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We're an adult-oriented fine scale model building podcast that focuses on the craftsman modeling side of the hobby!
Episodes
Friday Dec 07, 2018
Friday Dec 07, 2018
Welcome to the weekend Fine Scale Modelers!
We’re diving into holiday trains this week and talking about some of the memories we have had with holiday set-ups, train sets and what we do (or did) for the holidays. Brett talks about his Bachman Big Hauler which he’ll set-up soon under the christmas tree. Do you have any holiday train memories you’d like to share? Put those stories up on our Facebook page!
Our workbenches have a lot of projects piling up and we go through what’s on our lineup of work coming up this winter. So as it gets cold, we plan to lock in and crank out some really cool builds. We’re also doing a lot of scenery work right now and we’re expecting a lot of Black Water Cove (our layout) to be wayyyy “sexier” soon with some scenery photos coming.
We also have a lot of fun this week going over:
- The use of fennel seeds to create oysters on a fishing boat that Todd made
- The difference between G Scale and G Guage
- Our interest and amazement in T Scale trains and modeling… We’re still not too sure how these engines are possible and I’m pretty sure it’s some sort of sorcery that makes them run. I mean, they’re 1:450… That’s INSANE! Check out some T Gauge Info Here
- For the seaside details we talked about you can visit ModelTechStudios.com and check out their detail parts. You won’t be disappointed!
- If you want to build the Wiley’s Waterproofing kit that we’ve been talking about and that Brett just started, you can get it from FOS Scale Models here. Pick one up and model it with us this winter!
- To check out the Cameron Street kit from KC’s that Todd is starting, you can see it here: Cameron Street Apartments.
- The signs that Todd was talking about can also be purchased seperately from Cameron Street here:
- Thames Street Shops from Carolina Craftsman Kits that Todd was talking about can be found at this link: https://carolinacraftsmankits.com/products/thames-street-shoppes-newport-ri
Friday Nov 30, 2018
Friday Nov 30, 2018
Welcome to the weekend our fine scale modeling freaks! And with this weekend’s episode # 49 brings us to December and we talk about how we both loathe the cold Winter months ahead, and how to survive it through modeling and all that can be accomplished on our benches. With Winter also brings us to the Holiday season and a time of year for many where we buy, and receive gifts and wouldn’t it be great to have a list of ideas on what to get for modeling instead of that ugly pair of socks and yet another ice scraper for your vehicle? What are some good places to get those small stocking stuffers, items every modelers would love to have, many of which are inexpensive and things our families would never think to give. What constitutes good directions and a few other topics are answered from Listeners questions!
We discuss storage containers for our tools and small parts for easy portability from place to place in the home or to other locations away from the bench, and the color blue and how blue is used in water to enhance it’s effect and draw the eye. But also how blue could be a total nightmare for other modeling projects that could completely take away from viewing pleasure if you are not careful! Brett talks briefly about his new structure project build of Wiley Waterproofing by FOS Scale Models, and Todd has now begun his latest build Cameron Street Apartments by KC’s Workshop.
There is a lot more in this episode and we mean, cram packed! So buckle up and get to work on your bench and listen in!
Join our Patreon Page! https://patreon.com/hoscalecustoms
Friday Nov 23, 2018
Friday Nov 23, 2018
Happy Thanksgiving weekend modelers! This week our guest for episode 48 of the Bench Time Podcast is Edz Camila, an extremely talented fine scale model artist from Singapore! Her work can be found all over Instagram and Facebook representing Singapore Miniatures, D.T. Railways, and she has an amazing following of admirers in both, including us here at HO Scale Customs.
It was our long awaited pleasure to speak with her on the podcast and find out a bit more about her and her talents. She specializes in painting figures, small detail parts, natural scenery, and structures. And she excels in them all and she does so with incredible artistry and we think, amazing speed! She tells us all about Singapore Miniature World and the work she does for them, a bit about what she enjoys working with most, and we travel down a few other rabbit holes along the way.
So join us for this extra special holiday interview with someone we have admired and appreciated for quite some time. You won't be sorry and Happy Thanksgiving!
You can see her work and more about Singapore Miniature World on Facebook at the link below or find her beautiful and stunning visual art in HO scale on Instagram by searching SingaporeMiniature.
Facebook Page: Singapore Miniature World
Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/singaporeminiature/
Friday Nov 16, 2018
Friday Nov 16, 2018
TGIF fellow fine scale freaks!! This week on episode 47 of The Bench Time Podcast, Brett shares his techniques for painting structures with a sea sponge to give an aging, peeling paint, weathered effect. Then Todd and Brett discuss how they scenic out a structure once it is placed on the layout and how to focus on just that small area of concentration to create a scene. It is one thing to just build the structure and add details directly to it, but it is an entirely different and at times more or equally fun to create the scene separate from the building in its immediate area to tell a story about the structure. It’s definition of purpose. That structure isn’t done unitl you fill in the region around it!
We also take questions from our listening patrons about modeling issues they have. So get to work on that bench this weekend, fill that coffee cup up (or crack a cold one) and listen to our latest episode as you do your thing!
And have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving from Todd and Brett Wiley of HO Scale Customs and the Bench Time Podcast!
Where Brett get's his sponges: Natural Sea Sponges for Artists
Join our Patreon Group Here
Friday Nov 09, 2018
Friday Nov 09, 2018
We return to the workbenches again this week following another awesome time at the Fine Scale Expo, and we introduce a up and comer on the kit manufacturer scene; Ron Klaiss of Mine Mount Models. Ron gives us the nitty gritty, down low on his structure kits and laser cut building material available, the thought processes and what is involved in starting a business in the kit designing world, and he helps us chime in on answering some of our weekly questions from our listeners and patrons.
A great guy, Ron is also a patron of HO Scale Customs Bench Time Podcast, and we go down a lot of rabbit holes and have some fun talking tips, tricks, and a lot of hearty laughs too!
Next on this # 46 cast, Todd tells us a little bit about HO Scale Customs great time at the EXPO and how he nearly single-handedly brought Bar Mills display to a crashing nightmare! And he and Brett both profusely thank the EXPO organizers and guests for their complete heartfelt and unselfish support for Cancer and Autism Awareness for Brett’s 100 mile run for the two charities, and Brett goes into the details a bit about the grueling hell he went through to complete the 100 mile challenge in the tough terrain and climbs of the Talladega National Forest.
Join in on the fun and get exclusive extra episodes: HO Scale Customs Patreon Page
Links to Mentioned Items on Show:
- Mine Mount Models
- BEST - Bollinger Edgerly Scale Scale Trains
- Ron Klaiss YouTube Page
- PRR Canal St. Branch Line
- Mine Mount Models - Instagram & Facebook
Episode feature image credit: Ron Klaiss - Mine Mount Models, pictured is Skip's Bait & Tackle
Thursday Nov 01, 2018
Thursday Nov 01, 2018
Today on Bench Time Podcast #45 we are on location in downtown Albany NY, at the Albany Hilton for the 2018 Fine Scale Model Railroad Expo! This week is a shorter podcast because everyone here was busy setting up for the big show, but we bring on Special Guests, the Expo Organizers, Jimmy Deignan, Robert Seckler, Hal Reynolds and Doug Foscale to talk some more about the big show happening this weekend, Thursday November 1 throught Saturday November 3. We discuss what you will see when you attend the Expo, from the Contests, the Vendor Room, the awesome Clinics, and how you can attend and enjoy the only show dedicated to fine scale model railroad, structures, scenery, and details and learning from some of the best model clinicians in the hobby from all over the country!
Because we were going on location for the first time, we apologize for the sound which turned out faint due to a technical glitch with one of the microphones. It was out of our hands as we are not working within our studios and done in a big conference center with a good deal of noise as vendors prepared for the big day. Turn up your speakers and bend the ear a bit in that direction. We did not realize this until long after it had been recorded. However they share so much and you wont want to miss it! If time is available this weekend we will try for a part 2 with better audio to be uploaded over the weekend!
It is a big big weekend here in Albany, and HO Scale Customs and the Bench Time Podcast will be bringing tons of live content throughout the event on our Facebook Page. Just go to HO Scale Customs Facebook Page and check in periodically through the day for live updates, interviews and an inside look at what is going on! these videos will be available on the page even when we are not live, so don't worry if you can't be there to view it live! It will be archived to the page to view whenever.
We will also be uploading photos and info to HO Scale Customs Instagram as well!
If you are within driving distance of the EXPO in Albany, definitely make the trip and visit us at our booth, and check out all there is in an experience no model railroader should miss in their lifetime! Stop By our booth for visit and say hello!
visit the EXPO website for more details at: https://www.modelrailroadexpo.com/
Friday Oct 26, 2018
Friday Oct 26, 2018
Welcome to the weekend modelers! Our episode 44 this week features returning special guest and amazing modeler Jason Jensen of Jason Jensen Trains! As always with Jason we get so caught up, gabbing about modeling ideas, tips, tricks that lose track of time. This episode is no exception and is a long one (partly because we lost power on the first night recording and had to continue the following evening) ! But WOW it is just packed full of info and modeling content!
We discuss what we each have on our benches and for Jason it was a recent build of an ITLA structure that he shares with you how he tricked it out! We also briefly cover some details of a new structure he helped build and design with KC’s Workshop, The “Steelton Wharf”, a limited run kit that is just brimming over with details and about every imaginable material a modeler could use in a diorama or structures. This leads us right into Jason and Brett talking about and comparing notes on modeling water and they don’t spare the details. These two can rock a waterfront! Todd steers the conversation over to putting trees and grass on a layout to get Jason’s take on scenery techniques, and from there we go all over the modeling map! Yes, this week you will want to strap on the seatbelt, settle into your workbench and prepare for about two hours of fine scale freakiness!
You can pick up the Steelton Wharf here at KC's Workshop
Don’t forget you can catch both Jason Jensen Trains and HO Scale Customs next week, November 1-3 at the Fine Scale Model Railroad Expo in Albany NY! Stop by and say hello to them both at their booths!
Show Links:
Join our Patreon Page and become part of the show! HO Scale Customs on Patreon
Friday Oct 19, 2018
Friday Oct 19, 2018
For the 43rd Episode of the Bench Time Podcast, this week Brett and Todd Wiley discuss scenery involving trees, static grass, bushes, and all the other necessary vegetation associated with making a layout go from boards and white plaster to simulated mother earth. They also cover how they apply it in a city/urban layout that involves a lot of concrete sidewalks and roads and all of the unusual places people don’t think of but it commonly appears, plus all the many different types of available scenery product today on the market that no one has an excuse not to recreate the exact look they are going for no matter what region of the world you are in.
Also on the topics this week, is where to find resources and information for researching and photo comparisons for your layout, structures, and scenery and how easy it is to use these free sites for so much inspiration. So kick back this crisp cool fall weekend, grab your favorite comfort beverage and tune in as you work your magic on your workbench or layout!
Some of the links we spoke about on the show:
Dremel Rotary Tool Workstation
RDA - Railway Design Associates Kits
Scenic Express
Woodland Scenics
Grass Tech USA
NOCH
Some of the cool YouTube channels for scenery videos!
The Trackside Modeler: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Jk5gGHJNJH4RJW92kP9ag/videos?disable_polymer=1
Kathy Millatt Modeling
Trackside Scenery
Luke Towan
Marklin of Sweden
Other cool links & free resources:
Library of Congress
Shorpy.com
The Narrow Gauge: Boston's Forgotten Railroad
Become a Patron, gain access to our Overtime at the Bench show and our Patron Modelers Group, just visit our HO Scale Customs Patreon Page
Friday Oct 12, 2018
Friday Oct 12, 2018
This week we’ve been crazy busy on the layout and some family things, but we’ve managed time to get episode 42 done a little early (recorded monday). Brett’s been working on his waterfront as usual and though it seems like it’s been forever that he’s been working on this thing, he is actually making progress, but it’s just a TON of layers. It should be photographable later this weekend for all to see.
Todd is wrapping up the Danby Saw Mill and if you’ve been on our Facebook live videos lately, you can see how tedious this building has been to build. IT’S VERY DETAILED. Unfortunately we don’t have a link to this kit if you’re interested in getting one because it’s out of production. You may be able to find some on eBay or other marketplace sites. Photos of Todd’s work on this and the FOS Scale Models Grove Woodcrafters kit can be found over on our Facebook page.
We finally talk about how much fun it was having my daughter in the basement with me and my dad as we worked on the layout. She was so excited to get to painting just like dad and pappy, that was a really cool moment and my wife captured the moment in an awesome photo of all 3 generations of Wiley’s painting and working at once! Plus we got some cool wall art to hang on the workbench.
We’re also going to be adding some videos to our Patreon page, for MORE content of our modeling available to our Patrons. Don’t worry, we’re still going to do a weekly (or more) live video on Facebook, that’s not going away, but we’re going to keep doing a little extra for our Patrons. To become a patron visit patreon.com/hoscalecustoms and gain access to these future videos, and past patron-only content.
Friday Oct 05, 2018
Friday Oct 05, 2018
Is your workbench and surrounding area complete mayhem or an OCD design studio? This week on the “Bench Time” podcast, hosts Brett and Todd Wiley of HO Scale Customs explore and discuss the many ways the manage their work area when they model. From the types of workbenches the the way they organize and store their spare parts, paints, glues, tools, supplies, details, and unfinished kits, You will hear how each have contrasting styles and ideas with unique reasons that allow them to work efficiently. They also talk about how to store and organize with containers and gadgets that can be had on the cheap around the house or in discount stores that can turn your turmoiled nightmare into a bench that helps you get some work done and make you feel good inside when you work. Aesthetics can play a big role in productivity!
They also take listeners questions about fine scale model railroading, and give Todd some more raspberries about his Sculpey Seagull.
Things wrap up this week with some details about HO Scale Customs has in store for our listeners during the Fine Scale Model Expo in Albany NY, November 1-3. What we will be bringing you in content live and through the podcast all weekend to make you feel as if you were there, and hoping that you are there, how you can stop by and say hello or talk shop at our table!
Become a patron and be a part of the show: patreon.com/hoscalecustoms