It’s been 75 days since my last post.  That’s 2-1/2 months!  In that time I got new job at the air base–and have been working well over 50 hours a week—and wrote two articles for another guy’s blog, and spent ten days away in Slovenia and another week hiking in Austria.  And I have managed to dodge our friend COVID.  It’s been a very busy 75 days. Back on Memorial Day, my wife led the family on an awesome hike along a cliff in the Moselle River Valley, about 30 miles south of Koblenz.  It was the best hike I’ve … Continue reading No. 144: 75 Days

I hope you have all been able to keep safe through all the COVID mess.  When it all kicked off, I said to my wife “There will be a lot of blessings in this.”  For my family and I, the blessings have been 1) A LOT of close family time, and 2) Lots of work, and almost no opportunity to spend money–which has allowed us to pay off nearly our bills. I’ve also had an opportunity to get some modeling done.  I set two priorities in March and April; first was finishing layout planning–which I’ll cover in another post–and second … Continue reading No. 143: Freight Car Modeling, May, 2020

Several months ago my friend from Florida, Tom Christianson, sent some freight car photos to me by way of Justin May.  Tom does some really terrific modeling and I asked if I could use the photos in a blog post.  I think you’ll agree that Tom’s work is really top-shelf. Tom wrote: There are a lot of influences on my modeling.  I started prototype modeling about 25 years ago and now model the 1959-1963 years.  I grew up in Largo, Florida.  The ACL ran by my kindergarten, the SAL ran by my elementary school playground, and the ACL/SCL ran by … Continue reading No. 142: Models by Tom Christianson

In December I sold a few models to raise money to buy things for a new layout.  During that time I met online a fellow modeler named Eric Reinert.  Eric asked me if I could finish a few models for him, and sent me a box models all the way from Illinois for some work and weathering.  Here are three of the six cars Eric sent. First is a completed Tichy NYC rebuilt box car.  Check out the real-life weathering!  The build is good but the model needs a little help.  I’m going to re-detail this car to a minor … Continue reading No. 139: Freight Car Modeling, Feb, 2020, Part 2

Over President’s Day weekend my wife and one of my daughters and I took a long day trip to the famous city of Colmar, in the Alsace region of France.  Colmar is famous for a lot of reasons; among them, according to tourist sites, is picturesque half-timbered houses, romantic canals, flower-laden windowsills, a labyrinth of cobblestone lanes and delicious food.   They weren’t kidding.  Colmar is amazing.  Scenes like this are around every corner.  It’s also the capital of Alsatian Wine Country and we’ve resolved to go back this summer for a weekend of wine and cheese and touring.  And … Continue reading No. 138: Freight Car Modeling, Feb 2020, Part 1