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When I was interviewed by my friend Trevor Marshall for his magnificent and much-missed podcast, The Model Railway Show, he asked how I structured my hobby time. I answered that I normally worked in fits and spurts, alternating between periods of rapid completion followed by periods of pure lethargy. A look back at the order … Continue reading Thrifty Use of Time
I'm getting better, or at least more consistent, with using my Cricut Plotter for scratchbuilding on The Hills Line. While my primary structures, especially the rail-served ones, will always require sturdier construction methods, the majority of the buildings can be quickly and efficiently assembled from styrene sheet. Case in point, Iowa Fire Equipment. The small, … Continue reading Fire Sale
In describing the multitude of streets in southern Iowa City, a friend once called them nothing more than glorified parking lots. Since a lot of the roads are either bisected by or parallel to The Hills Line, none are anywhere close to arterial thoroughfares. But since the prototype was first and foremost an electric interurban, … Continue reading A Glorified Parking Lot
Continuing where we left off... the next phase of construction involves turning plain styrene sheets into something representative of the actual structure. My weapon of choice is photo wallpaper, made famous by Lance Mindheim. I often rely on Google Streetview for acquiring images from afar, since Iowa City is a two-hour drive for me, one … Continue reading J&M Automotive
The Hills Line 