Michael's Toy Chest

Ordered a Few Tools

Jan 252012

I hadn’t realized until very recently, but Amazon.com will actually buy books back or take them in trade. I knew you could sell to other people through Amazon, but I didn’t realize that they themselves would take the books in on trade and give you credit. Very cool! So I did that. I went through their simple process, sent them in a computer book I didn’t need, and the gave me a gift credit of $27! Can you believe that? A free and clear sum of spending money to buy some new hobby tools.

What I needed most was a nice surface to work on, so I bought an 8.5″x12″ self-healing cutting mat. I also got a pair of Xuron Track Cutters so that I can finally start laying rail. Finally, I needed to refresh my cutter collection, so I ordered a 16 piece hobby knife set. I know the blades on this on will be cheap, but that doesn’t worry me. I will end up replacing them with good quality X-Acto blades. I really needed the handle and such. Eventually, maybe, I might get a high quality handle. But I wanted to get a feel for them first.

All of this, because it ended up being over $25, is being shipped free. So in a week or maybe a bit more it should get here. Final total was $27.23, meaning only 23 cents was charged to my debit card.

Woo hoo! Talk about win-win, I got rid of a book I didn’t need that was cluttering up the house, Amazon paid for it to be shipped to them, and I got a nice little group of tools for a grand total of 23 cents. I just wish the rest of life was this easy.

It’s Not My Scale

Traction and Trolleys No Responses »

Dec 102011

Yes, I know that G is not my scale. I don’t have a garden railway and don’t have plans for one at the moment. And there is no way I have enough room inside the house to set up such a large scale operation. But, all of that aside, I have wanted one of these streetcars since they first came out. They are simply gorgeous and are getting harder and harder to come by. So when I was able to buy one at a very good price, far below the going market, I had to snap it up. Much to my wife’s chagrin I might add.

The LGB 20380 New Orleans Streetcar was produced back in 2004 and is a hefty model of the cars made by the Perley A. Thomas Car Works of North Carolina. The model, which is nearly 2 feel long and basically 1:26 scale features, “weather-resistant construction, factory-installed onboard decoder for MTS and analog operation, opening doors, four-way power control switch, protected gearbox with seven-pole Bühler motor, eight powered wheels, twelve power pickups, voltage stabilization circuit with surge protection, and automatic directional lighting.”

I would love to create a street scene like diorama for it, and eventually would like to have a nice circuit for it in the yard. But, as neither of those things are in the cards right now, it will live in my office where I can admire the lines and imagine the sights and smells of New Orleans.

The Doctor Is In

General Updates 2 Responses »

Sep 062011

Yes, I will admit to being a tad odd. But I just couldn’t resist! I picked this up for my budding model railroad line. Have no idea yet where it will go. And of course I am entertaining the idea of putting a small LED on top to make the light flash. Or I may just let it remain as inconspicuous as possible.

ULT – Unidentified Little Trolley

Traction and Trolleys No Responses »

Aug 242011

I just received this very nice solid N Scale Birney trolley, but unfortunately I know nothing about it. It is a heavy metal molding and artfully done. I wish I knew where and when it was originally made and if it was designed with any particular power source in mind. I really would like to see it on the layout running because it is much to high quality to be relegated to becoming a diner in the town.

If you know anything about this guy, I would love to hear it. And if you click on the picture, you will be taken to my gallery with more pictures and some measurements and comparisons to other N Scale trolleys.

Model Railroad Magazines

Books & Magazines No Responses »

Aug 172011

On the main model train podcast I listen to, Model Rail Radio, one of the most recent discussion has been on what magazines we read. After listening to the show and reading some messages going back and forth I must say that I am totally in shock. I never realized there were so many different offerings out there. You surely never see them on the newsstands around here, and honestly I have never seen them anywhere.

As for what I normally read, the only current “must read” is the the electronic magazine Model Railroad Hobbyist. One reason is that it is free. The other reason is that it has great articles that cover a wide range of subjects. I do not subscribe or even often buy Model Railroader or Railroad Model Craftsman because they just don’t appeal to me. I do pick up the British magazines British Railway Modelling and Railway Modeller as often as possible.

Two of the magazines I really read these days are Traction and Models and Trolley Talk. What makes this hard is that they have both ceased publishing and are out-of-print! So I end up buying them on eBay, at swap meets, or where ever I can find them. In general the good news is that they end up being less expensive that new magazines. The bad news is that the more of them I accumulate the harder it is to fill in the gaps missing from the collection. I also buy Scale Model Traction & Trolleys Quarterly when i can – but I am really not sure if it is published any more or not.

I have been receiving the NMRA magazine as part of my trial membership, but I have not decide if I am going to renew or not. The club is great and the magazine is great, but times are tight and the membership isn’t the most inexpensive then around. So, sorry to say, the jury is still out on that one. [Note 8-25-11: I decided, and renewed. I do still feel it is a bit expensive though and think the NMRA should do something to either lower the price or add benefits.]

Finally I also get the full-scale, real train, magazine Railway Age monthly. More than just for the modeler in me, I have a thing for full sized trains, light rail, and public transit. I am looking for more like this, but as I alluded to above, I am cheap!