I Fell and Hit My Head
…and so I’m producing my first-ever craftsman structure kit. The kit is in the pre-production phase, but the design is finalized. I’ll be posting some photos on my website in mid summer.
The kit will be released in October…stay tuned!
VOLUME #1 - ISSUE #9
|
|
 |
Welcome to my newsletter for Spring 2008! In each issue you'll find helpful information designed for model railroaders who build and collect craftsman structure kits. I'll try to keep you up to date on the latest kit releases, availability, tips, tricks and techniques. |
Welcome To Spring...
…although it doesn’t seem like it around these parts. Winter has a way of settling in for the long haul in New England. We haven’t had a lot of snow in the Boston area this year, but we’ve had plenty of rainy, cold days.
I hope you made the most out of the season to get some work done on your layout, or wrap up some projects that had been collecting dust. I did. I spent a good deal of my time in the basement, working on my model railroad. I’m pleased to report that I got quite a bit accomplished. I laid all the track in one of the yards, and roughed in quite a bit of hilly scenery. I’ll be hosting an open house in a week. It’s amazing how the threat of visitors can motivate you to get to work!
The layout was only one of the many things that kept my attention over the last few months. There are several new things t hat I’ll be telling you about in this newsletter; among them: preparation for CSS08, a new Internet-based Model Railroad Forum, Three new DVD’s in production, my recent trip to Florida, my first craftsman structure kit, The Scotty Mason Show celebrates it’s first anniversary, and an offer for new and returning clients.
|
|
|
New Model Railroad Forum Geared Toward Modelers and Manufacturers
Because we have nothing else going on, Jimmy Deignan has established a new Internet-based model railroad forum entitled, “Model Railroad Forums”. You can sign up here: www.mrrforums.com
Model Railroad Forums was designed as a way to bring modelers and manufacturers together without forcing manufacturers to pay to promote their products. We understand that 80-percent of the manufacturers are one-person businesses, and in a tough economy, we must do everything we can to keep these folks in business. Not allowing them to promote their products, or asking ridiculous prices for advertising that reaches a small percentage of buyers isn’t the way to help.
Among the forum topics you’ll find is “Dave Frary’s Scenery Corner”. Dave will attempt to answer all your scenery questions while demonstrating many of the techniques that have made him one of the best-known model railroaders in the world.
Model Railroad Forums is in the process of being tweaked, and will be fully operational in the next few weeks. You don’t have to wait though. Come in and sign up, and enjoy the company of some great modelers.
I’ve made some progress on the layout despite 900 other things that tug at me on a daily basis. A scheduled open house for April 5 th has propelled me to get my fanny downstairs so that folks don’t have to ogle over the Plywood Pacific.
Most notably, I have roughed in about 20 linear feet of scenery along one back wall. My goal was to get all the scenery finished in the Proctor area before the open house. That failed miserably. I just ran out of time. The good news is that at least I’ve been working down there. That should be good for something right?
Another project that got tackled was finishing the trackwork in the Bellow’s Falls Yard. Well, it’s almost done. I’m waiting for a crossing that’s on backorder, but otherwise, it’s done.
So may plan for the rest of the week is clear cut. I need to give the basement a thorough cleaning, and while I’m at it, the same for the garage. Now that the Direct Buy Layout is gone, I can get all the associated building and scenery materials out of there, and put away.
The more I work on the layout, the more I want to work on the layout. The last few weeks have been a lot of fun, and I’ve made a lot of accomplishments. I’m going to use this as motivation to keep working. Maybe by the next open house, Proctor will be finished!
|
|
Kit Review – South River Modelworks’ “Kendalls”
The latest limited edition craftsman structure kit from South River Modelworks is called “Kendalls”. “Kendalls” is based on a mill that manufactured boilers that was located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Like many of the recent South River kits, “Kendalls” features a main mill attached to a retail store. The third building in the kit is a rectangular-shape foundry.
The main mill and the foundry are cast from resin, while the store is laser cut clapboard siding. The store has an ornate two-story porch that adds a lot of character to the structure, an the main mill is a combination of brick and random stone, and looks like a typical New England industry in the early 20 th century.
The instructions, materials and packaging follow the traditional South River practice. You get a big red box filled with parts and pieces, and a 105-page instruction book…perhaps the largest South River has ever written. The instructions cover everything a builder will need to know, and then some. It also covers scenery considerations, as well as alternatives to citing the structures. The book alone may be worth the price of the kit.
I’m about halfway done with the kit, but have not encountered any issues in regards to building the structures in conjunction with the instructions. Everything has gone together as advertised. Two things that South River has integrated are worth mentioning. Laser cut, pre-glued slate shingles replace the individual strips that have been a staple of South River kits for over a decade. This speeds up an incredibly tedious process. The shingles are made from the same material as the individual strips were.
This year, South River included a cast resin one-piece slate roof for the foundry. The detail on this roof is incredible. It’s is impossible to detect that this is a cast piece, and not individually shingled.
As large and sprawling as this kit is, the instructions and the high quality of the materials are such that a modeler with limited experience in craftsman structure building should get great results. The average modeler can expect to spend around 100 hours building it. I anticipate being finished in another four or five days.
This kit is sold out, but a limited quantity is available at www.craftsmankits.com. The price on the box is $310.00. Prices increased this year due to a substantial increase in raw materials and fuel.
Special Offer From SCOTTYMASON.COM
If you are a valued customer and are looking to bring your collection of Scotty Mason DVD’s up to date, or you are looking for a good reason to start your DVD collection, here’s a little incentive.
From now until April 15 th, all existing Scotty Mason DVD’s will be postage-free. Order any existing DVD from my website, pay online, and I will immediately refund you the postage by the same online system by which you paid. This offer is good for domestic and international orders, regardless of the number of DVD’s you buy.
-
Building Craftsman Structure Kits, Volume 1 $29.95 Postage Free
-
Building Craftsman Structure Kits, Volume 2 $29.95 Postage Free
-
Building Craftsman Structure Kits, Volume 3 $29.95 Postage Free
-
Weathering Freight Cars, Volume 1 $29.95 Postage Free
-
Weathering Freight Cars, Volume 2 $29.95 Postage Free
-
Dick Elwell’s Hoosac Valley Lines Two DVD set $49.95 Postage Free
This offer does not extend to any unreleased DVD’s. I will not be accepting orders on any new products until mid-April. Stay tuned for the release date announcement .
With three new DVD’s coming out this spring, now is a great time to get caught up. Order now! This offer expires on April 15 th. |
The Scotty Mason Show Celebrates its First Anniversary
The April Scotty Mason Internet Podcast Show will mark the one-year anniversary of this groundbreaking production. I think the four of us have learned quite a bit about producing an Internet radio show. Each Podcast has improved, and we’ve benefited from the time we’ve invested.
In the past 12 months, Dave, Doug, Jimmy and I have interviewed many model railroad luminaries including George Sellios, John Olson, Bob Hayden and Tony Koester. We have a list of interviewees that will carry us through the next few years!
Perhaps the biggest lesson we learned is that trying to run four microphones through a patch board and then into a computer doesn’t work very well. Consequently, we had to re-record our “supposedly” live CSS07 Podcast. This year, we’ll get it right!
We have 17,000 downloads of The Scotty Mason Show each month, and have reached as high as page four of the I-Tunes Podcast Search Engine. Have you listened? The show can be accessed through its own website: www.modelrailroadpodcast.com or www.thescottymasonshow.com or through my website. You can also subscribe to it for FREE through the I-Tunes Store: http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/. Just click on the “Podcast” link and type in “The Scotty Mason Show”. By subscribing, the Podcast will automatically download to your computer each month.
A Few Limited Edition Show Kits From CSS 07’ Are Available
The HO Scale limited edition craftsman kit is a two-structure kit named after the 2007 show’s honorees, and first inductees into the Craftsman Structure Hall of Fame, Dave Frary and George Sellios.
CSS08 is Taking Shape
Plans for the second annual Craftsman Structure Show are being finalized. The Show will take place November 13 th through the 15 th. This year we have added a third day, and George Sellios has graciously offered to host an open house on Wednesday, November 12th.
By adding a third day to the Show, we were able to add clinics, provide more time for lunch and dinner, and a few minutes between clinics. We’ve also enlarged the Dealer/Manufacturer Show floor space to accommodate several new manufacturers this year.
Some very well known personalities will be joining us for the first time this year to present clinics. Model railroad author and photographer Lou Sassi will present two clinics, and model railroad legend Tony Koester will share some of his thoughts on the integration of structures on our model railroad.
Other clinicians include: Dave Frary, Bob Van Gelder, Brett Gallant, Dave Revelia, Brian Nolan, Mike Tylick, Doug Foscale, Jimmy Deignan, Bob Mitchell, Russ Greene, Dick Elwell, and Scott Mason. For a tentative clinic schedule, please refer to the CSS website: www.css08.com
This year, we’ll not only have a return of the Manufacturer’s Panel Discussion, but we’ll also have a Builder’s Panel Discussion as well, and this year, we promise we’ve worked the kinks out of the live Podcast!
We’re expecting a crowded field of entrants for the contests too. If last year was any indication (over 50 entries), we might even fill two rooms this year.
Brian Nolan and Dave Revelia have graciously agreed to conduct their on-going clinics for CSS08, but will be bringing many examples of their modeling artistry for all of us to enjoy.
We’ll also be inducting five new members into the Craftsman Structure Hall of Fame as we conclude CSS08 with the annual Awards Dinner.
Make plans now to join us. The Holiday Inn in Mansfield, MA is filling up quickly and will sell out soon. The Ballroom can accommodate 300 patrons for the Awards Dinner, and we’ve already got well over 100 sign-ups. Don’t miss out. Register today at www.css08.com
HOTEL ROOMS ARE GOING FAST! LESS THEN 25 ROOMS REMAIN AT OUR SPECIAL RATE!
The Show is sponsored by Fos Scale Limited, craftsmankits.com, and scottymason.com. For more details concerning the show, please go to the Show website: www.css08.com for all the information and registration forms. We look forward to seeing you in November!
My Trip to Florida… Delivering the Direct Buy Layout, and Shooting Three New DVD’s
The weather wasn’t all that great, but by any other measure the trip was a complete success.
On March 7 th, my buddy, Dave Nelson and I packed up the Direct Buy switching layout into a 16-foot Penske Truck, and headed to West Palm Beach, FL. For the better part of two days, we drove through some of the worst rain and wind I have ever seen. We made it to Florence, SC the first night, and were rewarded for our efforts by getting to see a very long freight train pass by the motel.
We arrived at the Direct Buy Store in West Palm Beach on Sunday morning, with some help from the staff at the store, carried the layout in, and got it set up. My friend Mark Hooper stopped by to coordinate the installation of the DCC with the client. Everyone seemed pleased with out efforts.
I spent part of Monday on the beach, and stayed with Bob Leonard on Monday night where we worked on an outline for a future DVD. Tuesday put me back in the car for a long ride across the state to Naples where I met up with Dick Elwell for a round a golf and a steak dinner.
I was back to work on Wednesday though. After making my way north to the Tampa area, I met at Dave Revelia’s house, and got set up to shoot my new DVD’s. The first one we shot will be entitled, “Painting Figures with Dave Revelia,” and will be released sometime in the summer. We also shot, “Painting and Weathering Detail Castings with Dave Revelia” which will be released in late April or early May.
Brian Nolan came into town on Friday afternoon, and we shot, “Building Craftsman Structures, Volume 4 with Brian Nolan” on Saturday and Sunday. That DVD will also be out in late April or early May. We also shot a couple of bonus features that we’ll tack on to two of the DVD’s.
I was able to get an earlier flight home, and walked in my door about midnight Sunday night. It was a long, but productive trip. Next week we begin editing the stuff we shot. I’ll keep everyone posted as to the exact release dates as they become clearer.
Want to submit a column or article? email Scott.
ADVERTISE IN SCOTT'S NEWSLETTER & REACH 4000+ SUBSCRIBERS - ARE THEY YOUR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS?
Published almost monthly by Scott Mason ©www.scottymason.com - EMAIL SCOTT - Visit www.scottymason.com Volume 1 Issue 8 October 2007
|
