I was able to finish the bulk of the Sungas Services scene this month. All that remains are the crossing flashers and it’ll be done. This was the last of the remaining industries on the layout to be built out. There are still a lot of non-rail structures to be built though.
With the industry build out essentially finished, I needed to bolster my fleet of lpg cars. The Walthers cars are passable given that the flat black color hides any oversize details. The trucks and couplers on these cars are trash though and needed to be replaced with their Kadee counterparts. I’ve found that scale shelf couplers, while prototypical, are almost too prototypical in serving their intended purpose which is uncoupling cars. I packed a way the shelf style couplers and replaced them with standard long shanks.
High on the “to do” list this year is re-photographing the layout. I may start that as early as July.
Having made the trip down to the run around to get on the correct side of the train, the local has pulled the empties and is getting ready to cut off the loads and spot them.The two loaded cars are by the locomotive.
Since I hadn’t built out the structures for Sungas until recently, I’d never done much with it during op. sessions. Out of curiosity I decided to see how long it would take to switch it assuming a hypothetical but plausible situation where it’s the only industry being worked that day. Due to the orientation of Sungas’ turnouts, the train needs to run all of the way to the other end of the line, run around the train, and then head back to work the industry.
Without employing any props such as setting hand brakes, air tests, or unlocking the switch locks, it took a full half hour to work that industry alone. That’s a lot of play value for a case where only four turnouts were involved. Breaking things down: 10 minutes to get from staging to the end of the line and run around the train. 8 minutes to get back. 10 minutes to work the industry. 2 minutes to get to staging.
This would be a good session for when visitors are over and I just want to let them run the layout. It’s a good balance between cruising the layout and a fairly simple switching scenario.
Painted rail markings are a quick and easy detail that adds realism and visual interest. There are a number of them adjacent to Sungas. They could be tied to a number of things: clearance points, components related to the grade crossing, or the point marking where the customer is responsible for taking over track maintenance.
Sending a sixty dollar, highly detailed, tank car over the edge of the layout into the great abyss, and ultimately to the floor will ruin anybody’s day. You may be more of an adept operator than me but, speaking from experience, I’m fairly capable of doing this. A tiny tack at the end of one rail keeps cars on the layout without being too disruptive to photography.
I’ve found that small shelves around areas you’ll be working a lot do get used. You may “think” you’ll never tip that coffee cop over that you’ve set on your work surface but…… The number 38 is a milepost number.
Model railroading is a miniscule portion of the much larger universe of design in general. Art, architecture, engineering, interior design, landscape design, etc. all fall under that umbrella. In the big boy world of design, the one where people and companies actually make their living at it, the process is driven by a foundation of five guiding principles, generally known as “The Five Principles of Design”. Those are balance, rhythm and repetition, proportion and scale, harmony, and emphasis/focal point. Our life becomes easier if we approach layout design the way the pros in other fields do.
The principle of “emphasis” is particularly crucial to successfully composing a model railroad scene. There are several strategies for emphasizing something of importance to us. Those deal with strategically managing the subjects of: size, location, color, and contrast.
Size. Although its colors are muted, and there is nothing spectacular about the architecture, the sheer mass of this grain elevator draws attention to it.
Location. If you have a structure that is near and dear to your heart, one that you’d like to emphasize, place it in a prominent location. Make it the first thing you see front and center when you enter the layout room. Try to avoid tucking the prize in a back corner.
Color. The peach tone of the warehouse makes it stand out among the dull grays of it’s neighbors. Had each structure been painted an equally bright color it wouldn’t stand out as much.
Contrast. Contrast means “different from” an adjacent feature. This could encompass a number of facets but for our purposes let’s talk about an area modelers really struggle with. There are so many cool structures and scenes out there. It’s understandable to want to include as many as possible. Not being able to prioritize can work against you visually though. If you have five “cool” structures and place them next to one another they compete with each visually for attention. No single building will pull your eye in. Your eyes will dart all over the place. On the other hand, if you pick one as your favorite, and surround it with low key “mundane” structures then it will stand out visually because it “contrasts” with its neighbors and becomes a focal point.
Depending on where we are in life, the amount of time we have available to devote to our hobby will vary. Regardless of our circumstances at any particular moment, however, we all want to have the satisfaction of knowing that we are getting at least a few things accomplished. That can be much easier said than done if you have other competing priorities such as family, career, home & yard maintenance, etc. Even during the busiest of times though, there are strategies that you can put in place to make the best of the few precious hours you do have.
Understand your own personal clock in terms of when you’re at your creative peak. Are you a night owl? Earlier bird? When are you feeling focused and when are you feeling fried? It’s important to know. A good friend of mine made a good point when he told me, “Sure I have time in the evening but after a long day at work, and a one hour commute, all I have left in the tank is having a cold beer and watching television”. We can all relate.
Split your modeling activities into two groups, “Peak Productivity” and “Brain Dead Activities”. A peak activity would be something that takes your utmost concentration and generally involves creative or delicate tasks. Weathering a freight car, hand building a turnout, and structure assembly would all fall into this group. Brain dead activities would include running to the store to get materials, preparing parts, cleaning, ballasting, etc.
Limit social media. Facebook can be a double edged sword. On the plus side it gives you access to some great groups but personally I feel the negatives outweigh the positives in terms of its addictive and often toxic characteristics. Nobody gets to December 31 and looks back with a sense of accomplishment for those hundreds of hours spent arguing about politics with strangers and looking at photos of somebody’s dinner at TGI Friday’s. I’ve removed the app from my phone and check in once on my desktop briefly in the morning. I get no notifications.
Knowing when you’re at your best, you want to be solely focused during that time on Peak Activities. If you only have three hours free on a Sunday night you don’t want to spend half that time at Lowes looking for a part. If you can spend your peak productive time from a point of total focus on creative production you’ll be surprised how much you can get done over the course of a year.
Last year I was swamped writing the design book for Kalmbach much of which had to be done during off hours when I wasn’t at work. I’m now at the tail end of a kitchen remodeling diy project that at times seemed to have no end. That took time away from modeling also. In order to make any semblance of progress with my personal modeling I had to employ these strategies. During my brain dead time during the week I make a list of all of the supplies I’ll need from the hobby store and hardware store and pick those up. I pull all of the tools I’ll need and lay them neatly on my work bench. If I’m working on a kit I’ll do some light parts prep such as removing things from the sprue and cleaning them up. When I get those few free hours on Saturday morning or Sunday night I can then make the most of them.
If you’re interested in more depth on creative productivity:
There was a great article in the Washington Post this week on the subject. You can read it HERE.
