Model Railroad Blog

Panel Line Accents

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Before posting a modeling technique, I look to see if it can meet two marks.  First, it must be simple enough that an entry level modeler (middle school student, recent retiree, etc.) can easily employ it.  Second, it must create a fair degree of visual impact.  Panel line accents meet both criteria.  Forcing shadows into the crevices of your models makes a tremendous improvement in their overall appearance and is a very simple technique.  Essentially you are wiping black over the crevice and then wiping off the excess.  Tamiya even offers a dedicated product for this.

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If I had to pick one area where I’d apply this technique to first it would be the side panels on a diesel loco.  As with anything, do a few trials runs on a scrap first and then move over to your actual model.  This isn’t a marginal technique to employ on occasion but really a standard that should be employed on most of your models.

More Utilities

 

PaulC

After my last posting, I was contacted by Paul Cooledge who was kind enough to share with me his exceptional utility pole model above.  He explained his methods as follows:

“I completed this scratch-built  1/87th scale model on March 4th as part of a Railroad-Line Forum challenge and thought that being a fellow utility pole enthusiast you might find it of interest.  The poles and structure are made from tapered wooden dowels and scale lumber made from coffee stir sticks.  The transformers are styrene and brass and copper wire; each one is constructed of 39 individual parts.  The insulators include eight appropriated from a Walthers utility pole kit and the balance were made with sterling silver bead caps, glass beads and styrene.  The gang switch is constructed of brass and copper and operates via linkage from the handle at the base.  The mercury vapor lamp is a silver bead cap with a plastic diffusor and is illuminated with an 0603 LED.  The electrical wires are made from single strands of copper from a lamp cord for the heavier wire, and single strands of 30 gauge ‘decoder wire’ for the primary lines and twisted pairs to represent guy wires.”
There are a number of advantages to modeling these structures and, when you do so,  putting the effort into doing it well.  First, the cost is nominal.  Second, the visual impact is very noticeable.  Third, this is something you can work on even if you don’t have a layout yet.  Storage would be simple and you know you’d use them immediately.  There is a ton of data online on top of which you can simply walk outside to see an example.   Low cost, high impact….sounds like a great modeling subject.  Thanks Paul!

Vertical Elements

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Each of us has a defined number of hours we can dedicate to the hobby.  That being the case, it makes sense to focus on things that provide not only the most enjoyment but the most visual impact as well.  Vertical elements, specifically utility poles, if well executed can really elevate the appearance of our scenes.  Our eye is trained to look for the ordinary, what it sees in abundance in the real world, and utility service falls within that realm.  Prototypical data is readily available and photos are simply a matter of walking outside.  In the photo above the poles are skewers picked up from the grocery store and stained with a dilute wash of Floquil Rail Brown.  The step down transformers are from the Atlas telephone pole product (#775) as are the insulators.  Selley also makes a nice transformer.  Three inch conduit is made from spring wire.  The only caveat I would add is that the wires themselves are almost impossible to model effectively and to that end I suggest leaving them off.

WWII

Decades ago I had a sales trainer that happened to be a former WWII battleship gunner.  He was emphatic in consistently making his point that we should practice our sales technique  BEFORE we were in front of a customer. He made the point at every session and then immediately drew the analogy to his days in the South Pacific.  They’d spend hours on the ship going over and over the gunnery drills all the while his superior officer would explain the importance of the drills with the proclamation of “it’s best that we practice BEFORE we’re getting shot at”.

The application is universal, to sports, music, even model building.  You are far better off developing a specific modeling technique before you need to apply it to your actual layout or model.  Once you get to the real deal, poor results are often impossible or, at least exceptionally difficult, to reverse.  I speak from experience.  Often we have such a large time investment in the inferior effort, or because the result is not reversible, we have no choice but to live with it while it subconsciously grates on us every day.

How do you practice?  You just make trial runs on a scrap until you have it down.  Such practice attempts can be partial in nature and sub-par results can be discarded easily since you have minimal time or financial investment.  Compare your results against photos of the prototype or models you admire and stick with it until you are satisfied.  If after a number of attempts you are still struggling, photograph your sample and ask a more experienced modeler for advice.  Take notes as you practice so that once you get the results you want you can repeat them later.

Practice takes place at all points on the experience spectrum.  If you’re a beginning modeler, between layouts, or don’t have space for a layout now is the ideal time to elevate your skill levels.  The skills to master are limitless but here are a few ideas:

  • Track weathering
  • Ballasting
  • Waterways (all types from shallow and clear to deep and murky)
  • Structure weathering
  • Freight car weathering
  • Structure assembly
  • Trees
  • Static grass
  • Pavement
  • Backdrops
  • Alclad II metalizers