Trains actually RUNNING on my layout for a change

I cleaned up the tracks and wheels for some out of town model railroader tour folks, so I have video of running trains now.  :)

Soyokaze, Shizuka, and Kiwamura June 2016

 A quick photo update on Soyokaze, Kiwamura, and Shizuka. I like taking a snapshot series every once in a while to make note of what I'm making progress on and what I'm not touching. :)

Some detail work was done of Shizuka. I may still rearrange the area at one point.

I plan to have a ton of details like this one. (Tomytec)

Soyokaze Town Side

More scenery started in Kiwamura. I need to add more in.

Soyokaze

Kiwamura Station. The basic idea is in, but not much else.

I have the back foam pieces in place in Soyokaze.

Another shot of the pink foam. :) Panel 02 (center)  is sprayed now and ready to detail up!

Shizuka

Kiwamura Yard

Another shot of Kiwamura Station with the factory in the background

A train rolling through Soyokaze passed Soyokaze Temple.

There are LOTS of deer at Soyokaze Temple. Very tame. :)

Soyokaze Harbor train being loaded up.

The Kato NEX passing through Kiwamura

I'm happy with Shizuka from this angle! :)

Some Shizuka building signage

More Shizuka track work needed

STILL picketing! These folks are ALWAYS angry about SOMETHING!

Kiwamura Station

Zee time for Z scale iz NOW!

(Someone said I should be more creative with my titles) :)

I was just paging through the HOBBY SEARCH email update catalogue and something caught my eye. A tiny...TINY layout pictured on the page.

I was thinking about all those train lovers out there who lament the lack of space for a layout. Obviously, the ones doing that that can "make do" with a smaller setup just so they could have SOMETHING to play with.

This track set is around $80 USD

This seems like a fun option. A small layout to have on a desktop at an office or a small table at home. Something to just watch a train move around on for fun.

Rokuhan  ( ROKUHAN on HOBBY SEARCH ) is just one of many companies putting out some Z scale items that seem like they'd be a lot of fun to play around with on a desktop or the like. Just something for folks to keep in mind of they are looking for some train fun on a very small scale.

THE GHOST TRAIN - 1941

I'm working late, but wanted to put this out into the world. :)


THE GHOST TRAIN from 1941!

"The Ghost Train is a 1941 English mystery thriller film directed by Walter Forde based on the 1923 play of the same name written by Arnold Ridley."


( You can view it larger on YouTube itself https://youtu.be/jj0u0jkYWHw )

Grand old fun from a bygone era.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work so I might be done by 1am. :::sigh:::

iPhone Update Video: Prep for a Layout Visit

I'm getting things ready for a little layout visit planned in a few weeks, but I took a little time to give an iPhone update on the way things are progressing.

Nothing like a bunch of folks coming to look at your layout on a scheduled date to get things moving forward a bit faster! Heh!

Cheers!

New scratch bridge building - ONWARD!

Music for today's post:


Well...I worked on this bridge a while back now. Popped the photos up and I'm finally making time to write about them. :)  Busy bee.  ((Really SHOULD be working on the bridge some more instead of writing, but...))

So...I had moved the bridge that was originally in this spot to the Kiwamura section - I'm super happy with that move.

I needed something for vehicles to get up to the Kiwamura residential area and thought that it was a perfect opportunity to do a little scratch building. The main part of the bridge is foam core. I've added supports under, but the main section will be strong enough to support the bridge section...as long as I don't lean on it. heh

From there, I added some styrene, which is the basis of most of my scratch builds. The white spots are the styrene areas.

Unlike the first bridge I made, this has a nice slope for the vehicles to roll up on. I just have the styrene set in place to make sure it's working in these next shots. The whole bridge was still free floating to make sure I had some wiggle room.

And, after a spray.....

I got more styrene and cut it down for a sidewalk section.

I was happy with the way things were shaping up, so I stuck it all down. 



I worked on the side areas and barriers - setting them in place knowing that scenery was going to come into play as well, so it didn't have to be spot on perfection. I'm not really a "spot on perfection guy". Not at all. hehehe   I have this slippery, painterly style when it comes to modeling and model railroading.



Relatively happy with the barriers and sidewalk progression.

Fired in some details like stairs that I'll go back in on and weather up later.

Safety first! :)  Need to have barrier rails in alongside the walking path!

Overall, I'm pleased with how things are turning out. I need to add more details and the like, but the main bridge section is looking like I wanted it to. And, it serves a real world function, so that's nice.

And...seeing some of the bridges in Japan, this looks perfectly viable! heh!

In other news, I got a base going for my Saneki building I just finished. It's coming along, but needs more weathering and another round of details as well.

I only have two weeks until our MODEL RAIL RADIO Australia visitors come for their tour! I have lights ordered, but I lost my usual FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND hobby day due to a camping trip. Looks like I'll be working some nights over the coming weeks! I want to get things tidy and running well for their visit. I need to drop some activities onto the calendar so I don't loose track of what needs to be done between now and then.

Mostly cleaning, really. Which is LONG overdue! The addition of "skirts" onto the layout will help a lot. I'll be able to have storage under without actually having to LOOK at said storage all the time!

Onward!

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