Lately I have been working on several small kits from a couple different manufacturers.

The first kit is Sweaty Betty’s from Bar Mills Scale Model Works.  This was a birthday present from my wife.

This kit has been really easy to build, the directions are supurb as I have found is standard for Bar Mills.  The way the front windows are put together is very cool and the end results make it look like it was very hard.   Here is the current progress:

Another model, actually two is from Rio Grande Models, it is the Holt Steam Crawler and the Holt trailer.

And the final model for this post: a water tank for donkey engines from Rio Grande Models.

Of minor interest all of these pictures were taken with an iPad…not quite as good a quality as my regular camera but actually turned out better than I expected.

Another view of my heavy equipment collection.

The tow yard, a Woodland Scenics kit.

My most recent project, completing the wiring on the meat packing module (my first one).  I ran the bus wires and used suitcase connectors (displacement connectors) to make the connections.  Also seen in this picture are two of the blue-point switch machines.  I still have several more to install, and I intend to try model aircraft control rods to activate them.

Here is one of the connection points between the modules.  I still am using a clamp as I expect to move the modules a couple of feet before connecting them semi-permanently (well, if and when I move it will come apart) by screwing them together.

Work in progress on the newer of the two modules.  Shown is this picture is the Campbell scale models Brett’s Brewery, shown in its eventual position on the display.  The building on the right is the Grant Line warehouse.

Here is a closeup of the rock castings behind the brewery.  This hill is built in the traditional manner of carboard strips covered in plaster cloth strips.  I hot-glued the castings in place, and used the plaster cloth to fill in the edges.

Here is the hill further to the left of this scene.  I have used a mixture of Woodland Scenics rubber molds and Bragdon ent. silicone molds.  I usually only use the entire rock casting once…in the case of one of the ones from Bragdon it was too big for this.  When creating the castings I pour the plaster fairly thin and wait for it to fully cure before breaking it into pieces which I re-combine to make the rock faces.

I have added a couple of rocks and more “water” into the waterfall scene.

This is a very cool video of a Climax logging locomotive in operation.

Another video of a Shay logging locomotive in action.

More Shay action, including double heading at Cass Scenic Railroad.

Things have been really busy for me lately, a 20 page report tends to take up a lot of time.  I am really looking forward to the end of June when I will be done with my degree and will have more time for modeling.

In the spare minutes that I have had lately I have been working some of the new Rivarossi Skeleton Log Cars, painting the logs and changing the couplers, I will post pics when I have them all done.  I have also been continuing my experiments with Woodland Scenics magic water.  So far the results are pretty good, however it takes multiple 1/8″ layers with at least 24 hours curing time.

Back to homework.