Thursday 20 December 2012

Thompson River Canyon Blog Edition 2


Thompson River Canyon 

In my last blog I went over my planning process and the beginning stages of this construction. In this blog I will be moving into the creation of the rock work and the snow sheds. Getting the rock faces looking as realistic as possible was daunting to me as my standards have increased but my abilities have not. Realism for me meant that the rock formations had to resemble what would really happen in nature. I specify a difference here because a rock face can be created to look realistic on a model railroad, however, they may not seem quite right when compared to a true rock face. This difference had puzzled me for a while, it wasn’t until a geologist approached me at the past train show and said “Would you mind telling the owner of this module that his rock face is geologist approved?” Needless to say, the man was very impressed by the structure of those rocks. They were at roughly a fifteen degree angle and followed that pattern across the entire face, just as rock would in nature. Now by no means am I good enough to recreate that incredible rock face from the train show, however, it did open my eyes to the way actual rock is structured. This gave me good direction for tackling the rocks of my tunnels. 

WARNING: When working with plaster, do not pour any of the plaster filled water down your sink. The plaster could       settle in the pipes and harden, quickly leading to a permanently clogged pipe.

To begin, I gave the entire length of the route a layer of plaster cloth. This plaster cloth made it easier to apply the plaster rock work. Plus it covered over any gaps in the foam which would otherwise fill with plaster and be a waste of said plaster. Plaster cloth is very simple to use and it creates a clean white surface to work with. To use plaster cloth, cut out a section roughly the size of the area you wish to cover, then place the piece in a shallow bowl of water for 10 - 20 seconds. With the cloth thoroughly damp, apply it to the surface you wish to cover and smooth it out. The holes in the cloth should fill when smoothing out the wet surface but if they don’t it is not an issue. Once the cloth has dried, you can do pretty much anything to it, paint it, apply ground covering, or in my case cover it in rock work. 



With the plaster cloth covering the entirety of the Thompson River route, I began construction of the seven concrete snow sheds. The sheds are being cut from 1/4” balsa sheet which is easy enough to cut with a hobby knife and a dremel. The sheds are designed fairly simply, they consist of a front face with rounded rectangular openings, large end walls that keep rock from reaching over the edge, and a few other small structural additions on certain sheds. With my version of sheds I have compressed them significantly to fit my space, this meant shortening the sheds, lowering the end walls, and omitting the triangular shape of the front wall supports. With the wooden shed pieces cut out, I glued them together and onto the layout with white glue, then gave them a thin, smooth layer of plaster to replicate the concrete look of the prototype. 



Now that the sheds have been put in place, I could begin the rock work around them. This process was quite hit and miss and I wanted to try to incorporate a unified slope into the rock face. Another detail I tried to include were fairly large recessions in the rock. The contrast between large outcroppings of rock and deep reliefs create a dramatic rock face. To get large detailed rock outcrops I used a Woodland Scenics [1] rock molds, this ensures a very good looking cast every time; something that I could not have done by hand. With a good number of these large rocks cast in plaster, I used more plaster to attach the castings to the mountain face. To make sure the casting do not fall off, I put a lump of plaster on the back of the casting and then quickly push it against the plaster cloth. This will not hold it well though, I had to work plaster around the casting to lock it in place and blend the rock into the rest of the mountain face. When applying the castings and other plaster to the mountain, I prefer to keep my batch of plaster small because otherwise it will dry before I can make use of it all. The best consistency for attaching the castings is where it can be scooped out and remain in a lump, just past its liquid point. The latest point in plasters drying stage, where it is very clumpy and almost beyond use is the best for applying right to the mountain face to create rock without a mold. Lastly, before the plaster applied to the mountain face has hardened, I like to dab all of the new plaster with my fingers to rough up the surface, getting rid of any smooth spots.




Now for the tough part, repeating this process along the entire length of the route. It will certainly take time and a fair mass of plaster, however, that’s the fun of it all. As it stands, my Thompson River route has a third of its rock work complete, with three out of the seven sheds built. Hopefully by the next blog they will be complete and photos will be included. Along with that I will explain my process of painting the rock faces and sheds, as well as some little details I’ve been adding to the trackside. 

References

[1] Woodland Scenics (1997-2012) Accessed December 15, 2012. Available: http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com

This is by Tyler Fedoroshyn one of the great staff at Chinook & Hobby West

Wednesday 5 December 2012

An HO Layout In Progress

This layout is by Tyler who works at our South store.
  • The Thompson River Snow Sheds in HO

    This is a project that has been sitting in the back of my mind for too long. I wanted to do some rugged mountain modeling with cliff faces that would be impressive to look at. I was too short on space to create a floor to ceiling mountain range but I knew some compromise could be found. I also knew there had to be grade built into my plan in order to avoid the mountains blocking my previous scenery. To do this I had to settle on a rather steep down grade to drop six inches below my current track level. A four percent is what it came out to be. Such a steep grade means helper service which just added to the appeal of this project.

    The snow sheds along the Thompson River are an iconic sight for the few remaining passenger trains that follow the route along the CN line. One of those trains is the Rocky Mountaineer which can just barely span the series of tunnels and sheds. They have taken a brilliant panoramic shot of their train spanning those sheds which I have been using to get my version as close to the real one as possible (see figure 1).


                         Figure 1- Basic foam mountain faces with Rocky Mountaineer panorama in the back ground. Panoramic photo source: Rocky Mountaineer [1].



    For me there was no time to waste in beginning this project, I did up a quick drawing of the proposed route and began construction (see figure 2). The benchwork was really just a simple shelf design, nothing pretty as the mountains will overhang and the skirting will cover the rest. I won’t go into any particulars about how I constructed the benchwork but rather I will lean towards the scenery techniques used through this series of blogs. 


                  Figure 2- Plan for the Thompson River route along current layout.


    With the benchwork complete, I went straight cutting some basic mountain faces from foam. The foam I used was salvaged from a roof repair, unfortunately for me this foam was fiberglass based and I was left with some irritated hands after avoiding the use of gloves. The foam itself did a great job though and being several inches thick it didn’t take long to build up the six inches of mountain face I was able to have. I tried to keep the foam carving rough to make the future plaster work as easy as possible. This is where a hot wire cutter (and some better foam) would come in very handy as it would keep the mess down and allow you to be even more creative with how you cut the foam. For the tunnels I drew an approximate track center line along the table top and used a tri-level auto-rack to make sure I had sufficient clearance through the tunnels. An NMRA gauge is also a good tool for this, however be careful as it won’t properly gauge the overhang around a tight curve. With the pieces of foam fully cut out (see figure 3), I secured them to the layout with a generous amount of hot glue (however I left the tops of the tunnel sections off until the track has been secured). There are certainly stronger glues you could use but I haven’t had any issues with hot glue, especially when the track work isn’t relying on the rigidity of the foam. If you are laying your track on a foam base I would strongly advise a glue which will cover the entire surface between the layout and the foam. It should also have enough flexibility to hold up to any flex and movement the layout may be put through.





            Figure 3- Basic foam design of the tunnels.



    Once the foam was finished, I began laying cork roadbed along the entire length of my Thompson river route. You could use foam roadbed which I’ve done it in the past, however I have grown to prefer the rigidity of cork and I feel it will keep the track level and aligned better than the foam will (with a 4% grade even the smallest of issues could be dangerous). To secure the road bed I used contact cement which provides a quick yet strong hold. I used Atlas code 83 cement tie flex track for the entire route. The concrete ties are prototypical to that portion of the CN line and has a very contemporary look which fits my modern layout well. To secure the track I used a very hot glue gun. It must be “very hot” to avoid any lumps if the glue has cooled before the track was properly laid. The hot glue is again quick which was important to me (being an engineering student, time is always at a premium). I soldered every rail joint to ensure good electrical connection, operational reliability, and realism because the prototype has welded rail meaning there should be minimal “click-clack.” 

    This project has been a lot of fun so far and I look forward to its completion along with every other step along the way. Hopefully I have inspired some of you to tackle that mountain railroading project you’ve been imagining. With some careful planning it doesn’t have to take up much space and in return it will cost you less in plaster. With the next blog I will begin the task of creating snow sheds and tunnel portals, as well as begin the plaster rock-work and show some other little details I have been adding. Lastly I would like to say that while I am modeling a prototype location and wish to be as accurate as possible, I don’t mind missing a few details along the way, it’s the big picture that I’m aiming for. So if I have misinterpreted any facts along the way I apologize and would be very interested in hearing about how it should really be from you guys. I will likely even change what I’ve done if it’ll help make this project as realistic as possible. 

    Disclaimer:
    [1] Rocky Mountaineer Rail Tours owns the panorama seen in the photo, this is not my own image. Rocky Mountaineer (Copyright 2011).

    This is Tyler's Layout. He works at our South store and is part of the FREE-MO group. Please feel free to come down to our South store to talk to him, Jesse, John or Rob; at our North store Ross, Leigh or Ken.

Friday 19 October 2012

Guns Don't Help Stress.... Hobbies Help Stress!

In this technologically dependant era we have forgotten how to find ways to cope with the stress that comes with all these gadgets. We are too tempted to check our Facebook and Twitter accounts and encourage our kids to play video games.

Yes, these things can be fun but what happens when the battery runs out?

I own a hobby store in Calgary. Actually I own two, and I love to get people unplugged from their electronics and back down to earth by finding a hobby that they can use their skills they forgot about and imagination with.

Did your dad used to take you to the airport to watch the planes take off when you were a kid? How about trying your hand at making a plastic model replica of a WWII aircraft or commercial jet? Did you and your buddies play cowboys and indians or war? Make a diorama of a scene from that memory (we have a few on display at both of our stores for inspiration).

We sell collectible toys like Star Wars, GI Joe, Marvel and Barbie ~vintage and new. We have diecast pre-built cars and aircraft so you can just put them on display (great executive gifts!), we also carry model railroading from tiny Z scale (locomotive would be the length of your pinky finger) to O scale (the loco would be the size from your wrist to your elbow). So much fun, imagination and something to pass on to your kids and grandkids.

But, my favourite part of my job.... I get to play with Toys and build Model Kits and play Trains all day and I get to say, 'I'm product testing'.... I have the best job!!! Wanna come over and Play?

Our website

Our Facebook site


~~this post by Valerie

Monday 10 September 2012

Storing SuperGlue (CA glue) & Helpful Tips

CA Glue, super glue

Have you ever used Superglue? You may have had problems with the tip clogging with dried glue or the glue turning to gel? Or do you want to use it, but you're intimidated by the thought of gluing your hand to your face, or your forhead to the table. Well in this post we hope to help you with solving some of these issues and putting some of those fears to rest.

We carry the brand Speed glue. It comes in Thin (pink label), Medium (green label-also a gap filler), and Thick (yellow label). The main differences in these is the drying time of each, its viscosity and application uses.

We also carry High Speed which is an accelorator to speed curing time and Speed Reverse which is a debonder, that is to seperate you from your project in case of that occasional mishap.


Tips to Remember:

  • Cut the tip of the glue spout at an angle, this helps prevents clogging and gives you a guide to help control application. If the tip does clog try cutting below the clog again at an angle.
  • Take your time. Dry fit the part you are gluing to make sure you know how it fits together. You only have between 2 and 15 seconds depending on the viscocity of your glue, so you want to make sure to get it right the first time!
  • When using the Medium Viscosity as a gap filler, let the glue set (depending on how much you use depends on the curing time) then you can sand it to make it flush with your piece. If you use the accelorator you can sand almost immediatly
  • You can store the glue in the door of your fridge (just make sure you keep in in the original safety bottle to prevent children from getting it). This will help extend the life of your super glue up to six months.

Remember a little goes a long way, using a toothpick to apply to small areas will minimize oozing, Never use Superglue on clear parts, it will cloud. If you happen to glue your skin you can use Debonder.

Tell us your helpful hint you have learned.....

If you have any additional questions please email us at hobbywest@shaw.ca or call us at 1-877-525-5785 (toll free in Canada and the USA).

Thursday 30 August 2012

Sometimes Its Too Weird Not To Share....

Today is... National Toasted Marshmellow Day... seriously... make your own at home!


 http://www.netplaces.com/quick-meals/desserts/microwave-smores.htm

On a different note....
Today, like so many of us, I was checking my emails. Usually I get the occasional spam, business newsletters, questions from customer and the occasional joke. Today I came across a real news story from England I just had to share. I posted it on our Facebook and Twitter pages and I am posting it here because I know some of you guys don't like or have either of those.

The Headline read: UK firemen called to rescue cow stuck up a tree.
LONDON | Wed Aug 29, 2012 11:51am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - A cow had to be rescued by fire services in northern England after it tumbled down a 30 meter river embankment and got stuck in a tree.

Fire crews in Cumbria were surprised to receive a call to rescue the cow, which had toppled 10 meters down a slope of the river Leith before a tree broke its fall.

The bruised bovine was discovered after its farmer noticed one of his cows was missing.

The animal was sedated by a vet before being winched out of the tree by firemen using specialist equipment.

"(Fire crews) had to wear body armor in case a stray hoof lashed out at them," said a spokesman for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service.

"The vet checked the cow over and it seemed reasonably happy and relatively unscathed," he said.

(Reporting by Alice Baghdjian) Link :http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/29/us-britain-cow-idUSBRE87S0T220120829

Do you have an interesting story to share? What are your thoughts on this article? Please share with us, we would love to hear from you.

Tuesday 21 August 2012

A Note From Valerie

Hi fellow hobby enthusiasts;

For those of you that don't know me, I'm one of the owners here at Chinook & Hobby West. I love being the Social Media go to for our company and hearing from, and talking to our guests.

It’s really cool to hear all the great comments about the changes we are making here at Chinook & Hobby West. You all seem to like the new format of our Newsletter and our website. The only not so great comments were to do with not having a better online store, and believe me its something we are working towards!

I have received some great testimonials from local customers as well as out of town and even out of continent customers! We had a couple in here from Germany and they said they come visit our store every time they come to Calgary. They were a little disappointed that we sold all the craft stuff and have temporarily closed the upstairs clearance centre but they love the new look to the store and logo and even checked out our North store.

With this year being our 40th Anniversary year, we would love to hear from you. Maybe you started coming to this store as a kid with your grandpa. Maybe you were driving by all these years and just decided to pop in out of curiosity. Whatever the reason that brought you to Chinook & Hobby West, we would love to have you share it with us. You can add a comment to this blog, comment on our Facebook page, go to our website and email us a comment.  We would love for you to share your story and/or experience with Chinook & Hobby West.

Thank you so much for helping to make our store your store. This is where the Fun begins.

Don't forget to check out our website: www.chinookandhobbywest.com
       "Like" our Facebook Page:  www.facebook.com/ChinookAndHobbyWest
       "Follow" us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/HobbyandToy                   

Sunday 12 August 2012

Toy Collectors Club Newsletter - August 2012

Hello Collectors Club Member;

It’s been about a month since our last email and we wanted to share some things with you.

What’s in this month’s email blast?

  • Restock arrivals 
  • What’s happening in and around Calgary?
  • Tip of the Month
  • Fun Video (building a life-size Airfix model kit)
  • News 
  
Restock Arrived:
-12" figure collection many different from Civil War, Knights, Vikings, Military and more
    check out www.facebook.com/ChinookAndHobbyWest for pictures
-12" figure accesories many new hands, bodies, and clothing.
-Balsa and foam gliders for all ages!
-3 3/4" Star Wars Vintage figures, playsets and vehicles from a collection; most complete (loose boxed)
-4WD Miniracer kits and accessories to customize a mini R/C racer
-Diecast collection with Mopar and Nascar in 1:18 and 1:24
-various sized display cases. For 1:87, 1:64, 1:24, 1:18 and more. Most are
stackable.
-items available at both stores in Calgary


What’s Happening?
We hear about clubs, events and other things that may interest you. As we can we post
them on the events page of our website.
-         Please let us know if you hear of any so we can post them!

Tip of the Month

-When aging clothing for 12" figures use fine grit sandpaper to rough up tears or
to create a 'worn' look (take the clothing off the figure first). Then put the clothing back on and
'dry brush' chalk or paint to create highlights (lighter colours where the light 'hits' the fabric)
and 'lowlights' (where the recesses of the fabric are). For blood stains use burgandy or
mahogany colours for added realism.


Fun Video
James May wanted to get big and small kids imagination going by building a life size Lego house!
Check it out and share what you think! 



 News

 Classes
Our next Airbrushing for Beginners class will be in October 2012. Please check out the
 events calendar on our website for more information. You can either email or call Valerie
to pre-book your space.


Do You Want To Share Your Knowledge With Others?
We are looking for people that would like to share their model railroading tips with others.
It can be in written form or a short video. You would get full credit and if your contribution
gets positive response and you become a repeat blogger for us we would like to share the reward.


Why Does Our Stock Level Look Thin?
We are making changes to both of our stores. We have a new logo, new look and we are
changing how we do things. Those of you that know Rob have experienced how Rob tends
to take things in a new direction from time to time.
Over the summer we are renovating our upstairs of our South store to have something new and
different. So please check out our Facebook page and watch our website for updates.
Late August and Early September you can expect to see new and restock in our plastic and
diecast sections.
We have been purchasing various Action Figure and other collectibles collections. From Barbie, GI Joe to Star Wars. So come by and watch the shelves as they fill out with New to Us Product and the NEW stock arriving starting in September!


Help Us Improve
We would love for you to share your comments and ideas (even the not so nice ones).
What do you want to see in upcoming emails and newsletters? What would you like to see
on our website, blog and/or our Facebook page? If we’ve done something you love let us
know so we can keep it up.
We want to become the Hobby Store that you want to visit so please share with us!


Please email this to a friend; they can join our Collectors Club too!
http://www.chinookandhobbywest.com/collectors-club.html

Thanks so much and we hope to see you really soon.
From Rob, Val and all the guys at Chinook & Hobby West


North Store: 2604 – 4th St. NW    Ph# 403-984-3438
South Store: 5011 Macleod Tr. SW    Ph# 403-243-1997
 
 

Model Railroading Collectors Club Newsletter - August 2012

Hello Collectors Club Member;

It’s been about a month since our last email and we wanted to share some
things with you.

What’s in this month’s email blast?

  • Restock and NEW stock arrivals 
  • What’s happening in and around Calgary?
  • Tip of the Month
  • Fun Video (World's Largest Model Railroad)
  • News (includes Industry Update)
  
Restock Arrived:
-'HO' handmade, pre-built buildings and building kits by Campbell, Highway Miniatures,
Sylvan Scale Models, Timberline, Tichy and many more...
-Railway DVD's: Canadian Rails, Scarlet & Gray Memories, Great Shortlines West and
more titles available: Check out our Features of the week page for pictures.
-'O' scale only available at our North location
-Woodlands Scenics
-more items available at both stores in Calgary


NEW Arrived:
-KATO 'N' ES44AC, SD90/43MAC,  MIKADO
-'N' Proto 2000 USRA 2-8-8-2
-'N' Atlas, Micro-Trains, Lifelike and more...
-and a new scenery/diorama line DMS
-'HO' Rapido VIA FP9A locomotives
-'HO' Rapido passenger cars CP & CN
-'HO' Intermountain Sultran Cars
-Come check out Both stores for all the neat items arriving weekly!

What’s Happening?
We hear about clubs, events and other things that may interest you. As we can we post
them on the events page of our website.
-         Alberta FREE-MO 2012. Aug. 18 & Aug. 19 Big Valley Agriplex; Big Valley, AB. www.calgaryfreemo.ca for more info.
-    Great Edmonton Model Train Show. Sept. 15 & 16; Edmonton, AB. www.mmrf.ab.ca for more info.
-    have you checked out our redesigned website? www.chinookandhobbywest.com please let us know what you think.


Tip of the Month

  • When weathering railcars and locos always go from the top to the bottom, so the streaks taper off.
  • Seal your piece with matte finish so you can use chalks or acrylic and you can wipe off any 'mistakes' easily.
  • Use a 300 grit or finer sandpaper with a light touch to 'wear away' decals, do this a little bit at a time as its easier to take off more than to figure out how to put it back.
  • Make sure to seal your project once its done, with a matte finish so all your hard work doesn't get rubbed off.


Fun Video
James May has to be one of the most imaginative big kid I've seen in a while. As a model railroder he had to build the World's Largest HO train layout in the UK. Check out The Great Train Race today! We just love how all ages got involved with this project.
Check it out and share what you think! 



 News

 Classes
Our next Airbrushing for Beginners class will be in October 2012. Please check out the
 events calendar on our website for more information. You can either email or call Valerie
to pre-book your space.


Help Wanted!
We are looking for a part time person knowledgeable in Model Railroading. Please go to
our website and check out our Job Opportunity page.

Do You Want To Share Your Knowledge With Others?
We are looking for people that would like to share their model railroading tips with others.
It can be in written form or a short video. You would get full credit and if your contribution
gets positive response and you become a repeat blogger for us we would like to share the reward.


Industry Update- So you don't get upset with your Hobby Store
The hobby is in a manufacturing turmoil, due to a lack of production capacity now.
There is no question; you have seen the delays from virtually all manufacturers. Pick any manufacturer’s
name and their products are delayed. Why you ask? There are several reasons.
The primary one is that the largest factory which produced models for a wide variety of manufacturers
 has shut its doors to those manufacturers. After it had been bought and sold several times, it was
bought out by the Bachmann group and now produces models solely for Bachmann.  This was a huge
 production facility, about 10 times the normal size of a typical Chinese factory.  Or think of it as 10
factories operating under one name.

There is no other "big" factory, equivalent in size.  As a result, many manufacturers have been forced
to scramble and find another factory that can produce their models. However, there is no other "A"
size factory, the next size is "B" size, 1/10th of the "A" size. 
If you can imagine the size of China’s manufacturing sector, you might well say to yourself there should
be lots of factories. There is, they produce lots of electronics, such as games, toys, appliances,
telecommunications, etc. However, model trains are way down at the bottom of the list, as it is
such a small market.
Believe it or not, there are very few companies capable of model train production. There are about
three "B" size main factories and some smaller "C" size factories. 

Then you have the issue of complexity.  Our hobby products involve tool and die making,
electronics, motors, plastic extrusion, assembly, and painting. All of this has to be done with fine
tolerances. All of these areas require dedicated areas and skilled employees. Compare all of that
to an example, a “Barbie doll”, with much greater tolerance for error.

The result to you the modeler is that your promised future models have been delayed.

As dealers (your local hobby shop), we and all other dealers are the recipient of modelers’
frustrations, as we are their direct contact. I can certainly understand and empathize with
modelers’ frustrations. We have the same frustration, except it is multiplied a hundred times
or more. We, as dealers and distributors, plan on models delivered in future months for our
cash flow planning, staffing and other commitments. Every store, distributor and manufacturer
is experiencing the same problems. There is no immediate fix or date when “normalcy” will
return to the hobby.

Another issue affecting production is working capital, or more specifically, the lack of working capital,
both in North America and in Asia.  The financial crisis of 2008 has hammered businesses around the
globe. Working capital has dried up for many manufacturers. In foreign countries, a number of
manufacturers may be taking funds from one customer and applying them to another, they are “robbing
Peter to pay Paul” to stay in business.
I know of a number of our North American importers, with manufacturers overseas, who are in this
position of waiting, and waiting, and waiting. They have supplied funds to their overseas manufacturers
for research and development, tooling, raw materials and production costs, and are waiting on receiving
a pre-production sample. They may even have approved the sample and are waiting for production to
occur, but they are still waiting. It is out of their control.

Now is not the time to berate manufacturers for not delivering products to you. It is a global issue.
The only thing we can say to you is to be patient.  Take care.

From Tom Tomblin, President,Canadian Model Trains Inc.

Help Us Improve
We would love for you to share your comments and ideas (even the not so nice ones).
What do you want to see in upcoming emails and newsletters? What would you like to see
on our website, blog and/or our Facebook page? If we’ve done something you love let us
know so we can keep it up.
We want to become the Hobby Store that you want to visit so please share with us!


Please email this to a friend; they can join our Collectors Club too!
http://www.chinookandhobbywest.com/collectors-club.html

Thanks so much and we hope to see you really soon.
From Rob, Val and all the guys at Chinook & Hobby West


North Store: 2604 – 4th St. NW    Ph# 403-984-3438
South Store: 5011 Macleod Tr. SW    Ph# 403-243-1997
 
 

Model Collectors Club Newsletter - August 2012

Hello Collectors Club Member;

It’s been about a month since our last email and we wanted to share some things with you.

What’s in this month’s email blast?

  • Restock arrivals 
  • What’s happening in and around Calgary?
  • Tip of the Month
  • Fun Video (building a life-size Airfix model kit)
  • News 
  
Restock Arrived:
-4WD Miniracer kits and accessories to customize a mini R/C racer
-Diecast collection with Mopar and Nascar in 1:18 and 1:24
-Model Technologies Detail sets for aircraft
-Indoor Spray Booth: includes a baffle to contain fumes & fold up easily
-various sized display cases. For 1:87, 1:64, 1:24, 1:18 and more. Most are
stackable.



What’s Happening?
We hear about clubs, events and other things that may interest you. As we can we post
them on the events page of our website.
-         Every Tuesday night (weather permitting) Oakridge A & W has a mini show and shine, bring
        by your car/truck or just visit. 
-    2012 Alberta Military Modellers Show: Sept. 15/12 at the Military Museum of Calgary
        http://www.albertamilmodshow.ca for more info on how to enter, time & cost


Tip of the Month

Scales

The term 'scale' refers to the proportion of actual size the replica or model represents. Scale is usually expressed as a ratio (e.g. '1:35') or as a fraction (e.g. '1/35'). In either case it conveys the notion that the replica or model is accurately scaled in all visible proportions from a full-size prototype object. Thus a 1:35th scale model tank is 1' to 35' the size of the actual vehicle upon which the model is based. Models generally make no attempt to replicate scale weight, only size.
Scales for commercially produced kits include 1:9, 1:16, 1:24, 1:35, 1:48, 1:72, 1:87 (railroad HO scale), 1:144, 1:250, 1:285 and 1:300. However, 1:35 and 1:72 are by far the most popular. A relatively new trend led by Tamiya is military vehicle kits in 1:48 scale — a popular scale for military aircraft models. The scale was formerly introduced by companies such as Aurora, and Bandai in the 1970's. However, the scale did not gain popularity mostly because of the accuracy and detail of the scale. Scratch built models may be in any scale, but tend to follow the most popular kit scales due to the ease of finding kit components which may be used in the scratch built model.
Larger-scale models tend to incorporate higher levels of detail, but even smaller-scale models may be quite intricate.

Subjects

Military vehicle modellers build a wide variety of models. Tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles are the most popular subjects at model contests. Modellers also build ordnance, military trucks and half-tracks, and lighter vehicles such as jeeps and motorcycles. Models may be displayed in stand-alone mode, that is, with no base, or on a decorative base, often with a label of some kind. More elaborate bases may include scale scenery, intended to depict the setting in which the vehicle served. This trends towards the closely related hobby of diorama building.
Taken from http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alberta-Military-Modellers-Show/121278451295545#!/pages/Model-military-vehicle/111020152253485?rf=115006585177613

Fun Video
James May wanted to get kids interested in model building by having them put together, paint and
display a 1:1 Airfix model Spitfire airplane kit.




 News

 Classes
Our next Airbrushing for Beginners class will be in October 2012. Please check out the
 events calendar on our website for more information. You can either email or call Valerie
to pre-book your space.


Do You Want To Share Your Knowledge With Others?
We are looking for people that would like to share their model railroading tips with others.
It can be in written form or a short video. You would get full credit and if your contribution
gets positive response and you become a repeat blogger for us we would like to share the reward.


Why Does Our Stock Level Look Thin?
We are making changes to both of our stores. We have a new logo, new look and we are
changing how we do things. Those of you that know Rob have experienced how Rob tends
to take things in a new direction from time to time.
Over the summer we are renovating our upstairs of our South store to have something new and
different. So please check out our Facebook page and watch our website for updates.
Late August and Early September you can expect to see new and restock in our plastic and
diecast sections.


Help Us Improve
We would love for you to share your comments and ideas (even the not so nice ones).
What do you want to see in upcoming emails and newsletters? What would you like to see
on our website, blog and/or our Facebook page? If we’ve done something you love let us
know so we can keep it up.
We want to become the Hobby Store that you want to visit so please share with us!


Please email this to a friend; they can join our Collectors Club too!
http://www.chinookandhobbywest.com/collectors-club.html

Thanks so much and we hope to see you really soon.
From Rob, Val and all the guys at Chinook & Hobby West


North Store: 2604 – 4th St. NW    Ph# 403-984-3438
South Store: 5011 Macleod Tr. SW    Ph# 403-243-1997