200125 Save it big then crop it down

10 MB

Both below reduced to 1.8 mb

Frequently also make multiple pictures out of one large photo.
Experimented with the raw format and found no noticeable reason to use this format

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Toy for all ages

Drive careful revelers ahead

Sidebar weather: Warm till the weekend, overnight temperatures plummet from 25 to 19 (77 to 66f)  New Oven at Apples, big enough to cook four christmas Turkeys (facebook link) Next weekend Mukdahan casino raided OK that's taken care of

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Hobby อดิเรก

Early and recent. All pillars need camouflage to look more realistic Station 1 added Next I plan to cut the back wall at the red line. Install a plyboard wall (yellow line). In the 5 cm x 244 cm space I want to install three dimensional scenery similar to Hollywood movie scenery. Interspersed with trees.

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Next stop main station

Substation one is complete, needs a slight trim on the corners. Can't ask for anything better. Perfect as far as I am concerned.

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

I been working on my Railroad

A few more days on the jig saw to bridge the last track to the main station (green area).  
Foam has been great as temporary supports in designing the layout. After the track is laid I'll have to do some serious landscaping.  Still contemplating if the center of the table should become a valley or mountainous.

Get a hobby or two

Much of the woodwork is done, some painting is next. Still not convinced what railing to use.  Considering laminate. Then I'm also thinking of plastic sheeting on which I can print metal railing. Sharp curves can be mastered by leaning the track so the train leans in the opposite direction of the possible fall.

Playtime

Still have a few more temporary plumbing pipes to replace, then I'm ready to install side railing and begin painting Four tracks are completed and I'm ready for a fourth engine an some more passenger and freight cars

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Headline Smogarsboard

Wax Castle Festival starts today

I'll have to seal my lips on this one Learning English the fun way I've seen a few coaches come and go, they always start out with lots of hope, then they get booted No Problem in Paradise Brainless, the most surveilled place in town.  Leaving your luggage unattended is just as brainless though Did not realize it's been 10 years, posted very little during the first three years fourth track under construction.  Those upper tracks are going to need retainer walls. I'll be looking for some laminate with a woodsy pattern

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Tissue Box Depot

Still doing some plastering work. All of the props are temporary. Once I'm done with plastering I'll work on bridges and other support strcutures

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Repair job gone Thai Style

Lost the key, door was locked, so I had someone install a new door handle.  Needless to say, there was a problem.  Had to break this one off and buy another one. Been busy the last few days digging through years of photos and uploading them to google albums and facebook Here's a sample of 5 albums I've been working on. 42 View album Some silly stuff I dug out of the archives Here's a quicky that goes back 10 years Local cops confiscated a truckload here in Sakon Nakhon just last week, a few days later same thing in Khon Kaen The great Sakon Nakhon fire Been spending less time on the computer the last few days instead spending a few hours each day with my toys. Using premix wall plaster to make mountain scenery. Seems to stick quite well to the foam layout.  Experimented with sand saturated with paint.  Turns out just as solid as plaster.    Then I'd been wondering how to move the train from the table and extend it around the room.  Waterpipe cut in half may be part of the solution.

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Got plastered this morning

Started  to fill some holes with plaster.  Think I'll get some fabric plaster tape with the next bucket of plaster.  Almost everything is white, so I'm thinking Mount McKinley National park, or Zugspitze. Been to both in the winter. Taking frequent photographs seems to aid in design.  Realized the third track was way too high.  Blocked my sitting view of the tracks at the other end of the table

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

I'm working on my rail road

Everything had been on hold for a while, awaiting a shipment of rail tracks and other building material.  This morning I put my new skill saw to use and cut out a bridge base which will accommodate two side by side tracks.  It's not the final bridge. It's a lumber test.  Thinking of making the bridge siding from bamboo. Using plumbing pipe as bridge piers Had considered fabricating buildings from cardboard.  Changed my mind when I picked up a cardboard box and it collapsed from the humidity it had collected. Next up, wrap some tracks in plastic and build plaster hills

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Scenery on a budget

Have to buy some more foam.  Holding off till the additional tracks arrive.   

The stack of tape gave me an idea for the bridge supports.  The foam bridge will be replaced, for now it's for design. 

Also collecting cardboard to print out buildings.  Tried my hand with a toothpick fence.  Think I'll consult a local bamboo weaver. Also experimenting with paints and cements.

The scouring pad green is a bit too dark, I'll need a brighter green 

Medical emergency at the dining carMedics are on the scene