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Some More Coal Loads: I see you have some good ideas for coal, I use blasting sand. Go to a sand blasting company and ask them for black blasting sand, it looks just like coal and you can fill your cars up. -George Poole
Graffiti: You know, I realized a great way to make graffiti without buying those expensive decals. I use White-out (a correction pen), the finer the tip the better. I even made up a cool scene with this- I painted an HO car, parked it in front of a university, and put an angry teacher beside it, like one of his students painted it! - asparuh frangov (viper)
River Bank Rock: I have a raw edge of ceiling tile used as a base for my saw mill area that runs up to a river. In an attempt to make the edge look as natural as I could without tapering it down to water level I first coated it with white glue and then piled up ground corn cobs against it. Once the glue was dry I brushed away the loose corn cob and had a really neat looking rock river bank.
The natural color of the corn cob was great for the area that I'm doing so I coated it with a coat clear Rustoleum. It can also be painted any color with an air brush.
I bought a 3 gallon bag of the stuff for a buck and a quarter at the pet store. It's normally fed to parrots as a supplement to aid them in digesting their food. - Ed Mabesoone
Windows: Instead of using windows included in a kit or making your own from styrene ( clear ) use Sobo glue. Take a plastic cup, and on the bottom pour some Sobo glue. Take a toothpick and spread a little around the edges of the opening. Then, taking as much as you can, spread it over the window, making sure to keep it level. Let it dry overnight and it will be clear and look like a real window!!!- Paul Spilman
Details, Details: When modeling any Norfolk Southern locomotive, and you want to super detail it with ready made parts ( yes, I do know someone who builds ALL of his loco's and cars from scratch!), put all of the Cannon and Company parts that are made for the loco you are modeling on the locomotive. I found that the more you add, the better it looks!- Paul Spilman
Tires: While adding a scrap yard to my layout I realized that a scrap yard is not a scrap yard unless it's loaded with a pile of old tires. I grabbed a set of wheels off an HO scale pick up truck and headed for the auto parts store where I found some automotive vacuum hose that was the same diameter as the tires from the truck.
Two feet of the hose cost me a whole $0.65 and when sliced with a modeling knife makes a bunch of fantastic tires. Once piled up, glued together, weathered a little bit and some weeds planted in some of the outer ones they look great.
Although I'm modeling HO I'm sure the hose is available in enough different sizes for other scales too. If not there is always fuel hose to consider. - Ed Mabesoone
Cool Bashes of Hay: I went to a nearby little field of dried up grass in Houston. I then picked out some grass and went home. I wadded up some newspapers an made a ball out of them(I taped it with masking tape so it will say still).I made it to fit HO scale. Then I cut the grass into little pieces, perfect for HO scale. Then I "painted" the ball with glue. Afterwards I sprinkled the little grass pieces on. Try buying the cheapest hair spray and spray it no the unfinished bash of hay. Again, sprinkle a second layer and let dry. Use a hair dryer on cold, or a portable fan so the leftover sprinkles will fall off. Why not try this on a hopper or gondola? Or use it as grass? make up different uses for this wonderful idea! - Viper
Free Cool Loads for Hoppers: I made up a imaginary cement factory on my layout. I made up that the company used the cheap reliability of the train to ship its ?giant? boulders from its mine to the factory. So, I went to the park, close to my house in Houston. I picked some very rough pebbles and small rocks for HO scale (pick them out to fit your scale). I loaded my Union Pacific hoppers and gondolas. They look very realistic, and it's absolutely free! I didn't have to ruin my cars by gluing it, so next week I'll pick up on a whole new scenario!- Viper
Wood Stain:I found to simulate wood colors, use "brown shoe polish". I am building a wood trestle bridge and found if you do each piece individually, and rub at different pressures, you get varied colors. After that you can add silver or black paint for weathering. - Bob Ogrodowski
Trestle Span: See Trestle Spans on the Complete How-To page.
Paint Removal: I have been looking for a quick, safe way to remove paint from engines, cabeese, etc. Looking on a model car sight the other night, I found a tip on paint removal- Castrol Super Clean. It works great! In about 30 minutes, my Athearn F7 was clean with the exception of bits and pieces that I took off with an old toothbrush. It does not harm the plastic or styrene. Use it in a well ventilated area, although if you must you can use it a closed shop or garage, just don't stay too long as the fumes will get to you. You must wear gloves when using Castrol Super Clean otherwise it will remove the first layer of skin. Dishwashing gloves should work fine. When you buy the CSC don't buy the spray bottle as it is cheaper by the gallon and easier to use. Go to the local dollar store and buy a quart dish or a little bigger, that should be fine. -Mark Credell
Kadee Height: When putting your own Kadee draft gear pocket on the Proto 2000 Northeastern (My example that I worked on) caboose, if you install the centering spring above the coupler, the coupler will ride too low. Therefore, you should put the centering spring UNDER the coupler to achieve a little more height. This is why one should ALWAYS test fit the coupler's height before gluing or screwing the pocket together or to the frame! -Stephen
Painting old American Flyer or Lionel locomotives: For years I struggled to find just the right paint to use when repainting Lionel & Flyer steam engines. It is a matte black, not gloss, and not flat. I finally found it, and it comes in a spray can that does a fine job, no need for an airbrush. The paint is "High Temperature Barbecue and Stove Paint" by Rustoleum. The Barbecue & stove paint from Krylon also does a good looking job.
Don't use it on plastic though... I have a couple of tenders that look like they were made out of leather because of the way the paint reacts, even with that tough Lionel tender plastic. -Geoff Worstell
Here are some Mini Scene idea's for your layout:
1. Have a victory parade for the home Team including a supporter with no gas in his or Her car( Depending on the era's modeled) with some one pushing the car.
2. Drive your Safety inspectors crazy with accidents about to happen( some one about to fall in the manhole or fall out the window.)
3. Have some one about to get into trouble ( rail fan + scrapyard + junk yard dog)
4. Why show someone sweeping the station , fixing the leaky water tower, or doing some repairs at the station)
5. Have a loose tiger or any other wild animal in your town ( think of all the possibilities you could create in that scene .
6. Have some hijinks in your town or country side. (grad of 19?? or 20?? on any thing, an old wagon or barn supporting the home team) and a few old timer's saying that they never did that. ( according to your RR's town archives, they did). -Dana Gill
Old Wood Appearance: One tip is to make unstained wood look old and gray. The tip is very simple just lightly go over the balsa wood with a dull pencil. -Mike Luyster
Water: I think I have a new way to put water on track. Theoretically, it will work, for I don't know because I don't have includeable space on my layout. What you do is to make a "riverbed" by placing an indentation in your mountains, hills, or on just a narrow inset in a flat area. Next, coat the area the river is to run through with "dirt" and maybe a few rocks (small), cover this with a layer of clear plastic wrap, and slightly warm it to thin out a bit, but not too much or the layer will melt and you have to do it again. Next, take a small, aquarium style water pump and place the pumping part at one end and a lake or sub layout collection area. Place the pump intake so that it cannot be seen or it will look funny. Place water in the collection pool and get ready to have some fun. (Hint, place a small boat in the water to simulate somebody that has gone fishin') Happy Modeling! -Alston Pike
Antennas:.... cat whiskers.... really. Cut to a length to suit scale. They have a taper that lends itself to realism. - Bob Mon
Kinder, More Gentle Antennas: Use the leftover plastic 'trees' that other model parts are attached to. Break off one long piece about 4"-5" long. Hold this piece by both ends about 4 inches or so above a lighted candle or other heat source. (candle works best). As the plastic heats up and begins to soften, pull the ends in opposite directions. Be ready! The plastic gets to the soft stage all of a sudden, so it may take some practice to get good hairlike strands, but the end result is well worth the practice it takes. Once the plastic cools, simply trim the strand to the desired length. You will find that these new antennas even have a whip/spring like effect and are pretty sturdy.-Jeff Meyer
Foam Base: I met a man at a model rail show today, he had a beautiful layout made entirely out of white foam, built up in layers to form a hill. The foam was painted out of a mix of water, white glue and dirt he had brushed up (scraped on a hard surface with a brush is a better description) from dry clay under his house. The next bit was a thin layer of old carpet felt underlay, with some large trees and an array of small trees/shrubs. It looked really effective. -Nick Sherwin
Rust: Making wheel faces and structures look like they have "real" flaking rust areas: I gather the type of rust that is more on the orangy side (i.e. newly forming) by sanding it off of various surfaces with fine sand paper of about 120 grit. Then I "reduce" this with finer-grit sandpaper, 400-500 grit will do, by placing a small amount in a folded piece and rubbing the sandwiched rust into a very, almost scale-like dust. I use a soda straw cut to about 2" in length to dust things with the super-fine real rust powder after first painting with roof brown water based paint. Shake off any loose rust immediately. The result is a 3-D type effect on wheel faces, metal roofs, or any other object that could or would be seen close up by operators or visitors. -Brett Duffek
Automobiles: Driverless automobiles look extremely odd "parked" in the middle of streets. Any cheap dime store or toy shop (correct size) figure including toy soldiers make proper occupants. Just cut in half, paint appropriately and glue to seat. While you're at it -- don't forget that cars have tail lights (many are not painted, left body color)and license plates. The latter easily drawn by any non-artist, reduced to proper size via photo copy & colored with magic marker. Scotch tape covering helps to preserve. -Dal
Pin Stripe: To do very fine pin striping on diesel engines, around signs, on storage tanks, and motor trucks or their trailers:
Go to a sewing center and select a color and size (diameter) of sewing thread that would best match the width of stripe needed. #60 cotton is the heaviest. It looks like the cable on a 200 ton wreck crane. Then thread is graduated on down to very fine silk which looks about like a one inch wide stripe, (.01148" in HO) Cotton thread is 'fuzzy', so set up for alignment first, then the very last thing before you lay the thread in place, put a few drops of clear gloss or matte finish , as desired, on a corner of a rag and quickly draw a length of the thread through it and place on the item. Let dry the appropriate length of time. My father used a small camel hair brush to apply a 'base' of clear along the side of a passenger car, wiped the thread, placed the thread, set the weights and waited until the next day to trim off the excess.
Dad made a jig with 8p nails. Two along the length of the car, and one against the end. He nailed a block of wood at right angle (top to bottom) and far enough away to clear the couplers. One block on each end. These blocks were 1/8" shorter than the car was wide. Using a straight edge, he marked where the 'stripes' were to go on top of these blocks then pushed a straight pin in both blocks at the marks. He did a black, red, black pattern laying the three threads side by side. It was impressive. Turn the car over and do the other side, the stripes will align and match. He tied a fishing weight on both ends (same weight each), on a length of thread that would allow about six inches to hang down on each end. Lay the first one against the pins, lower down to the car side, and let the weights hold it in place. Try this on scrap wood, you will find it easy. Visitors will wonder how you got such fine thin stripes. Enjoy !!-W.D. Wilson
Bushes: Staple the bushes to your layout. The bushes will naturally conceal your staples and they will be better held to the layout.-Alston Pike
Kadee Springs: I can't take credit for this as I saw it on another website. To keep those little bitty springs used for Kadee and Micro-Trains couplers from flying away, run a thread thru the spring until you get it placed. The thread can then be (carefully) pulled out. -Johnnie C. Scott
Track Nails:I have found new nails for track. Go to the hardware store and get House-Mates Hardware tack size 18. They're a prefect size for HO. -Alston Pike
Inexpensive Scratch Building Material: I enjoy scratch building structures and am always looking for inexpensive material. Corrugated metal is used widely in trackside structures, but is expensive to buy in scale, and difficult to make from scratch. I found a solution for HO scale that may also work in other scales. It is called "metallic crepe", and is like party streamers, but is available in silver and looks just like corrugated sheet metal. I got mine at one of those party supply stores called "Pretty Party Place". It comes in 60' rolls and is 1 3/4" wide-best of all, it only costs $2.79 per roll. All it needs is a coat of matte medium to dull the shinny finish. I use that sandwich board [styrofoam between 2 poster board pieces-can get it at art and craft supply stores-it's cheap too] to build the actual structure, then glue the lengths of corrugated steel to it with a good spray adhesive or Tacky glue. The material is sturdy, and there is very little problem cutting out door and window holes. -Curt
Computer Ribbon Cable: I have found another use for computer ribbon cable. The strands can be very easily separated and are perfect for various electrical hook-up applications in any scale.-Jim Campbell.
Flex Track: I have found that you can achieve smooth clean curves, using flex track. Start by laying the curve out and establish what ties have to be removed. These can be replaced when the track is laid permanent. Be sure to place the moveable rail on the inside of the curve. Once you have removed the necessary ties and established the curve remove the sections from your layout. Pin the sections on a straight flat board. A redwood plank works great for this. Use a straight edge to maintain a perfectly straight rail line. Now solder the sections together at the rail joiners. Be sure to solder on the outer edge of the rail joiners. Don't be shy, use your NMRA track gauge to maintain the exact distance between the rails at the joiners. When you have finished your soldering, place the soldered sections back on your layout curve. The soldered joints will maintain a smooth curve through the joiners. Be sure to pre-drill the nail holes. You will only need a few nails to hold the track in place. You can place the removed ties by gluing them to your benchwork. I recommend that this method be used when utilizing hidden track, straight or curved. Happy Rails to You.-Jim Campbell.
Trees: If in a hurry to get some trees done, I discovered that I can foliate tree armatures quickly. I employ the cheapest type of hair spray I can find at the beauty counter. Just spray the armature with the hair spray and sprinkle ground foam on the wet armature. If needed, I'll repeat the process until satisfied. To complete the process, I'll apply the hair spray one more time to set the ground foam in place on the armature. I can do several dozen trees in an hour and place them on the layout almost immediately. -Marty
Dirt Road: To depict a dirt road, I employed acrylic paints. Mix the paints with raw sienna, yellow and black. I mixed these colors a little at a time on an old piece of plywood board until I captured the right color. With a fan brush, I brushed the paint onto the desired area. You can mix any desired earth or dirt color with acrylic paints. There are many areas on the layout in which to use acrylic paints to spice up a scene. It's really easy. -Marty
Track Nails: I am in N-Scale. I have found a better way to nail track through cork and into plywood. The Atlas nails are approximately .037 in size and they have a tendency to bend slightly, when hammered or pushed into plywood. This will really mess up the position of the track you are trying to achieve. To maintain accuracy of the desired track position, use a .036 bit and drill through the existing tie hole or establish a new one where necessary. Continue drilling into the plywood while holding the track exactly where you want it. This makes for easy nail removal, when necessary, in the future. I hope this is helpful. Happy rails to you. -Jim Campbell.
Light Industrial Modeling: If you wish to keep things simple, you might want to try light industrial modeling. This type of railroad serves light industries on a branch line located on the edge of metropolitan areas. It is often located on an old interurban line paralleling a main line or diverging out on its own. It might be possible to connect a series of old table top layouts as if they were an abandoned traction system. -Jack Hanks
Lubricating: When lubricating a small area(s) with either "Liquid Graphite", "Machine Oil" or any other lubricating material, I use a SYRINGE. Purchase what size you are comfortable with at various stores.-Marty
Sanding: I have had wonderful success with cutting down
"Popsicle
Sticks" to what size needed and Glue the various Grits of Sandpaper
onto that piece.
Glue both sides of stick. Easy to remove and replace sandpaper.
Excellent control of
sanding stick. -Marty
Masking: When you need to paint two colors on the same model, first paint the 1st color, wait to dry at least 24 hours, then use any masking tape to make your line. Now, spray the area that is to be painted the new color AT THE EDGE OF THE TAPE with dullcoat, sealing the tape. let dry for 30 min. or so and then paint the second color. What a great paint line this leaves. No bleeding, just a great line.- Lester Larrew
Applying Decals: Be sure to see Joe Czapiga's "The Art of Applying Decals" on the "complete how to" page.
Painting: To paint the front edges of locomotive steps white use the tip of a round toothpick dipped in the paint in the lid after shaking.-Henry Stowell
Foam Mountains: While building our layout of 12 x 10 we wanted mountains for our HO size towns. Plumbers foam seems to be the perfect material for our 3-D effect. It was also used as clouds in a muriel on the wall. The finest thing about the foam is it can be cut and shaped and planting trees is a breeze. One more thing, we have a silver mine and in one of the old modelers magazine they use alum foil for the casts for their tunnels. We found that the alum crunched and wrinkled made the same effect and only cost about 99 cents, of course you paint the foil. We are learning new things everyday. -R. J. Grady
Backgrounds: Instead of paying for a pre-painted backdrop or painting your own, use a color printer to make detailed scenes. This is very useful when you need a cityscape in the background. -Ezekiel Johnson
From Jack Hanks : Instead of trying to duplicate typical railroading, models can be used to model the unusual or unique, but in a plausible way. John Allen was as expert at making the unique look plausible.
Power Lines: When running wires down a light pole, it is sometimes easier to drape them down and into a nearby structure. The structure hides the wires and the connection looks authentic. -Jack Hanks
Loads: I discovered that an old rusting metal shelf could supply many tons of scrap iron for gondola loads. These flakes of rust could comply with various scales. Just fill the gondola with the flakes or add a false bottom and fill the remainder of the car with the rust flakes and apply white glue. Set the car aside until the glue dries. Presto, you'll have real honest to goodness a steel scrap metal load. -Marty
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