VOLUME #1 - ISSUE #3 Scott's Thoughts My First Craftsman Kit Building The Rutland Guest Column Jimmy Deignan This Months TIPS XACTO Knife Blades First Look - FOS Scale Limited's DOD Product Review Kancali.com latex brick road sheets Kit Review FSM's Bartholow Coal Scottymason.com 2007 Springfield Tour & Lunch Subscribe to Scott's Newsletter Scott Mason FOS Scale Limited Fine Scale Miniatures Craftsman Kits Jimmy Deignan South River Modelworks Dave Frary "Mr. Scenery" Railroad-Line Forums VOLUME #1 - ISSUE #1 NOVEMBER 2006 VOLUME #1 - ISSUE #2 DECEMBER 2006

Welcome to my monthly newsletter for JANUARY 2007! 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.  Moderate This! File this one under “sometimes you can't win.”      A moderator of two of the Yahoo groups to which I belong has disallowed a recent post concerning a revision in the “scottymason.com Tour” later this month. He explained that it was a “thinly veiled commercial for my DVD's,” and went on to say that he has received several complaints about my posts from other members.      Damn. I thought I had everyone fooled!      As you are probably aware folks, I produce and sell DVD's! There, I said it. But, this is not my full-time business. I own a company that has nothing to do with our hobby. I produce the DVD's because it's fun; it promotes a part of the hobby that I enjoy most, and hopefully the DVD's provide a service to my fellow modelers. Yes, I am turning a profit.      I explained to this moderator that this tour was free, and that I was taking two days out of my schedule to do this. He didn't care. He said I “should be directing people to my website, and not posting on his Group.” Then he said people had to “slog through advertisements for my DVD's to get to the Tour information.” I told him that the Tour info was in the top right hand corner of the page. Geez. I asked him if he thought the Tour was nothing but a ruse to get people to buy the DVD's, and that it really wouldn't take place. He had no response.      I invited him to attend the Tour, and even offered to pay for his entire trip if the Tour wasn't everything it was advertised to be. He wasn't interested.      Another gentleman, the moderator of the Free-Mo group on Yahoo, has banned me. After posting the original notice of the Tour, he notified me that my post had been denied, and asked, “What does this have to do with Free-Mo?”      I responded with what I thought was an obvious answer. I explained to him that “Free-Mo” (are all Mo's really free?) is part of a larger hobby we call “model railroading,” and as such, he probably has several members who are planning to attend the model railroad show in West Springfield at the end of January. Consequently, some of those people may appreciate the opportunity to tour some of the finest model railroads in the United States for free.      His narrow little mind didn't allow him to make the connection, and he stood firm on his decision despite a few e-mails back and forth.      So, here's what I'm going to do. During the two days of the Tour, the profits from any DVD's that are sold, whether by Tour participants, or online, through the mail, etc… will be donated to a charity to be determined. In fact, I'll even go as far as to say that for as long as I have DVD's, I'll do the same thing each year I have the Tour. I'd post an announcement regarding this to the Groups, but I'm afraid they'd think it was just another blatant attempt at self-promotion.   Building the Rutland Railroad So far, so good folks.      Last month I began this series in an attempt to motivate me to work on my model railroad, and it's working.      I've begun building scenery in the Proctor, VT area. As you can see by the photo below, scenery consists of a tunnel under a large hill. At the base of the hill is a pond/swamp.      I've covered cardboard strips (Micro-Mark) with plaster cloth from Woodland Scenics. I chose this over Styrofoam due to the size of the hill. I felt that using Styrofoam would be exceptionally time consuming as well as excessively messy. What I like about the plaster cloth is that there is very little mess.      The tunnel portal and retaining wall are also from Woodland Scenics. I primed them with auto primer, then painted them with PollyScale Concrete. Then they were weathered with alcohol and India ink.      I painted the track with Modelmaster Light Earth, and painted the rail with Floquil Rail Brown. I ballasted a small portion of track within the tunnel to about one inch outside the portal with Highball Products' Gray Ballast.      Next month I hope to have the hill and pond done. Stay tuned.    X-acto vs. generic knife blades      Myself, and the poor souls that work for me go through a lot of hobby knife blades…about 400 in 2006 alone.      In an effort to save a few pennies (maybe it's the Dave Frary influence) I've tried generic knife blades. Basically, they suck.      Yeah, they're about half the price of a box of X-acto blades, and they're about half as sharp too. There's nothing worse than trying to cut anything with a dull blade, and nothing will screw up a model faster than trying to make a cut with a dull blade.      So I've learned my lesson. By my experimentation, there is no sharper hobby knife blade than the X-acto blades. (Subtle hint to X-acto folks…feel free to send me a case for the plug)      As a habit, I change blades about once every other day, or after about 16 hours of modeling, and although the investment in high-quality blades is more than I'd like to make, the payoff in clean, accurate cuts is well worth it. Submitted by Jim Trunzo      I am Jim Trunzo, and I live in East Wenatchee, WA. I have been a modeler for over 30 years, first building airplanes. I became interested in Model Railroading while in high school, but really didn't act on it until after I completed Military Service. In 1975, while in college, I built an N-scale coffee table layout. As it turns out, with work and family responsibilities that was the last layout I constructed.  I am currently planning a nice layout in a room specifically built for that purpose. Construction will start early next year. Of course I have been buying equipment for this project for a long time, so I have plenty of materials ready to go. Craftsman kits - you bet! I've got a pile.      This will be HO scale. Now, my entry into the HO world began in 1976 with a visit to The Train Barn near Kalamazoo, MI. The owner then, Seth, showed me a Fine Scale Miniatures kit, the Coaling Tower. I was immediately hooked. What detail, and those castings! I plunked down the $36.95 required, a fortune for a college student, and purchased a few bottles of paints, too.      I had a great time building the kit. Here it is, "closet fresh" after thirty years. As you can see, dust and time have taken its toll. However, I'm sure a little work will bring it back.      Scott has said  (in so many words) that building a craftsman kit can be accomplished by anyone. I can tell you that special tools were not required for this kit. My toolbox at the time was: An X-acto knife set purchased at Sears; two pairs of women's tweezers; a small pair of needle nose pliers and cutters; white glue; Walther's Goo; Ambroid cement; 5 minute epoxy; a Zona saw and miter box; finger nail boards for sanding; brushes and paints (solvent-based of course) And that's it. I have added a few tools to my box since then (ya think ????)      So if I can do it, you can too.      My second kit was Quick's Coal by Campbell. However, I can't show it to you as our cat at the time was teething, and the wood appeared to be just the thing for him. He chewed off most of the supports supporting the bunker! Then he managed to push it off the shelf. Such is life ........      Happy Craftsman Modeling, May your shingles be straight and your corners square, Jim

Kancali.com Latex Brick Road Sheets

About 15 years ago, I found a latex product that has a brick pattern embossed on it. It was the right scale for HO brick, and I used the sheet I had to make some wall masters. I didn't know who made it, and was never able to find anyone who did.
     Someone started a thread on the Railroad Line Forum, ( www.railroad-line.com ), and mentioned a brick latex product made for military modelers from Kancali.com. While the product was made to simulate brick roads, I had hopes that it might work for walls too.
     I was wrong. While the Kancali.com product is highly detailed, the brick spacing is too far apart for a realistic brick wall. That's the bad news. The good news is that the product will produce some dandy brick roads.
     I bought two packages which contain three sections of road approximately 8 ½” x 11” each, as well as stone sidewalk materials, manhole covers and some smaller brick sections that could be used between rails for instance.

     The quality of the brick pattern in one package was fine, but the other was filled with little air bubbles which I found too noticeable and annoying. The manufacturer recommends painting the surface with craft paints after a coat of auto primer. I haven't used the product yet, but will in the near future, and will report my results.
     At $14.99, the price seems fair for what you get. I like the idea of having some alternatives to the typical road surfaces on my structure dioramas and on my layout, and this product looks like it may do the trick.

Fine Scale Miniatures' Bartholow Coal
     As the song goes, “People are strange…”
     The release of Bartholow Coal reinforced that point. Many people didn't seem to like it, and many people voiced their displeasure on the various internet forums. Someone even called George Sellios to complain that there isn't enough windows on the structure. George replied that the structure is a coal bin, and did the caller think the coal wanted to look out the windows?

     I think Bartholow Coal is one of the best kit designs George has released in years, and typical of all FSM kits, Bartholow Coal goes together well with no construction issues.
     The kit builds into a four-structure diorama including the main coal bunker, a hoist house, an office and an elevated shed. The elevated shed and the hoist house are cardstock buildings, and the bunker and the office are made from laser cut siding.
     Among the detail castings are the typical barrels and pallets as well as a coal conveyer, doors, chimneys, roof vents and the obligatory pigeons. There is more than enough castings to make a realistic, but not overly cluttered scene.
     I followed George's instructions to the letter. The only glitch I had was that the bents that the coal bunker rest on were about two scale feet too long. It was no big deal to adjust for that, and the added length isn't noticeable. Otherwise, the instructions were logical and well thought out. It took me 60 hours to build the kit, but I work fast. I suspect the average modeler will spend about 80 hours on construction.
     As of this deadline, George still has a few kits left. Act now before your only option to acquiring one is to pay a premium on E-Bay.

Fos Scale Limited's “Department of Docks”

     For years, I have been recommending Fos Scale kits to people with limited experience building craftsman structure kits. The directions are straight-forward, the parts and pieces are easy to identify, and everything goes together the way it should. Best of all, the designs are unique, and most importantly, fun to build.
     Its newest release, “Department of Docks” looks to be another winner.
     “DOD” is based on a structure on the New York City waterfront in the late 19 th century. The design has been modified by adding some “New England-style” architecture. A freight house, a small coffee stand and a supply shed.
     In the box are four laser cut sheets of wood with the walls to build the various buildings, several template cards, and a sheet of cardstock with printed roofs. Also included is the direction book with several photos illustrating each step, a box of white metal detail castings, five bundles of scale stripwood, a sheet of signs, and a bag of plastic windows and doors.
     I'll be building this kit for my Direct Buy Layout Project. I'll have a complete review for the February newsletter.

Ebay eBay eBay - Jimmy Deignan, www.craftsmankits.com

     Blah Blah Blah.
     Mention eBay & a bad deal you got, a questionable seller, or what you perceive as an outrageous auction you came across on any model railroad group or forum & you've got an instant thread that will generate plenty of discussion. Almost everyone has something to say about eBay.
     It could be considered the largest hobby shop in the world, with an average of 50,000 items available at any one time in just the “model RR, trains” aisle alone! New, used, young, or old, it can be found on eBay. A Preiser figure, a prewar Lionel train set, or an original Dave Frary built, completely sceniced, ready to run layout that was featured on the cover of model Railroader magazine.. And it can be an LHS too. I've bought & sold many items locally that I've either picked up or delivered in person. eBay is what you make of it. For me, I've made it my bread & butter.
     I started collecting HO scale craftsman kits in the early 90's. Classifieds, yard sales, or train shows was the only way to find them back then. I planned to someday build a layout in my basement that would become the home for all these kit's I was amassing. I never really gave much thought to the plan. I just kept buying the kits.
     In 1997 I moved into my first house. I finally had a place to organize my collection. I soon realized that I had more structures then I could ever use. My house wasn't big enough for a layout that size. Besides, I wanted to be running trains. I'd built a few kits in the past, & I just didn't enjoy it. So what do you do with a bunch of kits you know you'll never use? eBay!
     I joined the eBay selling revolution in January of 1998. I sold a few Fine Scale Miniatures kits that first week. Wow, that was easy I thought. And it was fun too. A week or so later I found myself at a local train show. A kit I'd sold only weeks before on eBay for $77 could be picked up at the local train show for $40. The light instantly turned on in my empty head. “1054149” – my first eBay ID, was quickly recognized as a fine seller of quality craftsman kits. Over 10,000 eBay transactions later, “zer-oh” – my current eBay user ID (one of many!) - is equally recognized. If you've bought or sold a craftsman kit on Ebay, chances are you know who I am.
     There are very few things I feel confident I know enough about to lecture on. eBay is one. I really do get cocky when it comes to eBay. I'm a self proclaimed know-it-all. After all, I am an eBay Trading Assistant, A certified eBay Education Specialist, a graduate of eBay University (no kidding, there is such a thing!) and a member of an elite group of panelists that recommend and comment on policies to help shape the future of eBay.
     If I may, my most important eBay tip:
     When buying, protect yourself. Use common sense. If it's too good to be true, it probably is. Always pay by Paypal, & even then, use a credit card, not your Paypal balance, bank transfer, or e-check. Don't send a money order to someone you don't know, who you can't reach by telephone, & gives you a PO Box address. I don't care if they have 250+ feedbacks. Just look at eBay user “ jameschi58” Great, Great, Great, then, nothing. That user may not have been intentionally ripping people off. You don't know what could have happened. – had I not used Paypal, & a credit card via Paypal as well, I'd have been out a lot of money. Maybe the seller doesn't accept payment via Paypal, or credit card? Ask why not? Did they say fee's? Trust me, Paypal fee's are irrelevant when selling on eBay. If a seller chooses to not accept Paypal, it's costing them money. Auctions that accept Paypal, or another form of online credit card payment, get higher bids, Period. Maybe a seller chooses not to accept Paypal because of a previous chargeback to their account. Ask, why was that? True, Paypal usually sides with the buyer, so those sellers have a right to be anti-Paypal, but in the long run, choosing to no longer accept Paypal will hurt them even more. Of course, there's always escrow services to protect you, but that's a discussion for another day.
     So, resist the temptation to get that Emporium Seafood kit on eBay today at a “Buy It Now” price of $350. The seller is fairly new, & only accepts money orders.
     Be sure to sign up for my eBay buying & selling craftsman structure kits clinic at The Craftsman Structure Show this fall.
     Jimmy Deignan jamesdeignan@yahoo.com

Want to submit a column or article? email Scott.

The 2007 TOUR is SOLD OUT - Be sure to join me for the 2008 scottymason.com Tour!