by mike | Sep 1, 2020 | The Art of The Craft, The Modeling Conversation |
Designing a layout is hard. We’re not civil engineers or traffic managers. Layout design articles tend to focus on arranging the maximum amount of track in a space, while leaving everything else to chance. I’m of the opinion the mindset, beliefs, even the language we...
by mike | Jul 7, 2020 | The Art of The Craft, The P48 Experience |
Staging The Set We typically think of staging yards as massive affairs, holding enough complete trains for an entire operating session. Conventional thought says you can’t have enough capacity for them. With the modest size of my Mill Road cameo, a conventional...
by mike | Jan 20, 2020 | Modeling Techniques, The Art of The Craft, The Modeling Conversation |
Bringing all my experiences to the craft of model building is what I enjoy most. The observation skills I’ve developed from painting are, perhaps more than any other, equally useful in modeling. My default mode is to dive in feet first and hope for the best. It’s...
by mike | Oct 14, 2019 | The Art of The Craft, The P48 Experience |
For decades, nearly every guidebook for new modelers has outlined the process of building benchwork and roadbed, then track and finally scenery. Creating a layout as one continuous structure that is customized to its space is a sacred cow process that people seldom...
by mike | Sep 29, 2019 | Detailing Track, The Art of The Craft, The Modeling Conversation, The P48 Experience |
With a lifting fog, thanks to Photoshop, it’s easy to look at an image like this and think there is some magic secret to it, or that the modeling is so far beyond your skills, there is no point in trying. What you don’t see in photos like this are the...
by mike | Jul 29, 2019 | The Art of The Craft, The Modeling Conversation, The P48 Experience |
Until recently I was never much of a freight car fan. I preferred to focus on scenery and layout building and I was happy with rolling stock as it came from the box. That began to change after I switched to P48. People look at this scale and see the potential for...
