OK guys and gals, I think that Challenge 2013 was an overwhelming success last year. How to top it?
I have a couple of ideas running around the brain, but thought that I would run this up the flag pole to get some in-put before I laid my cards on the table. For my ideas I would need some lead time to pull it off.
Suggestions, ideas, desires, Lets see what you all would like to participate in?
I might go for something mainline from the 40-50’s. Seems most challenges are always narrow gauge. No appeal to me there.
Jerry Barnes said:
I might go for something mainline from the 40-50’s. Seems most challenges are always narrow gauge. No appeal to me there.
Jerry has a good idea maybe we can come up with a narrow gauge category and a standard gauge. We can also do an overall between both.
How about a structure build?
I need my eyes checked again. I thought Jerry said “something marine” and I don’t want to include boats!
Hello
I really enjoyed the challenge last year. I think what was amazing about it was that we all started from the same gondola kit and let our imaginations run wild.
Since last years challenge was to build a piece of rolling stock maybe this year should be a structure.
What if we all started with say the same front door or maybe the same foundation footprint and let it take off from there?
Todd Haskins said:
What if we all started with say the same front door or maybe the same foundation footprint and let it take off from there?
Thats an interesting idea! I like the front door idea. The footprint idea for me would be iffy if too large as most of my stuff occupies the space of a small shed on normal layouts. Maybe a 12"x12" limit area that anything using the “Front Door” can occupy? That way its not to unmanageable.
I too like the structure idea. I could use another structure! I can deal with 30s to 40s or earlier.
I like the front door idea, too. Remember the commercial where the lady plunks a faucet down on the architect’s desk and says, “Build us a home around this?”
Something like that.
“Here’s your front door, go for it!”
I would like to build a new structure, Any thing from 1900-1940. But not to boxy.
I like the front door idea even though I can think of some structures that don’t use doors!
Thats the beauty of it. The “front door” could end up a piece of flotsam leaning against the side of whatever you build. All it has to be is part of the final product.
Your right! It’s out of the box!
You could put the front door on saw horses and make a table.
So far so good
Actually it was a Daffy Duck cartoon where he’s trying to sell Yosemite Sam something .
Yosemite resists all efforts resorting at the end to blowing up his house (Sam’s) as Daffy grabs the door knob. Daffy turn’s and looks into the camera and says"I know’,I’ll sell him a house to go with this door knob!"
Sorry!
Not sure where that came from,I guess a door knob would be too obscure to start with.
I like this Idea.
But then I’m fascinated by small obscure and shiny objects!
Any consideration of what kind of door?
Considering it would be difficult at best for all of to obtain the identical door. May I suggest the control be we all agree to start with a “front door” with the only requirement being it has to have a window in the door itself.
Beyond that the sky is the limit.
I think the front door should be more of a commercial style than a residential since some guys would build a shack while others may build a warehouse, a brewery, a barn, a outhouse ?? There are all kinds of structures of various sizes that can be custom built to fit a specific spot on the builders RR.
It would be great if someone was to volunteer to build a bunch of simple doors and send them out to the participants like how Dave Taylor very generously cut, packed and shipped the gondola kits last time. The door could fit in a regular envelope.
Or perhaps someone could decide on a particular door style then draw up the plan (pattern) with the how to and a materials list then send it to all via a PDF so we could print it out and build it.
The possibilities are endless and you guys are already thinking. Very clever that the door could be leaning up against or laying across a sawhorse.
Todd thats why the only caveat I specified was that it be a typical windowed “front door” (the windows just to add a challenge) other than that it can be any commercial or residential door.
My suggestion for the unifying element is maybe its a Grandt Lines door, thats something I think all of use could get ahold of. They have a wide range of scale doors to chose from:
http://grandtline.com/products/arch/half/half_scale_architectural_doors.html
Otherwise I wouldn’t be very “challenged” by a simple 1.5" x 3.5" basswood slab, as it could be made literally into anything under the sun and therefor not much of a challenge to build around, thats the point, a “challenge” to take a given object that may be Victorian or Art Deco and force ourselves to come up with a creative solution around it. Otherwise its really not a challenge but a building log of whatever we may have already had in mind before the “challenge” started.
I really like this premise.
OK, no promises here BUT… Bruce gave me a bunch of Grandt Line stuff he inherited on the promise that I use it. I’m not sure how many identical doors there are; I will have to look through the bag. IF there are lots of duplicates I’d be willing to give them away for the cause.