ON MY BENCH: COLOR ON THE GONDOLA

 

Crossposted from my other blog, Sprue Pie With Frets

On My Bench: Painting A Train The Plastic Model Way

 

Black Mr. Surfacer on the Grandt Line HOn3 (1/87 narrow gauge) gondola. Not the way most model railroaders paint things, but I’m not most model railroaders. Indeed, most model railroaders don’t really paint much nowadays, as evidenced by the conspicuous absence of model railroading paint in the hobby marketplace. Ironic, especially in light of the seemingly weekly appearance of a new line of paint for plastic modelers. 

Crossposted from my other blog, Sprue Pie With Frets

ON MY BENCH: A LITTLE RAILROAD GONDOLA

 

Injection molded model railroad car kits—at least, kits that build up a out of a lot of separate injection molded parts—are far and few between. This Grandt Line (now San Juan Car) narrow gauge gondola kit dating back to the early 80s or late 70s is such a build. Shake the box like a Tamiya kit, this ain’t. But it’s a model and it’s what’s on my bench.

Crossposted from my other blog, Sprue Pie With Frets

On My Bench: Red Car Killer

GMC bus in Pacific Electric livery, 1/87 or HO scale. Just a little weathering to introduce depth and grime. For you non-model railroading savages, the Pacific Electric was the ‘Red Car’, a symbol of old, pre-freeway Los Angeles, the demise of which was immortalized in the movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”. Watch this space, more Pacific Electric coming soon.

Cross-posted from my other blog, Sprue Pie WIth Frets

 

What I’m Thinking: Big Models Of Swiss Narrow Gauge

Big models of metre-gauge Rhätische Bahn (RhB, or Rhaetian Railway) rolling stock have been on my mind of late. 

American and Swiss narrow gauge railways were built around the same time over a hundred years ago, for many of the same reasons. However, for a variety of interesting reasons, Swiss narrow gauge modernized and even electrified, while US narrow gauge mostly skipped dieselization and even forthright embrace of such modern niceties as steel underframes and signals. As a result, RhB and its connecting narrow gauge lines in the south and east of Switzerland not only are still running, but are distinctively modern and modelgenic subjects.

For an idea of what’s been particularly inspiring to me, have a look at this video of Rhätische Bahn‘s own Om (O scale metre gauge) museum layout:

Meanwhile, chunky models of RhB locomotives and cars might have been sighted on my workbench:

What’s not to like? Small electrics pulling short trains through scenery and curves that would make Malcolm Furlow say, “That looks fake.”

Let’s see where this adventure in big ol’ little Swiss trains takes us…