hi, im fairly new to the modeling trains community, its really hard to devote myself to this hobby especially when we dont have any stores here in the philippines. Is there anyone else here in this forum residing in the philippines who can help me? Also, I plan to go to kuala lumpur next month, anyone here know any train shops there? also, I bumped into a site that lets you print out structures for free although it was quite limited and not the setting I was going for, do you guys know any other sites I can download from?for free of course. thanks in advance guys. oh by the way I own a minitrix starter set N scale, though the steam engine broke, the connection was cut apparently. Right now Im running with an atlas chessie system diesel engine with kato, roadhouse and minitrix bocxcars, oilers, passengercars, caboose etc. Started also with a diorama, nothing special and realistic though since im limited with materials, just used the usual felt paper and paper mache for the tunnels. anyway hoping for some replies for help, thanks again!
Welcome to the forum! I’m afraid I can’t help you with your questions. I didn’t want your first post to make it to page 2 without a hello. That wouldn’t be very friendly of us, now would it? As far as structures go, finding exactly what you want for free may be difficult.
http://www.scalescenes.com/ Here is a company that has a couple free items.
Part of the hobby of model railroading is the art of looking in unconventional places for supplies. I’m sure that somewhere in the Plllipenes there’s got to be a craft supplies store,(for paints), hardware stores, (glues and plaster), flower shops (fro dried flowers and other vegitation), etc. Get creative about where to look.
You’re not going to be able to do everything for free in this hobby. Get away from paper mache as it can get moldy in your type of climate. You can use white wood glue (thinned 50/50 with water) and paper strips (newspaper or paper towels) as cover for webbing made from cardboard strips. Find a lumber yard that’ll be willing to give you some sawdust that you can color with fabric dye, you have to use your imagination. For homemade ground foam some folks here use pillow or other types of foam and grind it up in a blender and then color it with a little paint, (you can post an inquiry about the process on this forum).
Then there’s internet hobby shops, lots of them. Good Luck and welcome.
thanks for your input guys, yup we have a lot of crafts store and hardware stores but Im really not that creative when it comes to modifying buildings, structures, thats why Im looking for ready made plastic structures as much as possible hehehe, landscaping is no problem though except I havent had the time to make the miniature trees, due to my hectic hospital schedule. The sawdust was an excellent idea!!! ill be going to the construction area right by my street tomorrow and ask the carpenters if they can spare me some. I know this hobby takes dedication, time, creativity, and of course money and Im willing to learn, thanks again guys!!
Hey, you’re willing to get out and TRY something… which is better than a lot of newbies on here.
I think the Internet is going to be your best friend for a while. Are you in the military, or do you just live in the Philippines? If you’re in the military, most places will ship to FPO / APO addresses for not much more than CONUS. If not, well, prepare to spend half of your available budget in shipping charges and wait forever for stuff to arrive.
Atlas, Model Power, and Walthers all make decent, fairly inexpensive plastic kits. LifeLike (actually now a division of Walthers), IHC (International Hobby Corp) and Bachmann make kits too, but they tend to be more toy-like than the others (although I have a Bachmann coaling tower which looked like garbage out of the box, but painted and weathered it actually looks pretty good). Woodland Scenics and Scenic Express are good sources of scenery supplies.
Walthers (www.walthers.com) is the largest distributor of model railroading supplies in North America. Their website can give you lots of great ideas on what’s out there. Ordering from them can get pricey, because you pay retail plus shipping.
I don’t really know much about the Philippines. Is there a soft wood, comparable to balsa or basswood, which is readily available there? You’d be amazed at what you can build with that stuff after just a little practice.
Don’t worry too much about getting it right the first time. Be willing to experiment and do over until you get it up to your standards.
Welcome to the hobby!
thanks!!, yup I heard about walthers through the model railroader magazine, and you’re correct about the shipping prices, thats why I would rather buy directly from a store, unfortunately we dont have stores like that here, the nearest one would probably be in hong kong(thats where I bought my set). Im not that familiar with soft wood, sorry, but im sure all types of wood would be available here. Im also hoping to get to weather-look the plastic structures just as what you did, got to read about it in the magazine, thats my problem though, I dont have the plastic structures yet hehehe I have to be contented with printouts for the meantime.And nope, im not in the military, but I do play airsoft hehehe, this is my main hobby; model trains though was my childhood interest eversince.
I have a question, is it ok to lay my tracks on pure sand? I see alot of pictures in the magazine using really small pebbles, but since Im using N scale, is it safe to use sand? or might it be detrimental for the engine when it passes by?thanks for your reply
Yikes! Pure sand… boy, I don’t know. You’re right, we do use sand and gravel liberally on our layouts, but anything that my locos are going to go near is cemented in place with about a 25% solution of matte medium (that is, one part matte medium to 3 parts water, with a drop of dishwashing detergent to break the surface tension). Some people will tell you that everyday white glue works better, and it’s certainly cheaper. I have trouble with glue producing an unwanted sheen when I get too heavy-handed with it.
More significantly, though, I think you’d have trouble laying level track if you used sand. You need a firm roadbed under your trains to ensure reliable operation. The ballast is then laid in a thin layer over the roadbed so that it LOOKS like the ties are supported by it. Again, the ballast is locked in place with diluted matte medium / glue.
thanks for the headsup, but what I meant was using the sand as the ‘ballast’, not the roadbed itself of course hehehe, sorry for the misunderstanding. But thanks for enlightening me concerning matte medium thats what I was trying to ask, just didnt know what it was called, thanks again!!!
So you’re asking if you can use regular old sand as ballast? Absolutely. Just dye it a more realistic color (even if you want a “buff” color, you’d want to get rid of any shiny specks of silica in it). Lock it down with glue / matte medium and you’re all set.
I have no problem finding model shops in Southern California, but I am averse to spending big bucks for things I can make for free. Also, I am more into model-building and scenery than running trains. (I hope that doesn’t offend anyone.)
I use paper models as place-holders for scratch-built or kit-bashed buildings. I make scenery from common items found around the house or purchased in craft stores or toy stores.
I am constantly surprised by the wealth of free information I have found on the internet over the past 10 years or so. Here are a few useful links. Hope this helps.
Links to free paper models. Some might have to be re-scaled for your size.
http://www.thortrains.net/armymen/freecomsa.html (also lots of good tips)
http://members.aol.com/CWIOKSTER/paper/links.html
http://www.icebergbouwplaten.nl/indexe.html
http://personal.lig.bellsouth.net/n/8/n8hfi/card-faq/freeb.html
http://www.btcomm.com/trains/resource/index.htm
New Railway Modellers, the model railway website dedicated to beginners, with basic and advanced model railway information on all aspects of the model railway Hobby. http://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/
RAILmodeling.com - Everything about model railroading. Our modeling resource section offers lots of articles, tips & tricks on layout design.
http://www.nmra.org/beginner/consist.html - NMRA Beginner Page Consist
My Model Railroad Question - MyMRQ.com Free for everybody. Share your knowledge with others. Write an article on a subject you have experienced. If an article helps you, leave an article for someone else. I found some useful articles here on building trees using rope, furnace filters, and stranded wire.)
Gene Bohot, Southern California
One more note on the sand. If you’re going to use “free” sand – that is, borrow it straight from nature, rather than in a bag at the hardware store – make sure you spread it on a cookie tray and bake it at about 225 for an hour or so to kill anything that might be living in it.
If you are using natural materials like sand, etc, as well as baking it, as above, you should also get a magnet and go over it to make sure there aren’t any bits of metal to get into your equipment.
Good luck,
thanks guys, ill be taking everything into consideration; thanks also for the links, im checking it out right now hehehe
Good luck! Hop on back after a while and tell us how you’re making out. Photos – even amateurish ones (heck look at some of the ones I’ve posted) – are always appreciated.
[#welcome]
Just an addition to the NATURAL SAND. If you are using sand from the beach on the ocean, make sure that you rinse it VERY WELL with fresh water to get all traces of salt out of it. Salty sand + moisture/humidity + metal parts = RUST, which is not particularly helpfull in our small “N” Scale motors and rolling stock. For that matter, it’s not helpfull in any scale.
Good luck in your endeavours.
Blue Flamer.
Folks:
I can vouch for the excellent quality of their brickpaper. While it is not free - it costs about $4 USD - this cost is very small when you consider that you can print out as many copies as you want.