HINTS AND TIPS - THE FOLLOW ON

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Hints & Tips No.870
  Blocking Light in Model Buildings
   From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
   The ultimate light-blocker in my experience is aluminium foil, which can be used to form a rough set of interior partitions as well as wall and ceiling lining. It shapes easily with fingers only and, if used as a ceiling lining, reflects the light back down into the structure.
One caution - if used too close to a high wattage bulb, aluminum foil will concentrate heat. I have been using the ultimate `el cheapo' bulbs - 2.5v christmas string lights powered from a 1.25v AC source, and have not had any problems.

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Hints & Tips No.871
  An alternative to Wetting when Ballasting
   From George Pitman (Washington State)
   I got very frustrated when trying to prewet the ballast pile as recommended by all the experts. I tried a couple of different sprayers but one was bad and the other one worse. It seems like it is extremely difficult to thoroughly wet the ballast without disturbing it in some way. So in desperation, I tried something else.

I went out to the garden shed and cut a little piece of landscape fabric. It's that black plastic stuff that water runs right through but weeds can't bust it. I just laid the piece of fabric on the ties and flooded that with the sprayer. Then I lifted it off. Voila!! It's all wet! A little bit of ballast but only a very little bit stuck to the fabric and a little bit was on the tie tops. But the ballast itself looked pretty much undisturbed. I took a credit card and scraped it along the ties and got all of the stragglers back into place. Then I glued as normal.

I found out that the credit card trick works after the glue is applied also, to take care of any ballast that gets displaced by the glue up onto the ties. The caveat is that I am using the cvmw tie strips and I am applying the ballast before the rails are down so it's easier to scrape with the credit card. But having rails on might work better to support the fabric slightly off the rails to keep it from contacting the ballast..

I also discovered that the wet water mixture doesn't have to be sprayed onto the fabric, you can just pour it on.

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Hints & Tips No.872
  
Pinching pennies (again)… for point levers    From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
   Old-time ball pen cartridges were brass - and made great sleeves for turnout throw mechanisms made out of bent paper clips. The modern cartridges are plastic, so I just had to spend a dollar for tubing I used to get free. Oh, well. Some modern improvements are not. The paper clips are still pretty cheap but do not use the colorful plastic coated ones – they are too flimsy.
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Hints & Tips No.873
  A Wash line as a Detail
   From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
   A realistic wash line would have to be a single strand from a piece of flexible wire - rather fragile, but then, it's not going to be subjected to the kind of battering that catenary has to take. A little white (modern nylon) or tan (older hemp) paint, then bend the tabs of your al-foil wash over it. Anybody feel up to modeling clothespins in OO or HO scale?
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Hints & Tips No.874
  Use of Mirrors
   From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
   An idea which was suggested at a club to which I belonged involved a street which ran into the back wall about four feet from the aisle, with track in the street and industrial spurs on both sides. One of the members wanted to put a mirror at the end of the street, then paint reverse-lettered signage on the back walls of the buildings which would then become visible.
   This would have the effect of doubling the apparent area and make the ends of the layout less defined, giving the illusion of more depth. Have fun experimenting!
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Hints & Tips No.875
  Detail “Ghosts” Pt 1
  From David Foster
   Just as it is possible to show where vehicles have been by tyre marks in soft material and scuff marks/deposited rubber on concrete/tarmac it is possible to show where barrels and pallets have been stacked and moved away.

On soil there may be indentations… these can be pressed in while the modelled surface is hardening just the way you would leave tyre tracks.

On grass anything left for a day or so will flatten the grass and leave a discoloured imprint where the grass hasn’t had its diet of sunshine. Anything left for a long period will leave an increasing mark right through to no grass at all.

On hard surfaces…
Once the general surface has been established and the basic detailing of dirt/spillage/grime/weather has been worked over the whole area specific areas can be built up…
Where anything stands for long two things occur
1. the general ongoing build up of weathering doesn’t occur under whatever is standing.
2. a rim of crud often forms around the standing material ; either splashed there by passing traffic or washed there by rainwater run off. It may also be that sweeping doesn’t get right into the corners.

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Hints & Tips No.876
  Pros and Cons of Lift Bridges
   From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
   Lift-up: Hinges need to be at or above rail height. Length is limited by ceiling height. (John Armstrong was designing for a two-level layout, and the upper level was high enough to duck under, but not to clear a long bridge section.) Some provision has to be made to hold the lift in the up position. Obvious clash between high objects in the vicinity of the hinge line.

Drop-down: Hinges below the roadbed. No clash between scenery elements. No need to secure after lowering. Length limited only by height above floor. The major disadvantage, vulnerability to being damaged by passing people, is avoided by having the drop-down at the hinge side of the door that had to be opened to use the passageway. The open door, suitably stopped, protects the top of the drop-down segment.

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Hints & Tips No.877
  Tinted Glass in Structures
   From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
   You could resort to tinting “glass” or you could consider putting some kind of partition behind the windows. It could be dark grey, or (getting really fancy) covered with interior-scene photos cut from magazines. I personally use clear (more or less) plastic salvaged from used overhead projector slides. It has a bluish shade that resembles aged window glass.
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 Hints & Tips No.878
  Ice Trays for Many Uses
   From John Speed (Arizona)
   I found a set of icecube trays were perfect for using to mix my paints and stains in. Lots of spaces to use for water, paints, alcohol, stains, etc. Plus, other sections for water to rinse. Also, depending on the type you get, they usually have a good lip around it to hold your brush which can be handy when going back and forth from the bench back to layout, via a duck under. I have found they rinse out easy with acrylic paints.
   They make great trays for small parts such as wheel sets, couplers, screws, etc. Also, they stack nicely.
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Hints & Tips No.879
  Holding Tiny Parts with Ice Trays
   From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
   Plastic ice trays are ideal for holding the tiny parts needed for a superdetailing project, whether locomotive, scenery or anything between. The round edges are gentle on scenery, and the 'hollows' are big enough to hold fairly sizable objects.
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Hints & Tips No.880
 

 Detail “Ghosts” Pt 2
  From David Foster
  To model this…

Decide at what point in the general weathering the pile is going to arrive.
You don’t want to put barrels or boxes in place because you won’t get down between them so use discs or squares of masking tape to keep the areas covered by the objects free of the following washes or sprays of weathering.
When you get to the stage of weathering at which the objects are removed take away the masking tape.
Before continuing with later weathering delineate the “clean” areas with a highlighting colour (dark or light depending on what will have formed “2” above).
Then carry on as before.
You can of course work this same pattern several times on the same area where several piles have been placed (not exactly on top of each other) over time… bearing in mind that earlier evidence will get scuffed out:- especially the outlining marks.

You can also place a new pile on top… or put another way the marks can show where a pile has been reduced…

Spills and water run off will make their ways around standing boxes and barrels leaving distinct marks that remain after the objects have gone…

The same can be applied where pallets have stood… they take a bit more work for the footprint of the pallet.

It can also be applied to ties, rail, ladders… anything that would be left in one place for a time… it could even be the mark of a ladder left on a flat roof.

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Hints & Tips No.881
  Detail “Ghosts” Pt 3
   From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
   One distinctive detail that shows up where beat up steel drums are left standing on end in the weather is the circular rust stain they leave when removed. It should be possible to reproduce this using a model drum like a rubber stamp, going from a thinly-brushed (on a scrap of something flat) not-quite-mixed layer of rust colors to the dock, wash rack or whatever. Then add a couple of drums that don't align with the rings of rust, or maybe some really rusty ones that do.
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 Hints & Tips No.882
 

 A Toothpick is a Modeller's Best Friend Pt 1
 

  From Several Modellers
  

  a. I came across a box car that had the wrong built date on it. At first, I thought I would just let it go and run it as it was, but then as things like that always seem to do, it started bugging me, so I started trying to figure out a way to erase it. In the past, I have seen a number of methods for removing decals, but instead of those, I decided to try a sharp tooth pick and a little spit (not to be gross) and carefully but quickly rubbed the tiny numbers off of the car without doing any damage to the paint.
  

  b. You can use them from stirring paint, for checking consistency of plaster, as a sculpting tool, you can use it for painting tiny detail , you can file them to fit as shim anywhere, in a pinch you can use them instead of insulating joiner.
  

 
  1. c.    Toothpicks can also be used as load in N scale and Z , can be use    for small lumber in OO and HO. You can put masking tape on with one    in tight areas and use one as a painting handle for small parts.

Last edit: by xdford

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Hints & Tips No.883
   Increasing Lamp Life
    From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
    Burning an incandescent lamp at 50-60% of its rated voltage will extend its life by a factor of five to ten, as well as give the yellowish color that is most commonly seen when looking at illuminated rooms from outside.

Something that was done years ago, which I haven't heard much about lately, was to paint "neon" signs with fluorescent paint and illuminate the whole town with a UV light. With a valence and baffles, it should be possible to keep the UV on the models and off (and out of the eyes of) the spectators.

Incidentally I use 2.5V Christmas string bulbs at 1.5V for my own structure lighting.

  

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Hints & Tips No.884
Maintenance Pt 1
From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
Layout  maintenance, and its corollary, rolling stock maintenance, are as  inevitable as sunset. Even our old friend Murphy has a couple of special  cases to his general rule that apply specifically to model railroads:
  1. If    something has moving parts, they will eventually stop moving, or    move in ways not intended by the designer.
  2. All    colors fade with time. Some just fade faster.
  3. (For    our readers who use the Queen's English) Permanent way – is not.
  4. Anything    that can warp, bend or stretch out of alignment - will.
  5. The Biggest problems always    occur at the hardest-to-reach places.
 As a long time aircraft type,  I am a firm believer in setting and maintaining a maintenance schedule  for any rolling stock which is powered, has lights or is otherwise any  more complex than a tin box on wheels. When the time comes, the unit is  routed to the shop (removed from staging) and replaced with a like  serviceable item (or close approximation) from the reserve line. Even  the little tin boxes on wheels are routed to the rip track for a quick  look-see at wheels and couplers every year or so.

(A Note from Trevor - due to looking at this too early in the morning, you actually have 2 extra hints above this one inserted as of Friday - Cheers)
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Hints & Tips No.885
  A Toothpick is a Modeller's Best Friend Pt 2
   From Several Modellers
   a. Burn a few toothpicks and use the ashes to weather models,
  b. You can use their sharp tip to gently scrape paint splatter,
 
  1. c.    A toothpick is an excellent glue applicator as well as    grease/lube…
        d    The flat style of toothpick can be used to build model shipping    pallet for pennies
  e. The plastic ones are great to use as styrene rods too. Good for plugging unwanted holes.
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Hints & Tips No.886
  Maintenance Pt 2
   From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
 
Fixed plant (Impermanent way?) is handled by restating the old military axiom: "Once is an incident (Derailment, break-in-two, locomotive stall or stutter.) Twice is coincidence…." Three times is NOT enemy action (Al Qaida has not attacked my layout,) but proof positive that SOMETHING is in need of investigation and repair. If this develops during an operating session, procedure is to run slow order work-arounds until Timetable 7:00AM. At that point the world pauses in its orbit and stops turning until repairs are completed and the MOW chief signs off on the job. (The same guy is the Road Foreman of Engines, the Master Mechanic and the RIP Track Super, so sometimes the world gets stopped for several real days.)
 Since I have yet to reach the point where any scenery was other than temporary mockups, I don't know how I will deal with maintaining model foliage. That bridge will be crossed in the future, since the new layout just getting started is intended to be my last.
  Love may make the world go round, but constant maintenance keeps the machinery running.
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Hints & Tips No.887
  A Toothpick is a Modeller's Best Friend Pt 3
   From Several Modellers
   You could rescue a screw location by sticking a toothpick with a dab of glue on the end in a stripped-out screw hole.
   Another use would be as the basis of the boom on a light-duty jib crane.
   I use them to hold up trees on the layout as well. I drill a hole in the bottom of the tree, glue in a toothpick and push it into place in the foam base. It makes for a very sturdy tree.
   I got a piece of scrap wood n drill some holes about toothpick size for painting them. Then I use them for wooden fence post or posts along roadways and parking lots. Stick a few more in the block and they are also good for holding plastic tubing upright for painting.
   Good for thin or fine line painting
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Hints & Tips No.888
  Using Satellite Photos/Google Earth etc
   From Charles Beckman (Nevada)
  Checking the satellite photos of an industrial area a few miles from home let me see track layouts and unloading sites invisible and inaccessible from public streets. Fascinating.
  The one thing that becomes obvious in a hurry is that the prototype has a lot more space to work with than we modelers do! Guesstimating one scene I examined recently from the 60 foot boxcars on the track, the one curve off the main into an industrial area is about 720 foot radius. If I built to that standard, my garage would not be quite big enough for a Christmas tree loop…
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Hints & Tips No.889
  Layout Animation Ideas Pt 1
   From Bill Klein (Idaho)
  You are welcome to put a motor on your windmill,but I have had some pretty good luck with hiding a little recycled computer fan in a structure to blow on the mill. I have seen moving sawmill carriages,forklifts in the sawmill moving about,using an underfloor magnet. A chip loader shifting the chip car back and forth to load the car. A conveyor pulling logs out of the pond and into the mill. Welding flashes,emergency vehicle lights, wig wag signals,etc.
  

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