# Update 7/20/19 #1



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

:ttiwwop:

OK, OK


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*Edit: *I started this new thread by mistake. I thought I was merely adding an Advanced post to my "My New Project" thread. But now that I've started this one, let's continue with this one. I added a link to this thread should somebody start with the old one.

*Update 7/20 #2*
With the new paper cutter and a tool called a brayer; my son and I were able to lay out my basic design on my art board with construction paper and a whole lotta' tape. Then I laid out my structures. I put in propane tanks and outhouses, but I think they will make the green belt too cluttered when I add the trees and street lights. The streetlights themselves are too top-heavy to sit still without either gluing or weighting the bases. I've decided I like the funny little shed with a cupola as the well house; and I left out the Trading Post until I get brave enough to try to paint it. Right now, the building in the corner between the 3 cabins and the two cottages is my Woodland Scenics "Work Shed" only because it has long enough eaves to shelter two of my vending machines. I put the other phone shed next to it as an emergency phone for the guests.

A lot (model railroading-wise) has happened today: my hobbylinc.com order came early; I ordered a small board from Amazon, and I'm having a serious reality check (with episodes of despair) over trees. But I've typed all I can for now. Be back later.


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*7/20 Update #3: *Hey, guess what? For <$2.00 I ordered 6"x6" Art Board from Amazon. The first person to correctly guess what it's for gets . . . absolutely nothing! Stay tuned for hints.

My hobbylinc.com order came. I should have ordered the bears in HO. The HO potted plants are tall, but I don't think the pots themselves are too big for outdoors in N scale. The grass scenery mat is a better shade of green, and the "Desert Sand" mat looks like . . . sandpaper. The 7-Up vending machines are tiny but will make a nice detail with my ice machines, and the Atlas pallets go with my forklift. The HO Model Power street lights are my second set of them. 

Hint #1: It goes with something I bought by mistake.

As I noted on the "Beginner Q&A" forum; I was surprised to discover just how delicate model railroad trees are. After asking for suggestions and the reading the directions (what a concept!) I decided getting a bottle of the Woodland Scenics product they recommend is a good excuse for another hobbylinc.com order. Another thing I noticed is that some of the trees have a base about the size of a penny, while others (the fancier ones) just have a little thingie that you're supposed to stick in a 1/8" dia. hole, and then the tree trunk fits on a long pin that comes out of the thingie. The problem is that the thingie is longer than my board is thick. So I'm going to be using the ones with bases. I believe they come apart as well, so it's a matter of hiding the bases under the grass mat. Which means in addition to a bottle of Woodland Scenics' spray glue to hold the leaves better, I need 4 more trees. Probably the orange trees and say they're peaches.

Hint #2: It also goes with one of my new tools.

Ok, so I need a spray bottle of "Scenic Cement" and the set of four orange trees. And I do want the HO black bears. I'll use the standing HO one vs. Yeti, the N adults as her cubs, and one of the HO adults as sasquatch's friend. I still need to find a solution to where my vending machines go. I'm going to order the N scale Tomytec "Outdoor Pavilions". I googled the Tomy part # and didn't find any assembly instructions, so I assume they're not a kit; and they seem to come with some outdoor furniture. The description says "pack of 2", so the other can be an awning over Ma's doghouse. It comes to ~$50.00 w/ s&h. I'll talk with the CFO.

Give up? The item I bought by mistake was the "Summer Grass" mat, and the new tool is my brayer. What's a brayer? It's a rubber roller on a handle. Look it up on Amazon. And the answer is . . . it's going to be a test of whether I can use my brayer to help stick scenery mat to an art board, or whether my brayer will crush it. And then I'm going to try sticking a couple of cast resin structures I'm not planning to use to it. If I've got to go to the "moisten and scrape" method illustrated in that video to get my structures to stick I want to spray my board gray first so it looks like my structures are on concrete pads. Otherwise, they're on pier blocks hidden by the siding or skirting.


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Tougher trees*



GNfan said:


> *7/20 Update #3: *Hey, guess what? For <$2.00 I ordered 6"x6" Art Board from Amazon. The first person to correctly guess what it's for gets . . . absolutely nothing! Stay tuned for hints.
> 
> My hobbylinc.com order came. I should have ordered the bears in HO. The HO potted plants are tall, but I don't think the pots themselves are too big for outdoors in N scale. The grass scenery mat is a better shade of green, and the "Desert Sand" mat looks like . . . sandpaper. The 7-Up vending machines are tiny but will make a nice detail with my ice machines, and the Atlas pallets go with my forklift. The HO Model Power street lights are my second set of them.
> 
> ...


 GNfan;

You're right about model trees, at least a lot of them. They are delicate. Woodland Scenics makes some with bendable plastic trunks which are quite sturdy. I don't care for the looks of their conifer kits with this type of trunk, but they are sturdy. They also offer deciduous trees with the same type of sturdy plastic trunk. I model the Pacific Northwest, hence I need lots and lots of conifers. Buying that many would quickly bankrupt me, so I make my own. One feature I wanted in any trees I spent lots of my time making, was durability. I use cheap paintbrushes, with flexible plastic handles, for trunks. The foliage is made from 3M Scotchbrite scrubbing pads, which are also flexible plastic. The trees made this way are tough enough to withstand handling, or even some mishandling. The pdf file just below the left side of the photo shows how I made the conifer trees shown in the photo.

regards;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:









View attachment Paintbrush Pine Trees.pdf


----------



## sid (Mar 26, 2018)

Thats awesome traction fan . really cool how those are made. Thanks for posting. Those look real good.


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*7/22 Reality Check: *If my scene is supposed to be Eastern Washington in the early 1960's, the trees probably wouldn't be there yet. Maybe the apple trees as what's left of an old orchard, but that's probably all. There is a JTT Scenery product that looks about right for Eastern Washington scrub steppe, but its $8+ for a 5"x7" sheet. I might get one of the green ones and plant the apple trees in it some day; But for now, "the joke" is that there actually isn't any shade at the ShadyLane Trailer Park. The green grass border is probably also unrealistic; but I've got two sheets of it, so I'm going to use it. 

traction_fan, those are nice trees, and they do look like Western Washington did back in the days of your layout. Last time I was there (last summer), "Pugetopolis" runs from Marysville to somewhere around Fort Lewis and east to North Bend. Not a lot of natural trees left.


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Wrong trees*



GNfan said:


> *7/22 Reality Check: *If my scene is supposed to be Eastern Washington in the early 1960's, the trees probably wouldn't be there yet. Maybe the apple trees as what's left of an old orchard, but that's probably all. There is a JTT Scenery product that looks about right for Eastern Washington scrub steppe, but its $8+ for a 5"x7" sheet. I might get one of the green ones and plant the apple trees in it some day; But for now, "the joke" is that there actually isn't any shade at the ShadyLane Trailer Park. The green grass border is probably also unrealistic; but I've got two sheets of it, so I'm going to use it.
> 
> traction_fan, those are nice trees, and they do look like Western Washington did back in the days of your layout. Last time I was there (last summer), "Pugetopolis" runs from Marysville to somewhere around Fort Lewis and east to North Bend. Not a lot of natural trees left.


GNfan;

Yes, I see what you mean. Eastern Washington is a lot different, I've read. Some farms, some deserts, and no dense conifer forests. I've been to Portland, Oregon more recently than Seattle, Washington, and (at least western) Oregon still seems to have plenty of forests. Also it seems like a lot of the residents have large conifer trees in their suburban yards, & communities. Maybe they saved some of the big trees, and built around them? I remember visiting a sister-in-law in Kent, WA. and she had a giant fir tree in her yard too.
For apple trees you might consider a trick used on my old club's layout, which was set in Southern California. They wanted to model a commercial orange grove. The model deciduous tress were pretty conventional items, twig trunks with W/S foliage. They used the "tiny time pills" from Contact brand cold capsules for oranges. The "orange trees" looked pretty good, and were quite popular with visitors. The orchard also provided a logical customer to fill some of the P.F.E. refers on the layout. With red, yellow, or green fruit, the same technique could be used for an apple orchard. Or, for your time period, maybe a few apples on one tree, and some dead apple trees?

regards;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*My inspiration*

The attached photo is Desert Aire, WA, a "planned community" in the middle of nowhere. It was started in the late 1960's, and is in the same general area as the Milwaukee Road's bridge across the Columbia River.


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*I see*



GNfan said:


> The attached photo is Desert Aire, WA, a "planned community" in the middle of nowhere. It was started in the late 1960's, and is in the same general area as the Milwaukee Road's bridge across the Columbia River.


 Yup! That looks like the middle of nowhere all right! I,m not familiar with the bridge across the Columbia.

regards;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*Let's try this instead*

OK, this should look more like the paradise  I call home. I've got the Desert Sand mat and I'm going to use the vacuum cleaner on my apple trees to make a "former orchard". I ordered from hobbylinc.com the JTT mats (which are described as HO hwell: ), a fence kit that is prototypical for here, and those Tomy open-air tents to use as awnings since I don't have shade trees anymore. Now I need to go over to Fifer Hobby - they have some truly derelict vehicles from Model Tech Studios, and the "back 40" needs more than some dead trees.


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*Update 7/25: *I made it to Lowes today. I found some 2" wide black non-skid tape. It's a little shiny, but it's going to be tarmac.


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Dulling it down*



GNfan said:


> *Update 7/25: *I made it to Lowes today. I found some 2" wide black non-skid tape. It's a little shiny, but it's going to be tarmac.


GNfan;

If you want your tape road a little duller, try sanding a small scrap piece of tape. That should kill the shine. You could always paint it flat gray/black. 

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

A few months ago it seemed like the posts to the N scale forum were so few and far between I was afraid traction_fan and I were the only ones left. So I started using a thread like a blog, recording every online order, posting the occasional crummy pic, and sometimes "thinking out loud"; because I didn't want some newbie to find this site and think both N and Z were dead forums. But I'm not "feeling it" anymore. My "scenery piece" project is coming along now that I got over my poor judgment about pre-made trees and decided to model the relatively treeless terrain in places in this desert. But "due to circumstances beyond my control" I'm not getting my loop of track to go around it and that has left me quite discouraged. And now the camaraderie that used to keep this place vibrant has come apart. I'm not going anywhere, but I can't keep up anymore. :thumbsdown:


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*What's the problem?*



GNfan said:


> A few months ago it seemed like the posts to the N scale forum were so few and far between I was afraid traction_fan and I were the only ones left. So I started using a thread like a blog, recording every online order, posting the occasional crummy pic, and sometimes "thinking out loud"; because I didn't want some newbie to find this site and think both N and Z were dead forums. But I'm not "feeling it" anymore. My "scenery piece" project is coming along now that I got over my poor judgment about pre-made trees and decided to model the relatively treeless terrain in places in this desert. But "due to circumstances beyond my control" I'm not getting my loop of track to go around it and that has left me quite discouraged. And now the camaraderie that used to keep this place vibrant has come apart. I'm not going anywhere, but I can't keep up anymore. :thumbsdown:



 GNfan;

Yes, the forum overall has been dead, and not just the N & Z sections. The HO forum, (normally the busiest due to the popularity of that scale) hasn't exactly been bustling with activity either. Nor have the other sections. About the only fairly consistent source of new posts seems to be from newbies introducing themselves.
I tend to write off the decline in forum (and probably general model railroad) activity, to the coming of summer.
Species **** Erectus model railroadus has emerged from their sub-terrainian basement hibernation enclaves like tulip shoots breaking through the soil. Or perhaps more accurately, like their ursine cousins, the bears, emerging from their caves. They are now no longer snowed in, and can venture out into the surrounding world. (Says the guy from sunny San Diego! :laugh: )
If that's not it, then I don't know what's happening, but whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be happening here! 

If we are the only two N- scalers left, then we might as well chat back and forth to each other. It may keep the loneliness at bay.  
What's the problem with your track? I think you said you were using Kato Unitrack right? If so that should snap together pretty easily. I know you have disability issues, so do I. Two months ago, I cleverly added to mine by falling off a step stool onto the concrete floor of my garage/train room, and breaking my wrist. :smilie_auslachen: I'm still wearing a cast on my left arm.

Or is the problem related to fitting all the things you've bought inside the loop of track? If there's anything I can do to help, let me know. 

Last guy out, please turn off the lights 

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

My idea of a loop of track on a 2½'x2½' board that came apart into two sections wasn't a bad idea - just an impractical one. My wife and sons installed the upper storage shelf, and it's too high off the floor not to require a step-stool. The consensus was that I wouldn't be able to safely set up or put away my little layout on my own, which was one of the objectives. Meanwhile, my trailer park & rental cabins "scenery piece" continues on. I just don't have the "gumption" anymore to update my "blog" any time I get a "Your order has been shipped" e-mail.


----------



## Andreash (Dec 30, 2018)

traction fan said:


> GNfan;
> 
> If we are the only two N- scalers left, then we might as well chat back and forth to each other. It may keep the loneliness at bay.
> 
> Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


I know a N scaler in Canada, so that makes 3 of you (in North America). All kidding aside, I’ve been following this thread, and I don’t model in N scale. I understand the frustration of posting, and the sound of crickets after, but I keep on posting and hope I inspire one person in this great hobby....cheers, Andy


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

Ahhh, Nanaimo - one of my favorite places when I was a teenager in the mid 1970's. We were Seattle-based pleasure boaters, and after a week or so in the aptly named "Desolation Sound"; Nanaimo at the time had a fairly new shopping mall across the street from the small craft docks. We usually spent a couple of days there every year. :thumbsup:


----------



## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

I've been following your threads since the start.
I'm HO so don't have much to say about N.
Waiting for some pics to make comments.
Keep it up.

Magic


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Lower shelf?*



GNfan said:


> My idea of a loop of track on a 2½'x2½' board that came apart into two sections wasn't a bad idea - just an impractical one. My wife and sons installed the upper storage shelf, and it's too high off the floor not to require a step-stool. The consensus was that I wouldn't be able to safely set up or put away my little layout on my own, which was one of the objectives. Meanwhile, my trailer park & rental cabins "scenery piece" continues on. I just don't have the "gumption" anymore to update my "blog" any time I get a "Your order has been shipped" e-mail.


GNfan;

Can you talk the family into re-mounting the shelf at a lower level?

regards;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*We got a live one*



Andreash said:


> I know a N scaler in Canada, so that makes 3 of you (in North America). All kidding aside, I’ve been following this thread, and I don’t model in N scale. I understand the frustration of posting, and the sound of crickets after, but I keep on posting and hope I inspire one person in this great hobby....cheers, Andy


Andreash:

Good one! :laugh: However it's up to four now. We picked up a new guy, "down Louisiana way." He's an the Air Force vet, and trying to model part of the modern Union Pacific in a 10' x 10' room. Challenging, even in N-scale.



GNfan;

Post as little or as much as you want. I always enjoy hearing from you.

regards;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

traction fan said:


> Last guy out, please turn off the lights
> Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


This sign appeared near Sea-Tac International Airport on April 16, 1971. The Boeing Company, the region's largest employer, had gone from a peak of 100,800 employees in 1967 to a low of 38,690 in April 1971. Having seen gunrunnerjohn's retirement announcement, I fear "the writing is on the wall" (and yes, I know what that is all about ). Cable news is depressing these days regardless of your politics (my TV has been parked on MSNBC with the Mute ON since the end of the last Super Bowl); the only sports I have the stomach for anymore are the baseball playoffs and the Seahawks; and now my one social media presence is coming apart. No wonder I'm unmotivated. This weekend I'm going to go to Ace Hardware and get a coping saw . . . maybe it will help.


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*Update 8/2: *I can't figure out how to install the Model Power street lights. The bases have two little holes in the tops - my guess is that Model Power expected you to use track nails to nail them down. Great, but I don't have 1/2" of Homasote over 3/8" of plywood under my scenery mat to hold a 1/2" Atlas track nail; just 1/8 of Masonite. Back to the drawing board. 

In the last couple of days I received my orders from hobbylinc and Fifer Hobby. In the hobbylinc order: two small JTt scenery mats that "look like here"; a Noch "Field Fence" kit that looks easy enough and "looks like here"; and the Tomytec "Outdoor Tent" set. The picture is correct: "Set of 2" is 4 tents and two sets of "picnic furniture". They'll make great awnings. From Fifer Hobby: a second set of BLMA "Large Electrical Boxes" (because I've observed that AC transformers come in threes and I now have 3 plus a spare); another Noch "Field Fence" kit, and two Model Tech Studios rusted out, derelict vehicles that make my Woodland Scenics "Rusty's Regret" look straight from the showroom. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I looked at stumps; but both Woodland Scenics types are metal castings that require cleaning and painting. I'll pass.


----------



## Andreash (Dec 30, 2018)

On my layout (BN layout) I used double sided tape to attach my road crossing signal lights. I did this this because if I hit them by accident they will give rather then break. 

Could a small amount of silicone (clear) be used, with same masking tape to hold the lights while the silicone set be a option? ( or hot glue, maybe a low temp stick used in the “gun”, with the only provision being that you have very little fiddle time with the light poles..cheers


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*How about?*



GNfan said:


> *Update 8/2: *I can't figure out how to install the Model Power street lights. The bases have two little holes in the tops - my guess is that Model Power expected you to use track nails to nail them down. Great, but I don't have 1/2" of Homasote over 3/8" of plywood under my scenery mat to hold a 1/2" Atlas track nail; just 1/8 of Masonite. Back to the drawing board.
> 
> In the last couple of days I received my orders from hobbylinc and Fifer Hobby. In the hobbylinc order: two small JTt scenery mats that "look like here"; a Noch "Field Fence" kit that looks easy enough and "looks like here"; and the Tomytec "Outdoor Tent" set. The picture is correct: "Set of 2" is 4 tents and two sets of "picnic furniture". They'll make great awnings. From Fifer Hobby: a second set of BLMA "Large Electrical Boxes" (because I've observed that AC transformers come in threes and I now have 3 plus a spare); another Noch "Field Fence" kit, and two Model Tech Studios rusted out, derelict vehicles that make my Woodland Scenics "Rusty's Regret" look straight from the showroom. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
> 
> I looked at stumps; but both Woodland Scenics types are metal castings that require cleaning and painting. I'll pass.


GNfan;

I think you're right. Those holes in the streetlight bases are intended for nails or screws. Here's a couple of other possibilities. Andresh recommended double sided tape, and that's a good idea. If you think that the handling inherent in your, take-the-two-pieces-apart-to-store-them, scheme, may break the streetlight poles, you might consider using magnet tape instead. Stick one small piece of magnet tape to the bottom streetlight's base, magnet side down. Stick another same size piece to your craft board base, at the location where you want the streetlight, magnet side up. The streetlights will stay firmly in place until some major force (like a sweep by a human arm) comes along. Then the light pole will be knocked off , but intact. If you plan to power the streetlights, drill a small hole through both pieces of magnet tape, just big enough for the wires to pass through easily. Leave some slack in the wires, below the craft board. Then if the pole is knocked over, the slack will prevent the wires from breaking.

For stumps, that don't need painting, you could use hedge clippings, or the root base of some weed. These look remarkably like tree trunks. Cut to stump size, and may be with a simple touch of paint, depending on their natural color, they can be planted upside down as stumps.

regards;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*Update 8/3: *I did think about magnets. My wife has some little magnets about the size of BBs. I haven't abandoned yet the idea of imbedding one in the Masonite where I want a street light, and then attaching an iron washer to the bottom of each base.

I said recently that I used to binge-watch "New Yankee Workshop". My local Ace Hardware was having a "bucket sale" (20% off on anything you can fit in a bucket), so I went and had a good time. One of the things I got was a 3/8" Forstner bit. I should be able to use it to cut clean holes in scenery mat for those street light bases. I also got rubber cement, "super glue", old-fashioned "model glue", and silicone sealant. One of those should do the job. And yes, I did get a coping saw.


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*Update 8/6/19: *I've decided that if I don't have to cram all my scenery into the infield of a loop of Bachmann track, I might as well spread it out. My original 14"x18" board gets the nicer trailers and the smaller cabins. My 11"x14" board gets the IMO "toyish" cottages (I think it's the "gingerbread" look), the blue trailer without the steps or skirting, that ugly Imex "Maint. Shed" that looks like a 40' Hi-Cube container in Pennsy Tuscan Red, and a 2-car garage who's overhead doors look short. I'm going to practice on that one first; so if it's awful I can start over, and if it's "not bad" I can start on the other one. And I've sort-of planned them so that if they both look presentable they can sit side-by-side along a 14" edge.

I ordered from hobbylinc all I need for the first board: a third cottage, a pair of Pepsi machines (I'll have an ice machine, a 7-Up machine, and a Pepsi machine for each board) and a pair of (not BLMA) trackside boxes for the phone and cable connections. Call it "selective anachronism" - I don't want to bother with overhead wires or rooftop antennas.


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*Reality Check, 8/13/19:* I posted the diagram below before; but it was in the earlier thread. Today I got ambitious and "dry fit" it all together on my ottoman. A 14"x18" art board won't fit inside a circle of 11¼ radius Bachmann EZ-track, and if I add two 5" straight sections the loop of track won't fit in 28"x29"! (Insert profanity here.) What does work is to put 2½" "fitters" along the 29" edges and 1¼" "fitters" along the 28" edge. That loop will fit on a 28"x29" board and hold a 14"x18" "scenery piece" inside it.

I've been on an Imex buying binge lately. Got one order somewhere between Atlanta and Spokane, and placed another tonight. Also, I got a 5/16" hole punch from amazon to mount those street lights directly to the board and not the scenery mat.


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*Update 10/23/19: *I got my two most recent hobbylinc orders in the last couple of days; and I'm at a loss for words. The Levittown "B" house, which I expected to be a little "crackerbox" house with no more than a 1.5"x1.5" footprint, is huge! 2.375"x2"x1.5 high - that's 31.7'x26.7'x20' with typical Imex level of detail. I had to dig the packaging out of the trash to make sure it wasn't HO . . . but details like the doors and windows are definitely N. It was going to be the "office" at the entrance to the rental cabins & cottages area, but it probably has more square footage than all three trailers combined. Now what do I do? 

*Totally off-topic: *I learned a few days ago that Hilary Farr, the "Love it" interior design lady on HGTV's "Love it or List it" was once an aspiring young actress; and the urban legend that she's the bride in the opening scene of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is TRUE!


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

*Update 9/4/18:* It's starting to come together. I've come to the realization I probably have enough vehicles, structures, figures, and whatnot to scenic every square inch of the 28"x29" I plan to end up with. But I were to do that there wouldn't be any space for trains. So I'm working on getting the "trailer park and rental cabins" onto a single 14"x18" art board. 

A while back I commented that there were two Deluxe Innovations (which has been out of business for a while now) metal buildings from a third-party seller at Amazon. I thought they were overpriced relative to similar items on ebay, but I've never used ebay and don't have a Paypal account; so I broke down and ordered one. And it turns out the seller is somewhere in Kennewick. So are my closest Lowes and Hobby Lobby. :dunno:


----------



## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

On a whim, I ordered these "Fairy Garden Sand Castles" from Amazon. They came today. They're cast resin, and were $11 & change. The smaller two are about an inch high. I like them.


----------

