Saturday, March 8, 2014
The man with the Giraffe cars is coming to the WMRC's open house!
His layouts became more and more kid friendly after one open house, when club member John Longhurst asked him to watch is son while he made the rounds at the show. The kid didn't have anything to do, so Paul invited him to blow the whistle on one of his trains. The next thing he knew, he had a lineup of about a dozen kids waiting to do the same!
Paul's layout includes four operating dump cars that the kids can operate. It is the only layout in the show that is interactive. This surprises most of the parents, who often shoo away their children when they see them work the dump cars. Paul aways has to explain to the parents that operating the dump cars is not only allowed, but encouraged! (But for safety reasons, Paul is the only one allowed to run the trains)
The giraffe cars have always been a hit with children and adults alike. Paul started out with one, but through the years his long necked menagerie has grown to six cars! He's just added a car with a bobbing lion's head (but he keeps that lion at a safe distance from the giraffes).
The WMRC's open house will be held on Saturday, March 15 and Sunday, March16 at Westworth United Church, 1750 Grosvenor Avenue. Times are from 11:00AM to 4:00 PM on Saturday, and from 1:00PM to 5:00 PM on Sunday. Admission is by donation. A portion of the proceeds from the show will go to support St.Amant.
Friday, March 7, 2014
A preview of a Kildonan Short Lines module premiering at the WMRC's open house
The No.1 Northern Division will also be displaying their modular railway at the show. There will be displays of the submissions for the model and photo contests, and "how-to" clinics about model railroading. We'll also have a canteen serving refreshments. Of course, the man with the giraffe cars will be there with his portable Lionel layout. Kids (and adults) are always welcome to operate the dump cars on his layout!
The WMRC open house will be held at Westworth United Church, 1750 Grosvenor Avenue. The hours are from 11:00AM to 4:00PM on Saturday, March 15, and from 1:00PM to 5:00PM on Sunday. March 16. The entrance for the show will be at the side door on the west side of the church, but access for the handicapped (including an elevator) is available through the front door.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Kildonan Short Lines modular group debuts at Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's open house
Our good friends from the No. 1 Northern Division will also have its modular layout operating at the show. When they displayed at last year's Manitoba Mega Train Show, they had the largest layout in the building!
Of course, the man with the giraffe cars (also known as blog editor Paul Ullrich) will have his portable Lionel layout up and running at the show. Paul's layout is definitely hands on! The kids (and the adults) are always welcome to come over to the layout and play with all of the operating dump cars.
There will also be displays of the club's model and photo contests, some "how to" clinics about model railroading, a canteen serving refreshments, old train magazines for sale and a few more surprises!
The hours are from 11am to 4pm on Saturday, and from 1pm to 5pm on Sunday. Please note that the entrance for the show is on the west side of the church, although the main entrance of the church and the elevator will still be accessible for our handicapped visitors.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Ten days to go before the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club's open house!
The WMRC blog site will be going full tilt for the next ten days. We will be posting every day, and every post will feature something exciting and unique about our upcoming show.
Our next meeting is on Friday, March 14, at 7:30 PM at Westworth United Church. But there will be no program, as we'll be setting up for the show, which starts the next day. However, we will need volunteers to help with the set up and to assist those with displays that need to be brought down into the gym. So please come out to the meeting and lend a hand!
We'll also have a sign-up sheet for those who can help at the admissions table when the show is open to the public. We'll also have a WMRC modelling table. If anyone would like to show the public their modelling skills, the sign-up sheets for the modelling will be at the head table during the meeting.
We're accepting submissions for the model and the photo contests at the meeting on Friday night only at the meeting. Submissions will NOT be accepted on Saturday morning. If you were awarded trophies last year, please return them on Friday night as well.
During the show, the entrance will not be through the main door of the church, but through the side door on the west side of the building. However, the main entrance and the elevator to the basement will still be available for the handicapped.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Modelling trees with Ron Einarson
By Ron Einarson
When it came to creating trees for my layout I turned to my old friend the Sedum bush. I have used it to make trees for over 30 years and I am still in awe of how great they look using little or no special techniques or skills. In the fall I harvest the branches. I cut the stems long so I can tie a bundle together and hang them from the garage rafter. They hang there over the winter and by spring they are ready to go. I cut the stems shorter and then gather four to six branches together. I usually make them from 3" to 6" in height to give me a good variety for planting. Once I have the branches, I wrap them with some floral wrap I bought at a craft store. I use masking tape when I run out of the floral tape.
I take a 2� piece of wire, coat the end of it with glue and stick it up the middle of the trunk. It will be used for mounting the finished tree. Once the trunk is to the size I like, I take out LePage's Ready to Use patching compound and apply it in layers so it dries evenly. I used to mix plaster, but it was messy and I never seemed to get the right consistency.Sometimes I didn't mix it enough and the mixture would dry flaky. Most of it would crumble off, or half of it would and I'd have to redo the process. For $5 I get the ready to go stuff and it goes on like a dream! It stays put and all dries together at the same time, creating a very nice trunk.
I also learned to have something to stick the tree in while the plaster sets. What better way to use old pieces of styrofoam than to cut it into blocks and use them to secure the tree. That�s why I put the wire in at the beginning! Clever, eh!
After the plaster sets (I usually don�t get back to them for at least a week or two, or the next year) I am ready to make some trees. I get out a small rasp file and score the trunk to give it some definition. Doing this makes a big mess of plaster dust - do this while outside if you want to live to finish your model railroad!
After my masterpiece meets my approval I paint it. I spray the foliage with a can of cheap green spray paint. Then I sprinkle on a fine ground foam / sawdust mixture, which I dye green with Rit dye. Sprinkling the trees with this mixture often takes two or three applications to get the right look.
After each step I spray the tree with �cheap� hair spray, preferably a scent free type (unless you want a nice smelling forest on your layout). When the foliage has dried, I take out the brown paint and paint the trunk. I mix up various shades of brown so I have a good variety to apply. In no time I have myself enough trees to plant a forest! But don�t forget to prepare the forest floor before planting, or you'll have a heck of time doing it after you have planted your trees!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
