Monday, May 27, 2013

Model Railroad Video

--> Today, I would like to write a review of Model Railroader Video Plus, a new subscription site offered by Model Railroader Magazine

http://mrv.trains.com

As you all know Model Railroad Video has changed over the years, as has a number of thing in the hobby. We have seen VHS tapes become obsolete, bringing the model railroad video to DVD, and now to digital download or web TV. I think the change is good for the future of model railroad media.

The reason is that this is a hobby that people get into later in life, in most cases. Is that because they have more time, or because they have more money, I don’t know? As people get into the hobby in the future they will have been using computers regularly, in today's day-and-age. It seems only natural to upgrade all they ways we enjoy the hobby.

Now on to the review:

First I would like to say that they have a number of price points available to fit your needs. You can subscribe monthly to the site for $4.95. The 2nd option is you can subscribe annually for $44.95. The next two options are for $59.95 for print magazine with video subscription, or digital and video subscription for the same price. These are the prices for a new Model Railroader Video Plus member.

If you are a subscriber to the magazine currently, you can purchase an annual subscription for $25. These are introductory prices and are normally a little bit higher regularly.

http://mrr.trains.com/mrvoffer

You can purchase your subscription to Model Railroader Video Plus here at this link http://mrr.trains.com/mrvoffer.

I just signed up for the subscription today for one month to try it out. I viewed a number of videos on the site. I watched at least two videos from each category that was available.

I must say that all of the videos are very professional, and they are all in high definition. The videos can be viewed on computers (Mac or Windows), tablets, phones, and the quality is good for watching on your television.

There is a site that gives more information about exact requirements for viewing at this link http://www.kalmbach.com/mrvhelp that can answer a number of your questions.

There are a bunch of real cool videos on this site that make it worth checking out for at least one month. I would like to say that there are a few videos that you may have seen if you subscribe to the magazine. I would like to remind everyone that it is a relatively new site, and say that there are not a ton of new videos to watch. With that said, they are adding new videos every month.

There are new shows that are on the site that are different from the shows on Model Railroaders website too. Video Step By Step, Cody’s Workshop and Roundhouse are a few of their new shows.

Cody’s Workshop is a bit more how to then Cody’s Office, so if you are a fan of Cody’s modeling both shows are on the site. I think both of these shows are very good, and I get a lot of my modeling tips from Cody.

Roundhouse is a neat new show that is kind of a model railroad talk show, an idea that never crossed my mind planning my business plan out. They have Model Railroader staff and guests talk about all things modeling and railfaning. I enjoyed the couple shows that I watched of this.

My favorite new feature is the 3D Track Plan videos, this make the Model Railroader track plans come to life. They are a computer-generated walk-through of the track plans on Model Railroaders Track Plan Data Base. This is much like how people build 3D models of their layouts in small scale to see it before they model it, very cool.
 
The Model Railroader staff’s how to videos are really great; they have a way of making everything look easy. If you have had access to The Dream Plan Build Video Series DVDs then this is more of the same, if not it is good information for new or intermediate modelers.

This subscription video platform is easy to use, affordable, and very professional, this is truly an extension to the magazine. The videos let the pages of Model Railroader Magazine come alive, in the how to sections of the videos.

I would recommend this site to all new modelers, and any subscriber to Model Railroader Magazine. I am very pleased, to have signed up for this.

 If you were hoping for the site to have a ton of videos before you join, then I would wait a bit. I would say that if you had three days to do nothing, you could possibly watch everything on the site (just a guess). New videos are added every month, that is a good feature of the site. All the videos are professional, also a good thing. The price is right; you could spend the annual fee on two videos or less.

Over all I would give it a thumbs up.

Thank you,

Robert
        

References

Kalmbach Publishing Co. - Model Railroader Video Plus. (n.d.). Kalmbach Publishing Co. - Hobby, craft, leisure time magazines, books, events, shows. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://www.kalmbach.com/mrvhelp

Model Railroader Magazine - Model Railroading, Model Trains, Reviews, Track Plans, Forums. (n.d.). Model Railroader Magazine - Model Railroading, Model Trains, Reviews, Track Plans, Forums. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://mrr.trains.com

Model Railroader Video Plus. (n.d.). Model Railroader Video Plus. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://mrv.trains.com

Model Railroader Video Plus. (n.d.). Model Railroader Magazine - Model Railroading, Model Trains, Reviews, Track Plans, Forums. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://mrr.trains.com/mrvoffer


 

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Adding Lighting Effects To Steel Modeling

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As you may know steel was a very large part of the U.S. economy. Most of the steel production that was done in the U.S. is now gone. Steel was a very important part of the railroads revenue, from hauling ore to mills and hauling finished products out.

Two places that I have been to in my life stand out, when it comes to thinking about steel production and they are Pittsburg, PA. and Baltimore, MD. I remember as a teen watching the ore boats come into Sparrows Point to off-load at Bethlehem Steel, I also remember seeing all the trains in-and-out of the plant.

I found a few videos that I thought you might enjoy, that will show some steel mill activities to go along with my earlier post Good Deal On Structures, about the Walthers Cornerstone products. I hope that these videos will give you some good ideas about how to model a steel mill on your own layouts.
 
The video that I found to show is really cool, slag cars being dumped at Bethlehem Steel 1994.

--> Dumping slag at Bethlehem Steel in 1994   From: steelmanjules, YouTube Video. (2007, September 26)  

Slag Car






You can buy slag cars from Walthers or your favorite hobby store, when in stock. Bachmann also makes a reasonably priced DCC GE 70 Ton locomotive with Bethlehem Steel reporting marks to pull your steel production rolling stock. 

Ge 70 Ton Locomotive
                                                                       

The next video is a video how to, for teaching how to model a slag dump. Keep in mind that this is in N Scale not HO, but you can adjust what you need to for your scale. The video I am going to share is how to install lighting to make the slag that is dumped look hot still. I think that this is a very cool idea and thought that you would too. 

How to model an N scale slag dump continued.   --> From: djstrains.YouTube Video, (2012, August 7). 

Lighting effects can make your model railroad come to life. You can light buildings, streetlights, and a number of other things on your railroad to make a scene stand out. Lighting for your layout can be powered by track current or other methods, and controlled on DC layouts or DCC layouts.

Add that extra realism; add lighting effects to your layout.

Thank you,

Robert 

    

 
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Reference:





Bethlehem Steel- Yellow and Black - GE 70-Ton - DCC [60612] - $95.00 : Bachmann Trains Online Store!. (n.d.). Bachmann Trains Online Store!. Retrieved May 11, 2013, from http://shop.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=258_288_308&products_id=2045

Gold Line(TM) Slag Car Ready to Run -- Painted & Numbered Single Car (932-3144) -- Walthers Model Railroading. (n.d.). Walthers Model Railroading - main page. Retrieved May 11, 2013, from http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/932-3144

djstrains. (2012, August 7). How to model an N scale slag dump continued. Steel mill model railroad layout - YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved May 11, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4a2unLQovA

steelmanjules. (2007, September 26). Dumping slag at Bethlehem Steel in 1994 - YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved May 11, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhJF_hTJ2Rw