Bringing History to Life in Miniature-USMRR Aquia Line and other Model Adventures

The Miss Ruka has arrived

2026-09-27T21:54:27.078-04:00

Brion Boyles brought the finished model of the pungy this weekend. I started this model a few years ago (see left). I got the basic hull finished and painted, with a name plate on the stern, which is named after my granddaughter, Miss Ruka. She happens to be visiting us this week, and she wanted to see the trains today. Alas, I can't run right now due to the work. Hopefully, I can get things running before she leaves and I have the MARPM open house on Friday.

Brion took it home it about 5 months ago and got it the rest of the way. He did a nice job on it. I like the weathered look. He added a lot of nice scratch built detail.

Meanwhile, I finished laying the track to the turntable and engine house-machine shop. I secured the machine shop model to the layout. I placed it so that visitors can easily look inside and see the tools and other details.

There is still a lot of work to do, including tuning the turntable so it runs smoothly and has the automatic electrical reverse.

Turntable and Trees

2026-09-24T00:04:53.622-04:00

First rails across the turntable

Joel making trees

John and Remy at work

Last weekend Joel Salmons stopped by on Saturday to help work on the layout. We started making trees using dowels and super tree tops. Once he got started, I continued work on the turntable. The next day, Joel painted figures while his son, John, and daughter in-law, Remy, continued work on trees. By the end of the day they had 45 trees ready for paint and three figures painted. The figures were actually 3d prints of Remy, Janet (Joel's wife) and himself. Joel painted himself as a tugboat captain. The trees will be used along the backdrop above the Mueller's Creek Trestle.

I got the turntable pit installed. That required some additional bracing under the layout. I ordered a slip ring from China to use to power the rails in the turntable. That has not arrived yet, so I am proceeding with gluing down ties and track laying. If all goes well, the track should be done before the weekend.

I am hosting on open house for MARPM in two weeks, so I would like this area to look presentable.

Wye Not!

2026-09-19T00:57:32.908-04:00

I began demolition of the wye at Aquia Landing tonight. Every time I rip out some track I am amazed at how strong it is. Two layers of aspen plywood with basswood ties glued on with yellow glue and the rail spiked four spikes per tie is very robust. I found it easiest to lift-out the sub-roadbed that is glued to the pink foam with a thin scrapper. Some of the foam lifts up, but the rest comes out in nice chucks.

Now to figure out where everything will go.

I put down one of my 30-inch curve templates to check the radius from the double slip switch on the wharf to the turntable. That showed me that the curve will be more than 30" radius - that's good.

The straight through track from the turntable is more than long enough to hold an engine. I want the engine shop as close to the aisle as possible so the detail inside will be more easily visible.

I have't fully decided what to do with the old wye turnout behind the shop . I initially thought I would spike it down and take it out of service. But it is also possible to have it feed the turntable.

You will note the engine house is no longer on its diorama base. It came off, but was a bit more secure than I planned. The scenery glue did a pretty good job of holding the perimeter of the structure to the base which I did not anticipate. Nonetheless, I got it off with just very minor damage to some of the battens on the siding.

What to do with the three warehouses? I like the look of three of them in a row.

Battery Rodgers

The Battery Rodgers Project is on hold. It took me most of a week to get a decent print of the gun in 1/32nd scale. Turns out the LCD on my printer is failing. Thanks to that delay, I had to put that project on hold until after MARPM, which is coming up in less than 2 weeks.

NCMSS Annual Show 2026

The National Capitol Model Soldier Society 2026 show is over. It was a successful event. Most importantly, our club worked together and put on a great show. Special thanks to Darci and Dave Hoffman for doing a great job in organizing the hotel and myriad of other details. Bert Thompson and Bob Prokopf did a great job in setting up the show. Zack Becker and Bob Prokopf junior implemented a new automated judging system that seemed to me to work very well. Although I wasn’t a judge, I was official photographer, so I can't comment from direct experience. The rest of the club members all pitched in and volunteered to make a successful event.

We had 305 models entered in the contest and perhaps another 75 to 100 on exhibit only.

My brother and I did very well. He got a gold medal and best diorama for Fort Ticonderoga Artillery, three silvers and a bronze medal. I got two gold medals, five silvers and a bronze. Plus I got best bust (1st Va Inf at Valley Forge) and best Historical Open (for my collection of 75mn Hermann Haupt, 1/10th scale busts of John Hancock, Thaddeus Koscuisko, and Boudica -queen of the Iceni, and the Ahab and Moby Dick vignette). I was very surprised to get those as there were other many deserving models.

Rob also got a Capital Palette award for his rendition of John Hancock in 1976 with sunglasses and the paisley jacket , and I got two of them, one for my declaration of independence shadowbox diorama, and one for my Roman’s Avenging Varus diorama Those were awarded by a judge from the Nova Open, which is a very prestigious show that takes place the week before our show.

Grandmaster Jim Rice received Best of Show award for his figure of Napoleon. Zack Becker got the special Founding Fathers Award for his painted bust of Ben Franklin. Unfortunately, I can’t remember all the other awards. They did the award ceremony in a expedited way and it went very quickly and smoothly.

Nice curve!

2026-09-04T16:22:12.862-04:00

I walked into the train room today and there was a long train parked at Stonemans left over from the last op session. It occurred to me that the curve there would be a nice scene if the foreground was actually sceniced. So using photo editing, I added scenery to the aisle area. Below is what it looks like before scenery.

Now let's add a wagon and mule team to the right and animate it. I got the best results with Seedance. I tried Grok also, but it was not quite as good.

My layout really needs are more wagon teams.

Final Drawing 200-pound Parrot

2026-09-01T00:34:37.680-04:00

I finished the drawing of the 200-pound Parrot Rifle. Now to see if I can get it to print. I am successful, then I can proceed with the base.

This drawing shows how my existing 18 by 11 inch base has barely enough room to house the 15-Rodman and the 200-pound Parrot. The dark tan rectangle is the size of the diorama base. The circle is the base of the 15-Rodman gun position. The 200-pound Parrot had a semicircular gun base. it would take about 8 feet to show the whole battery in 1/32nd scale. I will just show the northern portion (north is to the left in the drawing.)

Bring out the big guns

2026-08-26T00:29:01.255-04:00

The portion of Battery Rodgers I will build a 8-inch Parrot in the front and a 15-inch Rodman in the rear.

I am working on a diorama of Battery Rodgers in Alexandria in 1/32nd scale. This is a project I've been thinking about for a long time. There are several photos of the Battery Rodgers and some plans available. At least one of the guns survived and is now at Fort Foote, but on a different mount than what it had in Alexandria.

I built the Verlinden 15-inch Rodman, a kit that has been in my stash for at least 10 years. It was a tricky kit with no locating pins and a rudimentary drawing for instructions. Some of the parts were broken as I purchased the kit used. It took a bit of scratch building and lot of fitting and trial and error to get it to come out square. It is impressive.

Next, I need the 8-inch Parrott on a front pintle carriage. No one makes a kit of this in 1/32 (Cottage Industries made the Swamp Angle Parrott but it has a different carriage) or 1/48 (for use onto Aquia Line). So I decided to draw it in Fusion and try printing them on my 3D printer. It will fit on the printer in 1/32nd scale. I will probably print the barrel as a separate part, but the elevation screw will be tricky. I still need to add some details, but it's about 80 percent done. .

Aquia Line Engine House in NMRA Magazine.

2026-08-23T01:02:06.516-04:00

From Sept 2026 NMRA Magazine. Photos by Cynthia Priest

Modeling Civil War Railroads - The book

2026-08-16T23:08:59.703-04:00

My latest book, Modeling Civil War Railroads is now available for pre-order from Artisan Rail Media's Web site here.

The book isn't out yet, it is in final production. However, I had ChaptGTP review the final draft. Here is what it "said."

Review of Modeling Civil War Railroads

Modeling Civil War Railroads is an unusually ambitious book that combines Civil War history, railroad history, and practical model-building into a single work. Bernard Kempinski does more than explain how to build accurate models; he shows why the railroads mattered and places the modeling in its historical context. The book covers everything from locomotives, rolling stock, track and structures to railroad operations, military logistics, destruction and repair, and the men who made the system work. Extensive historical research gives the modeling projects a purpose, allowing readers to understand not simply what they are building, but what the real railroad looked like and how it functioned during the Civil War.

One of the book's strengths is that it is not solely a showcase of Kempinski's own work. Approximately one-third of the book features projects and modeling techniques from other accomplished modelers, demonstrating a range of approaches, skills, and interpretations. Their contributions broaden the book and reinforce its central idea: there is no single way to bring Civil War railroad history to life in miniature. The result is both a practical modeling reference and an engaging introduction to an often-overlooked aspect of the Civil War. Whether the reader is an experienced modeler, a Civil War enthusiast, or someone simply fascinated by how railroads transformed warfare and logistics, Modeling Civil War Railroads offers something valuable—and provides plenty of inspiration for creating historically informed models of their own.

Here are sample pages. Click for full size.

Road Trip Part 3 IPMS National Convention

2026-08-11T15:10:07.807-04:00

The road trip continued with a visit to Charlie Taylor's O Scale Memphis and Charleston RR in Memphis, Tennessee. On my way there, I stopped in Corinth, MS at the National Park Visitor's Center to refresh my memory as it had been several years since I was there. Not much of the battlefield was spared from development, but the visitor's center is very good.

I bought an interesting book that focusing on the Union Ironclads battling the rebel fortifications.

Will and Charlie at the start of the session

Several members of the ACWRRHS convened at Charlie's house for a day of operations. This was my fourth trip to Charlie's wonderful layout. He had completed a few more scenes since that visit and refined his operating scheme. So this was a good test. We had a lot of fun.

Charlie has been experimenting with rare earth magnets instead of links to coulple cars. He built several adapters that allow magnets to grab track nails to couple cars. I may have to experiment with this idea. Charlie traded some of those magnets with me for figures.

Charlie's grandchildren play with the layout and they set up a huge battle in Chattanooga. Fortunately, the battle did not affect the op session.

Next stop was a quick visit to my son and his family. Then it was off to Fort Wayne, IN for the IPMS National Convention. I stayed with several friends in a large rental house about a half mile from the convention center. Zack Becker from the NCMSS, joined Dan Pierce, Rob Kempinski, and Dave Nowinski from Space Coast IPMS, plus Phil Perry, Carlos and Edward from other Florida IPMS chapters in the large 120 year old house. The tradition of haunted old houses continued as Carlos swore he saw a ghost.

We set up our models own Wednesday. Then Zack, Dan, Rob and I had dinner at a nice place on the Maumee River in sight of the old fort. After dinner, we visited Alan Bell's model railroad and machine shop. Alan's layout models the NYC in the Albany area. He has a lot of signals and other cool electronics. He selected that area for the wide variety of operations in a compact area.

I honestly did not know about his layout, but I did know about his machine shop. It is very well equipped. The most amazing thing is that he taught himself how to run the various machines including a chucker lathe, which is an early type of CNC lathe designed for high-volume production of small, precision parts, often used in industries like aerospace and medical. It features an automatic turret for efficient machining operations with different tools. I think he said his machine is an analog model, i.e. not digital controllers. Too bad we did n't get a demo of this cool machine.

The IPMS Convention was a lot of fun. On Thursday night, Zack and I did some painting, trying to give Dan some tips.

Friday was busy. I presented a talk on the making of the D-Day Diorama, then a painting class with Jim Rice and then judging. I was part of the Miscellaneous Judges team. We worked well together and got through about 400 models in an expeditious manner.

On Saturday I attended two talks and did some shopping at the vendors. Then we had our traditional group dinner with Dan cooking and Rob helping. That evening was the awards ceremony. Tailgate modelers got several awards.

Zachariah Becker received 1st for Val Kilmer bust and third for the IH Tractor

Rob Kempinski received 1st for his automotive diorama, and four thirds, for the warlord Sherman, Wonder Dread truck, dino rider and the female scratchbuild.

I received two second places, one for John Hancock bust and one for Fast Rope ship and helicopter diorama. I received thirds for the fantasy figure Acinad riding Koda, and one for the Declaration of Independence shadowbox diorama. The latter also received the special Happy 250th Anniversary American award.

All three of us received dozens of peer awards. We each had models selected by Fine Scale Modeler to be photographed for their magazine.

Several other members of the Spacecoast IPMS received awards including Andy Caldwell who received the special indy car award.

There were 3110 entries in approximately 50 categories. Overall quality was quite high. Lots of amazing work on display.

Road Trip Part 2 NMRA National Convention 2026

2026-08-04T00:32:10.741-04:00

The 2026 NMRA convention in Chattanooga was a fun and productive time. There were a lot of events going. Here is a quick summary of the events related to Civil War Modeling.

The ACWRRHS, which is also a Special Interest Group, of the NMRA had

* a large display TTRAK layout

* a computer monitor displaying a early test of a civil war module for Trainz 22

* posing with costumes to create photos that can be used to make 3-D printed figures

* several static displays of engines and rolling stock in N, HO and O scale,

* a 3R O scale display layout.

* Thom Radice, DC Cebula, Marty Vaughn and I presented talks on various civil war related topics. There were also other speakers that presented ACW era talks.

* Most of the ACWRRHS members made trips to Mission Ridge and Lookout Mountain. These highlight the importance of Chattanooga in the ACW.

* Artisan Rail Media announced that they will be publishing my next book, “Modeling Civil War Railroads.” We are hoping to have it published by November, 2026.

* I entered my machine and engine shop in the model contest and I was pleased to be awarded 4 awards, The National Judges Award, NMRA Editor’s Favorite Model, Hunterline Award for best scratchbuilt wooden model, and finally, Best In Show.

On Monday, several of the ACWRRHS members visited Charlie Taylor’s large O scale layout. We had a great time operating it.

I think most of us in our group thought it was the best NMRA convention we had ever attended.

it.

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Road Trip Part 1 Dixie Rail 2026

2026-07-26T22:47:02.280-04:00

Op Session 29

I hosted Op Session Number 29 on 11 July. Five visitors from Williamsburg, Mat Thompson, Ed Rappe, Jim Taverna, Alan Balma and Rich Feller attended. Local, Marty McGuirk filled in the final spot. The session went pretty well. I did note some problems. Engine Fury, which is normally the work horse, seemed to lose some pulling power. It was slipping on the grades in the tunnels. So we swapped it for Whiton, and Whiton ran fine. I need to check Furywhen I get a chance

On Wednesday, I departed Alexandria for Atlanta to attend DixieRail 2026 as a guest of Scott Dunlap, an old friend. I got to operate on three layouts, Jim Travis, Howard Goodwin and Mark Bridgewater. They were lots of fun.

Jim's layout spans three rooms of his large basement. It's a large loop with several industries. I ran mostly through trains, with one that required some switching. Jim's wife Kim gave me a tour of the structures she built and detailed. They were very nice.

Howard's layout was two stub staging yards in the garage that feed a J shaped loop in the basement. The trains are not too long, but there is a lot of activity.

Mark's layout is only 20 months old, but it has the making of a top layout in the country. It is a 2500 square foot mushroom layout with two branch lines that are on separate decks. The mainline is about 600 feet with 7 passing sidings. The mainline is operational with some of the branches also working. Mark has built several fine layouts in the past, so I have great hopes for this one.

On Sunday, I headed up to Chattanooga stopping at 5 more model railroads.

The first was Bill Heb’s. This in a N scale layout that spans several rooms in his basement. The theme is the B&O in Ohio. The highlight of the layout is an automated transfer table as a staging yard. It is quite impressive.

Second was David Godwin's HO scale Georgia Central RR. It also spans several rooms in his basement with two decks plus a large peninsula in one room to house a large passenger terminal.

Next I visited Phil Stead's On3 DRGW. I was there 13 years ago. He has basically finished the layout. He has 13 engines, dozens of cars, and a fully sceniced layout that goes from flat drylands to mountain peaks. One of his helpers told me it is the largest On3 layout in the US. His wife painted the back drops too.

After Phil I stopped at the Tate Depot Museum where there are 2 layouts on display. Both are excellent. The Depot is a non profit organization that maintains the layouts and opens them to the public as a tourist attraction for the county. In return, the county covers most of the expenses. In addition to public sessions, the club also has their own work and operation meetings.

The final layout was Steve Austin's On30 masterpiece. Steve expanded the layout by about 40% since I was last there. It is a highly detailed modeling tour du force. Steve probably has every detail part ever created in O scale.

I am now in Chattanooga for the NMRA National Convention and Train Show.

June Update

2026-07-04T22:57:30.411-04:00

Fast Rope- US Navy and Marines Enforce Blockade

June was a busy month with a wonderful 10-day trip to central Europe wedged between work on several modeling projects. Since it's the Fourth of July let's start with that.

1. Writing the Declaration of Independence Diorama

Ferris' painting

This will be a shadow box diorama depicting Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and John Adams as they edit the declaration of independence 250 years ago. It is based on Jean Leon Gerome Ferris' painting, but I modified the composition for better arrangement in a 3D shadow box diorama.

It features from right to left,  Adams (right, who became the second  President of the USA), Jefferson (in the center who became the 3rd US president and was 6'2" tall) and Ben Franklin (who was 70 years old at the time). Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston were also members of the Committee of Five that helped draft it, but for some reason don't get as much fame even though they were both very influential people in the early history of the United States.

Mock-up of the shadow pox 

Adams had pushed for Jefferson  to take the lead on writing. Jefferson had a certain literary grace, and, more importantly, he wasn’t yet tarnished by too much speaking in the contentious congressional debates. “You can write ten times better than I can,” Adams told him. 

So Jefferson got to work in a boarding house a few blocks from the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall), putting pen to paper between June 11 and 28. His desk was a simple wooden box with paper and quill pens that he held on his lap, a 18th century laptop. 

When Jefferson finished, he handed copies to Franklin and Adams for review and editing.

In the original draft, Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable…”

This phrasing placed liberty’s foundation squarely in the realm of religion and natural law. It had theological weight and lofty moral power. But to Franklin the appeal to divine authority invited theological disputation. Ever the rationalist, he suggestred using the language of Enlightenment reason.

Franklin crossed out “sacred and undeniable” and scribbled something new: “self-evident.”

In 1776, Benjamin Franklin was 37 years older than Jefferson, and had sat through more committee meetings and wrestled with more politics than Adams and Jefferson combined. He understood that to rally a continent and pass muster with the prickly delegates of the Continental Congress, the Declaration’s truths needed to be stated plainly, not preached.

“Self-evident” drew on the language of 17th-century philosophers like Descartes and 18th-century thinkers like John Locke. It suggested these were not mere articles of religious faith, but truths discernible by reason and shared human experience.

The edits weren’t over. Congress itself would spend all day July 3rd and most of July 4th revising the document—cutting nearly a quarter of it, including Jefferson’s scathing denunciation of the slave trade, ironic since Jefferson, a Virginian,  himself was a slave owner. .

But Franklin’s change remained. Self-evident survived. It threaded the needle between moral conviction and rational persuasion, giving the line a universalism that has carried through centuries.

2. Fast Rope : US Navy and Marines Enforce Blockade

Inspired by recent events, I converted my existing container ship model from the PoLA layout into a diorama depicting US Marine fast roping to the top of the containers.

The helicopter is a MH-60S from a Chinese company MRY-SFW, which stands for Mr. Yao's Super Fantasy World. It is 3D printed. The model is very nicely detailed. But there are some layer lines visible. They were very hard to remove due to all the rivet detail. I used several coats of leveling primer to try to hide them.

The other major problem was that the 3D printed clear parts had a frosted appearance with visible layers. I tried polishing them, but did not have good luck. So I ordered a Hasegawa UH-60 as it has a the same windows and doors as the USN MH-60S. I had to carefully trim and sand the clear parts from the injection molded kit to fit the 3D printed model. I was lucky it worked out.

The figures are 3D sculpts. The fast roping marines I sculpted. The other marines came from a vendor on Myminifactory. The ropes are steel piano wire placed into holes drilled into the containers. They I added curled up sections of cord to simulate the excess rope that typically hangs from the helos. The helo is rather high as it has to avoid the ship cranes. That puts a lot of torque on the wires, even though the model weighs about 3 ounces.

I used Liquidtex acrylic heavy gel and acrylic pouring medium for the water surface. I added a backdrop to help protect the fragile helicopter during handling and transport. I also made foam support to secure the helicopter while the diorama is in transit. Hopefully that will minimize vibrations.

3. Boudica Bust

I had a commissioned model for the Long Island Figure club. They requested a bust of Boudica, Queen of the Iceni. They plan to sell the bust to raise money for their club. I printed about 30 busts for them.

5. John Adams Bust

I also did a digital sculpt of a bust for John Adams. Part of the founding fathers busts series.Not sure when I will get a chance to paint it. Sculpting the curly hair was a lot of fun.

6. Polish National IPMS Show

Rob taking with the owner of Lukgraph.
Rob bought the huge Grumman Goose model

We had a chance to visit the Polish National IPMS show in Warsaw. It was a nice meet. About as big as the Northern Virgina IPMS meet. There were a lot of nice models on display. I also purchased a model a 230mm mortar built by Skoda, but used by the Poles in WW2. Alas, the weapon was spectaculary ineffective. One report mentioned they only had 75 rounds for all their mortar. The Germans captured it and reused it in Norway.

We saw some amazing paper models. Here is one example.

This is a neat idea of a scuba diver trying to help a manta ray with a fishing net .

May Update

2026-06-05T13:20:25.198-04:00

May was a busy month with several projects in the works. And to make things even busier, I went on an 11 day to trip to Japan.

Show Figure

To accompany the bust of John Hancock for the NCMSS Show figure I created two more sculpts, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. The Franklin figure will be available for sale by the NMCSS. I haven't had a chance to paint them yet. I want to also do a figure of John Adams.

I also created two sculpts for a client of Honus Wagner.

Shizuoka Model Show

While we were in Japan we attended the Shizuoka Model Show. It is probably the biggest model show in Japan. There were two main halls and two smaller rooms for displays. While not as big as a National IPMS or NMRA Convention, it was still packed with lots of cool models and people. We met folks from Taiwan, Shanghai, Singapore, Japan and some from the USA. Gundam and Anime were at least half of the models on display. But this Honda pit row diorama was one of my favorites.

I didn't buy anything at the show. I did pick up some laster cut models of Japanese castle and a five level pagoda at a department store. I also purchased a Shinkansen Train set in N scale at a very nice hobby shop in Kyoto for my friend Brian. That was all my suitcase could handle.

Speaking of Shinkansen, we bought Japan Rail Passes for 7 days. So we rode lots of JR trains including the Shinkansen several times. I posted a video to youtube showing some of the trains we rode and the sights we saw.

Model Projects

The pile driver model for my layout is still not done. But, I have been working on an another project to take to the IPMS Nationals. I also am working on a new ACW N Scale module to debut at the NMRA National Convention. Here is a hint on what the IPMS model will be.

NoVa IPMS Model Classic 2026

2026-04-19T00:47:00.006-04:00

I attended the NOVA IPMS Model Classic on Saturday after what has been a whirlwind of 5 weeks of travel and activity for mostly family activities plus a nasty cold. I had just returned from a week at Disney World with my daughter and her family.

I entered 9 models in 5 different categories. I am happy to report that I received several awards, while fellow members of the National Capital Model Soldier Society also did very well. I received:

1st place for my 75mm model of Herman Haupt in the figure 90mm and less Category
1st place for Acinad and Koda in the Mounted Figure Category. This model also got a peer award from the Fort Wayne IPMS,
1st Place for the USMRR Engine House and Shop in the Miscellaneous and Railway Models Category.
2nd Place for Inquisitor Mizar in the Bust Category
2nd Place for Avenging Varus in the Miscellaneous Diorama Category.
My bust of the 1st Virginia infantry at Valley Forge got a peer award from Fort Wayne IPMS.

The USMRR Engine House and Shop also received the Best Miscellaneous Model Award, which put it in contention for Best in Show. However, that award went to Zack Becker, fellow member of the National Capital Model Soldier Society, for his dual busts of revolutionary war figures called "250."
Zack also received some other awards but I did not get the full list.

Jim Ritchey, another member of National Capital Model Soldier Society, received first place for his Sicilian Pirate in the over 90mm category.

Darcy Hoffman ran the National Capital Model Soldier Society table where we debuted the 2026 Show Figure of John Hancock and had some sales. It will be interesting to see how others paint the figure.

Brion Boyles was at the show displaying his incredible model of the 1/40th scale CSS Shiloh, a fictional model of a gunboat that served in the Confederate Navy set in his version of an alternate universe where the South did not lose the Civil War. The model is both a fully- operational RC boat and incredibly detailed.

Machine Shop Pictures

2026-03-15T23:24:00.004-04:00

Strong light through the window wall to create realistic shadows on the carpenter workbenches

I have not installed the machine shop in its final location. This was a good time to take some photos of the interior, while I still can maneuver the structure for the best angles and light. Nonetheless, it was tricky to take these shots as I had to balance light on the interior to see the detail, but not too much light to look unrealistic.

All of these figures except JB Clough are ones I digitally sculpted.

COL Haupt (superintendent) , JB Clough (chief engineer) and MG Burnside (Commander) visit the Machine shop

I removed the roof on the right side to add light
and added a small LED light in the
foreground

February Update

2026-03-02T21:45:00.004-05:00

Lathe at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History

February was a whirlwind of activity amid some of the coldest sustained wintry weather I have experienced in Virginia in the 30 some years I have lived here.

An expertly painted NMM finish on a figure by Dave Colwell
that was best of show at Crimson Brush 2026.

The main event was a figure painting class my brother and I took in Atlanta, GA as a prelude to the Atlanta Figure Society Show. The class was taught by Jim Rice, a well known figure painting artist, and was great. It focused on non-metallic metal (NMM) painting techniques. That is a technique used for centuries by 2D artists and now adopted by miniature hobbyists to create the illusion of metallic surfaces, such as armor or weapons, using only matte acrylic or sometimes oil paints instead of actual metallic pigments that are not metallic at all but small flecks of mica suspended in medium. This method involves layering gradients of light and shadow to mimic how light reflects off metal, with a dark base color and progressively lighter shade highlights while incorporating subtle color shifts for reflections. One key advantage of NMM is its scalability and photographic appeal, as it avoids the glittery sheen of true metallics that can look unnatural under certain lighting or in photos. Additionally, NMM allows for greater artistic control since non-metallic paints can be customized with various hues to match specific themes or environments. However, it is very hard to do well on a miniature. Hence the class.

This is the figure we painted in the class.

I enjoyed the class and I think I learned a lot about techniques that he showed. I need more practice. The Mizar figure has several NMM surfaces on it included the breastplate, scythe, bell and censer. At home I added the graveyard backdrop to help protect the figure and convey the story of a medieval zombie hunter.

After the class, the show commenced. It was a successful show with over 500 figures on display. Rob and I had several figures on display. In between we managed a trip to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History. It was his first visit there.

We received several awards. Rob got two silver and two bronze medals. I got 4 silver and one bronze. The trip home was marred by yet another snow storm requiring me to take a hotel in Henderson, NC to let it blow over.

The next weekend was the Richmond IPMS Old Dominion Open. That is one of the largest model shows on the east coast aside from the IPMS Nationals.

My brother again joined me as he had a flight coupon he needed to use. He entered 3 models and I had 10 in the contest. I was also a judge for categories that I did not enter. There were 1100 models on display with 245 contestants and 800 general admission folks. I met several friends form other meets and had a great time sharing stories. I especially enjoy talking with Don Johnson. He gave me detailed comments on how to improve some of my figures.

The contest went well. Rob received a 3rd place award for his Old King bust. I received a first place in dioramas for my Avenging Varus diorama. I also received second place for my 75mm figure of Herman Haupt. I received 3rd places for Mizar (see above) and Acinad and Koda mounted figure. I also received the Best Diorama special award. I also got some peer awards for Moby Dick, Avenging Varus, and my 1st Virginian Infantry at Valley Forge bust.

Two trips to shows with the 1st Virgina bust and his long musket convinced me that the musket is just waiting to break off. So I decided to make a small backdrop to protect the musket on this figure and help with the story of an American Rev. War soldier at Vally Forge. Painting the backdrop was almost as much fun as doing the figure.

I am making progress on a pile driver model for my layout. I will post pictures later.

Work Session on the Rio Grande

2026-02-15T00:19:00.011-05:00

I went to a work session on Charlie Bassing’s HO scale Rio Grande layout yesterday. Mark, Steve and Nick joined us. My job was to install tunnel portals at Tennessee Pass. I prefabricated and painted the tunnels at my house. I used laser cut kits from Alkem Scale Models. I painted them with acrylics and chalk.

The portals needed a slight trimming as the benchwork is very narrow on this part of Charlie’s layout. I was able to cut off the extra width using a motor tool with a cut off wheel.

I was able to get the south portal installed with the surrounding terrain. I started work on the north portal, but Charlie needs to make some changes to the sky board before I can finish.

Meanwhile, the other guys installed more rock castings and added basic scenery to some of the terrain.

At the end of the session, we discussed how to finish the big trestle on the end of the peninsula just as you walk in the room. I volunteered to build the micro engineering trestles for the project. The bridge will be about 18 inches tall and it’s highest at about 36 inches wide.

February already?

2026-02-10T18:19:00.002-05:00

A foggy morning at Aquia Landing

I missed the January update. In mid-January Alicia and I went to Costa Rica for 11 days. Then the ice storm hit. It took us 4 days to get home, with three days in Florida waiting for American Airlines to remember how to run an airline. We eventually gave up on American and bought tickets on Delta. They got us home without too much fuss.

The trip was great. It ranged from a camping out-like adventure in cabins on the Pacific Coast, to stays in deluxe hotels with private gardens. We took 3 different boat rides through mangrove swamps, and river along the Nicaraguan border. We saw a good portion of northern Costa Rica.

We hiked in the rain forest low lands and mountains. Our guide was great and he found lots of good hot spots for bird watching. We logged 247 different bird species and 140 lifers. I posted an assortment o f bird pics on my face book page. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1De6AjTXPw/

Alas, while we were in the rain forest, Alicia caught a chest cold. I got it two days later. It turns out it was actually a case of the flu despite us both getting flu shots. It took us nearly two weeks and a trip to the doctor to finally start feeling better.

This week I felt well enough to start building some models. I'll post more on that later.

Meantime, I played around with atmospheric effects on some of my model railroad shots.

Dawn on the Aquia Line

What? An Operating Session!

2026-01-12T01:44:00.003-05:00

Phil, James and Ethan (l-r) work Train 7 At Aquia Landing

It has been a long time since I hosted an operational session. According to my records, the last session was September 5, 2024! (I didn't do a blog post for that session probably because it was part of MARPM and I had to leave my house as soon as the ops were over to go to the hotel for do the final paperwork and payment).

Nick, Jacob and Amby (L-r) work Falmouth

So it was great to host a group of 9 operators on Saturday, 10 Jan 2026 for an official op session on the Aquia Line. That was session number 28. And what a great session it was! The basement was full of laughter and camaraderie as Phil Taylor, James Rodgers, Joel Salmons, Joel Salmons, Remy Salmons, Ethan Rodgers, Jacob Hol, Amby Nangeroni and Nick Ozorak ran the railroad for nearly 3.5 hours. Five of them were first time operators. Remy was only the second woman ever to operate the railroad.

Remy, Joel and John (l-r) at Falmouth

Because we had 9 operators, we ran the normal scheduled trains and an extra. That makes things a bit crowded in the front room when trains meet at Brooke or Stonemans, but everyone seemed to make it work.

Screen shot of the virtual Aquia Line in Trainz

Nick is the host "The Roundhouse" podcast. He also builds virtual railroads in Trainz. He brought screen shots of the Aquia Line railroad he is building in Trainz, a virtual model of the Aquia Line. He has been working on that for quite a while. It looks really neat. One of the views he showed me was the layout without the house walls in the way. That was an interesting use of the virtual layout. After the ops, Nick spent some time taking photos of spots that needed more work in his virtual plan. We also discussed some possible changes to the layout including the foundry at Brooke and the installation of the machine shop at Aquia Landing. When it is done, he will make it available for downloading. To see more of his podcasting work and virtual railroads go to https://www.youtube.com/@NickOzorak

Nick's concept of the foundry at Brooke. Looks good, but that W&A Car has got to go!

Happy New Year. The Moby Dick Diorama

2026-01-06T15:55:00.010-05:00

Scene from the News Years Party we attended

Work on the Aquia Line is 2025 was dominated by the machine shop construction and developing a range of figures to populate the layout. Somehow I managed to host no operation sessions all year, though I did have an open house for the layout and ran trains for some quests. I did attend some op sessions elsewhere including Marty McGuirk's inaugural session, Mat Thompson's new Oregon layout, Rich Steinman's EL and George Shindledecker's WM.

I hope to get more projects finished on the Aquia Line next year. I also have several other modeling projects lined up that I wish to compete (see Moby Dick diorama below). It will be a fun year as I also have a lot of travel planned starting with a trip to Costa Rica. Then to the Atlanta Figure Show in Feb, and Florida in March. Later in the year there trips to Japan and Prague on the schedule. In July-August there is the NMRA National Convention in Chattanooga and the IPMS National in Fort Wayne on back to back weekends.

From Hell's Heart I Stab at Thee

Gregory Peck stabbing Moby Dick

This is a figure diorama I am working on inspired by the story of Moby Dick. Specifically the scene from the movie with Gregory Peck where Ahab is caught on the whale and he tries to stab it as seen at the left.

The scene in the movie is a bit different from the book where Ahab doesn't get lashed to the whale, but is yanked off the whale boat by the harpoon line as it wrapped around his neck,

"The harpoon was darted; the stricken whale flew forward; with igniting velocity the line ran through the grooves;—ran foul. Ahab stooped to clear it; he did clear it; but the flying turn caught him round the neck, and voicelessly as Turkish mutes bowstring their victim, he was shot out of the boat, ere the crew knew he was gone. Next instant, the heavy eye-splice in the rope’s final end flew out of the stark-empty tub, knocked down an oarsman, and smiting the sea, disappeared in its depths.

The scene in the later movie with Patrick Stewart is a little closer to how the book described, but still has some differences.

Scenes from Patrick Stewart's movie version

I mocked up the diorama in Blender

The whale was too large for my printer so it required me to print it in two parts.

I used 2-part putty to resculpt the eye area.

I added additional wrinkles to the whale using my Rotex sander.

I have blocked in the colors on Ahab/

Work Session on the DRGW

2025-12-15T23:12:00.005-05:00

About one quarter of the overall layout

I went to Charles Bassing’s DRGW layout today to participate in a work session. I had not been to his layout before. I only knew about it from Mark Gionet. Well, turns out I was really in the dark as this is probably the largest layout in Northern Virginia. Charles has been working on it since 2008. It’s pretty far along with benchwork and track. Now a crew of folks are helping build scenery. The railroad covers the Tennessee Pass and Royal Gorge regions from Pueblo, CO to Minturn, CO in the 1930-40s including standard and a fair amount of narrow gauge. This is an area that I am somewhat familiar with as I modeled Tennessee Pass in N scale about 20 years ago.

I was assigned rock carving jobs. First I helped add rock castings to some of the many vertical cliffs. They were using sculptamold as a means to “glue” the castings to the cliffs and to carve the areas between castings. Believe it not, this was the first time I tried sculptamold. I found the my regular carving techniques didn’t work as usual when I use Water Putty. But, we made it work.

. After lunch, Charlie asked me to finish the rocks around a tunnel portal. For that I used lightweight hydrocal. My usual carving techniques worked here and it came out nice. After that I went back to sculptamold on the cliffs.

Meanwhile, Nick Kalis was painting structure mockups, Steve, Mark and Charles worked on staining and painting the huge cliffs. By the end of the day, the cliffs looked great.

Mark making some last minute corrections to rock castings

Mark begins staining rocks

Steve, Mark, Charles and Nick painting rocks

Pueblo yard

Looking good.

Great rockwork

Holiday Open House

2025-12-13T23:01:00.006-05:00

We hosted a holiday open house today. This is become somewhat of an annual tradition. There was a good turnout. I didn’t put out a guest list, but at least 40 people were there at one time. There were several first time visitors. And I may have recruited some new operators.

Alicia made cookies and brownies. Marty and Christine McGuirk brought some cookies. Almost all were eaten too, saving me s lot of calories

Several of the guests did the scavenger hunt which seems like they enjoyed.

Yule log playing Christmas Carols.

John Hancock

2025-12-11T23:45:00.007-05:00

This is a figure I have been working on for a possible 2026 show figure for the National Captial Model Soldier Society. It is a bust of John Hancock in 1/12th scale. The figure is part of the theme of US 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I sculpted the figured digitally using Meshy and Blender. It is painted with acrylics and inks. I tried to use Rembrandt lighting with a main light to the figures lefthand above and a small fill light on the right.

The signature name plate was cut on my laser. The base is a piece off rosewood salvaged by Rob Kempinski from trees damaged in a hurricane a few years ago.

I have also been painting a 75mm figure of BG Hermann Haupt. This is WIP.

Merry Christmas

2025-12-11T01:31:00.002-05:00

November Update

2025-12-03T23:33:00.002-05:00

I spent most of November traveling to various locations so not much work on the layout.

John poses by part of his large layout

November started with a Joint division NMRA meeting for the Potomac and James River sub-Divisions. I visited two layouts in the afternoon. John Swanson's PRR layout and Cam Green's new O Scale Maine Central. John has done a lot of work on his layout since my last visit. It is an impressive layout.

Hand for scale shows that this is not HO scale.

Cam has accomplished an amazing amount of work on his new O scale layout in a short time. People were surprised when he tore down his former HO, double deck layout to start this new project. But I like what I saw. It's a big layout that features a relatively simple plan with a mainline loop and a branch. But it looks more complex than that because there is also a wye and the loop has a large portion under the main level. The large O scale engines are impressive. It will be fun to watch this layout develop.

Arizona

The travel started when Alicia and I left for a week long visit to Northern Arizona to see the Grand Canyon and then golf at Sedona. I had never been to the Grand Canyon before. It was spectacular. I did find it a bit strange that the canyon is so deep and narrow at the bottom when viewed from the south rim visitor's center that it was hard to gauge the full depth. I contrast that with my earlier visit to Canyonlands, where more of the whole depth can be seen. I was also surprised to learn that the south rim is heavily forested. I didn't expect that. It really is a beautiful site. I managed to catch the Grand Canyon Railroad as it arrived at the south rim while we were there.

Sedona is a spectacular mountain town that probably ranks number 1 of all the mountain towns I have been to in the US and Canada. (Note I have not been to Jasper or Banff which I suspect are more spectacular). We played some golf and I did a fair amount of bird watching both at the Grand Canyon and in the areas around Sedona such as Page Springs - see below. Hard to believe this is Arizona.

I did see a lot of cool birds on the trip. These are two of my favorites, both taken at Page Springs.

Northern Pygmy Owl

It was late in the day when I photographed this black phoebe. The resulting slow shutter speed left the wings in a blur, but the face is relatively sharp.

Yucatan, Mexico

We returned home for a few days to recover before I flew to Merida, Yucatan with my brother, Rob, for the grand opening of JAMYBO, Professor Enrique Castaño's new bonsai garden. My brother was one of the guests of honor who participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony. There were folks from around the world at the event.

One portion of Enrique's Bonsai Garden ay JAMYBO

Enrique (in the red shirt) listens to Herman on the right do a critiques of some of Enrique's trees. Enrique's garden has been described a probably the best collection of bonsai trees in Latin America, including species that are endemic to Yucatan. Enrique told us that he can't grow non-native species as the local ants eat them too quickly.

Two Crane Hawks near Merida

Enrique asked me to document the wildlife on his property for use in an application to the Mexican government for some type of nature preserve status. Just what I needed, an excuse to take bird pictures.

I also spent a day with a profession bird guide, Ramón Trinchan Guerra from Yucatan Bird Tours. He was an excellent guide. Between Enrique's Garden and Ramon's hot spots, I saw 106 species of birds in the Yucatan, including two endemic species. Ramon got this photo of me taking pictures of the flamingoes that are common in this area.

Prairie Warbler at Enrique's Garden

Rob and I also played golf at the uber exclusive Yucatan Country Club (the most expensive round of golf I ever played), we visited the Mayan Ruins at Uxmal (pronounced Oosh-mal), the beach at Sisal, and the Maya Museum in Merida.

We also stopped by a nice hobby shop in Merida and met the owner and his sons. They were having a model show, so we got to see some nice entries. Everyone was super friendly.

Arturo and his sons at the hobby shop. The fellow throwing the shaka hand signs is an American Civil War model specialist that lives in Merida. He had some nice ACW figures in the show.

Part of the juego de pelota maya court at Uxmal

Main structure at Uxmal.

Anuar (lower right) took us to an authentic Yucatan Restaurant. The food was interesting and very good. Anuar is a bonsai artist but his main job is tracking and studying jaguars in the wild. He promised to take me out with him the next time I visit Yucatan.

We had a great time with the bonsai folks. We even managed to get invited to more bonsai trips including the Czech Republic, Columbia, Ecuador and Brazil. All great birding spots too.

Kentucky

I got home late from from Mexico and immediately left the next morning to visit my son and his family in Kentucky for Thanksgiving. We had a great time playing with Ruka. She is growing so fast.

Chase said, "Ruka is into planes now." So we took her to the Kentucky Museum of Aviation

Frosty sunrise on our way home

When I got home, I had a lot of catching up to do for Alkem Scale Models.