Pics by; KeithAlanK
Welcome to 2010.
This is my slightly upscale Goblin. I originally built it
for a halloween Goblin contest that was going to be
held at a launch at McGregor TX about 10 or so years
ago. The launch got rained out as I recall, but I'm
glad I built the new Goblin anyway. It uses an Estes
Citation Red Max/Patriot black plastic nosecone. The
fins are 1/16" plywood through to the MMT, and the
airframe is BT-60 with 1 layer of 3oz glass. The
motor mount is 24mm for D12's thru small F reloads.
Like the original Goblin it uses streamer recovery.
The demon artwork came from one of my favorite
comic books; Those Annoying Post Brothers by Matt
Howarth. When I first saw that demon I thought of
the Goblin artwork, they're from different artists
but appear to be from the same Hell.
The Indecline art on the left fin is from a stenciled
graffitti that is on freight cars all over the country.
I skewed the art slightly to better fit the fin, and
now the character looks like he's walking downhill.
Indecline inclined.
As a kid I built an original Goblin kit, making it my
first D kit though I never flew it on more than a C6-5.
The trees verging on my local field were already well
enough decorated with my model rockets. That Goblin
got scrapped long ago, but its' nosecone still flys on
another rocket.
The stand is a cast iron star that came from a Texican
gee-jaw store. My brother gifted me several different
stars one Xmas after I flashed on the concept of using
them for rocket stands. Thanks bro.
Pics by:KeithAlanKThis is my first train post at the Lab.
Along with my other bad habits, I'm fond of trains too.
Plural of caboose is cabeese and a common nickname is
crummy. These days you can simply call a caboose a trailing
anachronism.
This crummy started out as a toy cast in at least 5 clashing
and semi-translucent colors of plastic and covered in
meaningless and/or contradictory crooked stickers. It's part
of a battery powered christmas train set by New Bright,
running on 45mm gauge plastic track. It's aproxximately 1/32
scale. Along with repainting and adding window glazing, I
added a few details. I ordered and installed Ozark Miniatures
pewter marker lamps and eliptical springs castings on the
trucks. I had to build new roof walks to replace the originals
which I lost somehow. The Y-type rerail was fabbed from a
track part. Standard operating orders my imaginary railway
company, the GT&O, requires that all locos, cabeese and
plows must carry a rerail device [the imaginary trackage
aint so good]. The chain slung on the other side is for the
crews to drag stuff with. Sometimes a car has to be dragged
at a distance, and once, the conductor shot a moose. The
marker lamps are functional with a 3V grain of wheat bulb
in each one. Another bulb is hung inside as a ceiling lamp.
I chose to use a pair of C batteries so that I could use up
tired hand me downs from the loco which sucks up 6 at a
time. Too, I had several spare battery holders handy. I
frosted the windows so you can't see in, and it simulates
window fogging on a cold day.
I modified the track in the photo to be a grade crossing.
The wood strips hide some superfluous toy crap underneath.
The wood is aged with grey art markers and detailed with
a fine Sharpie pen.
After the crummy, I refinished the boxcar and gondola that
I have. Next will be the loco and tender, ugh. When I start
on the tender, I intend to get lettering and logos for
everything.
I decided to leave my christmas tree mummified in a closet
this year, but the xmas train is coming out tonight. I found
some tiny plastic wreaths to put on each end of the train,
and some snow covered pine trees to put along the track.
~Merry Christmas Y'all!~
