Cody Grivno, group technical editor, and Eric White, senior editor, take a close look at the Athearn Genesis HO scale GP18 in this Rapid Review video. […]
Check out this Rapid Review of the new Athearn Genesis GP18!
Magazine: Model-Railroader
Model railroad locomotive, freight car, and detail announcements for June 10, 2021
HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD90MAC diesel locomotive. Canadian Pacific (red and black), CIT Group (blue and black), Indiana Rail Road (red and white in two road numbers, 25th anniversary scheme in one number), Norfolk Southern (Primed for Grime series Union Pacific patchouts), and Union Pacific (Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist Gray, 3470-3775 series units […]
Reader Tip: Make a simple, precise applicator tool
Recent scratchbuilding efforts prompted me to come up with a simple glue applicator that would put a small amount of adhesive precisely where I wanted it. There are many commercial products to do this, but none were exactly what I needed. I took a sewing needle, measured its diameter, and drilled a slightly smaller hole […]
Last Year’s Walthers Winners Prove That Age Is Just a Number
WAUKESHA, Wis. — Out in the quiet countryside of Arkansaw, Wisconsin, brothers Bo and Ian Afdahl wake up every morning at 5 a.m. to milk and feed the cows on their family’s small dairy farm. After school, they come back home and do it all over again, typically working late into the evening. On the […]
It’s My Railroad, Making backdrop buildings, Ep. 23
Host Steve Brown shares his “Regular Guy” techniques for making low-relief background structures. In this video, Steve points out how quick and easy it is to mount paper templates on foam core material to form realistic buildings well-suited for placement along a layout backdrop. […]
Model railroad locomotive, freight car, structure, detail, tool, and book announcements for June 3, 2021
HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP7 diesel locomotive. New paint schemes: Burlington Northern (green and black), Chicago & Eastern Illinois (black and orange), Conrail (blue and white with small or large lettering, one road number each), and Reading Co. (Pullman Green). New paint schemes: Florida East Coast (yellow and blue), Guilford Rail System (Springfield Terminal […]
How to strip paint from plastic models
Eric White couldn’t find a Northeastern style caboose painted for the Lehigh Valley, but a vendor at a train show had several models in another paint scheme. In less than an hour, Eric had a model that was ready for new paint. Watch this video to see how he stripped the original paint. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT […]
Cody’s Office is back with new HO scale freight cars and a new book about cabooses!
Cody Grivno takes a look at the American Limited HO scale single-dome tank car, Walthers’ new HO scale International Car Co. caboose, and the new Guide to North American Cabooses book from Kalmbach, plus a modeling tip and viewer mail. […]
Bachmann’s new N scale Hudson is on the test track!
The iconic class J3 Hudson pulled New York Central’s Great Steel Fleet until streamlined diesels entered the scene after World War II. This well-detailed N scale model features a dual-mode SoundTraxx Econami sound decoder and fine details. Check out the video! […]
Ask MR: Should wood running boards be painted?
Q: My N scale layout is set in 1933. Several years ago, someone whose railroading knowledge I respect told me that running boards on early freight cars weren’t painted since they would be dangerously slippery when wet. However, all the models I see sold now have the running boards painted the same color as the […]
Fixing Wobbling Boxcars
In this quick how-to video, Eric White shows you how a little bit of filing can go a long way when trying to fix the pesky wobble on a boxcar. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT BELOW: Ready to run models can be great, but sometimes you need to do a little tuning. Take a look at this. You […]
Rapido HO scale 40-foot double-sheathed United States Railroad Administration boxcar
With about 25,000 built, the United States Railroad Administration 40-foot double-sheathed boxcar is one that deserves a place on any transition-era or earlier model railroad. Rapido’s model will help you fill your roster with highly detailed examples fitted with the correct style of brake for the paint schemes offered. War babies The double-sheathed boxcar was […]
