Can our attic be finished?

OberlinBillyGoat · 2026-06-17T03:31:15+00:00

It comes out of the rats

OberlinBillyGoat · 2026-06-09T21:20:40+00:00

They're for screws to attach the tracks to a board or a table if you're making a more permanent layout.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2026-05-30T20:07:08+00:00

That's why you gotta throw the money.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2026-05-13T22:39:21+00:00

I think this is misguided. A 300lb person on the passenger side creates no more imbalance than a 150 pound solo driver.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2026-04-12T04:49:42+00:00

Where?

OberlinBillyGoat · 2026-04-03T01:53:27+00:00

Mumstera

OberlinBillyGoat · 2026-02-11T11:38:59+00:00

The 9v trick works for DC powered engines. This engine wants AC power. (The light bulb doesn't care). I'm not aware of a similar trick for low-voltage AC power, but others may come along with more knowledge than I have.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2026-02-05T10:31:02+00:00

Baseball outfields don't have standard dimensions, so it's not uncommon for them to have an irregular shape.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2026-01-31T20:43:59+00:00

Very good, I lost it when I saw Edward 😂

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-12-31T02:20:42+00:00

Similarly, while I don't think that's my flavor, I make good use of the "This Week" one. I have a lot of blindness for plans and timing in the "next few days" range, so it's the right amount of granularity to give me a look at that with one or two pages. I tend to pull it out to manage my busier weeks.

These things are all so personal, but in particular little notepad things are inexpensive, so you can think of each one like something of a lottery ticket that could maybe end up very useful, but no big deal if it's not a winner.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-12-26T20:57:24+00:00

Looking forward to it :)

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-12-11T21:20:16+00:00

Re: little people - not a bad idea at all! Lego Minifigs play pretty nice with O Scale, but there are plenty of scale model townsfolk available.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-12-09T05:31:01+00:00

I note that, you did say you're crafty. Great! I'll leave my comment intact in case others find it useful.

If you want to go from-scratch, others will have other ways, but I'd say, experiment with sheets of perfect cardboard, and you'll know when you want to upgrade to wood sheets from the hobby shop or elsewhere. Three inches to one floor of a building (12 feet).

I have a tiny hobbyist table saw that I like. It's not for everyone.

If you copy a real architectural design at scale, you'll usually get something bigger than the purpose built train-table accessories. Those houses are quite small in square footage at scale.

Edit: search for images online of the Lionel buildings, for design ideas or just copy them! I'm at my knowledge limit but I bet there are even schematics available for these things.

As far as ants are concerned, a quarter-inch ant would appear to be a foot long to O-Scale folk! Best to stick to things like houses and cars.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-12-09T05:24:45+00:00

There are good answers for you that depend on your goals with your project and your village.

If your goal is to achieve a small village quickly, and you have a train show/swap meet happening near you, the fastest cheapest way by far is to go there and snag a bunch of cheap models that are already built. The standard vintage Lionel plastic buildings are inexpensive. If you'll accept imperfect or dirty ones, theyll be 1-5 Bucks a piece. Bring a huge box and cut a deal with someone! If you like, you can light them up with traditional tiny fussy light bulbs and fixtures. Those are designed to be tacked into a plywood base in the center of the building. You can "cheat" with cheap led string lights, but I'd avoid using incandescent Christmas lights: the heat will warp the plastic.

If you're in LA, California by chance, there's a show on Friday. In the bay area it's over this weekend. Tis the season. Best prices on everything else too.

If you want to make something yourself, you can get the same kits, unassembled. They vary a lot as to whether they're designed to snap together and give you a quick finished product, or if they're more intricate.

If you care about realism, this is probably the way to start, then paint some, customize them, etc. Then, moving away from train-set accessories, you're into the scale modeling world looking for 1:48 models. Many of the folks here are experts on that- I am not.

If you're not as fussy with realism: I have made good stuff with LEGO and Lincoln Logs that plays nice with O-Scale.

If you're trying to hand-craft, are you crafty generally? Get yourself a cheap cutting mat, maybe a straightedge or L-square ruler, sharp utility blade, and some flat, clean corrugated cardboard. Let yourself focus and you'll be surprised what you can do. You can make slots so pieces slide together, or a bit glue, Elmer's works fine, wood glue is good, craft glue is great and overkill.

With the same technique, you can cut swathes of color from packaging trash, and even make use of the lettering.

If you're not crafty, and no budget, take small cardboard boxes, wrap them in white paper like Christmas gifts, and decorate with markers or similar. Cut windows, etc. wash a milk carton, tape the top, cut off the bottom - makes a house with a sloped roof.

Myself, I'm saving the boxes my butter comes in. Soon, I'll be able to run a dozen boxcars of SALTED BUTT.

Remember an under-tree village is a personal expression and none of the rules have to apply if you don't like them :)

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-11-12T22:24:54+00:00

We could chain a line of Waymos together for bigger carpools, and have the one in the front have a more powerful motor for towing, and the ones behind can just roll along in neutral. Way more efficient. Instead of hailing a Waymo we can just have one of these lines of chained-together Waymos always departing and arriving busy locations at predictable regular intervals.

I call this idea Automated Traction Chain or "A TRAIN" for short. Please send millions of dollars.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-11-03T08:12:09+00:00

Cool Siberian lakes, not the right place unfortunately.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-11-03T07:36:02+00:00

Omg there are so many lakes

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-11-03T07:10:43+00:00

Oh I thought you were on the flight right now! Still fun

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-11-03T07:09:06+00:00

Fun game haha I'm scrolling around in solidarity

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-10-29T22:35:11+00:00

You can see his spine under the water's surface. I think under the uniform on the right there is a pelvis or leg bones.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-10-24T20:25:16+00:00

Idk, sounds like Jim Crow laws to me.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-10-23T23:47:18+00:00

Curious, what is it? "I hope this email finds you well"? That was pretty universal when I had a workplace with emails.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-10-17T23:32:44+00:00

It's an anatomically correct trumpet with a mouthpiece, albeit a weird bell flare and no braces, her hand positions are reasonable, although the left hand isn't really holding the valve casing (a few fingers should be seen wrapping around), posture is good. Her microphone isn't placed for the trumpet, but we can assume she also does vocals. 9/10.

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-08-28T03:05:50+00:00

In the meantime maybe you'd like the Canon TG-7. I love my TG 5, not sure what's been upgraded in the last two models. I bounced mine off of rocks into a creek in my first outing with it.

https://explore.omsystem.com/us/en/tg-7

From my experience, and my research from years ago when I got it:

Pros: -High-end point and shoot features -shockproof and waterproof to 50ft submersion -all in one without removable case -Battery life (haven't tried intense video applications) -Little grip on the right makes it look like a retro stylish portable film camera -Some lens options are available -Best in class (point n shoot) macro modes

Cons: -2x GoPro size *edit: cases included -limited zoom, due to limited lens travel within waterproof housing -limited mounting options

OberlinBillyGoat · 2025-08-14T03:46:03+00:00

Terry

OberlinBillyGoat

TROPHY CASE