New shelves for the paint shop

Getting the raised floor for the paint shop opened opportunities for more storage. The wall opposite the spray booth contains the tank for a toilet, and so, it is built of 6″ studs. My plan is to fill in all the voids with shelves and storage. The first module, designed for spray cans and other […]

Let the sunshine in

Ever since trying out my office puck lights above the layout, I’ve been on the lookout for a suitable product for the layout itself. The ultra-slim LED lights from Globe have been calling to me from their shelf at Rona for a couple of months, and this weekend I finally caved in and picked one […]

Why do we do the things we do?

Nearly ten years ago, Ron Keith collared me at the local train show. What a wonderful gentleman he was, with his grey handlebar moustache and his enigmatic smile. I was happy to bask in his genial company once again. However, this time Ron had no time for small talk: “Rene, I’ve been looking all over […]

Learning Arduino

My brother, the same one who sent me a static grass applicator for Christmas, sent an Arduino starter kit for The Boy. Yeah, he kinda hit it out of the park this Yule. The Boy had a heavy first term at school, but now that exams are over he finally has some time to play […]

RGBW

I’ve never been happy with the wash of lights on the backdrop. Not only is the effect terminally subtle for sunrise and sunset, but when turned to bright daylight white, the colour is much too blue, especially when photographed. A short while ago, I found out that light strips are available in Red-Green-Blue and White. […]

Cricut masking

As I mentioned, I’m not finished with Morrisey Fernie and Michel #61. I’ve had another technique rattling around my head, looking for an opportunity to leap out on an unsuspecting model, and this little car was the perfect victim. Masked and painted insignia are all the rage in the aero modelling world these days. When […]

A sacrifice to the weather gods

No amount of YouTube videos or re-reading of Martyn Welch’s excellent book, The Art of Weathering, could convince me I was ready to dust off my rusty weathering skills. Moreover, the world has changed and I want to try my hand at some of the techniques that have taken the other model disciplines by storm. […]