Learning as I go: the Sky

It looks like the sky is going to want two coats, which is good because by the time I got to the bottom, my technique had become much better. My basic blue is “Utah Sky” (2065-40) from Benjamin Moore, but there is very little of the straight colour up there. As others have proposed before […]

South Base Cabinet

Now I’ve finished the second base cabinet carcase. It’s another massive piece of furniture, measuring almost five feet high by two feet by two feet. This cabinet is sized to take handily our 3-in-1 printer, and hopefully our laser printer as well on the upper shelves. Below waist height, it will have three drawers – […]

North Base Cabinet Carcase

Happy Canada Day! I finished assembling the carcase for the north base cabinet. This went so smoothly, I almost thought I knew what I was doing! It’s a pretty big piece of furniture, measuring almost five feet high and five feet wide, by 16 inches deep. Needless to say, it’s got to come apart again […]

Base cabinet

This week, I managed to get the first cabinet out together. This will be one of a pair of cabinets that support the north section of the layout. The bottom of the cabinet will have three drawers, the top drawer has slides that lock open, and my plan is to create a lid for this […]

Smoothing the Sky

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve sanded the backdrop now. There is at least one more time in my future as the velour mini roller, which the manufacturer describes as follows 100% wool velour extreme short nap rollers provide a very smooth finish and are virtually lint-free. Velour has excellent loading and uploading […]

Collapse!

“Aaack!” I cried as the rope suddenly slipped and the layout lurched. After an evening of working on switch targets, Andrew and I were hoisting the north section of Pembroke back to the ceiling so it would be out of the way. I had been thinking that it was likely one of the last times […]

Smoothing out the Muskrat River

I managed to get a coat of wood filler onto the Muskrat River the other night. Sanding remains, but hopefully this will hide the wood grain. Nothing spoils the illusion of a water quite like wood grain. Here’s how it looks before sanding:

Limned?

So, we’ve established that the RGB strip of lights is a little too subtle as it stands. So, when Andrew was over the other night, I wondered aloud if painting the clouds a little impasto could light them up. You see, you can see the RGB colours on the ceiling, so perhaps they might show […]

Solution to Broken Headblock

Well, it wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it would be. When the headblock tie first broke, I had visions that it could mean tearing up the turnout and re-laying it. However, once cooler heads had taken over, a good solution presented itself. I cut a length of .005 brass sheet, and bent it […]

A Problem with the Switch Rod System

Andrew came over on Wednesday to help install the Bullfrogs on the North Section. This is something that goes best with two people: one to move the turnout control around, and the other to say what is happening above. So, I was grateful for his help. We got four of five done, but on the […]