New items from Yarmouth Model Works

 Not terribly exciting, but if you're looking for these roofs, you'll be happy to find them

HO scale

YMW-4445 40' Diagonal panel roof

YMW-4547 40' PS-1 roof

Both are $8.00 USD, plus postage

Current state of affairs

 So it's one year on since the global pandemic was declared.
We are closer to seeing the end, but we're not out of the woods yet. I thought I'd provide a bit of an update from my end.

There are 2 major hurdles affecting the smooth running of Yarmouth Model Works these days.

1- The mail in both Canada and the US continues to experience disruptions. A package containing 2 kits took 62 days to travel from Ontario to Michigan recently. The major sorting plant in Toronto had over 100 workers go down with COVID. I can only imagine how bad it has been in sorting plants in the US.
So bear with us if your item is not delivered quickly.
Even tracked packages are taking inordinate amounts of time.

2- My supply chain is, as you might expect, rather disrupted. I tried to order trucks from Kato last week. No inventory and no projected restock date.
Shipments of etchings from Germany are hit and miss, etc.
Add to that the need to limit my trips into the US to collect items at my PO Box, and you can see why certain projects are taking longer than we would like.
There are 3 pairs of ends and a new roof waiting to be printed for some upcoming kits, but we can't get access to the printer we use at this time.
It all piles up.

Rest assured that we are doing all that we can to fulfill all the orders that come in, and work is proceeding on new kits.
So I thought I'd share a sneak peak for you
This is one of the new kits coming in a couple of months.

Following on the success of the AC&F boxcar kits, we decided to tackle this reefer. It used the same proprietary roof stampings as the boxcars.
The patterns are done, the pilot model is started, just waiting for the etchings to arrive and I can finish the model.
As usual, there are etchings, 3D parts, and decals created specifically for this car.
Hopefully May release

Stay safe everyone

What hath Covid Wrought

 It's been a difficult year for all of us, and it is far from being over.
Lives have been turned upside down, careers ended, economies shattered, etc, etc.
But within the upheavals, opportunities exist.
For me, my longtime career working in live entertainment is done. There will not be a return to live performances on any large scale anytime soon, so for me the life as a arena rigger and stagehand is over.
Retirement was approaching anyway, but the loss of a major income stream came at a bad time. Last March I was on track for an entire season working at the Shakespearean Festival in Stratford, Ontario. Instead I got one week and 2 hours before  it all shutdown.
Fortunately I have my custom building and kit businesses to fall back on, and they now make my sole source of income.
Part of the pivot forced upon me was a rethink of out sourcing my casting needs.
I have spent the last 2 months learning the fine art of resin casting, aided by some very talented people.
And I'm pleased to say that I'm now quite comfortable with the processes.

A little bit of stirring the shop and investing in pressure vessels and vacuum pumps, as well as learning about tin cured rubber vs platinum cured rubber and the idiosyncrasies of various resins has put me in a position where I will now be doing the lions share of my casting.
It's actually been fun learning a whole new skill set at my age, and I've had some good teachers along the way.
Now I'll only have  myself to blame. lol

This has been an overdue jig!

 Finally!
We have an assembly jig for our etched ladders.
We'd have had it out sooner, but Covid delayed manufacturing.

 http://www.yarmouthmodelworks.com/index.php/Products/LAJ

This jig will securely hold the ladder stiles in place while the modeler inserts and glues (or solders) the rungs in place.
There are 3 rung widths provided for on the jig.
The centre slots are for the most common width, 18". Which matches the #353 etched rungs supplied with most Yarmouth Model Works kits
The wider, (top) is for the N&W B-5 20' rung width, and the lower (bottom) is the 15" width seen on the end ladders of many of the ACF built cars.
We are shipping these without the nuts and bolts, just to simplify the mailing process. The modeler will have to supply a couple of 6-32 x 1/2" bolts, washers and wingnuts .
$12.00 plus shipping
Sadly, not quite in time for Xmas

New stuff from Yarmouth Model Works

 Just in time for Christmas?

No new kits yet, but there is new stuff coming in that department, be patient.
We've added some parts and changed one item
First up the change

Tack boards.
We are no longer offering cast resin tack boards, but rather 3D printed parts.
Who really wants to sand the backs of tack boards?
http://www.yarmouthmodelworks.com/index.php/Products/3137

These tack boards are nice and crisp, and look great, even if I do say so myself.

New

Cast resin retainer valves
We've been including these in our kits, and felt it was time to offer them separate.
8 per package.
http://www.yarmouthmodelworks.com/index.php/Products/0060

ACF Corrugated end
This unique end was created by ACF in the postwar era and was applied to a variety of boxcars.
The pattern was created in CAD and 3D printed, and copies are cast in resin.

This end is also available in O scale, tell your friends and email me for details.
http://www.yarmouthmodelworks.com/index.php/Products/2148

ACF Proprietary Roof
Created at the same time as the ACF end, saw some success was never really caught on.
The pattern was created in CAD and 3D printed, and copies are cast in resin.
http://www.yarmouthmodelworks.com/index.php/Products/4348R

Stay safe everyone and please wear a mask in public.
The longer people resist this simple step, the longer this virus will be around.

 

The best chainlink fencing in HO on the market

 For the Italian Swiss Colony winery in Tarpey, I was in need of chainlink fencing to enclose the track in front of the winery. As seen in this photo

I've looked at some of the options that are on the market for kits, and the prospect of fiddling with bits of wire and lace Tulle was not high on my list of fun things to do.
Good thing someone invented the interweb.
A Google search turned up Alkem Scale Models and their photo-etched offering, http://alkemscalemodels.biz/chain-link-fence

An order was quickly placed and quickly delivered
To say I was delighted with what I received is an understatement
Nice crisp etched parts, a choice of 3 gate styles and barbed wire along the top. Perfect
And installation was a breeze
I quickly sprayed all the supplied parts with a light grey colour, to kill the shine, as well as a few lengths of 0.025" wire to use as posts.

I started at the south end where there were 2 gates, drilling holes into the base for the gate posts, and trimming the fence panels to fit in between the tracks

CA was used to secure the panels to the posts as well as securing the gates in the open position

The main run went in very quickly, using the full panels as a guide for drilling the holes for the posts

Along to the north end where only one gate was required, and then closing in the rest of the enclosure.

The whole project maybe took 2 hours. The fencing is sturdy and looks fantastic
Well worth the cost.
Now all I have to do is build the actual buildings associated.
Another day for that.

Flat car decks, a better way?

 Following the lead of my friend Ted Culotta, I've got a new way of painting flat car decks. And I'm very pleased with the results.
I used to like the results I got from using oil paints, but this approach is simpler, quicker and visually more pleasing.

We start by painting a base colour of a tan, light brown or some such. In this case I used Tamiya Wooden deck tan. A flat paint is important for the following steps

Once that has dried, it's time for Pan Pastels
First pass over the entire deck was Raw Umber, applied using a cheap makeup sponge
Random coverage is desired

Next is Payne's Grey

Followed by basic Black

The process is quick, and very controllable. Density of colour can be increased by making multiple passes

Now all I have to do is finish up the loads for these cars.
More on that in the coming months
It's gonna be super cool