Keith Black

As sobering as life can be there are times that make it all worthwhile. Enjoy the Holidays, Grampa.

I needed that, thanks, Keith.

That's so cool. Is there a train layout in your future?

Thank you kindly, Pat. Thank you, Tom. Once the name board has been attached due to it's size, there's no additional work that can be done to the lettering. It is what it is. My dry transfers have finally started moving the the USPS system and should arrive sometime this week. Since I've had a day I see the possibility of a 7.0. Thank you, Bob. Thank you very much, Ken.

Great restart, Hakan.

After the early 1800's and until modern 18 wheel transport racehorses and all livestock for that matter were moved by train. Horses didn't travel well when transported by rail. The noise and movement caused stress which sometimes resulted in the death of the horses. The photo below shows that a station located ramp per se wasn't necessary. Maybe it was a layover for racehorses coming out of the breeding grounds in Kentucky being transported to home stables to the west. *see Keith shrug Whatever the barn's history, it's a neat structure and you've done a fantastic job modeling the barn.

Keith, watching you make the cabins and furnishings reminds me of Bean's dollhouse you made last Christmas. Does she still enjoy her dollhouse?

Very nice barn, Eric. The barn could have been used as overnight quarters for racehorses being transported from one track to the next. That would explain its location next to the tracks and its seemingly out of place style. Racehorse owners wouldn't have wanted their horses slumming it.

Lovely work, Antony.

That's a neat Christmas scene on the Tiger's deck, Siggi. I hope you get over your cold soon and are able to have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

That's fantastic news, Pat! And a Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Thank you, John. Maybe if I did two a day for the next month I might get to a point where I'd be satisfied with the results but unfortunately I don't have that amount of time to devote to this small part of the build.

Thank you to everyone for the likes and your comments. I guess my aspirations of becoming a miniature sign painter for fun and profit will come to naught. Name board 4.0 Name board 5.0. I had such high expectations yesterday when I started on 5.0 that once finished I was so disappointed with the results I didn't even put it on the model. Name board 6.0. I've attached 6.0 to the model in anticipation of it remaining there till CA do us part. I am far from happy with the results but at some point I have to move on. If I every get my order of dry transfers I'll see how those work out but my thinking is 6.0 is as good as I'm going to be able to do. It's past time to move on to the fore walls. Thank you for your support and being part of the journey. Keith

If you squint and hold your mouth just right that timber kinda looks like a whale.

They are readily available from multiple suppliers here in the US. Thank you, Eberhard.

Thank you, Eric. It's far from perfect but I'm pleased with the way it turned out. In the original photo I can't see boards in the arches/wheel wells plus it's darker (I think) than mere shadows. It's possible and would make sense that Engel lined the inside of the arches with canvas. Just a thought. I'm leaving the arches white and will weather them with pastels. I ordered the transfers on 12-2 and still haven't received them. I called Woodland Scenics yesterday as the tracking number states the order is sitting in the post office because of a packaging issue. The person I spoke with said the post office was probably behind and the tracking info was most likely incorrect. When I suggested he contact them since they were the shipper I was told I should contact them..........hmmm. Thank you, John. Yes, I to look forward to the paddle wheels being installed as that will be the last major hurdle to cross. Thank you very much, Keith. Thank you, Paul. I checked and the pens are supposed to arrive today. Hopefully I'll have photos late4r this evening. Do you have a particular brand you prefer and the reason for that choice, Eberhard?

Bob's gonna rip the warp drive right outta that thing.

Thank you to everyone for the helpful comments and the likes. The arches and engine room are made and attached. In fact, the side walls and the stern wall including the engine room are attached to the hull. I struggled with how best to make the arches and finally decided the easiest way (also the most sturdy) was to drill a hole in a piece of scrap one by with a Forstner bit , cut the hole in half, and then cut the half hole to the correct width. I trimmed off the outside portion of hole to fit inside yet leave enough wood to glue to the side wall. Making the engine room's little side walls was a fiddly process as the boards meet the arch instead of going past the arch. Going past the arch would have been a lot easier but getting the arches to meet top and bottom points were hard enough without trying to accurately make the width correct. Obviously the name board is missing. It's missing because name board 4.0 is in the works. I'm somewhat skeptical I can do better than 3.0 but I'm gonna give it a whirl. Back on 2.0 I tried using a Sharpie but the ink isn't true black, there's a purplish tint to the ink. When I decided to go for 4.0 I bought some acrylic paint pens and they didn't work for beans! I was digging around in Maggie's pens and came across a Pigma Micron 03 point archival ink pen. WOW! The ink is true black and it goes down pretty stinkin' nice. I needed varied points so I ordered a set of all their points which should be here by Saturday. https://www.amazon.com/Sakura-Pigma-30062-Micron-Blister/dp/B0008G8G8Y/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VH1AMKAURXO5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XgAKBUt_FsCQLR9BQgq5LtTkMEpsjcHyi0Zcdb0sngQx7xLoXrUQG6LaNB62_6JQvt98AF4-oQJ6UaBzDZ08E775U38I24Ko8CxBxOcAa_xpaAklKiMoo8fGbMf7DReAaaM1q9QEg4NWTM2YaZojDFRuXTOCRcQlQ3oCc537ZR1f2O1W0RW-ZncVuX13eX9NJJcwAODDz7lZZ58AG6ZvUEkgCGb7d4XFSkt8dOT-YztJlFqcB3_D-6pMGAlWPdjCxJcQnvka8u5Vy37PFMIJTvQ3YyrvBjZy5H18aRj3nwM.sCsIbeL1WlEJBcmF5Gdmu-RE7k38jxY1rrBUBZXubr0&dib_tag=se&keywords=pigma%2Bmicron%2Bpens&qid=1765503575&sprefix=pigma%2Bmicron%2Bpens%2B%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-1&th=1 And with that it's on to making the five bow walls. Thank you for your support and for following along. Keith

Myself, I'd use MSW's search engine to locate all the Victory build logs and see what those builders chose to do and then I'd Google search historical correct paint colors used on the Victory and for each specific date. Then I would decide what date I wanted my Victory model to represent and paint accordingly.

Very nice recovery, Bob. 👍

Welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

She looks really sharp with her sails up. 👍

Absolutely, Paul. Both on and off.

I wouldn't have wanted to be the guy that had to release the bindings once they reached their destination. 😱

Phil, MSW is a treasure trove of information and it's well worth taking the time to read as much as possible before plunging headlong into your project. It will make your efforts much easier.