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About this blog

The build of my former HOn3 layout (the M-K & Eastern RR), now an On30 layout and some excursions into the art of modeling.

Entries in this blog

Part 19: A scratchbuilt Boxcab for my layout!

Hello in the summer heat I have always had a desire for a special locomotive for my layout. It all started when I read about the small port terminals in New York and the locomotives they were using. Central of New Jersey had an Ingersoll Rand locomotive that is one of the first commercially made diesel locomotives: A very beautiful locomotives in my opinion Then came Tim Warris with his Bronx Terminal in HO (an incredible layout). There he showed how to take a brass Boxcab and rebuild
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Part 34: A new beginning :-)

This is how I have planned my new layout to look. There will be some changes along the way I think.... :-) I have designed it to include my current layout along the left side. The size is nice to fill with landscape. The room is 6.5 x 4.5 meters. The possibility to have a decent sized harbour is really exciting! Almost true to scale liberty ship maybe? :-)
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Part 9: The Shay´s new clothes

Hi again, I have had the rebuilt Shay (from earlier in the Blog) sitting on my table for a while now. I decided it was time to finish it . I repainted almost all of it and applied my Custom made decals. I also took the time to adjust the driveshaft as well. It runs really good now, and I hope the looks do it justice too :     I made this as well:   I think it worked out well.
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Part 11: Downtown Deco kits 2

I have built some more on my Downtown Deco buildings, and it's great to see them painted and detailed . I have started to paint my Adams Ave # 2:     And I made sure to get some variety on the brick color and concrete. Then I put some signs on them that I've printed out: Here is how it looks when placed on the layout:   Adams Ave # 1 is also being "finished"....   Adams Ave # 3 is also getting some work on it as well:   I have also renovated an old laser cut kit (JV model
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Part 12: Background and Fascia

I have started to paint some of the clouds now on my backdrop, I sketched up the clouds with a thin white paint and made the shadows with a gray-blue hue: The clouds closest to the horizon have some Ochre in them to give them some warmth.   The clouds are piling up ....: I'm trying to make the clouds with as little planning as possible to make them realistic in shape and form.   Here I have begun to define the clouds with pure white and some Payne's Grey: It's important not to g
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Part 13: Kitbashed steam engine for my railroad

And now for something completely different I've always been inspired by John Allen and his layout; The Gorre & Daphetid RR. What some do not realize is that he built almost everything himself, including the locomotives. Many of them had no direct prototype for the model, but was built to suit his fictional railroads requirements . I myself have had a project that has had the time to mature for a little while (about 20 years .....), but now the parts that I needed to do it miraculously h
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Part 30: Railroad painting

Here is my latest, made today . I find these very enjoying to make. Size 6" by 6". Acrylic on canvas. Original photo by Kevin Burkholder.     Source: Railway art, show us your work :-)
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Part 27: Some weathered Swedish Ore wagons :-)

I had a client that had built these from kits (brass/white metal), and he wanted them painted and weathered. I primed and painted them with Phoenix paints, when I got to the decaling I got into trouble (wich didn't really show at this point......). There were 4 sheets of decals with most decals for all for cars on one sheet. The problem was that one of the sheets looked okay..... the rest looked "old"..... I applied them on a gloss surface and used both micro-set and micro-sol. There was som
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Part 47: Photos of my favorite builds so far.

Some of my favorite builds in HO/HOn3.   Coach in HOn3       Combine in HOn3       Caboose in HOn3       Boxcar HOn3       Paper model scratchbuilt.       Miller & sons diorama.       Station close up.       Station       20 t Shay in HO       Bi-level station       Gas station   Leadville building in HO       Modified Lindbergh tug in HO       Weathered brass C-19 in HOn3       FSM engine house for HOn3        
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Part 46: Finally some layout building!

Finally some progress! I've actually managed to clear out the space for the layout. The room as it looked...   Insulation and moisture barrier installed.   Sheetrock... We all love to do some sheetrock and mud and sanding, and mud and sanding....   I rounded two of the corners. I made a backing from two layers of 1/8" hardboard.   I used 1/4" sheetrock that I wetted and bent to shape in the corners.   The backdrop is now the next step (almost..) I need to install the lighting firs
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Part 40: The Minturn, Kings divide & Eastern RR

Hi all, I felt that it has become a lot of changes to my model world . So much so that it required a new layout thread . It all started with my Middletown, Kensington & Eastern RR that I built for the 2010 challenge. A layout that would depict a fictional New England in 1943. Thanks to a move to larger premises etc. I started to build on it, and add on to it a little, but felt that it did not really work ... : (   My good friend and museum owner Peter Haventon offered then to aquire the
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Part 3: Water and piers

I was getting ready to start on the Harbour, and I needed to add the various items on the quaysides that was going down into the water before proceeding. I was going to have a small fishing pier and a Carfloat apron, The pier was easy to make: I made the stonewall from balsa, and embossing the mortar lines with a pencil. I primed it with gesso and painted it. Ready! But the Apron was a whole different matter, I needed some hoist/balance structure to hold the wires that keeps the actual bri
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Part 24: Fire engine!

I have some favorite "hate objects" in model railroading. Among other things, in terms of cliches .... For example, I would not like to have a church on the layout, as there is one in every old track book! The same applies to fire trucks .... Scenes of burning buildings with smoke generator and fire trucks with flashing lights ..... Not for me thanks . I happened to see a kit that almost converted me! A-(nother) Jordan-kit! An Ahrens Fox fire engine!?!. I just had to buy it ..... But I c
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Part 10: Downtown Deco kits

Hi all, since the last entry I have bought some kits from Downtown Deco, I thought it would be good to show how I painted them.   This entry will show how to paint and weather the Adams Ave #1, The owner of Downtown Deco, Randy Pepprock, had a thread at a big US Forum on how to paint it, but it was deleted as it was being called "advertising".....   I hope this will show the methods that can be used to paint and weather it. Sure, it´s not as elaborate as Randy´s was, but I think it wi
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Part 5: Handpainted city backdrop

It was time to do something about the background as it had been neglected due to other activities, such as building houses and such . I didn´t like to sit at the layout doing all the details that are inevitable when making a city.... I bought some high quality artist poster board and went to work on it, sitting at my workplace.   I put the board on the backdrop to draw all the existing buildings. I then printed out some nice photos of houses along with some books I have for inspiration.
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Part 25: The history behind the RR.

I've had some thoughts about the freelance prototype when building a freelance layout as I´m doing .... When I started the construction of my layout, I envisioned it located in Maine somewhere (a bit vague ...) The name of the company came after the initials of me and my wife ;-) "M-K & E RR" = Michael & Kerstins Enskilda Järnvägar (Michael & Kerstins Private RR) Something has to give when you get to build the layout in the living room ... The "real" readout of the name
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Part 39: HOn3 Bachmann Shay conversion.

Hello! I 've had a Bachmann three truck 80 ton Shay in HO in quite a few years now. The original:     The Shay has experienced quite a few revisions, among other things, the exchange of the cracked plastic gears with metal gears from NWSL . The largest revision was when I had gotten tired of the lousy tracking of the middle truck. That was when I rebuilt it to a two truck version:   (see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/638/entry-5254-part-6-shay-conversion/ )   Now
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Part 42: The Leadville house

Hi all, this is the latest build for my layout: CM's Leadville house! It was a real joy to build, and the mfg delivered the missing parts very swiftly (thanks!). I think it is a really good looking house that I wouldn't mind living in in 1:1 scale! My wife asked when we should start building it.... I have put real glass in all the windows, as I do on all my builds now. That will show the interiors really good when I have installed the lights in it. I will also build a small shed/garage
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Part 15: Backdrop painting video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8TI503k9VA A little film I made today about backdrop painting and some landscape painting .   Source: Backdrop painting video
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Part 52: Bret's Brewery

Bret's Brewery in HO scale.   The band!   Loading dock   The rail side.   Boiler house   Front on.   Upper floor detail.   Water tank.
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Part 37: Miller and sons machine shop

My latest build that I made to incorporate in my new layout. A Woodland scenics machine shop that I made a diorama of. I named it Miller & sons after the great Glenn Miller. I listened to a lot of his music during the build....           I'm very satisfied with the build so far. I was honestly surprised at the value of this kit! It has a few issues though, as it is (as I have understood it) an old Alloy forms kit thar WS have re-released. The white metal is VERY hard, and
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Part 45: The Nevada City fire station, ancient kit built.

The HSM Nevada city fire station is done! It was a real challenge, mostly printed cardboard and some sticks of wood...but it went really okay I think. The bell tower has 28 parts.... Fiddly, to say the least. The interior light is a led mounted above the ceiling and has an orange colored diffuser to make it resemble gas light.                
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