Product Review - Troels Kirk DVD - Realistic color for Model Railroading

Greetings,
I just received Troels Kirk's new DVD on realistic color for Model Railroading.

I really enjoyed this video because it takes a different approach towards modeling in that Troels uses broad area painting techniques and an artist approach, which includes the use of basic colors to mimic weathering and realistic modeling. These techniques produce fantastic results.

For those who do not know Troels, he is a danish artist painter, living in southern Sweden. in my opinion, Troels has one of the finest model Railroads on the planet. To view this spectacular work of art go here...

Coast Line Railroad

If you want To view the trailer for his DVD....

You can order this DVD from his website.

For the quality of the DVD, his techniques, and overall fresh approach towards modeling I give this product 5 lanterns, great job Troels!

Product Review - Vector Cut

I am always amazed at what the laser has brought to the table regarding detail possibilities in model railroading. We have never enjoyed this level of detail before, particularly in HO.

So while building my latest scratch built structure, a HO automobile garage, (will post pictures later this month so stay tuned), I found a Vendor that has some outstanding laser cut details that I think you will enjoy.

Vector Cut

Dave at Vector Cut offers N-HO-O scale details, craftsman kits, and even model ship accessories as well. I personally ordered the tools and automobile parts that you will see on the website. The shipping was fast, free, Dave was very personable, and the parts were AMAZING as far as quality.

Ever thought of having HO Scale hotdogs, hamburgers, and donuts? Well he has got them!...So when you get a chance surf his site. When your there, check out his Gallery, talk about talent! The diorama's are simply, as they say now "off the hook".

For the impeccable quality of work, clever design (3 dimensional automobile doors), great service, and fast shipment, I highly recommend Vector Cut Details with 5 lanterns....

Product Review - Bakatronics

Recently while looking around the net for some lighting circuits I ran across Bakatronic Electronics. They have some really awesome circuits that I have since purchased. Some of the kits that I now have are the lighthouse, ultimate welder, and buoy circuits. I also plan on purchasing several of the LED illuminator kits, this module generates a sequence of preprogrammed patterns of lighting that turn off and on at various time. Say you have a structure with several rooms, typically when you power up the lighting the whole structure lights up at the same time. This module will delay some of the lighting in each room to give the impression of people turning on lights in the room at different times and gives the "lived in" look.

Here is video of the lighthouse circuit (the most realistic on the market as I can tell)



So if you in the market for some cool circuits I recommend Bakatronics, you can buy the kits to assemble yourself or for a nominal fee they will assemble it for you.

I give Bakatronics 5 lanterns

Product Review - Vallejo Paints

Of late I have been working on collecting facets of the future military portion of my layout. In my mind, it will consist of a small yard to store my military train equipment and perhaps a airfield. Of course this will be based off of the 1944 era.

In gathering these components, one challenge is finding HO scale figures that are one, US Military from that era, and two, finding figures not in combat poses and descent quality. (that subject in itself warrants a separate blog post).

So I collect these figures I find that most of the ones I have found are unpainted Preiser figures so the next logical step would be to find paints that are of good quality and help me accomplish this.
After hearing a recent Scotty Mason webcast, Dave Frary mentioned that he used some Vallejo Paints and found them to be quite nice. So I purchased a 72 bottle model color set as well as the panzer aces set and a few game set bottles. Buying these sets from a dealer will run you about 200.00 - 250.00 bucks, pretty pricey. I found that you can get some good deals on ebay and paid around 100.00 for 140 bottles. Just shop around, used bottles are ok since you don't use a great deal of paint each time.
The bottles are designed to dispense extremely small amounts of paints so a bottle will go a long way. The paints are acrylic, so water dilution and clean up is a nice attribute.
The paint goes on well (after primer is applied), and if you invest is some good quality brushes such as 0/20, 0/10, and larger you will find that painting the smallest details very satisfying. Another nice thing is that the paints that are flat are dead flat.



The 3 varieties I purchased are;

Model Paints - These colors are the typical primary and variations of colors you will use. They contain metallic colors as well.

Military Paints (Panzer Aces) - These colors are used for all thing military as well as the darker spectrum, grays, tans, browns etc.

Game Paints - These are designed for the WarHammer Fantasy crowd and I found them to be a bit to loud for Model railroading (I only have a few of these colors)

I recommend these paints highly and due to the amount of colors I now have, will use them for all of my smaller details provided in the craftsman kits. They are a bit pricey new however.

All and all 5 lanterns....

Vendor Recommendation - Craftsman Kit Howard

If your into building or for that matter collecting craftsman kit structures and models I want to tell you about a friend of mine that can really make your day. Howard is a very talented craftsman and knows his kits and if you looking to find that special challenge and raise your layout a few pegs with FSM, Sierra West, FOS, Master Creations, South River, Memory Lane, the list goes on... Howard is your guy.

Howard runs an ebay store located at

http://shop.ebay.com/howard3746/m.html

I encourage you to look at what he has to offer, he is a really honest and dependable gentleman that I have done business with for some time now. His shipments are so fast it will make your head spin. The kits he sells are the best on the market at a really fair price.

"Tell him Mike sent yaw"

Howard definitely gets 5 lanterns!

Product Review - Bar MillsModel Works Craftsman Kits

I have a pretty vast collection of Fine Scale Miniature kits awaiting the day I dust them off for the build. I find that George Sellios is the best in the business, hands down. If you have seen his layout in countless model railroad magazine articles or have built any of his kits you will agree.


But recently I have been purchasing Bar Mill Model Works kits. This company nestled in Bar Mills Maine is really impressive. They are housed in a reproduction of a railroad station and from what I have seen on their videos (on their website) have a really sound processes. The folks that work there are true professionals.

The majority of the kits they offer are under 100 bucks, mostly in the 30 t0 60 range with some "super kits" as well. The kits are simple to build (under 8 hours typically), they have unique designs and really make for enjoyable bench time.

The kits that I have purchased so far consisted of laser cut panels, some of which are adhesive backed, precut rafters (now that is nice), finely detailed castings (even better), and excellent humorous instructions.

"I tell you what", there is no fighting these structures to get everything squared and plumbed. Its smooth sailing for both the novice as well as the pro.

Their website is www.barmillsmodels.com and I encourage you, if you have 30-40 bucks, treat yourself to a great time.

For their consistent quality, unique designs and castings, very reasonable cost, and just generally cool approach to the business I give the 5 out of 5 lanterns.... Great job!

Cool Freebie - Yard Office

Yard Office Railroad Database

I ran across this software package when looking for a way to categorize and organize my fleet. It is a shareware that is really pretty nice. You can store all of the information for each piece of your rolling stock and motive power. You can take it a step farther and take photographs of each piece and have this as part of the record. Reporting capabilities are more than I will ever use but all and all this is a nice addition to my model railroad software library. Here is the link;

YARD OFFICE

Here is a screen shot of one of my records. For an additional $27.00 you can register and open up even more of this software's capability. For the price and its capability, yardmaster rates as a 5 Lantern product and I highly recommend.

New Model Railroad Magazine

As mentioned earlier, Joe Fugute and friends have just released their new online model railroad magazine and its totally free. This long awaited magazines first edition is full of great interactive articles, photos, and model railroad information. I highly recommend checking it out. Joe has really capitalized on new technology and this magazine really shows it.

http://www.model-railroad-hobbyist.com/

New Model Railroad Magazine

I have been introduced to a new on-line Model Railroad magazine created by Joe Fugate. He is the same craftsman that brought you the DVD set mentioned on this web-site. Joe's vision is to bring a free, yes I said free, magazine to the hobby that includes state of the are web technology.

He is planning to launch the first edition in January 2009. I highly recommend this as a resource for the modeler out there.
If you get a chance check out the web site at

http://www.model-railroad-hobbyist.com/

I am having a blast just meeting folks and posting and reading the blogs...

Product Review Joe Fugates Siskiyou Line Video Set

I recently purchased the 5 DVD set from Joe Fugate. It comprised of the following;

1) Model Railroad Volume 1 - Modeling a Prototype

2) Model Railroad Volume 2 - Design & construction

3) Model Railroad Volume 3 - Electrical / DCC & control

4) Model Railroad Volume 4 - Scenery & bridges - pt 1

5) Model Railroad Volume 5 - Scenery & bridges - pt 2

Joe has done a really good job in production of this set, I found myself watching the entire set well into the wee hours of the morning and since, have watched them a couple of times. Joe split up the volumes into mini chapters that make it easy to focus on a particular task such as trees, benchwork, DCC and so on. The information he presents if very helpful and I had several revelations while watching some of his techniques and tips (the term, "why didn't I think of that" came up quite a bit) . The set is $99.00 if you buy the 5 dvds or individually priced if you don’t want to buy all of them at the same time, trust me, you will want all of them.

I have seen many Model Railroad videos in my time (40 years experience), but hands down this is the best I have seen so far. I look forward to ordering more of his work and I fully anticipate that I will be purchasing all of his offerings.

I give this product 5 out of 5 lanterns. Great job Joe!

His website is http://model-trains-video.com/page.php?1

Product Review Fast Tracks

One of the decisions regarding my layout was to hand lay my track work in areas that are visible. It looks 100 times better than the typical factory produced flex or sectional track. I use code 83 track size that is more prototypical, and the tracks over all look with the individual wood ties looks outstanding. One of the most difficult aspects of laying your own track are the switches. Keeping everything in gauge, functioning correctly and appearance is difficult. It take many years of experience to produce a hand laid switch for instance.

I have found a product that you may be interested in. It is well known by advanced modelers and I find it to be one of the best ways to produce your switches perfectly every time. It is called Fast Tracks. This product uses a fixture to produce the switch, you can even buy the laser cut ties as well that neatly fit within the switch. The upfront cost is not cheap but not outrageous either, but if your going to produce lots of switches, the cost per switch versus Walthers, Shinohara, or Pico is cheaper and the results are remarkable. It took about two switches for me to get the methodology down pat but once you figure out the got cha's you will be proud of your work. It takes time to do these and is far much more work than installing a factory switch, but when it is all said and done, you will find a great deal of pride in knowing that your trackage is hand laid.
Web site ; www.handlaidtrack.com/











I give this product 5 out of 5 lanterns, Ron and Tim are great to work with, and the product workmanship is great.

Vendor recommendation - railroadmemories.com

Do you collect Railroad Memorabilia?
If you collect Railroad Memorabilia, this auction site hosts the best of the best artifacts... they hold auctions a few times a year. Railroad Memories has been supplying the railroad community with quality memorabilia since 1987 through retail sales and mail bid auction catalogs. I enjoy just looking at what as sold over the years, it gives you an idea of the value of most railroad memorabilia and they list the best.

http://www.railroadmemories.com/

Vendor recommendation - Gunnings Hobbies

Looking for a good deal on Brass?
I have been purchasing my Brass gear from Stephen over at Gunning's Hobbies located in the Bay Area.

http://www.gunnings.com

He is good honest man and his models are impeccable and a great deal too.
He is the one to go too for those "nice" brass loco's and rolling stock...