Joey Ricard in OGR

There can be no doubt:  The man is an artist.

Pete

I watch Joey's Youtube videos. they are informative and FUN to watch.

Joe

I have only had the chance to read half the article, because of all the Christmas activity, but already see it is great.  The blending of the scenery and backdrop is outstanding.  Some excellent work, Joey!

After seeing the article in OGR i looked at the website he has and was quite impressed. I ordered some building flats background from Joe and had a enjoyable conversation with him.  Check it out ! conrail john

Amazing realism Joey - a pleasure to see.

Run 283 • February / March 2016 

 Just a fantastic layout. Just looking at the photos you usually spot something that says it's not the real thing. Just a well done model. Well I've poured over these pics and haven't found anything yet that could give it away. A true artist with an eye for colors, scenery, and creating a scene. 

The combination of great modeling, fabulous ideas, outdoor settings, modular design, and professional photography is truly stunning. Joey's work is much more a work of art than a model railroad. I have never seen better modeling. Simply superb. 

Scrapiron Scher

Always a fan of Joey's work......but for me it was personal too.

My family still owns the Sharp's general store at Slaty Fork West Virginia so he's modeling 'home'!!  ( I live here too) And just for information.....it may soon become home of a railroad again after  years without. 

Great work as always.

AMCDave posted:

Always a fan of Joey's work......but for me it was personal too.

My family still owns the Sharp's general store at Slaty Fork West Virginia so he's modeling 'home'!!  ( I live here too) And just for information.....it may soon become home of a railroad again after  years without. ..

Now, that is  remarkable news. Have you ever tried modeling that same site or store? I would imagine that would be hard to resist. How does the inside of the store look, AMCDave?

FrankM.

Sharp's general store today is a combination antique and local products store. Dad wrote 3 books which they sold along with jams, honey etc.  I have not taken any pics inside....but open most days during the summer...stop by!! 

I couldn't agree more about this mans talents!  The modeling is just unbelievable, I am still going back and forth looking at the photos, there is just so much to take in...and it's all amazing.   

I've always marveled at Joey's model dioramas, the amount of detail in everything is outstanding, and he definitely knows how to effectively capture a scene in pictures; the lighting, angles, etc. make them look all the more real.

Very well done Joey!

Superb modeling. The natural sunlight is the final piece in the puzzle, but on lesser (even very, very good) models this natural, sharp light can bring out flaws or overly-thick, "model-like" features.

Not so here - his work stands up to bright, sharp, unforgiving sunlight. It's hard to say, but this may be the best RR modeling that I've ever seen - or, at least, as good as any that I've ever seen. And it's not too "busy".

WOW!!!  The only thing that could make Joey's layout more realistic would be background sounds and the scent of coal smoke and pine sap.

Tom

I want to thank everyone for the nice comments. It means a lot that many of you can see the layout in the exact same way that I do. Many of you may understand it when I say that I put a lot of emotion into creating this layout - far beyond that of the physical work that went into it. More than anything, I had hoped that folks would look at the pictures and really place themselves into the scenes and remember or imagine a simpler place and time.

As a photographer, having published work is part of my job in non-railroading related efforts , but I can honestly say that there has never been a time when I felt a greater feeling of accomplishment. I guess that comes from the fact that I am shooting something that I created and not something that simply existed or an event that happened outside my control.

With that said, without the dedication of the OGR staff and especially that of editor Allan Miller, there would be no article! I don't trust my work with just anyone and Allan always allows me the freedom to present and convey the essence of the Spruce in just way I had envisioned.

Thanks again, Joey Ricard

AMC DAVE - I would love to see a picture of Sharps General Store!

I don't have many photos of the store......just never thought of it!!! But I need to run by the store soon and will. 

The one photo I found was of the little Bantam coupe that sits in front of the store....a car friend asked me to rake it. You can see a little store.....

Yes, the Bantam coupe is a small car, so it shows the store is small too, just like in all those wonderful backwoods towns.  I have seem Bantams many times since they were built in my wife's hometown and our present home of Butler, Pennsylvania; also where the Jeep was first designed and produced, as an aside.

Joey's youtube videos are a great learning tool and also FUN to watch....I have used some of the techniques he has shown and the results looks great..and I am in no way an experienced model railroader...and to see what he has done to his own modular layout is a sight to be seen!!....Thank you Joey...hope to meet you one of these days at a train show.....

Thanks again all. 

Dave, from the looks of the store it would make a great scratch build for a potential future O Scale layout - maybe even a kit. Try to get some pics when you can. It's about 3-1/2 hours from me to that area of Snow Shoe, Cass, Pocahontas and Mingo etc.

For those that have not seen our YouTube channel, I demonstrate almost every aspect of construction and scenery techniques used on the Spruce. The channel can be found here www.youtube.com/tracksidescenery 

Enjoy and Happy New Year all......Joey

I have had the pleasure of reading the article and viewing Joeys layout pictures in this months OGR magazine. It's a perfect example of fine model railroading exactly as I enjoy it.  While model railroading means different things to different people; IMO the layout artistry segment of the hobby is the most interesting.  Artists in this hobby, use their layout as their canvas.   Joey is without a doubt, an excellent artist.