The next Modeler’s Forum will meet Saturday, March 8 following the member meeting. Come on down!
Rules for the 2025 “Square Footer” Contest are now available HERE
Come and join us! It’s basically a show and tell. Show off your model work, explain or demonstrate a new technique, bring that new tool we all need, or just come and socialize.
Modeler’s Forum
February 8, 2025
Modeler’s Forum kicked off following the membership meeting at about 1430. Modelers present were Bob Willard, Dick Holman, Travis Johnson, Kent Waterson, Wanda & Bob Wright, Sean Crossen, Carmen Anastase, Antonio Coleman, and Jamie Robinson.
Wanda and Bob showed an extended MEC covered hopper they had acquired at a train show, wondering what the prototype was and where it was used. We learned that these cars had been used to ship wooden clothespin blanks out of Mattawamkeag to a plant in Wilton for finishing. There’s an interesting kitbashing article here if you are interested in building one of these cars.
The Forum then opened a discussion about themes and size(s) for the 2025 Square Footer Contest, as well as revised classes of entry. The discussion concluded with the following decisions:
- Entrant classes:
- Novice
- Intermediate
- Master
- Size: 12’ x 12” (yes – an actual square foot!)
- Theme: Working on the Railroad
You can download a copy of the 2025 Square Footer rules here.
Forum attendees agreed to again sponsor at least one month of power at the club and are soliciting contributions from participants.
Following the contest discussion, Bob showed his progress on his General Store/Gas Station, the project that he began at ExTRAINaganza 2024. Recent added details include a fire escape and an oil can that Bob built from styrene and a paper clip!
Bob also showed off a tiny rechargeable (via USB) soldering iron that he picked up for about $20.
Carmen showed a Proxon saw he had purchased (following a Forum discussion a few months ago). He has a new blade to change to for much finer cuts. He shared a couple of photos of the background building project on his layout and is busy adding yards, fences, lights and AC units to the buildings.
Travis showed off a Kato SD40 he has been modifying to follow a Quebec Gatineau Ry. prototype. He had considered it pretty well completed, but in retrospect, plans to add new steps and ditch lights, as well as possibly a new Canon & Co. cab. That stripe is hand-painted!
Kent brought some small boats he has 3d printed, painted and weathered. Even on close examination, you really can’t tell that they aren’t made of wood! Kent used a brand of acrylic paint called Warpaints by The Army Painter. Although he didn’t bring Smaug the dragon, he did share a photo of the in-process paintwork.
Sean Crossen showed a laser-cut acrylic kit that he picked up at the Amherst Railway Society show in Springfield at the end of January. The model is of the Sherzer rolling lift bridge over the Niantic River in Connecticut. Take a look at the instructions here; this is no “shake-the-box” kit! Being made of acrylic, it takes a very specific type of cement to construct, and Sean will be using Plastic Weld for it as recommended by the manufacturer. The bridge kit is powered and we all look forward to seeing Sean’s progress with it.
Jamie provided a brief demonstration of how to add electrical pick-up wipers to a typical “plastic” HO freight car truck. When adding lights or decoders to equipment, you need to get power from somewhere. Trucks with plastic-sideframes don’t lend themselves to that very readily, so Jamie showed how to add a pick-up using .010 phosphor-bronze wire. A #69 hole is drilled thru the truck bolster and tapped M1. The pick-ups are easily formed and attached to the truck frame with a tiny M1 x 2mm screw (Jamie got a supply of various metric sizes of tiny screws at Amazon). Phosphor-bronze is much springier than brass wire; the trick is to make sure there is enough pressure on the axles to pick up electricity while also letting the wheels roll reasonably freely.
Dick Holman and Antonio Coleman didn’t bring anything to show this time, but contributed to the general discussion.
Thanks to all who attended. Modeler’s Forum will meet Saturday, March 8 following the general membership meeting. We hope to see you there.
MEC covered hopper modified for clothespin service
The January Modeler’s Forum was cancelled by a consensus of those present. Please come join us in February!
241219-Modelers-Forum-Notes
Great Falls Model Railroad Club Modeler’s Forum
24 Oct 2024
Kent Waterson – Nothing to show but contributed to all the conversations.
Paul Lodge – Nothing to show but contributed to all the conversations.
Bob Willard – Presented several On30 scale kits/kitbashing models. The first was a Bachmann combine converted to a doodlebug on a Athearn chassis. The second was a Mt. Blue Modelworks wooden kit, third was a Bowser streetcar body and chassis, and last was a Bachmann Trolley.
Jamie Robinson – Brought in Logic Rail Technologies Light EFX-16 lighting kit (programmable) to use with Layout Command Control or DCC. Also brought in the Output Test Kit for the system. Also recounted his recent train adventures and his Spitfire flight in the UK.
Bob Wright – Attended the recent Great Scale Model Train Show (Timonium, Maryland), brought up the JMRI session he and Wanda attended. Bought a SPROG II (a SPROG is a very compact command station) and ordered a DC/DCC switch for a programming track.
Bob asks "What could be in these boxes?"
22 August 2024 Great Falls Railroad Club Modeler’s Forum Notes
Six in attendance (Bob Wright taking notes and Jamie Robinson taking photos)
Bob Willard – Showed off the building he worked on during the LA Balloon Festival weekend at the club. It represents the Turner Carriage Shop (constructed out of bass wood). He was in need of smaller diameter sanding drums for his Dremel tool and discovered a source on Amazon which he brought in to show.
Richard Holman – Attended the recent Concord Train Show to search for bargains, he got some.
Jamie Robinson – Brought in a recent acquisition he made of a built Kemtron Kit, it is an “O scale” 2-6-0 Wabash Mogul running on DC power at present. He is planning on sending the locomotive out to be brought up to Proto 48 standard with a can motor while he brings the tender up to the same standard.
Carmen Anastase – Is continuing to purchase dollar store trucks and updating them with painting details, etc. He also brought in some excess roofing materials for Wanda from last meeting.
John McMullen – Working on his layout plan. Recently bought a used NCE Procab and sent it into NCE and had them upgrade the chip to most recent standard, he should be receiving it back shortly. Has three UTP’s and was questioning the group on correct orientation to mount them on his layout (the consensus was LED side up) and their correct wiring sequence. Also brought in some remote-control power supply units that he plans on using.
Kent Waterson – Brought in his completed “O scale” Laketown Mayor’s house (from The Hobbit). He has many bins of small parts and discovered online Gridfinity that has free 3D files for building storage bins.
Paul Lodge (l) and Bob Willard (r)
Modeler’s Forum January 13, 2024
by Jamie Robinson
Six hardy modelers turned out for the Modeler’s Forum on this very sloppy day.
Bob Willard opened the Forum by showing a new micro drill he had purchased from Amazon. It has a self-contained battery, charged via a usb cable, and it came with a set of bits and a tiny drill press. It has a low speed, suitable for drilling into styrene. You can check it out HERE. Bob brought along his O Scale trolley freight motor too. It’s a work in progress, but quite well along. Bob used his new drill to make the necessary holes to attach the grab irons to it. Bob has also equipped it with radial couplers. He said he’s not quite satisfied with their operation, but to a layman, they seemed to function quite well.
Kent Waterson was up next. He has set his Smaug vs. Laketown project aside for a bit and spent some well-earned time working on his layout. He’s putting up benchwork and has built up his helix. Kent drew the helix in CAD and created it entirely from trapezoidal pieces. Pretty impressive in the photos (really don’t understand why he didn’t actually bring it to the meeting, though…). Kent described the method he uses for coving his backdrop in corners. The coves are constructed from concrete forming tubes cut into quarters, then to the proper length. The tubes are very strong and can be mudded over to meld with the backdrop. Kent is also spending the necessary time to create bulletproof layout wiring by making sure that every individual rail has a power feed wire. This is sheer drudgery (believe me, I speak from experience on this), but pays huge (invisible) dividends in eliminating future problems. He’s running 12 awg buss wires and 18 awg track feeders, connecting them with “suitcase” (insulation displacement) connectors. Connectors for these wire sizes are somewhat hard to find and certainly not inexpensive. Check an example HERE.
Mitch Kennedy asked some questions of the Forum members about pouring resin water, wondering whether or not it was necessary to secure elements in streambeds securely before pouring. Consensus was “definitely yes!” Mitch spoke about how his interests have been reinvigorated since joining the Great Falls Model Railroad Club and how much he appreciated it. He has been working on his layout and related how he has carved a waterfall out of fiberglass. He made sure to save the chips for use as scenic elements too.
Steve Doughty attended the forum, listening and contributing to the discussions. He didn’t bring anything this month, but that’s never a reason to stay away.
I (Jamie) brought a new O Scale model release from Sierra West Models. It’s a 3d printed Best 60 crawler tractor. Sierra West’s 3d printed models are simply outstanding. The models come in small packages without instructions, but complete instructions are available online for download from the Sierra West website. This is a classic example of stash-building. In my experience, you need to buy things you want when they are available, even if you don’t need them right now, because they may well not be readily available in the future…
Dick Holman came to the Forum too. Though he didn’t bring any models, he brought ideas for the 2024 Square Footer Contest. All the attendees participated in a vigorous discussion of the 2024 contest.
All the necessary decisions were made and the rules decided upon. There will still be two classes of entrants: Novice and Master. Anyone winning their category as a Novice will be automatically elevated to Master status for future contest entries. For 2024, the contest will be themed “In the Woods” and entries must be on a round base, sized by scale: N Scale – 2” diameter; HO – 4” diameter; O Scale 8” diameter. The only element that will be allowed to overhang the base is foliage. For the complete rules, go HERE, or check out our website post HERE.
Bob chucks up a bit. The drill uses a collet, very rigid.
The December 16, 2023, afternoon meeting of the Great Falls Model Railroad Club Modeler’s Forum started immediately after the club’s annual Christmas party, which was well attended.
Bob Willard began the meeting by demonstrating how he makes realistic-looking tar paper roofs. He covers the roof with paper tape and then paints the tape with black paint. The paper tape can be bought at any drug store because it is used by people who are allergic to regular tape.
During ExTRAINaganza, four club members had submitted entries for the Foot Square Model Contest. All of these entries were on display during the club party and the Modelers Forum meeting. Dick Holman’s contest entry was a water scene with two airplanes on floats in the water. He explained how he had sanded and shaped many individual parts of the models in order to make them look good.
Jamie Robinson displayed several new Menards O Scale vehicles which he had recently purchased. The details on the cars and the finished look were outstanding.
Travis Johnson brought a scale speedometer he plans to use to estimate the scale speed of his locomotives. He has been experimenting with the speeds of his locomotives to see if he can provide some consistency. He displayed a chart showing the speed variation between locomotives during these tests.
Ellery Goode explained that he is experimenting with making concrete castings using Elmer’s Glue and Plaster of Paris.
Kent Waterson brought in a structure he is building as part of a large display. In addition, Kent had a double crossover track switch and showed how he uses a servo to make the turnouts work properly.
There was a brief discussion about having another modeling contest for next year’s ExTRAINaganza. No theme has yet been decided on. Someone suggested limiting contest entries to the size of a peanut butter jar cover or something similar.
The next meeting will be on Saturday, January 13 following the member meeting (about 2:15ish).
Square Footer Contest - Master Class Winner; Bob Willard
Bob Willard with Bunn's Feed and Seed
Bob Willard's mystery box motor. This old girl has been around for a while!
Bob Willard demonstrates slicing up one of the original seats to make a new one
Bob Willard and his Steam Shovel...
211028 Bob Willard 1/48 Revell vehicle kits
210923 Bob Willard custom log skidder
