Articles & Blogs

Adding Panel Lines to ACF Hoppers Bill Mock January 2010

Here's a cheap and easy way to add those panel lines to your ACF Hoppers. Take a PrismaColor pencil and lightly trace the panel lines on the sides of the car. The box makes a great cradle for the car. Use the plastic box edges to help align your straight edge while you draw the panel lines. Done!

Adding panel lines to ACF Hoppers how to was written by Bill Mock in January 2010. This article has been assembled in order by the following links. Simply cut and paste the following links into your web browser to follow up on any additional comments, suggestions, or to view the larger images.

http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2569&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178

Hopper Weathering Clinic II By Bill Mock December 2009

So here's how those BN Hoppers turned out after the surface rust dried. Not bad. I'll see if they need another wash. Maybe I'll just chalk them. But I now need to add some spots of rust; some random and some at the ladder, etc.

OK, it's after working hours, time to add some surface rust. So I start off by wetting the entire surface with "blue" windshield washing fluid. Then I mix a very diluted wash of Raw Umber acrylic paint and more blue windshield washing fluid. I wash this on to the surface and let it pool in the edges and build up. Then, walk away. Check back to make sure that the wet surface is drying evenly. If the wash dries unevenly and edges start to form, dab your brush in a little plain blue washing fluid. Dry the brush on a paper towel. Then with the now damp brush, lightly brush over the unwanted paint edge. If caught early, it should dissolve this "edge" and leave a nice even wash again. This method is very similar to watercolour painting techniques. Check back tomorrow for photos of the Hoppers when they are dry.

Hopper Weathering Clinic II how to was written by Bill Mock in December 2009. This article has been assembled in order by the following links. Simply cut and paste the following links into your web browser to follow up on any additional comments, suggestions, or to view the larger images.

http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2460&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178

http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2461&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178

http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2458&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178

http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2459&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178

Hopper Weathering Clinic By Bill Mock December 2009

Here is the first stages of weathering of my new BN Open Hoppers and UP PS2 Hopper. The trucks and wheels were removed and painted with a wash of Poly Scale Oily Black and Rust. The car bodies were airbrushed with a 10:1 wash of Poly Scale Reefer White and Earth to fade them. Then the bottoms were airbrushed with a 10:1 wash of Poly Scale Oily Black. I use plain old "blue" windshield washing fluid as an airbrush thinner for faster paint drying. The next step for these cars is a brushed on "surface rust" wash of a Raw Umber acrylic paint.

Hopper Weathering Clinic how to was written by Bill Mock in December 2009. This article has been assembled in order by the following links. Simply cut and paste the following links into your web browser to follow up on any additional comments, suggestions, or to view the larger images.

http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2455&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178

http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2456&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178

http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2457&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178

Hopper Weathering Clinic III By Bill Mock January 2010

OK, I gave the inside of these hoppers a wash of Engine Black below the coal line. They look pretty good. At least they no longer look like raw plastic. Why am I weathering the inside of these hoppers? I don't know. You can see some of this surface above the Hay Brothers Coal Load. So that good. But who knows? Some day I may try to add some cross bracing and attempt to run these hoppers empty. May be it's just a Z-Scale - Zen thing.  

 OK, time to go inside those hoppers! They get the same treatment, an acrylic rust wash. But this time, it's a wash of Grimy Black, Rust and a hint of Flat Aluminium. I used a cotton swab and "blue windshield washing fluid" to really scrub the inside of the plastic shell; to make sure that the paint-wash covers evenly. It looks awful to have the wash "bead up" around a bit of residual casting release oil. So scrub it down and then wash on the paint - all sides at once. Then let it dry, sitting on it's wheels. The paint wash gently washes down the side walls in a very realistic pattern. Let the first coat dry and then come back later to see if any additional paint washes are necessary. I'll probably add a wash of "Engine Black" below the line where the loaded coal sits and grinds into the side walls.

Hopper Weathering Clinic III how to was written by Bill Mock in January 2010. This article has been assembled in order by the following links. Simply cut and paste the following links into your web browser to follow up on any additional comments, suggestions, or to view the larger images.

http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2475&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178

http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2471&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178

http://www.zcentralstation.com/index.php?view=detail&;id=2470&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=178

Micro-Trains 2 Story Barracks Build by Modelersguild.com

These Micro Trains kits are nice, real nice. A few nights build time and you have a piece for that micro sized layout. No major surgery involved just plain fun.

To start this build we followed the instructions and sealed the card with dull coat. Sealing the card protects it from the acrylic pains. We painted the trims and foundation grey. When dry we cut out and glued these to the wall sections while still unassembled. Add the glazing to the backs of the walls at this time.

Put together the interior frame and foundation pieces, let set. While propping the walls in place glue the side walls to the frame and foundation.

To keep the foundation flat while gluing we clamped it to a straight edge. Let everything dry completely.

With all the porch and ladder pieces painted we started adding these to the end walls. This was done to make the task easier, adding these to the walls upright would be an unnecessary challenge.

Time to glue the end walls on, I tell ya these brass weights are real nice. Definitely worth much more then the scrap we pulled them from.

When all is ready we added the roof panels to the building. run a small bead of glue around the tops of the walls to place this on, make sure to wipe off access glues (the excess is unmistakable in the final product).

Cut our the printed roofing to fit the panels and glue on. Make sure to scrape the paper with a hard plastic card.

Ron Pare

Micro-Trains Farmers Co-op Build by Modelersguild.com

I am definitely getting better at Z-Scale. Another Micro-Trains kit, I am liking these more and more with each build. It is a nice two night-er, and I suggest, a nice sit down with the podcast, Model Rail Cast Show and enjoy the build.

Its not a matter of sight for me, but more of a knowing how to do it, makes all the difference. We know this kit would look great in any era or location you can come up with.

The kit is wood, with some sticky back sheets.

Building the main deck first, add the support posts and let the thinly laid glue set good. Then attach the cross bents gently to the posts.

To put the stairs together, the hardest part is getting the first bent on. I put a dab of ca on to grab it. Then followed up with some yellow glue on a toothpick. Add the steps by taking the backing off the step and sticking it to the knife blade and placing in the stringer, starting at the top step.

Next we attach the steps to the deck, again using a toothpick, Let dry.

Painting the different parts, as you can see is a breeze. Pick your color and stick tot he parts you want painted before you even remove them from the sheet. We painted the walls tan, and the trim pieces brown. Let all the components dry completely before moving on, as we want all the pieces rigid  when attaching the trim pieces.

Again using the knife, stick the window frame to the blade and attach to the wall carefully.

Attaching the glazing is pretty simple, I cut a pretty big square and glued it on with yellow glue. Same with the big sliding doors, yellow glue. The doors we added in the slight open position.

Raising the walls one at a time, we first dabbed a wee bit of glue at the bottom of the wall to stick it in place. Add the second wall and seal the corner. Following the same procedure for each remaining wall.

To finish off the model we added the utilities boxes to the outside wall.  We glued on the roof sections, leaving the sticky side up for the roofing paper.

Ron Pare

Micro-Trains Grain Tower Build by Modelersguild.com

Oh I can feel it, the empire is growing. Granted it is Z scale yet that diminishes nothing in the eyes of my children.

The grain tower kit is made by Micro-Trains. Each time I try out a MT kit I find myself dreaming of large landscapes and industry. Z scale the under represented king in Space Savings is here, and here to stay.

Assembly is straight forward, hence the instructions are pretty basic. The thing that strikes me as being missing is some elaboration on paint and weather.Before this thought finished passing I had the structure assembled. So whats the point, I dunno. I just state the facts folks...

In this article I am going to take the opportunity to focus on how I finished this model. I am not a self proclaimed expert, nor should I be considered to be.  These steps are just my thoughts on the subject.

First as always it starts with a coat of inkahol. It gives a base that provides a random variation on the layers above. IF done before it dries. Then dip your brush in the water, we want the acrylic paint watered down. We dont want the brush floaded with water when it touches the model though. Dabb it off.  Why you may ask. Well the dilluted paint will give you control over coverage and spread a larger area.

Remember we left the ink wet to soak through, let it. Follow coats that are deamed necesary will blend right in with the same method of watering the paint down. The difference is when the ink and first coat of paint dries, it is sealed to mixing.  Coats of paint above will cover up the ink. A good way to fix a case of TOO much ink. Do this method and with light coats of paint to doctor it into shape. Let it dry.

The final step for this build was some treatments for the loading pipe. For this we used Sophisticated Finishes found at our local Michaels. This is iron filings and a corrosive the rusts the iron. Can't get much more realistic then the real thing.

With some coats of the MIG Nuetral wash to simulate dust and grime. We were ready to settle with good enough. In my opinion a model isn't finished till it is placed on the layout. Certain conditions will warrent different techniques so stopping here is a good idea, again this is only my opinion.

Ron Pare

Micro-Trains Logging Camp Cars Build by Modelersguild.com

Working with my brother-in-law has its challenges. It doesn't always go so well, some of you know what I mean. But when he delivers with work like this. I think we might be able to do it again.

This Logging Camp Car (Dining car and Office car, also refered to as the "clerestory") was fun and fairly easy to construct.  The kit seemed to be a bit challenging at some points, mainly because of the small parts and meticulous process of assembling the tiny pieces. But with a good cutting tool, some tight bond glue and a little bit of patience, this project proved to be a great way to explore the ever-so-detailed world of the Z-scale model.

Laying out the parts I was near ready to give up. Just then Ron hands me a set of tweezers. After a few manouvers weilding the tweezers my confidence returned.

A few directions from my brother I decided to refer the printed instructions. I am glad I did, Ron was right, and I never would have followed his lead, but since the instructions I agreed, I guess I would too. 

This kit contains two cars, complete with trucks and couplers. All this was not immediately appearant to me. As the build moved on I did begin to learn a few things about these pieces of rolling stock.

As I built Ron provided me with pictures of the real thing. It was amazing with a bit of this information really expanded my understanding of the project at hand. The interest that grew in me completely wrapped my mind into the whole thing.

Model railraoding is much more then just playing with toys. I realize this now and will never ever forget that. And maybe just maybe, one day I too will pursue a railroad of my own.

Ron Pare

Micro-Trains Military Barracks Build by Modelersguild.com

Building this Z-Scale kit was a real pleasure. The parts fit nicely, the materials were right, this all added up to a very enjoyable build.

Working with Z-Scale should be a challenge for my vision issues, however that is not the case. The way the kits are made makes it easy to both prepare and assemble such a small model.

The first step to building this kit is sealing the card with flat lacquer, before cutting them from the card sheet. The card is thick enough to handle without too much worry of creasing or bending.

Using a #11 blade I cut the wall sections out. Satisfied with the color of the card walls we left them unpainted (for now). For the trim and ground I used a tan and the concrete supports grey acrylic, paint the card in thin coats, card will soak in water based paints so thick coats are not advised.

To apply the white glue we used a tooth pick this allowed for a fairamount of accuracy when applying glue to a very small area.

We applied the window and door trims with white glue. Having sealed the card earlier allows time to clean up excess glue. As you can see we areready to start assembling the walls.

Using my supply of handy dandy weights I started gluing the sections together. We first attach the end wall to the side and let the glue set a bit. Once stuck I glued the floor section on and again wait to set. This system of letting the glue set allowed me to build this delicate kit in a way as to not ruin a good connection by moving on to quickly.

Using a paint pen I covered the floor of the structure black. Just because thats what I do to models that don't have interiors.

I scored the roof panel before bending it.and installed it on the model by applying glue to the walls with a toothpick. then I weight the roof down to dry with a bag of sand.

I cut the simulated roofing materials to shape and creased the ridge. Then spread glue on the roof panel and applied the roofing again with the bag of sand securing it.

Assembling the stair cases wasn't as hard as we thought it would be. Again using the glue and set technique we took the slow route at building these.The supplied steps were very easy to handle and I had little trouble here.

Ron Pare

The sawmill has a permanent place in our hobby as an industry built in the sticks. The location of these structures usually is located far from civilization and the scenes displayed in historical records show a real rag-tag operation. The oportunity to create a busy and living scene with this model is one I cannot let pass.

Micro-Trains offers kits in Z scale. The kit is comprised of laser cut micro-plywood and card material for windows, doors and frames. This card material has two-sided tape for glazings and roofing. Even the glazing for the windows is cut with a laser.

The instructions are made like an electronics manual. I have to say they are perfect and the pictures do just enough to get you through the build. As the instructions stated, we placed the two walls and supports on the base and glued them with WeldBond glue. I use Weldbond because of its Cost, Strength, and the fact that it dries clear. Some say to use Canopy Glue, but it is twice the cost and comes in a bottle near half the size. You decide.

Next step is to prepare the equipment deck. The saws and log tables are all represented in Card. When all is said and done, this looks great. I only had an issue with "How big is a loggers log in Z scale"? That issue actually held me up longer then it really should'a.

I built this model so fast, the instructions seemed to get lost under a pile of carrier sheets. I usually build the walls complete before assembling them together. This time we just got busy with it, and this ended up with walls assembled without the windows and door installed. 

The amount of interest this kit struck in me had me a bit overwhelmed, so I sat down with the instructions and finally finished them.

Here are a few shots of the equipment deck installed. This is really a striking site in person.

Whoever started this technique in kit building is a patron saint. Two-sided tape on small structure kits is the component that makes this build available to a visually imapired person like myself. A pair of tweezers and a good light and I am set.

Peel off the back of the window and place it sticky side up on the bench. Take the tweezers and break out a single glazing and place it on the window. Done deal! Repeat that for all the windows and doors and in no time everything was completed and ready to be installed.

Here is the model with the windows, doors and trim installed. I left the window sills off. One reason is I thought they looked big and reason two, I had trouble handling them. Is it absolutely neccesary ?

I thought not...

It is amazing how small this structure is considering the size of the prototype. So far I love the instructions, as they are simple and to the point, I could have used a prototype photo though. The kit parts are great, the laser cuts are clean and come apart easily. And the addition of the interior equipment really makes this $76 model worth every penny.

Again, bdecause of the two-sided tape, these roof panels are a breeze to complete. After gluing the panels to the structure, I peeled off the tape covering. The laser cut paper shingles are varied in sizes. My suggestion is to use the wide ones on the bottom and the narrow ones on the top.

I use tweezers for this proceedure, I have learned my big fingers are actually z scale battering rams. The shingles look fantastic installed and I can see already how I am going to weather them.

The ramp, or slip, is made of plywood with card braces. For such small parts I have to say this was fairly easy. The braces have two-sided tape to stick right on, using the tweezers of course. I could not wait to see it next to the structure, so I took a picture of it.

After completing the slip I really started thinking about building this Z scale layout. Its funny how a model can inspire you. This arrived Friday in the mail, and was built by Sunday Night.

Micro-Trains hit a home run with this model and I am just tickled I had a chance to build it. To be inspired by a model isn't too rare, but that don't make it any less exciting.

Stay tuned for part two.

Ron Pare