Good things come in narrow packages

[TrainNut]

Regardless, I will definitely start this week.

You know we are going to hold you to that!

[TrainNut]

Regardless, I will definitely start this week.

You know we are going to hold you to that!

Only two days of this week left. Have you gotten started yet?

[ocalicreek]

I guess I've been spending alot of time over in the HO and Scratch/Bash forums lately. Boy howdy am I ever glad to see this thread git going. Necessity really is the mother of invention, and a low budget can necessitate a fair bit of creativity. Think cardstock, elmers glue and craft paint. Don't even go near the scale stripwood or prefab trees. Save up for the electronics & don't skimp on trackwork. We'll be rooting for ya!

Galen

[Steve]

TrainNut...I knew there would be someone "holding my feet to the fire"!
Galen...well I guess the party can start now

I hope to post a few progress pics this weekend :oops:
I have masked off the walls for painting the backdrop and I have the wood cut to size. I also bought all the hardware, so I should be able to get the shelf hung in place tomorrow or Sunday...........however (my wife may have other assignments for me)

Take care

[Steve]

Just a couple of pics......







It is funny how doing almost anything, inevitably leads to more work. If you notice in the pics, there is still the original dark blue paint showing  where the  
wall meets the ceiling. That is the paint that the prior owners got on the ceiling. It wasn't really noticeable until I re-painted with the lighter blue..................I'll just add that to my ever growing list of "things to do".

A couple of problems....
Since it has been so cold here (single digits) I asked the guy at Lowes (like Home depot) to cut my plywood for me (too cold in the garage ). I wanted it cut into four 1' X 8' pieces. Well, let's just say he didn't get it quite right ........no harm done, but I need to wait for a little warmer day to re-cut. Also, the wall has a bit of a bulge that I am going to have to compensate for   .

[LynnB]

Just a couple of pics......

It is funny how doing almost anything, inevitably leads to more work. If you notice in the pics, there is still the original dark blue paint showing where the
wall meets the ceiling. That is the paint that the prior owners got on the ceiling. It wasn't really noticeable until I re-painted with the lighter blue..................I'll just add that to my ever growing list of "things to do".

A couple of problems....
Since it has been so cold here (single digits) I asked the guy at Lowes (like Home depot) to cut my plywood for me (too cold in the garage ). I wanted it cut into four 1' X 8' pieces. Well, let's just say he didn't get it quite right ........no harm done, but I need to wait for a little warmer day to re-cut. Also, the wall has a bit of a bulge that I am going to have to compensate for .

Sheeeeesh talk about stalling ( and waiting for winter to pass )

[Trucklover]

wanted it cut into four 1' X 8' pieces. Well, let's just say he didn't get it quite right ........no harm done, but I need to wait for a little warmer day to re-cut. Also, the wall has a bit of a bulge that I am going to have to compensate for .

Steve working at Lowes in the Lumber/Building Materials Department for almost a year, if you do not tell them you want it exactly 12", they will just get it within a 1/4" to save time lol. Thats what i was instructed to do by my manager lol. It is also very hard to get it perfect on a large panel saw like he prolly used to cut it. What i did was set the saw at 90 degrees and lock it in place 12" from the bottom so that all four pieces cut would be exactly the same if it is dead on 12". Of coarse you have to take into effect the 1/8" saw blade as well. It can be tricky to get right, but if hes good, you should end up with 4 piceses that are exactly the same size and just shy of 12" each.....

I think your best bet and if you really wanna make sure there right, doing it yourself is a good idea lol

[cnw1961]

Steve, good to see you eventually got started, but you did not really expect you could get away without some problems to be solved, did you?

[Jesso]

I can't believe you painted over the flowers and picket fence. Oh well, I guess you will have less photoshop work on your sky this time around :-)

[Steamtrains]

I had to take a second look to see that the picket fence was actually gone....!!

Well, a start is a start, so it can only get better as time goes by....

[Steve]

Lynn........ ......I'm not waiting for spring, but high 20's would be nice!
Josh...I watched the guy do it and he did it as you described......I really don't have an explaination for the irregular cuts he got. but it is fixable. Btw, I have molding that will go on the front edge that will make it look a little more finished.
Kurt...No, I always expect problems.....I just wish that once I would be suprised and not have any.........just once . Oh yeah, I checked out your layout thread. It looks like you are starting to get the hang of this modeling thing. If you ever need any pointers, just check back here.......it won't help you one little bit, but it will make me feel better! EXCELLENT work, my friend!!!
Scott and Gus...if you want, I can find out how they did that "beautiful" flowers/fence thing, so you can have one for yourselves!

[ocalicreek]

I guess you didn't really ask for any advice, but, well, you know me! Can't leave well enough alone!

Like the others, I am also glad to see progress. Vicarious model railroading is one reason I hang out at these places. (This smily needs a big ole belch, don't you think?)

Now, about the bulge in the wall & irregular cuts...not being there with straightedge & level in hand, I'd have to say 'cut' your losses and just factor it in. As long as you compensate for it (leave the entire layout a 1/4" out from the wall perhaps, and make sure the fascia is dead-on) nobody but you & the rest of us will know the truth. Undoubtedly some plywood policeman will show up and try to cite you for accepting and utilizing an inferior product with shoddy cuts, but live on the wild side and just roll with it!

My timesaver was built with mostly salvaged lumber. The 1/4" ply top was from a dumpster diving expedition, the 1x3 framing from the cull lumber bin...I think I already had some yeller glue on hand so mebbe the only thing I purchased was the screws. The 'roadbed' as it is was made from wooden yardsticks I picked up at that trip to the lumber yard to get the screws & framing. The material may be cheap, but it was built to stand up to moving. Once I added the doorskin ply fascia, it got really clean really fast! How'd that happen? If I knew it would improve the looks that much I'd have done it sooner!

All that to say, just keep on keeping on! Looks great so far!

Galen

[ocalicreek]

Oh, and I know the shelf looks nice and clean and tidy now. Take a good long look at it and try to remember that. It's a good thing you took pictures so you'll have proof. That is, if you're like myself (and I'm sure a few of the rest of us) it will never look that clean ever again. (Mwah Ha Ha Haaa! )

Galen

[Steve]

Galen....good advice as usual!  
I will not worry about getting everything perfect, a couple of quick passes with the circular saw and it will all be good.

Here is a clearer pic. It shows the wall color much better than in the previous pictures. Unfortunately, these two structures will not have a place on this layout.
(actually, the wall is a little bluer than that...my original pic is a little less "washed out"...thank you photobucket!)

[Steve]

I have been going back and forth in my mind about whether or not I should try to paint some clouds on the backdrop. Most of the time they don't look very convincing, and I have seen many layouts that just don't have them. At the end of the day, I figured I'd give it a try.

I used white paint and my trusty $4.99 airbrush. There was no way I was going to try and make big old puffy cottonball-like clouds (I would never be able to make them look right)....so I went with the more wispy/airy clouds (sorry for the lack of proper cloud names....school was a long time ago   ).
After getting the general shape with the air brush, I took a small fan brush and kind of dabbed it here and there for highlights.
Sorry for the poor quality of the pic....the lighting is kiiling me! But that must wait  :cry:




The clouds are more pronounced than the pic indicates.......I may have to do something about the lighting after all!.........LOL!

Take care