Freelance 2015-1

[faraway]

Looking great Reinhard. Is that the Woodland Scenics road making system you've used?
I've tried it myself, and I just can't get the stuff to be smooth. I've always got un-even surfaces, airbubbles etc...

Koos

The road and parking lot is made of thin blue foam, filler to get and even surface and simple gray paint. The curbstone is made from evergreen 2mm * 2mm strips. The restaurant is glued on a shaped 1.5mm styrene sheet to form the sidewalks. The sidewalk curbstone is made from 1mm * 2mm styrene steps. They follow the curves easy when they get in touch with the liquid styrene glue.

[Twist]

Hi,
fantastic work......

Cheers,Chris

[faraway]

Thanks for the kind words

All my trees are equipped with amounting spike in the stem. That permits a quick transition of the generic layout from palm tree to broadleaf tree. A very easy change of the overall impression.
The much thinner stem of palm trees is better suitable for that easy swap than the thicker stem of broadleaf tree hovering over the grass.

[torikoos]

I think I preferred the palms. The deciduous trees you planted look too small, almost N scale trees?
Trees are bigger than you think, and these tree trunks look a bit fat for the height of the tree, the proportions seem strange to me.
There's probably a prototype for everything, but I'd suggest to try something different.

For info, very good trees can be obtained from a couple of good sources in europe. One I want to mention is this one: <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.themodeltreeshop.co.uk">www.themodeltreeshop.co.uk</a><!-- w --> , or one in France. <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.sylviadd.com">www.sylviadd.com</a><!-- w --> (you can select the german language at the bottom of the screen, very nice trees, but pricey)

Koos

[faraway]

... The deciduous trees you planted look too small, almost N scale trees? ...

Koos, you are right. I choose those small trees to maintain free view and access to the tracks behind the trees. The slim palm trees are much more suitable to be in the middle ground without interfering with the view and the 0-5-0 during switching.
My beautiful large trees would act like the beautiful Downtown Deco buildings.....

May be I am back to Florida in 10 minutes

[torikoos]

:-) who knows,at your speed we could find the entire layout in a different region and era in North America in that time :-)

[faraway]

:-) who knows,....

It's back t palm trees now

[torikoos]

:-) that was 10 minutes or less ? :-)

You could of course decide to put other tree types in, just younger (and smaller) versions, with thinner trunks, that would still change the locale, and still be accessible..

[faraway]

I am thinking about birch tree. But I have none at home.
RDM has some nice ones e.g. http://www.rd-hobby.de/de/Catalog/Detail/76454?c=551

(full list on stock at RDM http://www.rd-hobby.de/de/Catalog/List/551?m=1&ps=9999 )

[torikoos]

yep a Birch would probably fit there, good balance between size and access/view.

[faraway]

Got two Athearn RTR CSX GP40-2. Reworked pilots, added some details and a layer of dull coat. The drive is at this moment dummy as I do not like the RTR motor. Athearn offers a Genesis remotoring kit but not for the GP40-2 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/HO-Scale-Athearn...2351713b51). I will give it a try and still keep two option either it stays as dummy behind an Atlas GP39-2 or it gets it own Atlas Trainman GP3x drive. I would prefer if the remotoring kit works.

[torikoos]

I'd suggest looking at a Kato motor if you don't like the RTR. Should be relatively easy to fit too.


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[faraway]

I'd suggest looking at a Kato motor if you don't like the RTR. Should be relatively easy to fit too.

I used them in my CF7 etc. Until now is the (old) Trainman drive for matching RTR shells (GP38,40,50) unbeatable. I am skeptical if an Athern Genesis motor can be a match. I will report the outcome.

[torikoos]

Athearn genesis motor is actually a Roco motor, they're very good usually, I have a few genesis locos and they're very smooth runners, but please be your own judge .


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[faraway]

It was time to do a cleaning cycle in my layout room again.

All the nice plastic brick buildings fit into two plastic bags. It's just a question of proper "folding"


But I did NOT scrap the plaster buildings from Downtown Deco. A section in a cabinet in the basement became the new home. I seriously intend to reuse them on a not contemporary layout in the future.