Olympia & Sand Creek, Sidetrack Ep. 5 | Painting a horse figure

As the Sidetrack Series trots along, David shares his technique for painting the ponies. But following his savvy advice, he begins by decorating the details (harness, hitch, etc.). After painting the body and other fine features, David then demonstrates how to give the steed a suitable, well-weathered appearance. But don’t hitch your horse to this […]

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Building a T-Trak module | Installing signs and poles

David Popp’s scenery work is whittling down to assembling and placing various road signs and line poles on the N scale (1:160) T-Trak module. Progress is moving closer to completion, so be sure to catch up with all of David’s efforts and helpful insights throughout the entire T-Trak series…exclusively on Trains.com Video! […]

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Olympia & Sand Creek, Sidetrack Ep. 4 | A horse apiece

Back on the sidetrack, David resumes construction of the drivers, plus the horses and mules used to pull the various wagons and carts he’ll place into his On30 layout scenes. Initial efforts in this episode involve the basic material prep and assembly of all the white metal parts and pieces in the selected kits. By […]

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Olympia & Sand Creek, Episode 16 | Building a removable ramp for the ore tipple

Welcome back to the Olympia & Sand Creek series with host David Popp. While David has been sidetracked with efforts to build the cart before the horse, now’s the time to put that tandem into its place! In this installment, you’ll see how to shape up a removable tipple scene that sits atop a plateau. […]

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Building a T-Trak module | Starting the scenery

In order to start the scenery stage for his N scale (1:160) T-Trak module, host David Popp first looks to finish up a few trackwork and roadway details. And then it’s all about establishing a unifying base layer for the finished scenery. Keep up with the entire T-Trak series…exclusively on Trains.com Video! […]

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Olympia & Sand Creek, Sidetrack Ep. 3 | Horse Drawn Wagons

In this episode, David turns to a new construction technique as he forms the body of a wagon using resin impregnated paper. In his initial attempt with this material, David finds that it cuts, shapes, and assembles in manner similar to styrene. Follow along as he walks through the working limits and shares his valuable […]

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Olympia & Sand Creek, Sidetrack Ep. 2 | Horse Drawn Wagons

David moves from Episode 1 to the next steps of assembling wagons for the railroad town of his On30 Olympia & Sand Creek model railroad. This time, he starts in by making sure the parts to be assembled are well cleaned, all so the adhesive will properly adhere to the various white metal components. Then, […]

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Repairing water-damaged locomotives

Model trains are often kept in spaces below grade, which are subject to dampness or worse, flood water! Fortunately, if your locomotives are left damaged from such flooding, it doesn’t necessarily equate to total loss. In this video, David Popp walks through the process of evaluating the damage through the steps required to get your […]

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Building a T-Trak module | Paving road surfaces

Continuing the process of building an N scale (1:160) T-Trak modular layout, host David Popp turns to adding a bit of scenery. In this instance, he shares techniques for shaping up a vehicle roadway. This can be a bit messy, so it makes perfect sense to tackle the effort before any detailed scenery work gets […]

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Olympia & Sand Creek, Sidetrack Ep. 1 | Horse Drawn Wagons

Host David Popp departs from the On30 layout construction to tackle something he’s never done before. In the railroad town of Sand Creek, David works to build, paint, and install proper horses and horse drawn wagons that folks use to haul goods to and fro. Saddle up for the ride through the entire process…and Trains.com […]

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The Hills Line with James McNab | The Magic in Pixels, Episode 19

In this concluding episode of the Hills Line series on Trains.com Video, host James McNab puts his HO scale module through the paces in a photo session designed to create stunning scenic vistas. Discover his clever lighting and composition techniques for bringing the expanse of the great outdoors into his basement – all to shape […]

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