A short week is about over along with the month of May as we speed into the month of June. What do you have on your Ready Board this weekend? An organization project that has been put off since December needs to be done, it is semi work related and needs to be done and this is the best weekend to get it done. I'm trying to get as much of it done so I can start work on another lost project, my fully detailed B&M GP38-2's. The plan is to model #200, the Bicentennial unit, in all it's red, white and blue glory along with sister unit, #207. Like the Rock Island unit I did last year, this one will have the BLMA fans, lift rings, grab irons and many other details. The locomotives will only see service on my layout so I can go nuts on the detail. I also want to delve deeper into DCC sound and Digitrax now produces a decoder with sound for the Atlas GP38's and 38-2's. I have everything I need to build up these units, just need time. So how about you? What's on the agenda for you this weekend? DCC work, scenery, painting? Whatever it is, let us know! We'll all come back on Monday, June 2nd and see how we all did. Until then, have a happy, safe weekend and... High Greens!
Last weekend, I mourned the passing of my venerable Sony camera, which has provided most of my train-related pictures over the years, both 1:87 and 1:1. This afternoon, according to FedEx tracking, I'll be celebrating the arrival of my new Canon SX170. A lot has happened in the 15 years or so since we got the Sony, so I'll have a much more capable camera. I'll even be able to put it on a tripod and take a series of photos with different focal points so I can use software to get some of those great depth-of-field images. Strangely, the camera doesn't come with a cable to connect it to the computer, so that's a separate part scheduled for delivery on Monday. I did some midweek modeling and got the small forest around Dorothy and friends covered with thick ground foam and a variety of trees. I realized that it needs some boulders, too, so I'll add those over the weekend. Surrounding territory needs static grass, and I've got to finish the roof on the Railway Express depot and check the building for light leaks. Then I'll give the camera a workout. The passenger car project stalled while I finished the Depot, so that will probably be next on the list. I've got two of them painted, and the next step is to apply the names of "historical figures" like Governor William J. Le Petomane to the car sides. Your assignment, should you decide to accept it, is to look up both the fictional Governor and the original "Le Petomane," who was real and equally amusing.
The Montreal Vermont & Essex model RR club is holding an open house on Saturday, and I'll be taking a look at their progress. They have a pretty good sized layout (HO) and so far they're among the best I've seen in modeling. It's always a pleasure to visit them.
Made the 6-1/2 hour drive back from the beach yesterday. My 1 year old did a great job on the trip, slept much of it. He complained less than I did about the drive..... and I was driving! On the way out of Virginia Beach I stopped at two stores. Hobby Town, which I decided before hand would be a bust, didn't disappoint. Absolutely no N Scale... Zero, Zip nada, nothing. All overpriced Bachmann HO and train sets, I'll note this the next time we go back. The other store was again 70% Lionel, 20% HO and 10% N scale. At least he had a few things, I had my eye on an Atlas tank car but closer inspection revealed several broken detail (no case). Most of his stock was at least 30 years old with Rapido couplers. I picked up 4 Atlas cars, a B&O Mechanical Reefer, FGE Wood reefer, D&RGW Hopper (to patch to CC&CI in the future) and an Erie Mechanical reefer. Doubt I'll get much else accomplished this weekend other than updating my spreadsheets and make another push in HO sales.
