Bring the family to the Highland Baptist Church Activity Center, 7:00 pm. Awards will be presented for the model contest. Ice Cream will be served. Patrick Pritchett will present a program and slide show about Chama! He will also report on the book "The Rio Grande Southern".
The August meeting will be about scratch-building a flower mill, by Ron Bremer.
Web Page at http://www.earthlink.net/~jackseay
Get newsletter articles (they can be very long for the web page) and pictures to your editor, Jack Seay.
The Lubbock Layout Tour was Saturday, May 24. Thanks to Bob Anconetani for coordinating. It was a great eye-opener thanks to the layouts of John Lott (where we heard the tale of the lonely cow and saw some impressive wiring), Dr. T. H. Holmes (silky-smooth running trackwork), Bob Anconetani (scenic HO operations in a one car garage) , David Lamberts (narrow gauge layout where there's always more to discover, such as a cliff-hanging outhouse and split-level street scene that just takes you there), Bob Batson (his ever impressive N-scale operating layout), and the moving sale of Robert Wiggins (going once, sold!).
Playday at Highland Baptist Activity Center, Aug 29, 30
Texas Tech Museum in Lubbock will host a special event in gallery 1, Sun., Nov. 9 - "A Century of Progress: The History of the American Railroad Industry". It will include a photo exhibit ranging from 1869 to 1969. Lunch 12:30 - 1:30, speaker 2:00.
Wings N Things has Kato C44-9 N Scale in stock, limited supply.
The next Executive Committee Meeting will be Tue., 7:30pm, July 15th, at Jan Kutch's house, 3611 Chicago (on a cul-de-sac).
From the Railspot List... www.nwla.com/railspot.html
In a letter just received from Texas Railroad Commission, Chairman, Charles Matthews, he states that he is having conversations with members from both houses of the legislature encouraging an interim study to be put in place by Lt. Gov. Bullock and Speaker Laney toward implementing a state railroad policy, the purpose being to prepare for the future of transportation in Texas.
Commissioner Matthews' tenure on the Railroad Commission has been unique in that he has acted to move the commission back in the direction of serving as a railroad overseeing agency as it was in the beginning. In more recent years it had lapsed into little more than a regulatory agency controlling oil and gas production and trucking, the latter being considerably diluted since deregulation. From: jeffdford1@juno.com
In a meeting a couple months ago, I showed how to build scenery using pieces of bed-sheet soaked in 50/50 white glue and water, or painted with latex paint. The glue-shell techniques came from a Model Railroader article. Where did I get the inspiration for leaving out the glue, and painting directly on the cloth? Many decades ago, when I was in Junior High, I was interested in oceanography. In an article in a SCUBA diving magazine, there was an article on how to make a wetsuit by painting thermal underwear with latex paint. Also at the meeting, I showed the beginning stage of a layout using foam-core board as the sole material for the benchwork. Later, as I applied more paint to this layout, the scenery developed some warping. Use some thin plywood in the vertical framework to prevent this. The book reviewed below tells how to make rock-work that both looks better and is easier to make.
Making The Scene: True To Life Scenery For Your Model Railroad
by Alexander Zmuda
This book doesn't have the impressive photography of Dave Frary's book, but the text is top quality, and not a repeat of what I've read elsewhere. The advice on soldering track, glueing ballast, and rockwork make reading this book worthwhile, as these are all areas where I have had problems. He tells how to airbrush rockwork, and make rocks using 25% joint compound and 75% hydrocal. This allows you to put the rock on the mountain while flexible, but without spilling. The author has tested all the techniques in the book during 25 years of building layouts for a model railroad museum. I haven't had time to try any of them out yet, but will report on my results in the coming months. If you get the book and try some of the methods, write about your experiences for the newsletter.
Painting and Weathering Railroad Models
by Jeff Wilson
If you do any weathering or painting at all, then you need to read this one. It contains advice on choosing paint and air brushes, safety tips, and much more. This was written by the editor of the Paint Shop column for Model Railroader Magazine, but it isn't just a collection of magazine articles. Whether you have never painted anything in your life or are a pro, you will find something here that will make your job easier, safer, and better looking. The only thing I would add is to get the Testor's Astec airbrush. It is both single and double action, and very easy to clean (it doesn't need to be taken apart).
July
7 - 7:00 PM, LMRA Family Night at Highland Baptist Activity Center
15 - 7:30 PM, Executive Committee Meeting
27 - Aug 2 - NMRA, Madison, WI.
Aug
21 - 7:00 PM, Slide SIG: Early Geeps
29 - 30 - Playday at Highland Baptist Activity Center
Nov
9 - Tech Museum - "A Century Of Progress"
Dates not yet set
Tolk Station rotary coal dump tour
The quarterly Slide Special Interest Group has been very informative, and a lot of fun. Perhaps you also have special needs that don't get covered enough in the monthly meetings. You could be involved in starting a SIG tailored to your special requirements. It only takes two people to start a group. You can agree on where and how often you want to meet, and what you want to do.
You could just talk and swap ideas and tips at a coffee shop, or have operating or building sessions, or watch videos, have book reports, write magazine articles, or whatever. Check your special interests below. Bring this to the July meeting, and we will let you know who shares your interests. Then you can take it from there.
____ Operations
____ Video
____ Narrow Gauge
____ Z Scale
____ N Trak Modules
____ BeNd Trak Modules
____ N Scale Home Layouts
____ HO Scale Modules
____ HO Scale Home Layouts
____ S Scale
____ O Scale
____ G Scale
____ Internet and Software
____ Railroad History
____ Supertrains and Maglev
____ Scenery
____ Wiring and Electronics
____ Painting
____ Bridges and Trestles
____ Benchwork
____ Track and Turnouts
____ Structures
____ Layout Design
____ Rail-fanning and Real World Railroads
____ Dioramas
Your Ideas
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
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____________________________
____________________________
Your name ______________________________________