A quick and simple method to get rid of the plastic new freight car look is to spray a light coat of Dullcoat.  This will take away the 'toy' train look of your layout.  If you don't have any Testor's Dullcoat you can use any Matte Finish spray to get the same results.  Just a simple spray to each side and let dry.  This can be done to any plastic kits also.

A favorite animated film of mine is "The Man Who Planted Trees".  In it, a man spends a lifetime planting trees, and in different ways, affecting thousands [ ... ]

This is a test of some photos I took with my iPad2. It's all z-scale stuff - code 40 ME unweathered rail with z- and n-scale PCB ties from handlaidtrack.com. [ ... ]

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, [ ... ]