Suzukawa Ayako

The super cool, super sweet, Chō kawaīdesu (super cute) Suzukawa Ayako! :)

She does various train and toy reviews (all in Japanese - no captions, sadly) that you don't REALLY need to know what she's saying to enjoy. Her enthusiasm and odd laughter while reviewing some of the items really brings a smile to my face. It's very sweet.

She uses this little set of melodies in her videos that manages to up the cute factor about 50%, bringing the grand total to something like 350% CUTE. :)

A fun slice of Japanese culture and some fantastic video production.

Check out more of her videos here.
https://www.youtube.com/user/suzukawaayako/videos







Below, a massive Thomas layout. :)



TRANSLATED: Suzukawa It is a channel of Ayako . Around the railway -related , we will continue to raise the various videos that there is my interest . We have updated almost daily . It is a loose feel , but I would appreciate your favor .Suzukawa Ayako ( Suzukawa Ayako ) March 25, 1991 born

Born : Chiba Prefecture

A gift from my Uncle

I got this amazing gift from my Uncle recently. An O scale Triplex Steam Engine. My Uncle knew that I liked it and he packaged it up and sent it over to me from Maryland. A truly amazing gift!  Not only did he sent the engine, but he sent some cars to go with it plus some track to display it on.

I love it!!!! I'm not sure where I'm going to run this - maybe the garden? It's HUGE! As an N scale guy, seeing something like this is mind blowing. I still need to get a power source - evidently, the sounds on this are remarkable.

It's really a beautiful engine. My Uncle is a collector and doesn't have the space for an O scale layout right now, so when he saw how much I loved this engine, he thought he'd pass this along to me to love. :)

I mad up a little video, too.


NRAIL the Gift from Malcolm Johnson on Vimeo.

More good times in December

Well, November and December have been pretty lovely times.
My in-laws got me a few cool trains and trams which I love. The Kato 1-421 Hiroshima-Hannover Tramis a cool piece. It has a nice, lean look I like.

This KATO train is something I've been looking into for a LONG time. Years, I think. But, it needs a wide radius, so I had to wait until I had a space to run it. So, it was the prime time for my subway idea.

 I had space under the two tables that make up my current layout, so I thought that a subway would be perfect. Larger radius curves and some additional running area - perfecto. Yes, I still hold knocking through my wall close to heart, but that will happen later. For now, a subway will be perfect. So, I grabbed some wood and started planning.

I'm not a woodworker, but I manage. I have square corners and I can get things working. So, I just started putting stuff together.










I started with the track plan, laying track to work with the wood I purchased. Again, flying by the seat of my pants. :)

My two year old assistant :)

I'm sure there are hundreds of better ways to make this happen. With the power of groove music and thinking about my late Father helping me, I managed to get this wonky idea to work! heheheh  My back is still sore from the lifting. Ask for help? BAH! :)

This KATO train runs like a dream. Now I need to implement the ideas I called out in my last post. I think things will work out.

 In other news....

I love my Modemo. I just wish it was running better. I need to look into recent advice about removing the traction rubber on the tires for better electrical pickup.

 There's going to be a heli-pad in the harbor area. I got some fun copters recently and want to use a helipad to show them off.

LOCATION: Alameda

There's a fun bridge here in the East Bay that I thought people might be interested in. It run along side a auto bridge and isn't in use anymore - least I don't think so. But it's fun. The auto bridge can lift up and out of the way and so can the train section. It's a fun piece and might be an interesting addition to a layout.

It's been nice making time to work on this stuff again. I missed it. It's a great departure from my work - getting away from computers for a while.

I want to do my backdrop and I was playing around with the "HOW" today. I think I'll use the existing brown paper as a base, then measure the space and match things up that way - using the brown paper as the template. It's already there - why not use it as the base for my background project.

I'll measure where things are - harbor, temple, villiage, roadways etc - then draw in what I want.

Next, I'll pull the paper and roll out the canvas I have. I'll sketch in the areas I need, then start paining. The whole thing will be around 15 feet or so. It should be an interesting project and one that will really add to the layout. I have been seeing some coo backdrops being done, so I can't wait to see what a proper, painting backdrop adds to my layout. I just hope I still have my painting chops! 

Lastly, I wish you all a happy holiday filled with things you love. I still count myself lucky to have a space like this to play in and a wife that gives me the space to play within it! :)

Merry Hollowdaze to you! :)

Benchwork

Wow...I did it. I actually purchased lumber and built something that I can have train shite on! hehehehe   It was a process for sure, but it was filled with many grand moments.

The first thing was what to buy to build everything up from. I'm NOT a builder. I know nothing about wood and the like. So, it was interesting. However, the staff at HOME DEPOT was rather helpful and I ended up purchasing some stuff after the fifth visit to their store. :)

I went with a rather standard plywood with Birch as the box frame. My son Drake and I got don to sorting things out and he was a huge help. Just something about having him there and helping really made a difference. I wasn't alone. :)

It was a really slow start (which I really hated) and I thought that it was going to burn out and fizzle away, but it was just the opposite. Once I got rolling, it was fun and interesting and it really came together. Came together in a way that I wasn't sure was possible, really. Things found a flow and a work style that made the project a load of fun.

I measured twice and cut once, popping a basic box and legs together rather quickly. Something from my father MUST have shined through me because it was popped up in no time. I got the supports in and - all in all - it's a rather solid framing.

Add caption

The second table went up quickly as well and the 1x5 in the center was a happy after thought. It will have a small bridge and farm and farm land on it and will act as a sort of visual break from the city and country scenes.

I MAY slap on a third piece for the harbor area. It would live under the existing second deck so that the whole of it would be below the land level of Soyokaze. It was something that bothered me in my original, multi-module setup - having the water level be SO close to land level. So, if I drop it below deck, it will be low enough to make me happy.

So, my bench is as follows:
• 5x3 (Shizuka / city area)
• 4x3(Soyokaze /village area)
• and 1x5 (bridge and country)

The table stands at 48 inches tall and is rather stable.

I plan on staining the whole of it to make it look a little more finished. I hope that's a good idea! LOL. And once that's done I'll start tossing things on to see how everything lines up on the track and position side of things.

All in all, I'm super happy with the way everything worked out and I'm super happy that I managed to push though to get this done. I even managed to play a little FIDDLER ON THE ROOF when I was working on things with my son. My Father and I listened to this over and over when he was building my old HO on a door layout when I was 10 years old. It was a little hard to hold it together when it started (my Father passed away a few years ago now), but it was fantastic working on the benchwork with my son as it played! :)

I started out HATING the process. Really disliking it all. But, by the end I was having a blast! 

Now...on to staining and popping some KATO track down!

M~

Wunderland Firefighters

More amazing work from MiWuLaTV (Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg TV ). This time, little dramas about their firefighters there.

As usual, the level of detail in both the scene work and video quality are second to none. Amazing stuff. When I think about everything that has gone into these scenes, my mind spins. The lighting, detail, action and the MASSIVE amount of computerization to make everything work is just stunning. The behind the scenes interviews with the people in charge of running the show are wondrous as well. Seeing the panels and programming behind all the little scenes and offerings there in Miniatur Wunderland is truly fascinating.

Scene 01 - Germany

Scene 02 - USA

Cool Find - BROOKLYN: 3 AM

BROOKLYN: 3 AM, built by Prof Klyzlr, from Sydney is a REALLY amazing layout. Klyzlr is a frequent guest on MODEL RAIL RADIO and he has a LOT to say about the hobby. :)

Brooklyn: 3AM is just what it sounds like - a layout based on a small area of Brooklyn at 3am. Klyzlr went the extra mile every step of the way adding lights, sounds and a "wet look" that really rounds the scene out beautifully.

His process is shown in great detail here: http://n-rail.blogspot.com/2011/08/model-rail-radio.html

The level of detail is fantastic. The scene is packed with detail. It's a sight to behold and something to aspire to for me. I love what he's done with the layout. I'd love to see this in person one day. I'm sure the photos don't do it complete justice.

I like the fact that it's not a "complete" layout, too. I don't have the space for what I want to do at the moment, but have been working on my module here and there. I plan to work the module as much as I can with a focus on this level of detail. (( Or...something like it. :)  ))

 The use of "set pieces" like the trucks, graffiti, and Warehouse Rave really lock the scene in place. Again, something I aspire to on my module. Soyokaze Lake, Soyokaze Bridge and the Temple Area are all ripe for detail and exploration.

Nice work, Prof! :)

Troels Kirk

Some amazing work by Troels Kirk - a danish artist painter, living in southern Sweden and doing some fantastic railroad modeling. His work is detailed and realistic and his buildings are made mostly of paper. His painting, weathering and detail work is top notch. His work has a three dimensional painting quality to it that I absolutely love.  

He also has a wonderful look to his water which plays a key part of many of his scenes. The addition of layered, ambient sound piped through a hidden speaker system really makes this a complete work of art.

 http://coastline.no13.se

He recently appeared on MODEL RAIL RADIO:
Model Rail Radio #52: Europe Slightly Censored [February 11, 2012]
http://www.modelrailradio.com/archive.html#52
In the interview, he talks about his style, workflow and goes over some of his processes. WELL worth checking out.





He also has a DVD for sale. I have it noted and I'm currently squirreling money away for it! :)
http://www.no13.se/coastline/shop.html
60 minutes NTSC
Price US$ 30 plus $5 shipping









Trailer for the DVD