An Interview with Model Train enthusiast: Robin Cain

An Interview with Model Train enthusiast: Robin Cain 

Robin: I saw your Facebook request for photos of hobbies people are working on.  I thought you would like to check these out.

 

Chinook: Fantastic! Did you customize/paint it yourself? Tell me about this piece and why it's so special. 

Robin: It's an SD45 I made about 3 years ago...yes I did everything to it.  Athearn BLUE box

Chinook:  Is there anything else you would like to share about this SD45? 

Robin:   (thumbs up) ATHEARN BLUE BOX DC POWERED pepped up a little bit... Jewel marker lights, air hoses, grab irons, fire cracker antenna, rotating yellow Beacon, installed handrails, roof hooks, extra decaling on steps & body, custom painted & numbered number boards, center air hoses, box behind cab near turbocharger cover, custom painted & decalled.... Here's more pictures

Got it at a YARD sale for a dollar, it was a SANTA FE originally. Started off as a dummy. Recently was upgraded to a powered unit.

Chinook:  Why did you choose this loco to customize or paint?

Robin:  I was a hobo in the late 70's and rode a lot of FRISCO trains. The FRISCO SD45's was one of the giant purring kittens I slept in sometimes at night in different yards...lots of engineer's & trainmen knew me...I had a blast...miss it

Chinook:  a hobo? Where you checking out North America or just the US or just Canada?

Robin:  USA, NORTH AMERICA

Chinook:   Was it undecorated when you started? or did you strip it and repaint it? or did you do weathering and adding some things to a pre-painted loco?

Robin:  .it was a freight paint job for SANTA FE, only washed it with warm water & blue dawn, I primed it grey, painted it white, taped over white areas & put the orange to it with a badger spray unit, I altered the orange & added red, gloss colors of course.

Chinook:  How many build hours did it take you to do the work you did on it?

Robin:          13 hours to do units spread out over a month...I paint a tremendous amount of trains

Chinook:    How long have you been a model railroader and how long have you been painting/customizing your own pieces?

Robin:   I am 57, I have been a model railroader for 53 years...I been painting my own pieces since I was 10. I model the SEABOARD COAST LINE RAILROAD between AUGUSTA, GEORGIA & GREENWOOD, SOUTH CAROLINA. Just finished these BRIDGES built out of yard sticks & paint sticks

Chinook:    Do you have a designated hobby area?

Robin:  Oh yes! My layout! And my creator’s table.

Chinook:   What is your next project?

Robin:  My next project is to paint 10 SD45's.  6 BLACK...SCL 3 ROCK ISLAND BLUE 1 ROCK ISLAND RED

Chinook:   What city and state/province do you live in? Are you married? Do you share your hobby with your kids/grandkids?

Robin:  ONEONTA, ALABAMA.  My kids thinks I'm crazy because I tell them stories about people I've met honking and who I've played drums for.  I have a kids ministry. I give train's away to kids year round.  I am a train vendor, non-profit status.

I'm a little different than most people...LOL...child of the 60's & 70"s

Chinook:  Thanks so much for taking some time out of your busy day and answering these questions.

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If you liked this blog post, please leave a comment below and subscribe to our blog, Chinook Hobby Talk. Let us know what you would like to see more of in the future: Interviews with hobbyists? Product testing reviews? Maintenance? Q & A’s?

Please let us know!

Thanks and Happy Hobbying!

Val, Chinook & Hobby West

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Model Railroading Scales - What Do the Letters Mean?

     Model railroading is fascinating and has been dubbed by many as the “World’s Greatest Hobby”.   It is very versatile and incorporates many learning opportunities and is so much fun for all ages. It includes creativity with sculpturing, painting, airbrushing, decorating and landscaping, and encourages scientific exploration of electronics, physics, mechanics, engineering and architecture, all combined with humour, friendship, family activities, social interaction, and the great sense of accomplishment.

Many people who visit us ask if there is significance to the letter referral to different size trains; N, HO, O, G, etc.  The answer is YES!!  We've compiled a list of all the scales and why they were named with that letter designation.

Please leave a comment after you've read this post and let us know what your thoughts on gauge and scale are and if this was helpful to you or not.

T - Ø 1:450 (referred to as 'Tiny' or 'Tokyo' as it was introduced at the Tokyo Toy Show in 2006)

ZZ - Ø 1:300 (Until the 2006 announcement of T scale, ZZ scale was the smallest commercially available scale for model railroads)

Z - Ø  1:220 (with all the letters identifying gauges Z became the smallest so they used the last letter in the alphabet)

N - Ø 1:160 (track gauge is 9mm, the N stands for Nine mm)

2mm - Ø 1:152 (similar in size to the slightly larger British N scale at 1:148 and the slightly smaller European/American N scale at 1:160; it predates both versions of N scale)

TT - Ø 1:120 (referred to as Table Top as it fit so easily on coffee tables)

3mm - Ø 1:101 (also known as 3 mm finescale, is a model railway scale of 3 mm: 1ft used for British prototypes. Introduced as British TT gauge)

OO- Ø 1:76 (Runs on HO track and is the British counterpart)

HOn3 - Ø 1:87 (The "n" in HOn3 stands for 'narrow gauge', HOn3 is still HO scale)

HO - Ø 1:87 (Half O or ‘aitch oh’)

S - Ø 1:64 (First named Standard Gauge then to represent that Scale that was half of 1 gauge which was built to 1:32 scale)

On3 - Ø 1:48 (is narrow gauge O scale)

O - Ø 1:48 (was referred as zero (or 0h) gauge)

G - Ø  1:22.5 ( G stands for Garden)

Live Steam - Ø  1:2, 1:4 or 1:3 scale  (Ridable, large-scale, powered by steam)

Gauge refers to the width of the track, measured between the railheads.  Different from scale, which is proportion to life-size.

At present, Chinook & Hobby West carries three Scales of Model Trains for Sale:  O scale, HO Scale, and N scale.  This article was researched through Atlas, Kato, NMRA and Bachmann.

Tips for Restringing or Retightening Action Figures

Over the years, we have purchased many collections with action figures in pieces because the elastics broke. We have also had parents come in asking if we repair action figures or if we can show/tell someone how to fix one.

Rob can show you. It is fairly easy if you are patient and have a steady hand.  But because Rob is pretty busy and hard to nail down, he found an article that should help you out with some great tips, references and steps.

The following is taken from that article and there is a link at the bottom of this post so you can go see what else you can do to fix up those figures.

Before you read the article, here's a few things you may want to have on hand for when you're ready to fix your action figures.

1. a various selection of small 'O' rings or elastics
2. a sectioned container to sort the 'O' rings
3. a couple sizes of crotchet hooks (they come in metal, plastic & wood and can be found at craft stores)
4. fine tip craft scissors or sprue cutters
5. set of hobby screwdrivers

Are you sitting comfortably?  Then let's learn something neat!

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Idea 1
The best way to tighten your Action Figure involves a partial re-string. You need to shorten the single elastic (or you can use a new 'O' ring to reconnect the pieces) that connects the two legs and the neck. You need a long tool with a little hook on it like a crochet needle and a thin phillips screwdriver.

1. Holding Joe securely, pull his head away from the neck hole until you see the elastic that loops around the neck hook.
2. Push the screwdriver or crotchet hook through the loop to hold it securely above the neck hole.
3. This will allow you to easily unhook the neck from the elastic.
4. Set the head/neck aside.
5. Pull and separate the lower section away from the upper.
   Now you will have Joes two legs and abdomen section free to work on. 
6. You can shorten (tighten) the elastic by folding it an inch or so and then stitching it at that fold point. Make sure you stitch it securely.
   Now you can "re-string" Joe by putting the hook down through the neck hole past the arm elastics and out through the bottom of the chest hole. 
7. Hook your tool onto your tightened elastic and pull it up through the neck hole again. This will take alot of elbow grease. It will be very tight now..
8. Once you get it pulled just past the neck hole, stick in your screwdriver again to hold it above the neck hole.
9. Now, you can easily rehook the neck hook to the elastic.
10. Pull out the screwdriver, and you're done.

Joe is back to tight fighting shape! This process will also work for restringing or tightening the arm elastic as well. It sounds a little tough, but once you do it, it becomes really easy. -- John Medeiros


As for the floppy joints, I suggest the following (but only if you are brave): Grab some slide lock pliers, (you know, the big ones you use on the sink) and squeeze each pin and rivet gently until it begins to compress. Use the very edge of the plier face, and avoid contact with the plastic. I found this works better that tapping the joint with the hammer because you can watch the joint for stress cracks and stop at any time. You may experience a little paint flaking, but that is easily repainted. You also may want to wrap the pliers in a thin cloth. -- John

Idea 2:
I repaired a Cotswold Elite figure that had its arms come off. Anybody that has seen the cord inside these things should understand why. Here is how I fixed him:

1. Get a rubber band, the size that is used on newspapers and triple it up.
2. Take two bread twists and twist them together to form a piece about 4 or 5 inches long.
3. Tie one end of the bread tie to the rubber band, after attaching the rubber band to one of of the arms, and thread the bread ties along with the other end of the rubber band through the body.
4. Hook the other end of the rubber band on the other arm hook and then untie the bread ties. Your arms should snap right into place.

I don't know how long the rubber band will hold before it becomes brittle. It can't be any worse than that stupid cord that is in the figure though. This actually is a pretty easy fix as far as the arms are concerned. Give it a try if you ever have a figure do this to you. -- Jem


Other Ideas
Restringing arms and legs is easy except for the hip pins. They can be tricky to remove with out breaking them. Try a small awl or leather needle to pop them out. Then use some rubber cement to put them back in. To pull the rubber strings I use a coat hanger. The end makes a good hook and it is easy to pull the leg string out of the neck hole to attach the head. Do the same with the arm string . Hook one shoulder then pull the string through with the hanger and connect the other side. -- LordVader

When restringing arms and legs, I don't bother with the thigh pins myself. I leave them in if still serviceable. I bought a little bag of teeny tie wraps (the zip strip type) and just tie wrap the elastic loop to the still in there thigh pin. It works great with no noticable looseness for the extra .05 extra distance. -- Aaron


To read more of this article CLICK HERE

Please leave a comment about this post.

This blog post is opinion only and any damage/injury or loss to product or person is the responsibility of that person and Chinook & Hobby West and it's employees are not responsible.

Gift Series Diamond Blocks Minion - Product Review

Chinook & Hobby West just got in some really neat Lego style sets from LOZ. Called Diamond Blocks.

I have to admit that one of the best perks of working at a hobby store is that you get to 'product test' the new product!

This time it's Robby's turn.

Out of the four designs that we are experimenting with, Robby decided to put together Minion #9161.
It has 260 pieces, and the box suggests 14+.  Robby is 13 and had almost no trouble putting it together.  Although it did take some time as the pieces are small.

The rest is from Robby's point of view:

First read the instructions and make sure all your pieces are included.  There's 260 so check carefully! (however, there are one extra of every piece so if you loose one there's an extra.)


As you construct this piece, you do it in layers starting at the base and it's hollow inside.  I'm going to build it as a display so I'll probably glue it together. You can to, if you're never going to dissemble it.

Now by this stage I was two and a half hours in to building it. Although you do have to look at the instructions very closely because they're not as clear as Lego's are.

The mouth took me about two try's (depending on your skill with Lego building you may do better - lol) as it is a very weird shape.

You can place the pupils anywhere in the eye's but I chose to make him look straight.  

                           The goggles are fun because they make him look more like a minion.

          I put the finished piece in a custom made display case just for fun, and enhance the look.



You can buy these neat sets (and the proper display case) at our online store, or come down to our store location in Calgary.

 The others we currently have at Chinook & Hobby West are:

We have over 33 different designs!

Each piece is between 100 and 300 pieces and stand about 3 inches tall when completed.

Thanks for reading our blog and please leave a comment about what you thought about this entry or if you have any ideas for future posts.

~Robby

& Val

A Day At the Alberta Railway Museum - Part 1

July 1st, 2015 we had a chance to visit the Alberta Railway Museum. First we went through the open air museum, then we got a special behind the scenes tour.  So on behalf of Chinook & Hobby West, the Gale family and of course, the Alberta Railway Museum - enjoy!

What's greeting you at the beginning?

CP  GP30 - 1 of only 2 that CP owned this one is just a husk and very cool to see one live and not just in photos

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Once we got into the park No. 73 was waiting to greet us. It's a NAR 2-8-0 Consolidation: missing a drive gear, but impressive sitting at the front of a boom car and bay window caboose.

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The next on our tour was the NAR (Northern Alberta Railway) 40' Flanger (Val's fav).  #16601 built in 1914 by National Steel Car Company in Hamilton, ON.

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The NAR Cook Car #17062. Built in 1917 - this 40' wood sheathed cook car was originally built as a box car and was converted in 1944 to a kitchen car.

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Then we were distracted by  CN #9000 - Canadian Nationals very first F-3 delivered in 1948. For Canada Day it sported Canadian flags. It was the first run of the season. Followed by coaches that were in service until  1975. They're light weight coaches used for daytime commuters, back East.

On this run the conductor was Hans Huzinga. It was fascinating listening to all the history of the park and the different trains that he was sharing with us all.

The engineer was Graham Wood. He worked for CN as an engineer before retiring and volunteering to help run the #9000 at the Alberta Railway Museum.

The tail end brakeman for the day was Joel Mullan. He was great with the kids, encouraging them to come and try the whistle that was at the back of the car.

The ride itself takes you back and forth along a shortline. Graham, the engineer, made sure we had a smooth ride with no jolts, hesitations or bumps. He said 'the Old Lady needs to be treated gently so everyone can have a fun ride'.

On our short trip we pass by an old set of trucks and some prime movers that were donated to the museum by Northern Alberta Railway and Western CNR.

Our conductor shared how this shortline connected to the main line that was once used for runs to Lac La Biche.

As Hans shares all his wealth of knowledge the whistle blows twice.  Then as the train comes to a stop and then smoothly shifts to traveling in reverse, the whistle then blows three times.  Hans lets us know that when the train travels forward on a main line it blasts its whistle twice.  If it travels in reverse, that's three blasts.

After the train ride ends, we pull into the St. Albert station that houses a fun gift shop and the telegraph office which leads into a mini museum of the history of the telegraph.  Both are a must see before you leave this great museum.

After a couple of hours taking our time through all the wonderful pieces - all with differing degrees of restoration; we were given a behind the scenes look in the car sheds and engine shops.

But that's for next week.........

Come back and check out our next post and feel free to comment on this one.  Share thoughts, memories or what you may want to see.


Val & Rob

Model Kit Building And Painting Tips And Tricks

Our staff here at Chinook & Hobby West have noticed many of the same questions from our beginner level model builders. We have done some research and pooled our own knowledge to share some tips and tricks to help you along your hobby adventure.

Please leave a comment below and let us know your tips, ideas or if this article helped you.
Enjoy and Happy Hobbying!

Building a Model

1. You need a designated space such as a large table with good lighting.
2. Read through the instructions a couple of times before you start.
3. Cut, don't snap off, individual parts from the plastic sprues.
4. Compare the parts included, to the list of parts in the instructions.
5. Smooth the edges of parts using a sanding stick or file to remove nubs and excess plastic resulting from manufacturing, then wash them in a mild detergent and allow to dry. Make sure to use gentle pressure when sanding so you don't take too much off.
6. Collect your tools.
7. Follow the parts assembly sequence exactly. Be patient and don't jump ahead.

Extra Tips
-Use the minimum amount of glue necessary to make a solid bond. 
-Enhance your assembled model by filling in gaps with putty and carefully sanding the filled surface.

Come down and see us at Chinook & Hobby West or email us if you have any questions.

Painting Your Model

1. Do some research if you're building a replica. Every era has incorporated its own style. A replica of a Cadillac painted pink would not be an accurate model of the original car but may be your vision of your dream car.
2. If you can, find a modeler's club and learn hands-on tips from more experienced modelers. There are some great online forums on the internet.
3. Plan your paint scheme if you're doing your own design. Write down the colours you're thinking about so you don't forget that vision.
4. Work on a clean surface.
5. Clean your model. Use rubbing alcohol or plastic prep and let the model dry thoroughly. This helps to remove all oil and any other contamination, including excess glue.
6. Put the model or model part on a paint stand or on a drop cloth.
7. Shake the spray can thoroughly to mix paint properly.
8. Test the nozzle by spraying a piece of cardboard, such as the inside lid of your model box.
9. Plan on multiple thin coats rather than one thick coat.
10. Start spraying to one side of the model, stroke over the model, and spray past the model before you stop.  Keeping the spray about 6 to 8 inches away from the project.

Extra Tips 
-Aerosol spray paints are good, but you may want to invest in an airbrush as you grow in the hobby.  
-Bright, shiny finishes can be achieved by painting the desired color, letting the model dry, spraying with a clear coat, and then finishing with a buffing compound. 
-Complete the detail work as necessary with fine-tipped artist brushes.
-Use thinners for your type of paint (acrylic thinner for acrylic paint) when brush painting.
-Paint in a ventilated area. 

-Wear a painter's mask if you are sensitive to smells. 
-Many experienced modelers suggest using primers when painting.

We hope that these tips and tricks help you create a piece you can be proud of.  Remember to have patience, take your time and if you get frustrated, walk away (after you clean up). You can always go back to it later!

Please leave a comment and remember, these ideas are not finite; there are so many things to try and experiment with.  Have FUN!

These tips are suggestions and we are not responsible for damage or accidents that occur to your project.