Bar Mills - Telephone Poles

Our finished O scale poles which are a Pittsfield Expo handout. Peters pole is to the right.

Text by Peter Mumby, photos by George Dutka

Last Monday George and I got together for our weekly 3-hour work session.  I had brought my camera along and between photography and shooting the breeze, half our time quickly disappeared.  With only 90 minutes remaining, what modelling project could we get in to?  At that point George pulled out a Bar Mills kit for "Two O Scale Telephone Poles & Lampheads."  Not only did we have the perfect small project for the day, but electricity would finally be coming to the remote part of Southern Quebec/Northern New England represented on our On30 modules!

The poles are assembled but still needing the insulators and lights added. Some weathering is also needed. The binder in the background is our inspiration, courtesy of George Sellios.

Since the kit included neither instructions nor photographs, a little research was required before we got out the glue bottle.  What did a simple 1950's line pole look like?  George's file of layout shots eventually yielded a George Sellios scene with just what we were looking for.

We started the project by distressing the poles with several passes of a razor saw.    Next came an application of Hunterline stain - weathering mix for George's pole and brown for my  representation of a newer prototype.  Holes were drilled for the lampheads and then the cross arms were fastened on using Canopy glue.  The poles were then ready for an application of PanPastels.  I used the deep oxide colour while George went with the light and dark greys.  After painting the lampheads with Floquil Pullman green and old silver, they were ready for installation using a bit more Canopy glue.

Since the kit contained no insulators, a bit more thinking was due on our parts.  Now, George has lots of ideas, has a great supply of modelling supplies, and is well enough organised to know where to find things.  Within a couple of minutes he had located a container of Craft Glass Beads (from the Dollar Store) and we were back in business.  The smallest beads were quickly extracted and painted with Floquil CNW gloss green.  Four NBW castings were located for each pole; these castings, along with the beads, were then attached using Canopy glue.  Weathering powders were used to colour the NBW castings and to add a little rust to the lamp shades.  The project was complete, and our time was up.  Now, what are we going to work on next week?

The lamp bulbs got a dab of Old silver while the bolts had rusty  Bragdon powders added.

The poles are finished. Mine was done lighter as an older pole. Peter's is much newer. I think the local delivery truck on Peter's module took out his old pole.

Colouring Castings with PanPastels

The stumps, crates, lumber stacks and dogs that we tried finishing using PanPastels. One can see some  finished casting, while others are just primed or in process of being finishing in this photo. The products we tried are also found included.

 PanPastels and O Scale Casting

Peter Mumby and I get together each Monday through the winter to work on modeling projects that are of common interests. We have been playing around lately with PanPastels...Peter will fill you in now...George Dutka

Here we see three stumps. One is primed. The middle stump has had Hunterline stain added and the finished stump coloured with the four PanPastels seen in the photo.

Photos and text by...Peter Mumby
Over the last few weeks we have been weathering freight cars using PanPastels.  We have found that they are quick and easy to use, with minimal mess and no offensive odour.  They are particularly good for an overall dulling of the car's finish; for more subtle effects, dry brushing and weathering powders still have their place.

This time around we decided to try colouring some 1:48 detail castings with the PanPastels as the principal medium.  We had some stumps and wood bundles (both plaster castings from Produits MP), and a group of dogs ( slippery plastic castings of unknown origin picked up at a train show).

All the detail pieces were given an initial spray of grey primer. Once the primer was dry a wash of Hunterline stain is applied. The stumps were coloured first, using the dark grey pastels on the bark areas.  Light grey and raw umber were used on the top (cut) portion of each stump.  The wood bundles were brushed with light grey and raw umber as well.  The banding was highlighted with a black Sharpie marker.  We were quite pleased with the final appearance of all the plaster castings.  The dogs were coloured with either greys or red/ browns, according to their apparent breed.  We weren't entirely pleased with how the dogs turned out; probably the plastic material just didn't hold the pastel colours as well as the plaster.  

Check out the photos and see what you think.  Working with the PanPastels has been fun and instructive - I'm sure we'll find more applications in future projects!

Three of the dogs we applied PanPastels to. We used a marker to add the eyes. George added a coat of Bragdon powders to his dogs at a later date which appeared to colour them better.

One of the finished stumps is planted on Peter Mumby's module.

Here we have a few of the finished stumps and dogs.

A Covered Water Tank for my W&Q Module

This turned out to be a great kit which is small enough to fit almost anywhere on my module.

 I finally added my new O scale covered water tank to my W&Q module. I will cover the construction of the kit shortly....enjoy...George Dutka

A closeup look at some of the details added around the tank. I modeled the door as open adding a barrel and lining bar, a coal shovel and some weeds and blocks scattered around.

An overall look at the scene. I had to clear out a few trees and build up the area for a base before the tank could be added. The structure is right against the backdrop.

W&Q Frt House - Applied to my module

This is the front view of the freight house. There is a track on both sides of the building

Quebec Jct. Freight House

Thought I would share some photos of my freight house now in use on my W&Q module....George Dutka

A look towards the end of the module which houses the frt. house.

This was one location I loaded up with details. My Maine narrow gauge has outlasted the prototypes so it is now the late 40's or maybe the early 50's. Having an oil or electric water heater on the platform seems OK.

A pickup is about to be loaded with some outgoing freight. The crossing sign is from Train Troll models and a WW&F Ry., Maine prototype.

I have added a lot of junk along the tracks near the freight house which adds more interest to the scene.

What's in the Box No. 3

A Berkshire Valley metal kit is seen partly assembled. The remaining parts are seen in this photo along with the instruction and box.

I needed another truck for my W&Q module. I dug out this kit I purchase a number of years ago. Seems like a nice build...George Dutka

A close up view of the main parts glued together. The roof needs to be left off till after painting. The seat comes per-painted.

Packing boxes - by Aberdeen Car Shops

Story and photos by Peter Mumby
 
 There are lots of reasons for attending local train shows.  Some of my favourites include:
1) Visiting with modellers and railfans who you usually only bump into at these shows.
2) Finding a good deal on something you think you need (only to get home and discover that you already have one in your collection!)
3) Seeing a new or obscure product you hadn't been aware of - and realising that you have an almost immediate use for it.
    It is reason #3 that led to the project described in this mini post.  George and  I attended the Paris Junction train show in Paris, Ontario back in January.  On one of his circuits George spotted packs of Aberdeen Car Shops (www.aberdeencarshops.ca) HO and O scale packing boxes.  We each decided to acquire one of the O sets and several of the HO packs.  When we next  got together we decided to start with the O scale set (#4801).

Here is a selection (HO scale shown) of the Aberdeen Car Shops packing boxes.  Included are 8701 ( bicycle, furnace, etc.), 8705 ( Kelvinator refrigerator), and 8704 ( post-1960 Simpsons).

    Required supplies include:
1) Hobby knife with a sharp #11 blade
2) Metal straight edge
3) White glue
4) Optional items include nimble fingers and good eyesight (with or without assistance).  You can guess why we decided to start with the O scale set!

Another set of store boxes is 8703 ( pre-1960 Simpsons ).  Maybe we could lobby for an Eaton's set!

Boxes shown assembled include CCM bicycle, Westinghouse wash machine and water heater, plus Gurney oil furnace and water heater.  The small foreground boxes hold paint and Stelco nails.

  Using knife and straight edge, cut along the edges of the "boxes," around the flaps, and into the indicated white lines.  Create all folds by bending along the lines against the edge of your ruler.  Apply white glue to the flap and fold the sides together.  Fold and glue the ends together and you have a great item for your mixed train's lcl box car.  Any white edges can be covered with a pencil crayon or lead pencil

 Let us know how you make out folding those little Stelco nail boxes in HO scale!
Produits MP plaster accessories. - Boutique
Aberdeen Car Shops

To offload the heavier appliances, the boxcar has been spotted at a level crossing.  The local drayman is ready to head for town as the yard crew prepares to move the car to the Quebec Junction freight house.

The delivery truck has returned to the yard for a load of bicycles, paint, and nails.  The packing cases and drums of lube oil ( by Produits MP, www.produitsmp.com) will have to wait for the next trip.

Bachmann SR&RL Forney

The finished model rests on my work bench before being assigned a run.

 A few years back I purchased a Bachmann undecorated DCC with sound outside frame Forney. I was not sure at first if I wanted a home road or prototype engine. Following a prototype won out and SR&RL #9 was added to my extra small fleet of one.

I began by painting the cab roof Floquil Tuscan red. The lettering was done with CDS dry transfer added to decal sheeting. The numbers are X8G, a gold set. For the lettering I dug into Peter Mumby's stockpile finding some gold lettering that looked right. I then weathered the engine using a light coat of Floquil grimy black followed by a coat of flat finish. I used my available chalk weathering to add some grit and grime to my engine. I then brushed on a coat of white glue in the tender. Woodland Scenic coal was then added. I could not find any available engine-fireman that was appropriate for the 1920-30's so I used the O scale Woodland Scenic set. They look pretty good in the cab...now back to work getting a train ready to roll....George Dutka

I used two Woodland Scenic engine figures for the time being. I want to back date the crew a little at some point.