Fine Scale Modeler "Ship Modeler's Handbook" 2025

 The Handbook will hit the stands early March, and it includes my article on paper ship models. The Handbook's editors titled my article as, "Chart a different course." The article first appeared in the Nautical Research Journal published by the Nautical Research Guild (NRG). The Handbook was produced in conjunction with NRG. To my knowledge, this is the first time the Handbook has included information about paper ships. We're spreading the word about paper scale models.

Snowshed / Rockshed Scratchbuilt -- 1:87 Scale

The club wanted a snowshed / rockshed for its mountain district. I found several plans in old Model Railroader magazines and used bits and pieces to draw a full-size plan.

I used that full-size drawing to build a jig for the frames. I built the jig on matte board and cut holes in the jig where the pieces of the frame were joined, so the glued joints wouldn't stick to the jig.

I test-built one frame and checked its fit on the layout. It needed only minor adjustments. The frames are basswood scale lumber from various sources, stained with Hunterline Weathering Mix, Dark Brown. The roof is 2-mm card with textures applied top and bottom. The ceiling is a texture sheet I made from a photo I took of a nearby barn, rescaled and recolored in Photoshop. The ceiling would be blackened with soot and oil from locomotives, so I added soot in Photoshop. I also applied Hunterline Black to the beams directly above the track.

The roof is a texture sheet from Scalescenes. I scaled it to 8-foot panel length, cut it into strips,  cut individual panels based on LAR,* and glued them one by one to the roof.

I used a drawing compass to fit the roof of the shed into the contours of the cliff and overlapped the steel panels onto the rock face and tunnel portal. I added nut-bolt-washer castings from Tichy Train Group where they are visible when the shed is in place. 

Finally, I dumped a few more rocks trackside.

The shed is easily removable for access to the tunnel, and the model is quite sturdy. I'm sure it could survive a few scale rocks bouncing off its "lid" into the river below.

*  Looks About Right