Fiddletown & Copperopolis Ry. sets first spike

[gnichols]

Gang,
    Well, the cat got out of the bag, so I might as well spill the beans to all of you about a surprise I had planned for the NG convention - the 1/8th scale division of the Fiddletown & Copperopolis Ry. has started acquiring equipment and constructing rolling stock!!! 
    Here are the first two additions (less weathering, etc.) Both are ex-1/20 Bman V-dumps.  Yep, 1/8th scale works out to 1/8n14 (or 15" as many folks who have worked in this scale / gauge combo have been rounding it up as).  Rolling stock-wise, I also plan a short, two-axle tool car based on a small Accucraft 1/20 flat.  This will be like the generic tool / junk trailer you'd expect to see behind a 1:1 speeder.  Later, a slightly larger two-truck flat car based on a generic Bman 1/20 flat will pop out of the car barn.  Some time later, that long flat or another just like it will probably transform itself into a repair / tool car or possibly a fire fighting rig.
    Motive power?  First up is a Ford Model T coupe, "Nellie Bell" (A-1), is a gas-mech critter based on an Accucraft 1/20 Davenport chassis.  For size comparison, a very similarly proportioned 1/25th Gn15 gas-mech critter is in the foreground of the pix below, next to the soda can and 12" ruler.  In 1/8th, Nellie will be nearly 9" tall and certainly a hoot to see run on AirWire with Phoenix.  Nellie will have a flathead Ford V8 for power (an upgrade from the T's 4-banger) and the turtle deck will be chopped off and replaced with a shorty pickup bed like the one you can see on the Gn15 version.  Later in the fall or early next year, I plan to bash up an 0-4-0 Porter, Forney or something similar to create an Arizona mining style tea pot, based on some AZ copper mine locos and some of the crazy multi-scale models seen in the Gazette and Finescale over the years.
   Hope to have the Ford, the two ore cars and the small flat  (plus all the other models I've promised to buds in the near term) all done by the NG convention, if not sooner.  Hang in there Mike, your CJ and shay are coming soon!!!!
    Later, Gary

As a PS... I'm thinking this might be the ideal garden scale!  All you'd need is some track and ONE building!!!  That's all that would fit!!!  Or you could dual gauge it and ride on the SG version!

[gnichols]

A few more pix... keep in mind I'm not building contest / Smithsonian models here.  Just "curbsiders" as the model car guys say - some detail on the top, all business below.  Hopefully, the whimsy and smiles will more than make up for the lack of under-body detail!  Gary

[Ray Dunakin]

Is that Model T body scratch-built? It sure looks good!

[gnichols]

Is that Model T body scratch-built? It sure looks good!

Ray,
  Sorry, but no.  I wish I could build them from scratch like that!  That body is from a Lindberg 1/8th hot rod kit.  Only the body, grille shell and a few other parts in that kit will pass for stock Model T and usable.  I will also use a flathead V-8 engine from the new Revell / Monogram 3n1 32 Ford roadster kit, which had the flathead option added when they revised the kit recently.  As I also build an 1/8th hot rod now and then, I had a few of those kits around to steal parts from.  Each kit is around 80 bucks at a good discount place... so don't go off looking for any while impusle shopping.
  When it comes 1/8th diorama time, I can probably get enough car parts together to build a plausible old roadster pickup or Grapes of Wrath style Ford passenger car using these kits, too, if I keep the hoods closed!  Hell, I might even pop out a little cut-down modified for the local teenagers.  The train stuff and big vehicles would look cool next to an 1/8th general store or small depot, eh?   Later, Gary

[Malachi Constant]

Dang, man, those things are HUGE!  Looks really cool though ...

And, looking at all those "tiny" bottles of glue, paint, etc. around the train, can't help thinking that having a little track run along the back of several long workbenches might be helpful ... make some gons full of the various paints and supplies ... do a switching maneuver to bring up the gon full of Vallejo reds and browns, then switch to get some greens and yellows ...

One thing missing in this "first spike" thread at this point ... NO SPIKES!  Okay, let's see it ... how big is a 1/8 scale spike! 

Cheers,
Dallas

[Chuck Doan]

A few more pix... keep in mind I'm not building contest / Smithsonian models here.  Just "curbsiders" as the model car guys say - some detail on the top, all business below.  Hopefully, the whimsy and smiles will more than make up for the lack of under-body detail!  Gary

At first I thought you said Whiskey and smiles. Gad, 1/8 scale!

[gnichols]

Chuck,
  Whiskey works for me, too.  I reckon each shot shrinks the old 10ft rule by a foot.  If you get really crocked, you'll think one of these 1/8th critters is good enough for Pebble Beach and actually drivable.  Later, Gary

[Ken Hamilton]

Hi, Gary:
WOW.... I LOVE the Super-Size version of the F&C!  It's "F&" Beautiful!
There are some really neat things available in 1/8-scale in both plastic & diecast (which would be
good for weight!) that would make great subjects.
Thanks for the early photos. Can't wait to see how these turn out.

[Craig_H]

Gary,     The model A coupe  model buy Lindberg makes into a nice hot rod.....but like you said not to many stock parts in it. Comes in a huge box.... Got one on the shelf collecting dust. I really like the old Lindberg model kits been collecting them for awhile. 80.00 bucks sounds about right they weren't cheap..... Interested in seeing how  "Nellie  Bell" is going to turn out        Craig

[gnichols]

Sure glad you guys are enjoying this 1/8th stuff.  I've been told it's been going on awhile, but mostly to represent English lines, the 15in varieties.  Anyone else ever do it?

As for the F.. n.. C, some of my buds here have always thought it stood for F.. n.. Crazy once I started using that name on my trains.  A few years back I decided to do up some of my own stuff, private line, etc.  About the same time, I discovered the wacky world of Carl Fallberg's drawings and decided to use his road as mine's namesake.  I did a few cars and a couple locos in 1/20, nothing fancy track power and some old Soundtrax boards.  Now I'm thinking of a small garden railway with the 1/20 junk up high and the 1/8th stuff as the foreground scale.  As if..  later.  Gary

[Ray Dunakin]

Those locos are beautiful! Really nice!

[gnichols]

Hi, Gary:
WOW.... I LOVE the Super-Size version of the F&C!  It's "F&" Beautiful!
There are some really neat things available in 1/8-scale in both plastic & diecast (which would be good for weight!) that would make great subjects.  Thanks for the early photos. Can't wait to see how these turn out. 

Ken,
  Glad you are digging this project.  So, what kinds of neat 1/8th stuff?  I have been collecting bits for an 1/8th automotive shop diorama that was going to be built into a tall, glass-covered coffee table, but there doesn't seem to be much out there.  That garage was going to have a "Tiki" bar / hang-out area under a lean-to on one side.  I found a Barbie doll set that had a bamboo bar and accessories that will probably work and some guitar "practice" amps that look ok I think, so I have a mini-Marshall AMP musicians use for practicing music on the road.  I plan to pipe canned sound effects and some vintage "radio" thru it's speaker.  I also have a 1/8th drum set and other kits for amps and guitars - most of which are Japanese.  I also have a couple skate boards and some small plastic kits of off road buggies that I got in Japan years ago.  The are tiny, so in scale, they will look just about right on a little RC off road track behind the garage!  I have some other 1/8th kits for the diorama, a Yamaha motocross bike, a chopper mini-bike, a dresser Harley, and a Derailleur racing bicycle, but not much else.  If you have suggestions for either detailing the trains or dioramas, please let me know.  Figures are a particular problem.  I do have some TV actor stuff a friend said were good, but I think they are too small and have to widen my search for figures.  Later, Gary

[gnichols]

Phase 2 of Lumpy Gravy...
  Well, I've got one more GIANT (1/8n14) car roughed-in for your amusement. It still needs a lot of detiling, weathering, etc. The basic 2 axle car started out life as a Accucraft flat and I basically "laminated" it to make it wider and longer. In scale it's still a very small car, Heywood sized?, at about 42" wide and 6ft long. W-1 is your basic tool trailer and meant to be used by the duty mechanic. Lots of ropes, chains, tools, etc need to be added / fabricated. I used a Krylon satin Honey yellow (looks very much like the new Cat dozer color) and red oxide over wood that was distressed first and then dyed with liquid shoe polish (edge dressing) brown. After the paint was dry I used some very rough sand paper to remove most of the paint. After that I used one of those wood aging fluids, Weather-it over it all. I like the effect. The work light at the rear is "removable" and will have an extension cord to a battery for working at night. The towel hoop was just for fun. The duty mechanic brings his own lunch kit, water and special tools. The rest of the car will be fit out with rail and tie repair supplies and tools.
Now.. back to customer work. Later, Gary

I'm having trouble posting pix... hope to have two here in the near term.

[mabloodhound]

That's some nice modeling but I'm confused reading and understanding the scale.   I model in 1:48 or 1/4 inch scale which is 1/4" = 1 foot.   And I know 1:24 or 1/2 scale is 1/2" equals 1 foot.   So to me 1/8 scale would be 1/8" equals a foot or 1:96 which is smaller than HO 1/87.
So what is this 1/8 here?   This doesn't seem to follow the normal scale conventions and I guess I'm just dumb but I can't seem to grasp this.
Thanks for any explanation.
And keep up the fine work.

[gnichols]

Glad you are liking these...

In essence, 1/8th scale means 1/8th of an inch on the model equals an INCH on the real thing, and conversely,  that one foot on the real thing equals an 1-1/2" on the model. 

I believe the live steamers (the ones you can ride on and use about 7-1/2" gauge track) call it "inch and a half" scale.  Go figure.  This also confused me when I got into the train part.  The model car guys just call it 1/8th scale, however correct that is "train-wise" and so that is what I'm more accustomed to saying.  Am I the only one doing so?  Gary