Good morning from sunny and warm Northeast Ohio! Got a couple of models done this week. First, the Moloco RBL that I have been working on the past couple of weeks, painted with Scalecoat II Reefer Yellow and Black Paints, then lettered with Prime Mover Decals. The EL leased 20 of these PC&F RBL to service a General Foods Facility on the railroad. All markings were from North American Leasing with only a Large EL to show the lessor's name. Next an Intermountain ACF 4650 CF Covered Hopper kit, painted with Scalecoat II UP Covered Hopper Gray paint and lettered with Islington Station Products decals. Farmland was a large COOP of elevators in the midwest that purchased their own cars and many companies, but due to debt problems in the 2000's eventually sold everything off. After painting the DT&I Coal Hopper last week I took it and its brothers to the club and ran them behind a pair of GP40-2's. Have a happy Memorial Day Weekend! Rick Jesionowski
Very special. A nice tribute to those who defend us. I'm with the others. It took several seconds for my brain to register that this wasn't a 1:1 scale train. That scene is incredibly realistic. You're really good at making such scenes, and photographing them in such a way that it's hard to tell if it's a model or the real deal. Very, very cool!
Thanks all for the nice remarks. I have been experimenting with photo focus stacking software this past week. The photo above is a merged stack of ~10 images (20-second exposures), taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T7i. I used a remote to activate the shutter to keep the camera (on a tripod) still. The processing was done with Helicon Focus 8.2.2 software, using the "depth map" method/option. I used Gimp Software to blur the seam in the backdrop which appears as a light-dark transition above the trees, but no other touchups. For this one, I tried some lighting adjustments to give the appearance of a more sunny day, using a spotlight at a distance (work light). It turned out looking like a sunrise. The photo is on my "Brush Creek Diorama" that represents a scene on the Frisco's Parsons Subdivision in SE Kansas.
It's get-away Friday at the station before the Memorial Day weekend. Remembering those who have given so much for the country.
A lot of amateur - and pro - astronomers use that method to photograph objects in the sky (planets, galaxies, etc) by making a lot of short exposures and then stacking them up to increase the detail and the brightness. People with relatively small telescopes are now able to make images of, for example, Mars with details that rival the pros with the big guns. Even cooler!
Got some work done on BNSF Bay View. The 3D printed ends are painted and the modern tube-style diaphragms are installed. This totally changes the look of the car. Santa Fe modified the ends of these cars in the late 80's when they redid a lot of the business fleet. HEP was added and all the cars got built-in red tail lights. The ends lost their polished stainless steel finish for plain painted grey metal. I used ESU DCC light strips for this model; those are my go-to for any passenger car lighting installation. There are two strips in this car, one for the dome and another for the lower level. The strip has provisions for one set of tail lamps, but since I used two strips oriented in opposite directions, there are directional tail lamps on both ends of the car. For single-level cars, they give you the option of removing the last LED on the strip and using it as a 'cab light' (if you are installing it in a cab car or multiple-unit). That's my workaround for getting two sets of tail lamps on one ESU strip. The three vertical posts on the edge of the roof support a railing. I haven't added that piece yet; I'm still waiting for paint to dry. There is also a satellite dome on the vestibule end that I will design and 3D print, but for the most part the car is sealed up and complete.
Well, they were going to cook out for Memorial Day weekend, till they noticed the Window fell out, and picnic tables, but no grill Also, no people You just can't find good builders theses days.
Thanks for all the nice comments on my models, have enjoyed all the pictures posted this weekend by everybody. As it is Memorial Day, thought I would post a picture of my favorite Bi-Centennial Engine from 1976 and remember those that have fallen in the service of our country. Rick Jesionowski
