The right time to find a mistake

In software development, we call the prevention of defects earlier in the process “shift left testing.” The idea is that if you can find a bug earlier in the development process, it is less expensive to fix it. Tonight I was just about ready to go and upload my roundhouse side walls to the Cricut […]

Test wall for Pembroke roundhouse

In 1908, the Pembroke roundhouse was listed in “fair” condition. It stood for another 48 years until it burned. So, I read “fair” to mean that it was not dilapidated, but also, perhaps not first class. I speculate, therefore, that perhaps it wasn’t painted. The other challenge with the Pembroke roundhouse is that it is […]

A note to whoever uninstalls Pembroke

Dear future self; One day when you go to take Pembroke out, the north section can be removed with just the screws into the wall and the cabinets. They’re all accessible from beneath. All except this one screw at the end of the Pembroke Milling Company siding, which goes straight into the windowsill. You’ll probably […]

A Visit from the North Shore Model Railroaders

Thanks to Graham Stokes for organizing the North Shore Model Railroaders’ visit to Pembroke last night. Despite the photo, we had nine modellers in the basement (two had to leave early). Sadly, #10 wouldn’t move at all; I think it has gone out of quarter again. Everyone was very polite, all the same. Thanks to […]

A touch of paint

There is a truism in modelling that the surface is all anyone sees. So, in preparation for a visit from the North Shore Model Railroaders, I quickly dabbed some paint on all the blue foam insulation. The paint is Rona recycled “Clay,” which is a pretty close match for the gravel ballast. Suddenly the scenery stops […]

The Consistency of Oatmeal

After years of hearing about it, I decided to give Lou Sassi’s ground goop a try. I found a few online resources with the recipe, including a video on the Model Railroader site, with Lou himself mixing it up. The recipe I found was one part Cellulite one part fine vermiculite one part dirt-coloured paint […]

Pembroke’s River is Finished (for now)

I’ve declared the river to be finished from now. Does it look like a river? Well, from sufficiently low angles, it reflects mostly sky, and almost succeeds. However, the sky is not as bright as a real sky, and so, the river is not as bright as a real river. The kids both say it […]

Liquitex Spray on the Muskrat River

After five coats of paint or primer, filling and sanding in between, I finally felt ready to place the finish coats. These are all going to be sprayed in the hopes that I don’t have to sand between coats (time will tell). My darling wife looked at the river and declared that it was too […]

Replacing Sketchup

I finally gave up on Windows. Oh, I’m no anti-Windows bigot (at least not anymore): I am very productive on the platform we all love to hate. The problem was that the laptop forgot its license key, and due to poor record-keeping, so did everyone else. To make a long story short, I downloaded Ubuntu and have […]

Muskrat River is Nearly Flat

I had truly expected to be finished that first pass on the scenery by the weekend. However, getting the Muskrat River to lose its semblance to plywood has taken more work than I had anticipated. We’re now at two layers of primer and two layers of paint, filling and sanding between each coat, as well […]