Model Railroad Blog

Do Glossy Surfaces “Scale Down”?

The chlorine tank on the right has a fairly glossy surface. Our natural tendency would be to replicate that sheen on a model of it. Is that the best approach?

As modelers we have a natural tendency to examine the prototype and copy it as closely as possible.  Our thinking being that the better job we do at “copying” the better the model will look.

We have to ask ourselves, is this always the best approach?  I don’t think so because it doesn’t take everything into account. Specifically, it doesn’t take into account the differences between the real world, which includes long distances and atmosphere, and our model world which involves very short distances and no atmosphere.

A fairly noticeable issue we face is one of gloss vs. flat surfaces  It would seem simple, if railroad X keeps their motive power in pristine condition, as is fairly common, we should follow suit and apply the same sheen to our models. 

It seems so simple but to my eye this approach just doesn’t work. Glossy rolling stock, no matter how accurate that sheen is, looks toy like to me.  For some time I couldn’t figure out why.  I’m beginning to think it has to do with viewing distance.  No matter how shiny the prototype is, we generally view it from a bit of a distance.  With that distance, and looking through atmosphere, there is the illusion of gloss surfaces looking dull.

It’s a matter of taste but personally, I think most model subjects look far better if we dull the surface, even if the prototype is glossy.  The same applies to structures and signage.  I just can’t get over the nagging feeling that glossy surfaces don’t work when scaled down.  To me, dull surfaces look more realistic and, in the case of rolling stock, “heavier”.  That opinion and a few bucks will buy your next cup of coffee.

Miami Jai-Alai Dec. 26

Since my last posting, I’ve managed to complete the exterior sides and roof. The shape is fairly simple but, even so, the relatively large size made ensuring I got everything to the right size and fit a little more time consuming. Also, the larger size required far more effort to make sure that everything was adequately braced.

Here’s a view from the bottom which gives a better sense of the overall composite of materials used.

Miami Jai-Alai Dec. 12

Today I was able to get most of the core assembled and, of more importance, braced. A Gatorboard panel is inset as the base to keep things square. I also used a piece of it in the middle. After yesterday’s post I found some pieces of 3/4″ C channel in the shop so used that instead of the aluminum rulers for the side bracing.

Miami Jai-Alai Dec. 11

Sometimes the hardest part of a project is simply launching and making those first few pieces. I found a new source for large slabs of .060″ styrene sheet on Amazon. With materials in hand, I’m able to start. For larger structure projects like this I prefer to have a large, clean, work surface to spread things out and keep them organized. Shown above is a 36″ wide hollow core door set on sawhorses. I brought the mockup in from the layout room to serve as a sizing guide.

In this view I’ve carefully marked the dimensions of the side wall slabs and checked for squareness. Styrene sheet is slippery and straight edges have the nasty tendency to slide around in the middle of a cut. To prevent this, I clamped both ends of the yardstick in place, re-checked the cut marks, and then made the cuts.

Larger sheets of styrene are very prone to warping, buckling, and wiggling. They need to be stabilized. I spent a few weeks thinking how I wanted to handle the issue. Ultimately I decided to go with what’s worked in the past, aluminum. The corners are 1/2″ C channel from The Home Depot. The other pieces are from an aluminum yardstick which I cut into smaller lengths. Both will be glued to the styrene with CA.

The Lowly Shuttle

My first encounter with The Downtown Spur was in February of 2006 where I caught GP38-2 #2639 (above) heading light back to Hialeah Yard. Clearly it was a shuttle of some sort, the details of which I have no clue. I think it’s safe to assume he had a car (or several) that needed to be taken down the line to be spotted and had nothing empty to take back on the return trip.

Frequently operating our layouts keeps the rolling stock in shape and allows you to uncover any maintenance issues that may be out there. Copying this type of shuttle move is a good way to keep the wheels shiny. It’s also a way to keep yourself engaged with the layout when you may not have a lot of time.

In the above image I’ve taken two empty reefers out of staging, run them to the end of line to be stored, and then ran the unit light back to staging. Not a complex op. session by any means but, even so, it took over twenty minutes, and uncovered some dirt patches on the rails that needed to be addressed.