by mike | Dec 27, 2022 | General News |
A quick update:After a battery of eye tests I’ve been diagnosed with a twenty percent permanent vision loss in my right eye and told the condition may eventually also impact the left eye. Reading small text on paper or a screen is frustrating unless it’s the size of...
by mike | Dec 12, 2022 | The Modeling Conversation |
I haven ‘t had much bench time recently, and the time I have spent has been less productive. I’m dealing with a complication in one eye from the cataract surgery and it’s frustrating. My vision is blurred and that makes reading text or doing close...
by mike | Nov 28, 2022 | Modeling Techniques, The Modeling Conversation |
I’m a strong believer in looking to other crafts for inspiration and techniques. Taking time to get out of the model train echo chamber can greatly enrich our modeling. When I decided to pursue working in brass, I went looking for sources of information and...
by mike | Nov 23, 2022 | Modeling Techniques, The Modeling Conversation |
After a part is laid out and cut from the rough stock, the edges need to be trued up, and brought to finished dimensions. Straight and square are two fundamental aspects of any build. Our eyes can see very small errors in misalignment quite easily. Edges that...
by mike | Nov 20, 2022 | Modeling Techniques, The Modeling Conversation |
When I was actively drawing in pen & ink, I used to do practice exercises like the one above. The purpose was to train my eye and develop the control and muscle memory in my hands. Like the exercises music students do to train their ears and eye/hand coordination...
by mike | Nov 15, 2022 | OST Believes, The Modeling Conversation |
Think back to the beginning of your interest in model trains. The odds are you started from zero, knowing nothing or very little about the craft. So you read a bunch of books and magazine articles, or scoured YouTube and learned how to do stuff. Your knowledge was...
by mike | Nov 13, 2022 | OST Believes, The Modeling Conversation, Uncategorized
As I shared in the last post, the current build reached an important stage. With the underframe all but completed, it was time to evaluate the work. Having done so, I’m both pleased and disappointed. I’m pleased that most of the critical dimensions are on...
by mike | Nov 9, 2022 | Modeling Techniques, The Modeling Conversation, The P48 Experience
Cataract surgery on my right eye had me down for a couple of days this week. The procedure went fine and the follow up visit with my optometrist seems to indicate a good outcome for my future vision. Throughout my life, I’ve been extremely nearsighted and I...
by mike | Nov 6, 2022 | Modeling Techniques, The Modeling Conversation, The P48 Experience
Soldering Small Parts-2 The striker plates are the heavy metal pieces that protect the ends of the center sill from damage. They can be a single casting, or individual components. With the addition of the striker plates on the front of the center sill, I’m...
by mike | Nov 2, 2022 | Modeling Techniques, The Modeling Conversation, The P48 Experience |
I want to thank everyone for their comments and encouragement from the previous post. I truly appreciate knowing when a topic is helpful for you all. Let’s get to it. Every build is a process: a series of steps taken in a certain order. As fundamental as that...
