! Next Up? or layout time?
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Post by Christian on Nov 14, 2021 1:18:38 GMT -8
The next projects on my list will just be for me. The four I've done as builds - each had a modeling challenge that I thought might be of interest. "Atomic Cafe" - plaster kit. "Cannon" boxcar - "advanced" kit. "Taco Bell" - Summit Custom Cuts, an iconic "modern" building kit with some challenges. And this, a pedestrian Walthers kit made over to fit within a memory. Next, I'm going to get that Illinois Terminal loco and caboose out of their boxes and slobber all over them. The loco is my first Athearn purchase this century. It's an RTR, but seems to come with the critical spotting features for IT. Namely, a plain jane loc with crooked cab lettering and a gong instead of a bell. It will be my first decoder installation this century as well as my first ever sound installation. The caboose - which cost more than the locomotive(!) - will come out of the box and get placed on the track. Neither will get weathering. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as modeling. I mean - how interesting is plugging in a decoder?
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Post by nebrzephyr on Nov 14, 2021 6:37:32 GMT -8
SUPER nice job on the house!! I've seen architectural models that were no where close to what you have accomplished.
Bob
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Post by Christian on Nov 20, 2021 4:16:20 GMT -8
Here's the bounce I promised in chapter 35.
I hate folks who bounce their own threads, don't you?
I'm going to send myself a nasty PM. I might even use some ugly words.
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