Jack12477

Very impressive and real looking, Andy. Nice work !

I'm lurking over in the shadows.

Alan, @king derelict I took the liberty of downloading your final photos of the castle so I could cast them to my TV for a better look. All I can say is Double WOW ! As @Egilman said in a earlier post, you not only mastered the landscaping you knocked it out of the park. Great job ! Your photos show a lot more detail on the TV screen than on my Tablet's screen, especially in the shadow areas and even the nighttime views. A couple of suggestions to improve a couple photos: Photo #12 (mounted knights entering castle) has two "hot spots" on either wall, you could probably tone this down by placing 1 or 2 layers of Kleenex tissue or even a white handkerchief over the light source to diffuse the light a bit, similar to the lighting in Photo #5. You could also use a white card or a card covered in aluminum foil to "bounce" a little fill light into some of the shadows (e.g. photo #13); likewise on some of the nighttime photos to throw a little more light onto the lowest castle wall exteriors. But all in all the photos are very well done. After reading your camera's user guide (I hate digital manuals, can never find what you are looking for) it appears the camera is aimed primarily at backpackers/canoeists/kayakers etc. Interesting little camera. I could not find any mention of how to control the aperture (f/stop) (Av or Aperture Priority mode) settings, only the shutter speed settings (Tv or Shutter priority mode [pg 72]) but I did find out how to control the metering (AE metering) for Center-Weighted or Spot metering [pg 93]; this can be used to pinpoint what area you want the meter to focus on. There is a reference to a D range setting on pg 96 which seems to let the camera balance out the contrast levels between high and low, turning this off may fix the problem you were referring to about it overriding your exposure settings. you can also bias the exposure by plus or minus 2 f/stops (or EVs as noted in manual), page 95, this will cause the camera to automatically over or under expose the photo based on the meter reading. It adjusts in 1/3 EV or f/stop increments. Hope this is helpful. Any other questions post here or shoot me a PM.

I have the whole line of Pentax 35mm SLRs dating back to 1962 when it was Asahi, Heiland, Honeywell, then plain Pentax; all H, SP, K, and iST series. T Even have their 110 film format SLR, only one ever produced as I recall. Now I have their K50 DSLR. (Ricoh owns them now.) I also use a Canon point and shoot pocket camera. Need to do a little reading about your model, it should be up to the task. I'll get back to you. Update: Alan, is this your model ? Ricoh WG-4 ? Cool camera !

Me too ! I love building them but storage is at premium.

Very well done Alan! Diorama looks great, as do figures. As to getting a new camera and lights that may not be necessary. All you may need are a few adjustments to the camera, like take it off of Auto mode. What are you presently using? My other hobby is Photography

Nice ! Can we go for a ride ?

Got in one at dealership, didn’t even bother to put key in ignition, got right back out. Too claustrophobic! Good side is if you're in a fatal car accident, you won't need the added expense of a casket. Just load the car on a flatbed, drive to Cemetery, dig a hole and drop you and car in, place a headstone that reads "Here lies Joe and his Smart Car"

I thought it was a coffin !

1912 Etrich Taube flying at Olde Rhinebeck Aerodrome this past summer

No, not familiar with him. For my college Junior Prom we had Duke Ellington and his 14 piece orchestra. Ah ! Paul Gonsalves's tenor saxophone solo on "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" ! Ever listen to "The Nutcracker Suite", Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's jazz interpretations/arrangements of the 1892 ballet "The Nutcracker" by Tchaikovsky ? aka "Ode to Joy" - a favorite. I remember "Die Hard" (1, 2 and 3)

For me, it's Thelonious Monk, Ahmad Jamal, Oscar Peterson, or Erroll Garner. If I really want to jazz things up (pun intended), then Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, Kind of Blue, or Sketches in Spain

Alan, do a Youtube search for John Allen's Gorre and Daphetid RR . He's passed on, railroad was destroyed when his house burned after his death but there are plenty of videos. His was considered the epitome of model railroads. (The name was a pun - Gory and Defeated) I've had the same challenges with scenery, you're doing well.

Wow ! Coming along nicely, Alan. Starting to look "real".

Outstanding job ! Diorama is very convincing!

Rocks/cliff look good.

At about 19 cents a gallon as I recall. (10 cents if you were filling up at an Army motor pool.)

Yes ! Add a few drops of Dawn dish detergent (or equivalent brand) as a wetting agent, a spray bottle works. Yes also. Go slow ! Don't over wet an area and keep to small areas at a time. I have never use alcohol so can't comment on that aspect. Looking good so far.

The thick white/yellow strips are the hull planking first layer. The 0.5 mm thin walnut strips are the 2nd planking, the 0.5 mm thin yellow strips are the 2nd planking above the wales, also deck planking. This is how most of AL kits come, the ultra thins strips are veneer.. See my build log, link in signature below

We got 12 inches of snow last Sunday, followed by 2-3 inches of rain last night with 45-60 mph wind gusts and 50 F temperatures, lots of stream flooding. Another one coming the weekend

Merry Christmas OC.

Perhaps Dr Per (aka @Nirvana) at Therapy for Shipaholics could address that question 🤔 😉 😀 😄

Craig, sorry for your loss.

Work ??? That’s the cleanest shiney warehouse floor I've ever encountered. 😉

Enjoy your vacation