Wiley's Bench Time - Model Railroading Podcast

Bench Time Podcast #103: Thanksgiving Break Modeling & Patron Mailbag!

The Black Friday Episode

This week we celebrated Thanksgiving and enjoyed our annual over-indulgence in food and time spent with some family! We hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends and that you're able to enjoy the weekend. 

We're bringing back the contest this week for a kit from RailroadKits.com, and you can win one by simply sharing a photo of what you worked on over the Thanksgiving weekend! As long as it's a modeling/model railroading photo you're qualified to win a small kit and a koozie from us! Deadline for entry is 12/4/2019 at midnight (eastern time).

A.C. Moore is closing... Stock up on the modeling materials while you can, maybe you'll be able to get there in time for some good sales and clearances! Check out their site for some A.C. Moore Coupons!

We went over a bunch this week for the episode including a TON of patron topics & our own topics from glazing windows to bad live video mess-ups and really then the entire spectrum of possibilities.

Some other fun tidbits from this week's episode include:

• Todd & Brett's favorite and least favorite Thanksgiving foods.
• Pumpkin Pie Preferences
• Benefits of modeling in plastic
• Harbor Freight MUST HAVE TOOL for scratch building: https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/measuring-marking-layout/calipers-micrometer/6-in-digital-caliper-63711.html

Pics from our work are available on our main website: https://hoscalecustoms.com/ 

Bench Time Podcast #102: Hobby Knife Rant, Balsa Wood Laughs, and More!

Clearing the air first, we will not take the intro songs out of the podcast. It’s only like 12-15 seconds of the 1+ hour podcast and it’s just fun to put some different and zany intro tracks in for each week

Fine Scale Bullhorn Announcements:

• George is currently building his kit from RailroadKits.com and plans on sharing his progress on his build.
• George Sellios is going to be having an open house on Black Friday to view the Franklin & South Manchester layout. Contact us if you want additional info at podcast@hoscalecustoms.com if you’re interested in going!
• Eli N. has been emailing us a TON of cool small tips, and we’ll be sharing them very soon, so keep checking back to our site for those!
• Banta Model Works (sent to us from Nathan Kline)  is producing some kits for the East Broadtop Railroad Kits. You can check out their new stuff here: http://broadtopmountainmodels.com/index.html

If you want to submit any fine-scale modeling news to the Fine Scale Bullhorn segment, email us at podcast@hoscalecustoms.com or send us a message on our facebook page.

Todd then rants about breaking and snapping hobby knife blades, which takes up about 10 more minutes than it should… But we enjoy stepping onto our soapboxes from time to time and this topic is something that we’ve all had problems with.

Here’s the link to the 100 pack of #11 brand name blades we were talking about: https://amzn.to/35pvWnu (affiliate link)

AND if you’re feeling lucky, here’s the off-brand 140 pack for half the price: https://amzn.to/2KYvi91 (affiliate link)

After Todd’s little rant about hobby knife blades, we cover what we’re currently working on, including the Sassen Vinegar Works build, the FOS Yard Office and Palzer’s Plumbing from Mine Mount Models.

We then get into our Patron questions/topics for the week and cover things from how we design and assemble scratch-builds, to how we deal with breaking walks and mess-ups during our builds. 

Oh yeah… And please don’t build with balsa wood…. From our balsa wood rant. And for our balsa wood rant, you can check out the info on Balsa here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochroma 

And you can take a walk down memory lane with a balsa wood airplane kit! https://amzn.to/2OD5Gze (shameless affiliate link)

Story on the Disney bridge accident: https://ktla.com/2019/11/11/disneylands-tarzan-treehouse-briefly-closed-after-visitor-apparently-jumps-on-bridge-snaps-plank/

If you want to be able to submit patron-only topics, join our patron-exclusive facebook page, as well as support our efforts for this podcast, you can head over to https://patreon.com/hoscalecustoms and join in on the fun!

Model Building Toolbox Talk #16: Storage form Motrak Models & Essential Paints

Storage and Organization Solutions from Motrak Models

We recently had the opportunity to get our hands on some awesome new workbench storage and organization systems from Motrak Models. This stuff is awesome! They’re made from really sturdy masonite board and they offer a wide variety of storage and organization module systems to store tools, paints, and really whatever you may have at your workbench!

Some of the specific storage items include:

• Pan Pastel Racks
• Acrylic Paint Racks
• Floquil/Polyscale/True Color Paint Racks
• Stripwood Storage Box

We have the Modeler’s Workbench Organizer Module A & B, which you can find here:

• Module A
• Module B

We’ll be publishing a video for the modules in the next couple of days, so make sure to keep your eyes open for that!

Todd’s Paint Information

The acrylic craft paints that we most often reach for and keep directly at our side, not the hundreds of other colors I keep in giant racks next to the bench.  These are the ones we use for a lot of different applications and it saves so much time to have them ready to go! Your list, of course, may vary to taste (but don’t taste the paint… PLEASE).

Color - Manufacturer 

This is a suggested list of must-have paints, although all the craft paint companies have many of the same colors. The links are affiliate links to the paints on Amazon (just in case you can't find a certain color locally), but can definitely be found cheaper in most box stores with a coupon... You can grab a popular craft store coupon here: https://www.michaels.com/coupons

• Lamp Black - Deco Art Americana
• Soft Black - Deco Art Americana
• Wrought Iron - Folk Art
• Charcoal  - Delta Creative Ceramcoat
• Burnt Umber - Folk Art, Americana, etc.
• Raw Umber - Folk Art, Americana, etc.
• Barn Wood - Folk Art
• Dove Gray - Folk Art
• Tin, Matte Metallic - Craftsmart found at Michaels
• White - any brand
• Khaki - Apple Barrel
• Tan - any brand
• Suede - Craftsmart at Michaels
• Dark Taupe - Craftsmart at Michaels
• Mississippi Mud - Americana
• Jute - Ceramcoat
• Fawn - Americana (perfectly matches Floquil's Earth)
• Misty White - Apple Barrel
• Antique White - Apple Barrel (for drybrush highlighting)
• Avocado - Americana

For Rusts and weathering:

• Burnt Sienna - Folk Art or Americana
• Raw Sienna - Folk Art or Americana
• Brown Iron Oxide - Ceramcoat
• Rusted Pipe - Folk Art

This post may contain affiliate links that we've selected to trusted sources for products and materials.

Bench Time Podcast #101: Jason Jensen

Jason Jensen joins us for an update of his layout and some great conversations about some model building topics!

We go over some of the techniques that Jason has been using for his waterfront. Including how he's creating his water, arranging his buildings and structures, as well as some other model building questions from our Patrons.

We're extremely excited to see how Jason's layout progresses and it's definitely something that we've all been following as fine-scale model railroaders. BUT if you haven't seen any of Jason's work, you can check it out by visiting:

His Facebook page here: Jason Jensen Trains on Facebook

His YouTube Channel here: Jason Jensen Trains on YouTube

Bench Time Podcast #100: A Fun Recap of 100 Weeks of Model Building

We want to thank every single listener, guest, and patron of our show for supporting us as we reached our first 100 episodes! We've got some neat ideas lined up for our next 100, 200, and more episodes so buckle in, because there's going to be some new things coming for the show!

You can call our show ANYTIME and leave us a phone message to be played the next show at 1-717-601-2348 or email us at podcast@hoscalecustoms.com

Continued support helps keep the show going, consider supporting us here: https://patreon.com/hoscalecustoms OR https://hoscalecustoms.com/support. 

Bench Time #99: The Halloween Episode

Happy Halloween everybody! 

We decided to have fun this episode and turn it into a Halloween themed show, so yeah, it's a slight change of pace. But sit back, grab a handful of candy corn (yuck!) and pop open your favorite pumpkin-spiced beverage!

Do you want to call in to give us a shoutout or message for our 100th episode special? Call in to our automated message line at 717-601-2348 and leave us a special word for our 100th show! Have fun with it.

Love our content? Consider supporting us! https://patreon.com/hoscalecustoms or https://hoscalecustoms.com/support 

Bench Time Podcast #98: Joey Ricard from Trackside Scenery

Joey Ricard from Trackside Scenery joins us for episode 98 of the Bench Time Podcast to tell us the in's and out's of adding the perfect backdrop for your layout! His website, TracksideScenery.com offers a huge selection of beautiful seamless and endless backdrops for almost any model railroad scene you could be modeling.

In addition to his backdrops he offers a bunch of other great products as well as some how-to's and tips for using and applying his backdrops to your layout.

Check out some of his youtube videos here: https://www.youtube.com/user/tracksidescenery 

World’s Lightest Helix : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHW_mC3RzpM 

Smackdown Video: https://youtu.be/4N2Uqi--2xc

Note: The episode artwork is credited from Joey Ricard's TracksideScenery.com

Love our content? Consider supporting us!

If you love our content and want to support us while getting bonus content, consider supporting us here! https://patreon.com/hoscalecustoms

Bench Time Podcast #97: George Sellios

We've talked to each other quite a bit how much of an honor it would be to have George Sellios on our podcast and we (Todd & Brett) have both considered it one of our biggest bucket list guests to have on. This week we had the pleasure to sit down for a good hour+ conversation with George about his introduction into model railroading and history of what he's most well known for, his modeling!

Join us this week as George Sellios takes us on a journey through his story from starting out with a basic train set as a kid, to his first "layout" which was a 2x4 he had in his room, all the way to what he's working on currently with the newest addition to his Franklin & South Manchester layout.

George also drives us through the story of how Fine Scale Miniatures became one of the most iconic and highly regarded kits and castings to get your hands on. As we all know, even to this day, being able to work on one of these yellow box kits is something very special. 

This episode was a load of fun and I know my dad and I both spent moments just soaking in what George had to say and just loved hearing his stories and techniques!

The contest will resume NEXT week, we wanted to keep this episode special without any interference from anything else. It just felt right that way. Enjoy the content this week and we hope you love the discussion!

Note: The episode artwork is a photo taken by Brett Wiley of George's Franklin & South Manchester while on a visit and tour of the incredible layout.

Model Building Toolbox Talk #15: Fan Brushes for Scenery & Dirt

Here's a fun scenery tip for this week's model building toolbox talk:

Using a fan brush to spread and even out the dirty on your layout or diorama scenery! Brett discusses the advantages he's found in using a wide fan brush to move the dirt around without creating harsh and odd-looking lines in the dirt base of the scenes he is working on!

We also throw in a few other little mini tips too for scenery.

Look for our full-length episode tomorrow!

Bench Time Podcast #96: Brett Gallant of SierraWest Scale Models

How often do you get two Brett's (and a Todd) together at the same time to talk about fine-scale modeling? Well, we're not the official record keepers of the data on that, but this has got to be a first... Someone do the digging and find out for us.

Brett Gallant of SierraWest Scale Models gave us his introduction into model building and model railroading and all we have to say is thank god that his mom didn't just pitch those old yellow box builds that he built as a kid! First of all, how awesome is it that those kits have had such a huge impact on so many modelers through the last 40 to 45 years of modeling? It's incredible and it has really kicked off the gears of creativity for so many amazing modelers out there.

Next, we talk to Brett about what he's got going on with SierraWest Scale Models craftsman kit manufacturer and go into some of the history, techniques, and story behind SierraWest Scale Models. It was awesome to hear this story after we've been exposed to so many other kit companies, to hear a different perspective and region being created. Even though as Brett says, many of his kits can be used in any region being modeled, it's neat to hear from a manufacturer outside of the northeast!

We wrap-up this episode by going through a HUGE variation of topics and we think this episode could've gone on for another two hours. We just clicked and had a ton to talk about with Brett Gallant!

Make sure to check out his site and keep up-to-date on his new and exciting release (yet to be named or announced yet...) here: SierraWest Scale Models

Contest Winner: Matthew Hankins

This week we're taking a break. Just for a single week. We're coming back with the contest, don't worry. But we want to come up with some different ideas for the weekly podcast contest, and we'll resume next week. We still have kits to give away, and we don't need them sitting around the workshop! But we want to come up with some new and exciting ideas for our listeners.

Want more content? Check out our website here: https://hoscalecustoms.com/

Subscribe to our YouTube Chanel here: https://youtube.com/hoscalecustoms/

Consider supporting us here: https://patreon.com/hoscalecustoms/

We want to thank our two new patrons this week: Dylan O and Mark R as well as all of our Patrons! You all are what help us keep the content coming!