Website News Archive: 2009

23 December 2009

After adding the new links to the Manufacturers Links page, I started finding dead links (which is a little sad, when you think about it). So, every link has been verified. In the process, several got corrected with new URLs, while several others were clearly gone; I also found a couple of duplicates. This brought the total down from 292 to 280. This will also be the last website update before the holidays, so I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. See you all in 2010!

17 December 2009

I've added two new links to the Manufacturers Links page, bringing the total links count to 292. According to the website hit logs, this is the second-most popular destination after the Track Plans. Nice to know people are finding it useful. Oh, and the two new links are Little Building Co. and Z and N Models.

13 December 2009

I'm really pleased to introduce an animation clinic on a working excavator. This is without doubt my favorite animated device; the reason the clinic was so long in coming is that, when the excavator (which I built around 1997-98) was being transported to Rick Spano's for safekeeping back around 2001, the controller went AWOL. Then, during Rick's recent open house, I discovered the poor lifeless model and decided there was no excuse for not building a new controller—it was the easiest part of the whole project! So please enjoy the new clinic, which features loads of photos, a schematic of the controller, and a video of the unit in action.

29 November 2009

I've actually started receiving requests for "reprints" of old Model Railroader articles of mine. Obviously I can't reproduce them as published, so I've revised the original text significantly. "Eliminate Car Wobble," which appeared in the November 1999 issue of MR, is now online.

19 November 2009

Although I've frequently confessed that I'm not into operation, I really do have an understanding of—and appreciation for—railroad operation as a major facet of the hobby. Combined with the fact that I very much enjoy creating track plans, this occasionally leads to "commission work" for other modelers. I'm pleased to have at last helped find a solution for one particular "client" who has been struggling for quite a long time to find a theme for his next layout. As a consequence, some of the plans featured on this website are actually "rejects" from our lengthy collaboration. Now we've arrived at a final plan that, if all goes well, will actually be built; I hope to be able to provide construction photos as the work progresses.

13 October 2009

Finally online—whole: Leaving New Hope.

11 October 2009

As I was working on the website refresh, I was reminded that I'd left off in the middle of producing a series of railfan videos. So I re-familiarized myself with the two dozen raw files, fired up the video editor, and assembled a new episode for the Autumnal Reverie series. This was my first widescreen HQ production, and it took a whopping nine hours to render the 6-1/2 minute video; it was then another hour and a half to upload. But after all of that, YouTube inexplicably truncated the video, lopping off the last two minutes for no good reason (I subsequently learned that it's a known bug). So, fool that I am, I tried again, starting with a shortened version. No luck—still butchered by YouTube. For my third try I'll be reverting back to standard resolution and aspect ratio... when I have the freaking time to do it all again, that is!

6 October 2009

Welcome to a "refreshed" website! The old design was getting a little stale, and I wanted a cleaner look; plus, there were some technical corrections and improvements to make. With over 235 pages to revise, it's taken several months of spare time to complete. (If any of the pages look wonky—e.g., everything aligned on the left side of the screen—please clear your browser's cache.)

6 August 2009

My N scale model of an HO scale layout has had to relinquish its (unofficial) title as the world's smallest working model train layout. That "honor" now goes to a working model that's one-third its size: a Z scale model of an N scale layout. Weighing in at a mere .125 x .200 inches, it features a passenger train that roams amongst the chalets of a picturesque mountain range. Visit the web page to see a video of it in action.

23 July 2009

Chapter 8 has had to be revised owing to recent events at work. It's sad, but... what can I do?

BTW, visitors looking for N scale bargains should check outmy eBay listings. I've now begun the process of selling off all of my N scale stuff, running anywhere from 50-100 auctions at a time on average every other week. I can't use it, so it may as well go to people who can.

Selling off all of my N scale is going to be difficult—some things may be hard to give up. I know full well that it's stupid being attached to material things, but certain items are special, like the Postage Stamp train set. Another real challenge will be my Preiser figures collection: I have every set—yes, every set—including some extremely rare discontinued items. The collection was finished just last month, with the addition of one set I tracked down to a seller in Germany. I don't think he realized just how rare that set was, since I bought it for around $10, less than standard list for any readily-available set.

5 July 2009

With a horrible bad back timed to ruin a glorious Fourth holiday, my activity has been pretty much restricted to a keyboard. So, I poked around in my big virtual box of virtual round-tuits, and came up with the perfect candidate: Nichtschienengebundene Spur-N Fahrzeuge, which translates to "Non-rail-bound N scale vehicles." It's the mother of all N scale vehicle databases, which I'd bookmarked long ago for some "rainy day" research, and while it's beautifully sunny today, it was about all I could manage to do under the circumstances. As a consequence of sifting through just about every link on the site, my Manufacturers Links page has grown by 30%. In addition to the vehicles reference, there are references for ships, planes and equipment, plus hundreds of idea-provoking samples of kitbashing and scratchbuilding from around the world. It's mostly in German, with a smattering of English. Don't visit it unless you have a couple of hours to spare, because you're sure to get sucked in.

2 June 2009

Lately about the only thing I've been doing in N scale is blogging. I do have a new construction article in the works, but that's still a ways off as I've still got the photography to finish, and I tend to spend most of my modeling time working on my Z scale James River Branch. I hope someday I'll be able to return to modeling in N scale full-time. I do miss it...

8 February 2009

After an embarrassingly long pause since the last update, I've finally dusted off this site a little. A discussion of Helicon Focus at the TrainBoard inspired me to revise my sadly out-of-date clinic on digital photography. Some modelers have been grousing over the cost of Helicon Focus, claiming the same thing can be done with a cheaper "Photoshop-lite" type of software. Well, the truth is much different, so I thought a little primer on Helicon Focus might help convince modelers on the fence to pry open their wallets—it's only $115, not the $900 some folks pay for apps like Photoshop. And no, I'm not affiliated with Helicon Focus in any way—I'm just a happy customer! While the clinic is still far from done, it's at least caught up to the present.

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