09-04-2011, 11:00 AM
The key to good pictures is to have good lighting. I have a halogen lamp that I use when I work on my models, I just position it over the subject when I take a photo. It's a bright white light that makes the pictures come out rather bright. In fact, I had to reduce the brightness on this one! 
Here's the stereotypical "ICE" box you see in just about every gas station. For something so small, it was surprisingly easy to make. And it's the closest to prototype - I should know, I went to a Chevron today and took some more research photos.
Ummm I think there's some confusion about lighting? I meant that I use the desk lamp in place of flash. My digicam is a camcorder, and while it does have a built in lamp, it comes out somewhat yellow and isn't as good as the desk lamp.
As for the icebox, it was so quick in the making that I didn't stop to take pictures along the way. But it uses the same construction method as the long structure over the pumps. It's basically a small (5mm x 11mm) card stock base, with a poster board "box" around it. The icebox doors are simply small pieces of poster board and the "ICE" lettering is done with me new printer, as is the grime covered air vent (hard to tell) on the lower left. It's so tiny! I am really pleased with how it came out. I'm contemplating putting in something to represent hinges and door locks on it, but I need to finish the other details before I go crazy on one small item such as this.
Val, thanks for the link on the lamps! Really cool... but you're right, it's too late. I don't think I could fit one of those inside the food mart... it's too small!
Pete sells white LEDs at a reasonable price on eBay, and I might take him up on that offer. The bulbs I am using now are tiny 3V bulbs and while they don't get hot at all, they aren't very bright. I think using LEDs is the way to go. (At least for lighting up the CHEVRON signs on the canopy. The little bulbs just don't cut it.)
Moving right along...
I've spent the last hour or so in Photo-CHOP and this is what I came up with. I set the document to 600 dpi (what my new printer resolution is set at for regular non-photo printing) and worked in actual dimensions. The pump housing is 1 cm in height. Taking measurements from an actual photo, the width is proportional to the actual prototype. (I had to guess the height, but one of my photos had a guy getting gas on the other side, so I was able to approximate.)
At any rate, here is the graphic, in case any of you want to print some out and save yourself some graphical work:
Here is another progress shot. The pumps are now 90% finished. Here is a zoomed in shot of one. All the needs to be done is: 1) make the nozzle housing for each octane rated gasoline, and of course 2) the hoses coming down from the top. Other details will be the squeegee compartment and perhaps some potted shrub in the center.
Sorry for the grainy look, but rather than the usual image reduction by 50% to 640x480, I cropped it to 640x480 instead, keeping the original zoom level. The Ford Woody is somewhat of an anachronism, but I don't own any modern true N-scale vehicles.
Railway Jim: $10 on the Ford Woody at pump 8
Attendant: Would you like anything else?
Railway Jim: Well, yes... where are the nozzles?
Attendant: Probably the same place where my store interior is at... still stuck inside someone's imagination!
I think you can guess what's coming next! :mrgreen:
Ok, the painting of the copper wire didn't work out very well. Instead, I took a black Sharpie permanent marker to it and it came out nice. Here is the finished pumps:
Here's the stereotypical "ICE" box you see in just about every gas station. For something so small, it was surprisingly easy to make. And it's the closest to prototype - I should know, I went to a Chevron today and took some more research photos.
Ummm I think there's some confusion about lighting? I meant that I use the desk lamp in place of flash. My digicam is a camcorder, and while it does have a built in lamp, it comes out somewhat yellow and isn't as good as the desk lamp.
As for the icebox, it was so quick in the making that I didn't stop to take pictures along the way. But it uses the same construction method as the long structure over the pumps. It's basically a small (5mm x 11mm) card stock base, with a poster board "box" around it. The icebox doors are simply small pieces of poster board and the "ICE" lettering is done with me new printer, as is the grime covered air vent (hard to tell) on the lower left. It's so tiny! I am really pleased with how it came out. I'm contemplating putting in something to represent hinges and door locks on it, but I need to finish the other details before I go crazy on one small item such as this.
Val, thanks for the link on the lamps! Really cool... but you're right, it's too late. I don't think I could fit one of those inside the food mart... it's too small!
Pete sells white LEDs at a reasonable price on eBay, and I might take him up on that offer. The bulbs I am using now are tiny 3V bulbs and while they don't get hot at all, they aren't very bright. I think using LEDs is the way to go. (At least for lighting up the CHEVRON signs on the canopy. The little bulbs just don't cut it.)
Moving right along...
I've spent the last hour or so in Photo-CHOP and this is what I came up with. I set the document to 600 dpi (what my new printer resolution is set at for regular non-photo printing) and worked in actual dimensions. The pump housing is 1 cm in height. Taking measurements from an actual photo, the width is proportional to the actual prototype. (I had to guess the height, but one of my photos had a guy getting gas on the other side, so I was able to approximate.)
At any rate, here is the graphic, in case any of you want to print some out and save yourself some graphical work:
Here is another progress shot. The pumps are now 90% finished. Here is a zoomed in shot of one. All the needs to be done is: 1) make the nozzle housing for each octane rated gasoline, and of course 2) the hoses coming down from the top. Other details will be the squeegee compartment and perhaps some potted shrub in the center.
Sorry for the grainy look, but rather than the usual image reduction by 50% to 640x480, I cropped it to 640x480 instead, keeping the original zoom level. The Ford Woody is somewhat of an anachronism, but I don't own any modern true N-scale vehicles.
Railway Jim: $10 on the Ford Woody at pump 8
Attendant: Would you like anything else?
Railway Jim: Well, yes... where are the nozzles?
Attendant: Probably the same place where my store interior is at... still stuck inside someone's imagination!
I think you can guess what's coming next! :mrgreen:
Ok, the painting of the copper wire didn't work out very well. Instead, I took a black Sharpie permanent marker to it and it came out nice. Here is the finished pumps: