PHPaul

I need a moment...and a cigarette...? When I hit the Megabucks, I'm going to have a 1:1 version of one of those!

I'm working on my 1/64th scale farm diorama and needed a milk hauler to pose next to the barn. I started with this Ertl tractor: After removing the 5th wheel, I cut a tank out of some 1/2" PVC pipe. Then added some domes from my junk box and some skirting from sheet plastic, blended with a bit of glazing putty and hit it with some metallic silver. The final touch was some MMPA (Michigan Milk Producer's Association) decals on the tank. I see I need to put another coat of paint over the original IH decals on the doors.

While waiting on a reply, I reset my printer for the smallest paper size it can handle and cut a piece of decal paper to that size. (A6) Printed out and applied the MMPA (Michigan Milk Producer's Association) decal for my scratch-bashed 1/64th milk truck. I've wanted to be able to print custom decals for years, now the technology (and my budget) have caught up with my dreams!

Genius! Makes perfect sense and avoids dicking around resetting paper size all the time. Thanks!

I recently bought a Brother color LED (vs. laser) printer and want to print some small decals. I also got some clear waterslide decal paper. It comes in 8.5 x 11 sheets. After printing decals can I trim the paper back square after cutting out the decals and reuse a partial sheet? I'd hate to burn up a whole sheet for 1 or 2 small decals.

Can't believe it took me this long to think of this little detail...

Looks good! As you add more details it'll really come to life. I like the rod under construction on the left side.

Very nice work, Sanya! The shop press and engine hoist are really excellent. And don't worry, your English is much better than my Russian! ?

Thanks. The amazing work I see here is a little daunting, but I see it as a challenge to take my work up a notch. I'm at the point where the overall theme of the diorama is done and now I'm adding little details and scenes to try to bring it to life. Little things like the lawn mower and little red wagon in the yard and (as I can afford it...) figures like the dogs and cats, some birds, etc. Preiser makes really nice stuff but it gets expensive quickly on my budget.

I don't know if this is old news, but it's something that just occurred to me to try. I was yakking over the fence with a visitor when I got to looking at the moss growing out of the cedar boards. This time of year, the stuff is everywhere and comes in a wide variety of forms and colors. Very detailed and visually interesting. I grabbed a putty knife and scraped a couple of samples off and set them on top of the furnace to dry. After a little trimming for size and structure, I glued them to my 1/64th scale diorama as Hosta plants around the house. I really like the look. Not sure how durable they're going to be, they might dry out completely and turn to dust. If so, I'll try some different ways to preserve them.

Night shot. Lights in house and barn are white LEDs running on 3v. Yard light is a modified HO scale street light.

Not a hard sell, I'm a confirmed tool junkie...?

My other hobby is building 1/16th scale agricultural models out of brass. I'm forever wracking my brain to come up with ways to hold things while soldering. This is going to make my life MUCH simpler. Thanks!

I built my own variable speed microdrill using a computer power supply and the motor and speed control listed below. DC Variable Speed Control Mini Drill Motor and Chuck

Small world. I went to HIgh School in St. Johns and have a brother living there.

Welcome! What part of Michigan? I grew up in Clinton County, near Fowler.

Dad was colorblind. Our two main tractors were a McCormick Deering Super W6 (Wheatland version of a Super M) and a John Deere B. I spent boucoup hours on that B cultivating corn and soybeans in low gear at half throttle...? My little slice of heaven has a Kubota, a Pasquali and a John Deere lawn tractor.

Just to give you an idea of working in 1/64th scale. The scene is an inside joke among farmers. Certain years of International tractors were prone to failures of the Torque Amplifier which required splitting the tractor to repair. Much like Chevy vs. Ford, farmers will argue for hours about IH vs. John Deere.

Nice! It's the little details like that that make or break a model IMHO.

Thanks, Landman. This is the farm I grew up on in the 50's and 60's. (Pic is from late 40's as near as I can tell). I spent a lot of time looking for that house kit, it's quite similar to the one I grew up in as well.

My youngest daughter is a pretty talented artist. She's going to do a backdrop scene for me. I'll mention that! ?

Thanks, all! My experience with HO helps a lot, but being dang near 70 isn't helping as much as I'd hoped...? More patience, but less visual acuity... One of my little joys is making detail items out of whatever I have laying around. For instance the cattail leaves are little slices of green insulation off some 18 gauge wire, and the seed heads are dabs of brown "puffy paint" on some magnet wire. Reeds/dead weeds are snipped off the end of a whisk broom. The corrugated portion of a plastic (gasp!) drinking straw makes a great culvert when stretched out and hit with some silver paint. House, barn and grain bins are kits, all the other structures are scratch built. Trees are stranded copper wire armatures, a little solder, some brown paint, some spray adhesive and static grass. Little dabs of red enamel for the apples.

Thank you!

Little better focus.

I see I need to figure out how to manually focus...