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ACCEL

Scratch Build Town

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First this is a very dusty place, i should of covered it up many moons ago.

This is Summersville, a place i very much got lost in, kind of reminds me of Willoughby.

i purchased a lot of kits also, wood, plastic, card stock, metal and always saw so many neat left over pieces, that i started building things out of them and also re=purposing things from around the house, so many neat items we use and see every day, it wasn't about saving money, it was "Wow look what this could be" and carried it on through so many different things and projects

became endless. these pictures i'll start off with my Z scale train set you've seen some things from Growl Grotto and later i'll post some of the N gauge train stuff and then i'll detail out the slotcar track. yes most of every thing i come up with is my idea and a lot is just seeing what's around me in this world, some people and some places have given me inspiration to do and try what ever comes to mind. I read once from a highly talented craftsman that there are no mistakes that cannot be dealt with and that as long as your content on how it comes out then it is good as it gets or just build it again or fix it. some things i have learned is walk away and come back to it later.

Any Ol' how, it's odd how i will bonce about through my different hobbies, I truly do not play with them that much, my passion is assembling and building and coming up with ideas that are different to me. Thanx for stopping by and hopefully you can share your scratch builds here as well. there's no wrong nor right in them, yes some come out better than others but it never bothers me, for i'll try harder on the next one. So have fun and guess what was used, because there's so much pieces from different things i'd be typing for a long time.

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i suppose i post such things is that as i started out and wanted to do what i have seen since i was a kid and to have such neat and nifty things, is that these people had to make it them selves it didn't come in a pretty package and just plug it in and start to play with. it was a learning curve, hard work, lots of reading and studying and yes an imagination is about half the battle. a drive i know someday will end but a passion i'll never forget. and so if one person here or abroad can say "i can do that, and do it nicer", well then my 

posting this then will be worth the effort, and i'll die a happy Engineer? Build it for fun, build it for life.

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Great work, I love that.  I love the idea of building a scale town - if I wasn't in to RC and I had more interior space I'd almost certainly be into trains - not because of any particular love for trains but just because I have a thing about small versions of big things.  I love the idea of planning out my own little community and building it up from scratch.

Top work there, thanks for sharing :)

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It looks great! I particularly like the incorporation of electrical components in the layout.

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I really like how you're repurposed things and made so much from scratch.  It's far too easy to spend money, but takes some talent and time to turn ordinary materials into scale objects.  The "Folgers" restaurant made me grin, as well as the paint can water/oil storage tanks.

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From left to right

Z scale, N, HO, O, 1/32, G, and 1/24 UCcLpF3.jpg

now see the two woman? they are from different manufactures (they all seem to have their own idea of scale size) including automobiles accessories ect...

1/32 scale is the craziest Prieser being the tallest, Scalectric is slightly smaller than Carrera but the same size as LM minitures collections and there has to be about four different sized O scale peeps, i had to use O on the race track because there was so many people doing different things than 1/32 had, plus all the animals.

JQ5iCch.jpg

 

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The tallest figure is actually 1/14, he's the same size as my driver for the Pacific Green Grand Hauler. i have a 1/24th person but can not find her (her hand broke off and put her somewhere safe:unsure:) and haven't assembled the others that came in a kit. 

I knew it then, i sy it now, "This is why my eyes are screwy"

some i purchased already painted, this is what you get when your're trying to save a lil' coin. there's about a 150 people and animals, these haven't dropped from the sprue yet

until i clean the layout.

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My crew here, they helped build this town, a swell bunch of guys!

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Have you ever seen Rice carvings? now that's a talent i'll never try.

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Carvings, very small carvings

 

Image result for rice carvings

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gives  patients a new meaning

 

 

 

 

 

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or this when i started the Z layout

smallest_model_train.jpg

it's for the window display for his train layout  hobby store front.......................... what's amazing it operates

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and i thought chainsaw carvings were amazing........................and they are also.

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I like these when incorporated with a routed slot car track. Some amazing stuff out there.

Good work.

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I like how you referenced Willoughby in the first post.  A Stop at Willoughby is my favorite episode of the Twilight Zone ever! 

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supo

4 hours ago, 78Triumph said:

I like how you referenced Willoughby in the first post.  A Stop at Willoughby is my favorite episode of the Twilight Zone ever! 

supposedly it was Rod Serling's favorite episode of the first series.

 

 

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3 minutes ago, ACCEL said:

supo

supposedly it was Rod Serling's favorite episode of the first series.

 

 

That's interesting!  I didn't know that! 

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I love your use of Labels and bits around the House as details!! 👍👍  Clever. Those micro Carvings would be a big NO for me!! I'm not sure I could've done those when I was 18. 😲😳  Incredible though! Your Layout is really well thought out. You should be happy with it. 

I may be joining you in N Scale.... Looks like Apartment life is till the end, I can't afford to finish my HO Scale Layout - that started when I had a HOUSE and a 3 Car Garage. 😖 

I have a good amount of N Scale equipment, most of my Trees (thousands!!) Can be big Trees in N... And I've got a box of Kato Uni-Track, a NCE DCC System and more power than I'll ever need. 

I can make N Scale work in an Apartment, right?

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9 hours ago, Carmine A said:

I can make N Scale work in an Apartment, right?

The N set started out as a 3 foot circle now it's 3'foot x 53" inches

a 3'x5' Z scale layout = to a 4'x8' HO layout.

i added  on three different times to my Z used plywood and hollow core doors.

they'll never be quite complete there's always something to add, a peep here, a tree there, oh and tipped over garbage and the racoons rummaging through it, another vehicle, instead of pulling weeds in reality we add them instead to our sets:lol: need oil spills, animals are always a delight and don't forget out houses, heck light up every thing also, porch, traffic, in house, signs, parking lots, even some cars have lights and throw in a Christmas tree after all i was ten at Christmas since i' had my original N's.

when you're building these things whether it's road base, foliage, or Hobby Tack'n a peep in place and my favorite real stones and flag stone walkways, walls and creek beds you meld into your scene and find ways to try to make it like life and the great thing about train set building the people are the friendliest around.:)

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Yeah, I've used a LOT of "natural Talus" on all 8 of my Layouts! From HO Scale to G Scale.  Natural of course meaning taking a bucket, little Shovel and Strainer down to the Wash. SO many sixes and Varieties of Stones and Pebbles. And this IS a case of "nothing looks more realistic than Real". I've even done the same, sifting Dirt on pathways.  I've got several sizes of Strainers, given to me by another Wounded Vet, who thought he could go Panning for Gold!! 😲 

They are fantastic for making several sizes of Ground Cover. The Wash has even provided me with FREE Ballast for G and O Scale Track!! 😊  I did use a lot of Woodland Scenics Ground Cover and Foliage Products.... They look great and are easy to use - but have you seen the COST!!?? 😲😳😖 Just can't do it anymore. Heck, when I first started back in 1975, HO Scale Track was 49¢ a section, Turnouts were only $2.00 ($30-$70 today!!), and Flextrack was only 80¢ for a 3 foot piece!! ($7.00 - $16.00 today!). I was really Priced out of the Hobby since the late 90's, when RTR was the new rage, and Irv Athearn (founder and CEO of Athearn Trains) died. His company was sold to Horizon Hobby, and the prices soon TRIPLED!! 😖😠😭😭 

Irv Athearn's principal was ALWAYS quality at prices that everyone can afford. The other Manufacturers HAD to follow suit, because until about 2005, Athearn Trains had the Lion's share of the Market.

I yelled loudly, and wrote many posts in Usergroups and Yahoo Groups (remember THOSE?), about the inevitable result - and NOBODY listened. They all thought I was overreacting and a Conspiracy Theorist!! The rest just laid back and said "Well, you can't stop progress". USELESS!! 

Being prominent in the Hobby for so long, I really saw a lot of things that others didn't, or ignored.

SO.... There's your brief Political History of Model Railroading as a Hobby. 😉 The 70's and 80's were a great time to be in it - in larger Scales. N Scale THEN was CRAP at best, and Z Scale was only offered by Märklin - good quality but BRUTALLY expensive.

At least KATO came along in the late 80's, and finally offered QUALITY N Scale Locos, that ran every bit as smooth as HO!! 

I don't know if you've heard about Keep-Alive technology... In larger Scales, it's a device that's added to a Loco's DCC Decoder, that STORES Energy, so even a single small Locomotive can easily get past dead spots in the Track, without so much as a stumble!!  😊  It Revolutionized the Hobby! Every Locomotive I have, has a Keep-Alive Unit on it, and I haven't had a single Train STALL, ANYWHERE on my Layout!! Ever.

Anyway, before I stopped, I was working on a tiny K/A Chipset, that's small enough to fit in N Scale!! I HAVE 2 Locos fitted, and they're both doing great so far! I may try to continue with that. I still don't see any on the Market...  SOME People have put HO Scale K/A Units in a N Scale Boxcar, permanently attached and Hardwired to the Loco, which also works brilliantly. In fact BETTER than HO!! Because the capacity is overkill for N Scale's tiny current draw, the Loco will run for over 30 Seconds AFTER REMOVING IT FROM THE TRACK!!! 😲  I could go that route too. 

Sorry Bro!! Talking about Trains really causes me to babble....

OH, for Weathering and Detailing, look into AK Interactive or other Warhammer supplies. Same or better quality materials, CHEAPER than Equivalent Model Railroading stuff! 😉

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i didn't go the DCC route but have several Locos that are DCC ready.

oh the hours of making ballast, road beds and the like, used "The Bullet" beverage strainers and cups, sat on the driveway smashing rocks into grain and pebbly sizes, from my roof top crushed blue granite to the road base material mound down the street when they were paving, yard stones and so on. my mom's very old Yellow Rose of Texas provided some wonderful tree trunks and dead fall, it was and still is endless just like reality a hobby that keeps on giving.

Weathering i used  powder rubs, real dirt, soot, and artist pencils.

 

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I use the basics too... India Ink, 49¢ Wally World Pastel Paints, a LOT of 99% Isopropyl Alcohol, dust, dirt, gravel, etc...  

But sometimes I just can't achieve MY OCD desired results, without some professional Products. Most of those will dilute a lot, making them go a long way.

Over 80% of the thousand or so Trees on my Layout, are made from Tree Branches and Roots, Tumbleweed, and Asparagus Ferns, which grow naturally here. I soak them in Glycerin, dry then clearcoat, so they don't turn to DUST. 

In Model Railroading, there's many creative ways around expensive Scenery... I've even Scratchbuilt Buildings from Balsa, Sheet Styrene, Paper and Aluminum Foil. 

It's the TRAINS and TRACK that cost a Bluudy fortune!! 😖😞

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