Name: Michigan-California Logging Co. Scale: On30 (1:48 proportion on HO scale track) Size: 3′-10″ x 6′-8″ Prototype: Michigan-California Lumber Co. Locale: El Dorado County, Calif. Style: Tabletop oval Era: 1918 Mainline run: 19′-4″ Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 4 percent Height: 41″ to 47″ Roadbed: Homasote Track: handlaid Fast Tracks and […]
Layout Size: Small Layouts
Red Oak Series: Applying static grass
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page In this video, David Popp demonstrates the steps for adding static grass that will help make your scenery texture appear more authentic – even in small spaces like those found on Model Railroader magazine’s 3 x 7-foot N scale Red Oak project layout. […]
Red Oak Series: Adding ballast
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Just a little bit of a ballast goes a long way toward making Model Railroader magazine’s 3 x 7-foot N scale Red Oak layout look more realistic. In this video, David Popp walks you through the steps you’ll need to prepare the trackwork, […]
Red Oak Series: DCC system installation
While a complete Digital Command Control (DCC) system installation might not initially sound like a simple process, MRVP’s David Popp sure makes it seem that way in this how-to video. In his demonstration, David paces you through the steps he used to add a Digitrax Super Empire Builder Xtra system to Model Railroader magazine’s 3 […]
Olympia Logging Series: Part 41 – Lessons Learned
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page In this final episode of MRVP’s Olympia Logging Co. On30 display-style layout construction series, David Popp and Kent Johnson highlight the efforts, successes, and shortcomings over the last several months. Enjoy the quick tour, glean helpful insights from the candid conversation, and then […]
Olympia Logging Series: Part 41 – Lessons Learned
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page In this final episode of MRVP’s Olympia Logging Co. On30 display-style layout construction series, David Popp and Kent Johnson highlight the efforts, successes, and shortcomings over the last several months. Enjoy the quick tour, glean helpful insights from the candid conversation, and then […]
Olympia Logging Series: Part 40 – Layout operation
David Popp show’s you that it really is possible to perform prototypical operations on a layout as simple as our Olympia Logging Co. On30 display. Follow along as he first explains the scheme, makes the essential preparations, and then demonstrates how fun and easy it is to get the layout working like a real railroad […]
Olympia Logging Series: Part 40 – Layout operation
David Popp show’s you that it really is possible to perform prototypical operations on a layout as simple as our Olympia Logging Co. On30 display. Follow along as he first explains the scheme, makes the essential preparations, and then demonstrates how fun and easy it is to get the layout working like a real railroad […]
Olympia Logging Series: Part 36 – Build a log pond
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page There’s a place to include realistic water effects on just about any model railroad, including our Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout. In this video, David Popp shows how to build a log pond, starting with the pond banks shaped from foam insulation board, […]
Olympia Logging Series: Part 39 – Log car upgrades
Now that David Popp has the Olympia Logging Co. On30 steam locomotives looking good and weathered, he’s turning his focus to the log car fleet on the display-style layout. Follow along as he demonstrates how to use a can of spray paint, various modeling paints applied with a brush, pre-mixed stains, and weathering powders to […]
Olympia Logging Series: Part 38 – Make a corrugated roof
MR associate editor Eric White shares his techniques for adding a corrugated roof to a wood structure on our Olympia Logging Co. On30 display-style layout. In this video, he shows how to work with styrene sheet material to form individual panels, paint and weather those panels, and then attach them to the building. […]
Olympia Logging Series: Part 37 – Log pond scenery
In this video, David continues working on the log pond for our Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout. Here, he shows how to prep the layout for pouring the two-part epoxy resin water, tint the resin, and refine the log pond bank after the resin has set. David also shows how to add authentic subtle details […]