A**terisks mine.
I just spent 5 hours painting and repainting half cleaned up grease stains–on the inside of an engine house–that can only be seen through the doors–from 8 feet away–if you lean two feet into the layout. This is for my local club and will be placed in a unlit corner reachable only by climbing across the the track on platfoms I made to do just that.
Click to enlarge: http://www.vitaconnect.com/Photos/EngineHouseFloor01.jpg
Chip,
I think your “terminal”. I made and stained a grooved wooden floor out of 1/16" thick basswood for the inside of my American Model Builder’s “Dill’s Market” that can’t even be seen because I glued the roof onto the top. I hope to be able to illuminate the inside of the market at some point. But…even then, it really won’t get noticed, except maybe through the two front windows. I think my wife has already called Hospice…
Tom
I bought my cab forward, and played catch with the kids. Less stress, and just as fun. Still haven’t finished benchwork, but we had fun running the trains.
At least you got in the practice for something that will show later Chip.
Tom, got a call from the hospice, they are looking for you. Should be ok, they called in CA for you. [8D]
Tim
Oh yes. I even put pictures on the walls in the back office in the round house. I would be much further ahead if I didn’t care about details and just bought kits instead of scratch building stuff or modifing kits. But once I finished something, I tend to loose intrest in it eventhough I enjoy looking at my work. That’s why building a model railroad layout is perfect for me. It’s never finished so I’ll never loose intrest.
Adding detail is half the fun if you ask me, great job.
Chip,
Have you thought about keeping the roof section removable?
Tom
Nice work - I’d second Tom’s suggestion of making the roof removable (it’ll help with any derailments as well as keeping the work visible). One idea I have seen used is to build an overall roof, but only put in the roof supports, girders, etc. - popular with large passenger stations as you can have the full roof but your model work is still visible.
Or, depending on what the original roof is like, either put up only half of the roof and leave the rest open, or, put up half of the roof then replace the rest with transparent styrene or plexiglax so you can see inside. Hmmmmm…
Tom
Not at all. Another variation on the removabe roof that I’ve seen which permits you to show off the interior detailing efforts is a half roof built of clear plastic on the side facing the viewers and a “prototypically correct” roof for the other half. If you did this you would be assured, remote location on the layout or no, that plenty of people would be able to see and enjoy your modeling efforts. You could enhance the effect even further if you put in prototype overhead lighting. The visual attraction of such a display cannot be denied.
I always find discussions concerning level of detailing interesting. What I also find interesting is just how observant the casual observer is with respect to efforts to this end. Many years ago I belonged to a group of modelers who set up train displays at the local malls during the Christmas season. At the time one of the members had spent an incredible amount of effort superdetailing a Walthers Pullman kit. He had built a complete interior, fully detailed with respect to mirrors, lights, people, etc., and he had recieved the usual ration of good natured kidding concerning his efforts and how no one would really pay attention to what he had done.
When the weekend for running the trains arrived he showed up with his Pullman and made it part of a passenger consist. The trains began to roll and within about 10 minutes people were almost 3 deep at the railing and everyone was pointing to his car as it rolled past and all were commenting on the detail. The reason for the interest soon became apparent - he had placed a model of a naked woman so that she was just exiting the shower in one of the staterooms. She was only visible from a very narrow angle and only for an instant - but it didn’t matter, his car, or rather perhaps just his one figure, was the hit of the show and as far as he was concerned the question of whether or not he had put in too much effort detailing his car had be answered in his favor - not too much at all!
Chip, I am too tired to look for the right thread about your motor.
Went to local hobby shop. HO guys says no more motors in stock. He is not very friendly so I didn’t ask why. Sorry. Good luck elsewhere.
Tim
when Josef von Sternberg was directing a 1935 movie called “The Scarlet Empress” about Catherine the Great of Russia, one of the producers hit the roof because Sternberg had ordered $6,000 dollars worth of silk underwear for the extras portraying Catherine’s Palace Guards. “Nobody’s going to see the darned underwear,” the Producer muttered. “Yes,” Sternberg retorted, “but those extras will FEEL like real Palace Guards!” And they did. And that detailed floor in the enginehouse is going to make everyone around there FEEL like it’s a real engine house, not just a beautifully detailed model. Anal-retentive? Not in MY book, friend! Good work!
Tom
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A few grease stains should just be the start of it, SpaceMouse. [:D] That enginehouse needs a little clutter also…[:p][:D]
Perhaps something like this?..
Your just starting! It will get worse but to worry as there is help available. Or so they tell me
Fergie
Thanks. You’ve helped me understand that a*** retentiveness is a spectrum and not a box.
Oh, it gets worse. Once the detailing bug bites, you find yourself doing things like adding bits of metal shavings under a lathe in the machine shop…
That is just WAY TOO COOL, Casey! I browsed your CM&S lin\k. You truly are indeed a sick man…
Tom
And after adding all the tools and clutter, then you could do lighted and detailed pits
Actually, wouldn’t old, used, automobile oil just do the trick for creating stains in the engine houlse. (Saves having to reinvent the wheel.) Besides, it both looks AND smells like the real thing…[:)]
Tom
I suppose it might, if you’re into “Smell-O-Rama Modeling.” 
But for oil stains I like to use just a few drops of plain old India ink, as I did under the oil tank in the photos below. And sometimes I use just black chalk dust powdered and rubbed in. That also makes for some fairly nice stains.
Mike,
What are you using for the corragated, tin roof? I like the patch work and the curled edges.
Tom