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Well, I put the finishing touches (for now) on my first military-themed model train project:

deuce transport2

The initial inspiration was an on-line heads-up that Menards was offering a pretty good sale price on its nicely detailed deuce and a half military truck, so I ordered a pair, intending to fill an empty Marx flatcar I'd had laying around for some time. Unfortunately, the trucks were a bit too large to fit both on the flatcar, so I either had to do drastic surgery to stretch the flatcar, or use just one, which is the option I chose. I decided to leave the existing center bracket in place, and by moving the one truck forward, I was able to secure it in place temporarily with a couple of rubber bands. Eventually, I will either build some chocks to hold it in place, or add a few drops of "sticky glue" to the tires -- still thinkin' . . .

But, that left a big empty spot behind the truck, so to fill it, I cut some scrap styrofoam into 1 X 1 X 2 inch cubes, then cut some scrap hardwood laminate I've had laying around for decades to white glue over the sides of the cubes, then decorated the ends with sections of bamboo coffee stirrers I, err, "liberated" from a local bagel shop, then mixed up a roughly olive drab wash and gave the boxes a good coat. I found one box was about right to fill the space, so I secured it to the bed using black jewelry chain and some old wire through the holes on the edge of the flatcar.

Oh, and the flatcar was missing one axle and two wheels on one truck (and yes, the two trucks don't match since I'd swapped another one in earlier to replace one that was missing entirely!), so I had to take an axle that was in my scrap box and grind it down and taper it a bit on my grinder to fit in the truck. So far, it's working fine, but I may have some more work to do. I also decided not to attempt a repaint at this time, and left the original color and decoration.

Speaking of which, any thoughts on what kind of info or lettering should be on the crate? I downloaded a nice stencil font, but haven't thought of anything clever and/or prototypical to put on a military-themed label for the crate.

Here's another view of the completed flatcar, and one of the "scene of the crime" -- my workbench, still in disarray! On it, you can see some of the other crates, one of the core styrofoam cubes, and the leftover olive drab wash, all amongst the scattered tools!

deuce transportworkshop

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Looks like you had a good time for that hour Bob.   Seems like you have extinguished the fireworks .

(  looks like you could use a couple GRJ'S LED modules in those cabeese . )

Thanks Dallas.

I did enjoy myself. Isn't that what it's all about?

I'm actually planning to upgrade the BEEP to led's. I did it with my SantaFe and the holes in the shell fit 3mm led's perfectly. I will use a couple of JST plugs so I can swap the shells at will onto the frame.

The cabeese will wait for another day.... I'm collecting parts for my S2's that I think will be my next project.

Bob

@Steve Tyler posted:
Great idea! Perhaps the Wehrmacht inscription (and burn mark!) on one side:
"Property of Prof. I. Jones" on another:
and "Top Secret/National Archives" on another!

So, here's the final result, so far:

wehrmacht3topsecret2

I had to tone down the color of the Wehrmacht logo background a bit (it was too orange in the original JPG), but the "top secret" stencil JPG fit right in as-is, as did the Dr. Jones inscription on the other side (not shown -- sorry, couldn't get a good camera angle), and I was able to trim the self-stick mailing labels I printed them on to fit without having to re-scale. Bottom line: looks good IMHO, and adds a bit of an Easter egg for the Indiana Jones fans! Thanks again to Farmall-Joe for the prompt!

Oh, and I ended up dropping three of the 'spare' crates upright into the back of an empty Menards stake-side truck I'd added to the layout earlier, and another one on the loading dock of the Smith Bros. Appliance & TV Store.

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@Steve Tyler posted:

So, here's the final result, so far:

I had to tone down the color of the Wehrmacht logo background a bit (it was too orange in the original JPG), but the "top secret" stencil JPG fit right in as-is, as did the Dr. Jones inscription on the other side (not shown -- sorry, couldn't get a good camera angle), and I was able to trim the self-stick mailing labels I printed them on to fit without having to re-scale. Bottom line: looks good IMHO, and adds a bit of an Easter egg for the Indiana Jones fans! Thanks again to Farmall-Joe for the prompt!



It looks great! Glad it worked for you - it just popped into my head the minute i saw the crate in the photo.

@Farmall-Joe posted:

Something from the Indiana Jones movies, maybe one where the crate contains the Arc of the Covenant...

@Steve Tyler posted:

Well, I put the finishing touches (for now) on my first military-themed model train project:

deuce transport2



Speaking of which, any thoughts on what kind of info or lettering should be on the crate? I downloaded a nice stencil font, but haven't thought of anything clever and/or prototypical to put on a military-themed label for the crate.

Here's another view of the completed flatcar, and one of the "scene of the crime" -- my workbench, still in disarray! On it, you can see some of the other crates, one of the core styrofoam cubes, and the leftover olive drab wash, all amongst the scattered tools!

deuce transport

Steve,

Congrats on completing a great project! Every aspect, the flatcar, truck, crate with the stenciling and the chains. So authentic. Could you share the font and where you found it? I’d like to file it away for future use.

@pennsyfan posted:

Steve,

Congrats on completing a great project! Every aspect, the flatcar, truck, crate with the stenciling and the chains. So authentic. Could you share the font and where you found it? I’d like to file it away for future use.

Thanks, Bob, it was fun, and came together fairly easily.

As it ended up, I didn't actually use the font I found -- I recycled pic of someone's effort to recreate the movie depictions instead -- but to find it all I did was Google something like "military stencil font", and I found a number of free downloadable font file options. FWIW, the one I selected is called "Stencil Regular", from URW++.

@Steve Tyler posted:

Thanks, Bob, it was fun, and came together fairly easily.

As it ended up, I didn't actually use the font I found -- I recycled pic of someone's effort to recreate the movie depictions instead -- but to find it all I did was Google something like "military stencil font", and I found a number of free downloadable font file options. FWIW, the one I selected is called "Stencil Regular", from URW++.

And of course as soon as I commit it to print, I ended up using the font to add "EXPLOSIVES" stickers to both ends of the crate, as suggested by another forum member named "Bob"!:

explosives

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Good afternoon everyone!

Made another miner shack today. It was meant to have the same measurements but some how ended up making it about 1/2” longer. Oh well, still looks good! The one difference between the original and the new one is the skids. I wanted to have at least one shack with skids and the rest without.
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I added it to the layout and placed it in the original shack’s spot since it is a little larger. I put them both side by side and it looks good with a train going past.
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I will probably make one more shack and call it good for them. I still have to add many more buildings but it’s slowly coming together.
Thanks for reading and have a good one!

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Good afternoon everyone!             Made another miner shack today.
I added it to the layout and placed it in the original shack’s spot since it is a little larger. I put them both side by side and it looks good with a train going past.
IMG_4217
I will probably make one more shack and call it good for them. I still have to add many more buildings but it’s slowly coming together.
Thanks for reading and have a good one!

It would look good with a train going past.   Perfect scene.

It does go along with those less fortunate ( or lifetime railfaners    )  to be living so close to to the rails.

One more update before I call it good for the week.
As stated in a previous post, I plan on having three miner shacks. Well, that statement is now complete! I made the third shack identical to the last one I built. No skids and open door. Same process as the last one. Floor, walls, roof, and shingles. I placed it away from the other shacks near the water tower. Still on the same side of the tracks but on the other side of the loading platform. These shacks have been great fun building and I’m glad I made them! Definitely a lot cheaper than buying kits. I have graduation this week so I will not have any more time for projects.
IMG_4224IMG_4225

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Evening Y'all,

For the past week I have been inspired and productive on the reconstruction of the third level.  I have 70% of the wiring done.   About 80% done laying track.  I need 3 or 4 more UCS sections.  The additions include three new spurs and a barrel loader.  I continue to refine the incline between levels.  Having achieved so much, I just ran trains today.  It was a good day on Bald Rock Mountain.

Bill

Evening Y'all,

For the past week I have been inspired and productive on the reconstruction of the third level.  I have 70% of the wiring done.   About 80% done laying track.  I need 3 or 4 more UCS sections.  The additions include three new spurs and a barrel loader.  I continue to refine the incline between levels.  Having achieved so much, I just ran trains today.  It was a good day on Bald Rock Mountain.

Bill

Sure wish I could have seen your video on the Bald Rock Mountain train running today Bill.

Well, I *finally* got the shipment of geese and ducks off the 'Bay, and set to work repainting them. Though nicely detailed, the set featured only domestic geese, which are all white:

geese

I needed Canadian geese, which are very different in coloring:

canadian goose

So, I set to work repainting the geese, my first ever effort at such fine repainting. The results are now temporarily placed in three locations. First, the abandoned hobo camp (with mama and baby bear, and a crow looking on):

bear geese

Second, below the hikers' campsite, next to the cistern (with more bear cubs, and another crow looking on):

camp geese

And finally, around the pond and on the pier, along with the (unaltered) ducks and fishermen:

pond geese

When I'm satisfied with their placement, I'll repaint or cover the bases to help them better blend in with each location.

BTW, if you haven't been following all my earlier posts, I decided to add the geese, crows and bears to give a visual anchor to some of the "camping sounds" that play when my new motion sensor is triggered (the video was shot before I added the abandoned hobo campfire):

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@Steve Tyler posted:

Well, I *finally* got the shipment of geese and ducks off the 'Bay, and set to work repainting them. Though nicely detailed, the set featured only domestic geese, which are all white:

geese

I needed Canadian geese, which are very different in coloring:

canadian goose

So, I set to work repainting the geese, my first ever effort at such fine repainting. The results are now temporarily placed in three locations. First, the abandoned hobo camp (with mama and baby bear, and a crow looking on):

bear geese

Second, below the hikers' campsite, next to the cistern (with more bear cubs, and another crow looking on):

camp geese

And finally, around the pond and on the pier, along with the (unaltered) ducks and fishermen:

pond geese

When I'm satisfied with their placement, I'll repaint or cover the bases to help them better blend in with each location.

BTW, if you haven't been following all my earlier posts, I decided to add the geese, crows and bears to give a visual anchor to some of the "camping sounds" that play when my new motion sensor is triggered (the video was shot before I added the abandoned hobo campfire):

Nice job Steve. Some might say you’re off your Quackers, but I like it. CB2F4417-18F4-48A9-A700-D470A0873471

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@Steve Tyler posted:

Well, I *finally* got the shipment of geese and ducks off the 'Bay, and set to work repainting them. Though nicely detailed, the set featured only domestic geese, which are all white.           I needed Canadian geese, which are very different in coloring:

canadian goose

So, I set to work repainting the geese, my first ever effort at such fine repainting. The results are now temporarily placed in three locations. First, the abandoned hobo camp (with mama and baby bear, and a crow looking on):

camp geese



Nice looking diorama Steve. 

You have a lot more painting to do for Canada geese.when you get them..........when I see them around  here there seems to be a couple dozen together.

Nice looking diorama Steve. 

You have a lot more painting to do for Canada geese.when you get them..........when I see them around  here there seems to be a couple dozen together.

Thanks, Dallas.

When I started reading your comment, my first thought was, "What did I miss? Jeez, I *did* the flat black on neck, bill and legs, even the tail, then dry brushed the body with leftover olive drab from my "Indy Jones" tribute crate project, then did an olive drab wash to blend it in -- what could I have forgotten??!" After finishing your comment, though, I couldn't agree more -- my wife says that my current exercise program consists of periodically chasing all the "poop factories" off our lawn!

[Speaking of which, I *did* consider modelling their, err, leavings, but I don't think I have enough static grass on hand!]

@GeoPeg posted:

@p51, first of all, your layout is stunning! Secondly, how much do those two items weigh!?!? Thirdly, how did you manage to get to the wall without stepping on your table? Surely you didn't, did you? And last of all, what are the round thingy's on the edge of the table? Switches of some sort?

George;

Thanks!

The ALCO plate weighs around 6 pounds, I've not weighed the number plate.

I have a long reach, so hanging the ALCO plate wasn't tough to hang, as the layout is about 2 feet deep there.

Those things are the turnout pulls for the blue point actuators mounted under each turnout, with PVC end caps to protect them.

@Seth Thomas posted:

Your pond includes everything I caught while fishing @Steve Tyler, Nice.!

Turtles included. I’ve never witnessed an ugly duckling. Yes the static grass will be a nice addition.

Would enjoy an evening at your pond, or layout with my rod.

Well, Seth, you're welcome to drop a line any time you're in the neighborhood . . . though I wouldn't recommend trying to eat anything you catch!

Here's a couple more shots. The big rock the angler is on was a souvenir my grandparents brought back from the Petrified Forest nearly a century ago -- it wasn't really the best fit, but makes for a nice story!

pond2pond3

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