As promised in a previous session, our Underground host works through the process he uses to paint the O scale figures that populate his Olympia & Sand Creek On30 layout. David talks paint, washes, brushes, and more! […]
Modeling Topic: Painting & Weathering
MRVP Insider: MRVP Underground with David Popp, Episode 14 — Plethra o’ projects
Judging from the stack of stuff on David’s MRVP Underground workbench, he’s gonna need to work fast to cover all of those projects! But given time and motivation to stay busy, you can bet he’ll jump right into several modeling, weathering, and kitbuilding efforts in this episode. […]
Five modeling ideas from a General Electric Dash 9-44CW
Five modeling ideas from a General Electric Dash 9-44CW: In late June 2022, my wife, kids, and I visited my brother- and mother-in-law in Milbank, S.D. The parsonage they live in conveniently overlooks the BNSF Railway Appleton Subdivision, which runs between its namesake in Minnesota and Aberdeen, S.D. When I woke up on the morning […]
How to re-stencil reporting marks
How to re-stencil reporting marks: If you’ve waited at a grade crossing recently, you’ve probably noticed many freight cars with their original reporting marks painted out and new ones applied. This is done because the car’s ownership has changed. Since repainting an entire freight car is costly, patching over old reporting marks is an accepted […]
Burlington Northern locomotive one-offs
Burlington Northern locomotive one-offs. Burlington Northern (BN) had more than 2,000 diesel locomotives on its roster. With a fleet of that size, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there were more than a few Burlington Northern locomotive one-offs. Paint scheme variations, wreck rebuilds, and test subjects were among the examples I found when searching […]
Final details for Star Industries | It’s My Railroad, Ep. 31
Final details for Star Industries – Host Steve Brown concludes construction of his N scale rail-served industry, by adding scenery and details to the structure and right-of-way, including a proper perimeter fence. Of course, it’s all prepared using Steve’s simple, but effective “regular guy” techniques! It’s My Railroad host Steve Brown states he’s a “regular-guy” […]
Apply decals and finishing an N scale locomotive| Cody’s Workshop, Ep. 49
Apply decals and finishing an N scale locomotive. Senior Editor Cody Grivno shares the final steps to decorating an Atlas EMD GP38-2 diesel locomotive model into Milwaukee, Racine & Troy model railroad colors. To close out the effort, his process starts by applying waterslide decals, adding weathering effects, and then re-assembling the unit for layout […]
A citrus train for the garden railroad
I thought it would be fun to make a citrus train for the garden railroad. I like to reuse broken hobby items from my junk box, and I had several pieces to build my train inexpensively. Certain livestock trains had a car — usually a converted long caboose — called a drover’s caboose for the drovers (cowboys) to […]
Elevate buildings to track height | It’s My Railroad, Ep. 30
Elevate buildings to track height! Work continues on the Star Industries project, a mid-sized industry modeled on Steve Brown’s N scale layout. In this episode, Steve shares how he raises his rail-served buildings to the appropriate track height, simply by adding a foundation. You’ll also see his techniques for making paved roads featuring proper curbing […]
Preparing an N scale locomotive for repainting | Cody’s Workshop, Ep. 48
Preparing an N scale locomotive for repainting. That’s what expert modeler Cody Grivno highlights in his latest Cody’s Workshop series video. From his workbench and vented spray booth, our host will lead you through the necessary steps for disassembling an Atlas EMD GP38-2 diesel locomotive model, stripping off the factory paint job and decoration, and then applying an […]
It’s my revised railroad revealed | It’s My Railroad, Ep. 29
Host Steve Brown has just a bit of a surprise in store. In this episode you’ll be the first to see It’s My Revised Railroad revealed! Right in the middle of his Star Industries project effort, our “regular guy” has done something very much out of the ordinary. Steve shares his efforts to redirect and […]
Rethinking, rebuilding, and relocating structures | It’s My Railroad, Ep. 28
Rethinking, rebuilding, and relocating structures are all part of Steve Brown’s major changes. Right in the midst of his efforts to scratchbuild an N scale industrial structure, of course. But that’s what the It’s My Railroad series is all about! In this episode, you’ll see our host employ helpful techniques to tackle challenges in assembling […]