Recent content by Spongemike

  1. S

    Prooduct reviews for locos & rolling stock

    Hi there, I've finally gotten back into doing some model RR as a bit of relief from the day job; I'm looking at getting some new locos to replace my geriatric Athearn ones, but for the life of me I can't find any websites that have reviews of equipment. One I'm looking at is a Bachmann UB28B...
  2. S

    Union Pacific wide Vision cabooses - anyone got some pics?!

    Sweet! thanks for the reply :D Cheers from Aotearoa Mike
  3. S

    Union Pacific wide Vision cabooses - anyone got some pics?!

    Kia Ora all I've got an unpainted Athearn wide vision caboose, that I"m planning on painting in UP colours. I've got some decals, and and yellow pain, but I can't see what colour the roof is supposed to be, and can't find any decent pics of them. Should it be yellow, gray, or red?! (Or some...
  4. S

    Aftermarket decals for Loco's...

    Kia Ora guys (and any guyesses!) As a comparative noob at this lark, I'm wondering if alternate road names are available as decal sheets. I have an old Athearn SW1500 in Norfolk & western (black scheme), and I'm thinking I'd like to change it to a UP yellow/gray scheme. Any suggestions /...
  5. S

    A noob's mucking around with building and repainting...

    Hi Kevin (and everyone else!) Thanks for all the kind compliments. The peeling paint on the roof was unintentional, it was the result of the masking tape pulling off the black paint and revealing the dark gray underneath. It'll be easy to fix. For those so interested, the shell was preshaded...
  6. S

    Writing an HO layout article

    Hi there Whilst I've never written an article for a model railroad magazine, I have written and had published several for a scale aircraft modelling magazine. (Scale Aviation Modeller International, SAM Publications ) So here's a few tips that might help you out... Proof read your article...
  7. S

    A noob's mucking around with building and repainting...

    Kia Ora guys (and guyesses) I've finally gotten back into doing some work on the table layout my son and I are working on (very much a learning curve!), and started building the venerable Atlas Lumber Yard kit, starting with painting the interior. Also had a bash at repainting an old Athearn...
  8. S

    Electronics for Loco's

    Hi There I'm just wondering, would adding a capacitor to a loco make much difference? The aim is to give it a bit of lag, and to make it less sensitive to voltage changes. Would I need any other components in the mix, or can the capacitor be added on its own? Are there circuit designs available...
  9. S

    First Weathering Attempt

    Weathering stuff.. Hi there Not looking too bad at all for a first go! Although I've been away from model RR for the last 20years, that doesn't mean I don't know a bit about weathering - have a look at this - http://www.network54.com/Forum/47751/message/1148199660/ I built this for a guy...
  10. S

    Atlas vs Life-like track (especially turnouts)

    Hi There just wondering, seeing as they are both made in the same country, is there any real advantage of buying the Atlas turnouts over the Life-like ones? Atlas is a bit more expensive, and doesn't have the same cheesey toy-ish packaging (makes it look like it's for 'serious' railroaders!)...
  11. S

    Gradients for layouts

    Kia Ora What is a generally recommended gradient for small HO layouts? The train lengths won't be very long (like a max of about 10 50'ers). I'm in the throes of design (i.e. mucking around with various ideas and plans) and kinda like the idea of having one of the tracks cross over. It won't...
  12. S

    Freight car eras - perplexed newbie!

    Kia Ora As a returnee/newbie to model RR, I find myself wondering which eras are applicable to whichypes of freight cars. Is there a website or something that has this type of useful information? I don't want to be overly retentive, but I guess I'd like to know so I can make an edumacated...
  13. S

    Newbie trying to come up to speed on wot's hot...

    and wot's not... Kia Ora from NZ Well, after a hiatus of around 22 years I've decided to get back into model RR, and am sticking to the same scale/gauge that I started with as a lad - American HO. Of course, since then many products have either disappeared or changed an improved beyond...
Top