I guess I’d better lube the brain now so the gears can start moving!
Doug, its a bit late for that for me. My brain slipped a gear a long time ago.
I guess I had better get out of my armchair and get the stuff on my workbench done, so my bench is clear for the challenge.
Maybe I can get the bench cleared this year. I never did last year!
Doug, if you are like me, it won’t stay clean for very long. A large, empty, flat surface, just attracts all kinds of things.
You bet!
I might be nuts, but I’m not crazy.
Boomer K. said
-snip-
This year as a prize I was thinking of having 1st - 3rd place ribbons made.
I could have them printed with an official Mik’s Build Challenge logo if somebody drew up a simple black and white sketch. Anybody interested in something like that?
Bob since you have so much spare time on your hands how about creating a Mik’s topic category and putting all threads (old ones too) from the challenge in one place?
-snip-.
Boomer, run the pic of MIK on the steamer through a program that reduces it to a line drawing, spot MIK in a circle and you have the Perfect logo.
I left the Category suggestion in because it’s a good idea… bears repeating.
John
Boomer K. said:
I will make this an official proposal to the powers that be (BD and Dave)…a whimsical car based on any kind of rolling stock, powered or un-powered.
Any interest in something like this?
You betcha. My guys love whimsey…or was that whiskey…or maybe both?
Sounds like a lot of fun.
Doc Tom
That’s got its possibilities!
I’m still leaning towards a speeder project. That would fit in.
In the spirit of MIK and how I understand his approach to modelling his RR world maybe we should all use recycled materials as much as possible. How about a prize for the most used recycled junk?
Another idea… We could all start with a campbells soup can. paint it, leave it out to rust, use it as a water tank on a MOW flat , a boiler on a little whimsical loco, a buildings water supply tank, a steam engines tank, cut it in half and… Lots of posibilities.
Well I am a new guy. But I came specifically for these challenges. I look forward to joining the fun. After reading through this the idea I liked the best was using a photo of a piece of equipment or building whatever and building that item then displaying it in a manor that replicates the photo. I like the budget and the idea of using what we have or what we can find around the house. That is keeping with true scratch built mentality.
Whatever we decide count me in.
Todd Haskins said:
In the spirit of MIK and how I understand his approach to modelling his RR world maybe we should all use recycled materials as much as possible. How about a prize for the most used recycled junk?
Another idea… We could all start with a campbells soup can. paint it, leave it out to rust, use it as a water tank on a MOW flat , a boiler on a little whimsical loco, a buildings water supply tank, a steam engines tank, cut it in half and… Lots of posibilities.
BTDT
Todd Haskins said:
In the spirit of MIK and how I understand his approach to modelling his RR world maybe we should all use recycled materials as much as possible. How about a prize for the most used recycled junk?
Another idea… We could all start with a campbells soup can. paint it, leave it out to rust, use it as a water tank on a MOW flat , a boiler on a little whimsical loco, a buildings water supply tank, a steam engines tank, cut it in half and… Lots of posibilities.
BTDT
I really like the idea of some sort of rolling stock, maybe using a common thing like an HLW minicar as a start, but seriously we have to wait to see what Dave has cooked up, I think he has something in mind similar to the first Gondola kit challenge. Maybe a shorty 2 axle car kit as a start ???
I brought up the idea of keeping it under or as close to ‘under’ 100 dollars as possible. From what I remember of Mik’s projects they were not done with high dollar parts and assembled kind of ‘on the card table’ so I still vote for something low cost and an emphasis of giving awards to the person who achieves the “most with the least”.
My brother recently scored a HLW mack switcher on ebay for 40 bucks. I also mentioned something like the Bachmann gandy dancer hand car which you can find cheaply. Maybe part of the award could be the back story of just how cheap the parts were obtained e.g. “I found this at a yard sale/swap meet/ebay/Craigslist…”
I don’t care what kind of trucks it has etc., or diesel or steam, or whimsical, but I WOULD cast my vote for something that RUNS UNDER ITS OWN POWER, not just a piece of rolling stock. A motorized model railroad piece, whimsical or prototypical or something that could have existed but maybe didn’t. And that can be purchased and modeled on a shoestring budget.
Thoughts on those ideas?
S
I always go for the lowest cost I can get. Plus I have both the Mack switcher and the gandy dancers which I would be happy to convert. And they both run!
I’m with you!
Scott,
you might want to re read the challenges Mik initiated. I believe they were all with a +/- $30.00 limit. $100.00 would have been way above what Mik would have considered ‘affordable’.
Bob C.
Sorry Bob, I remember fondly viewing Mik’s modeling efforts over the years but obviously missed his ‘dollar’ amount limit. Maybe we could adjust up a bit for “inflation” but I’m still with the flavor of his challenge.
The doing the most with the least idea I think levels the playing field. The winner will be determined by modelling skill and imagination…not by how much money someone has to throw at the project.
I still hold with the rest of my post, I’d like to see a model that runs under its own power, be it proto, whimisical or ‘what-if’.
Thanks,
S
Scott,
As long as I have been following Mik’s accomplishments the build challenge was always around a $30 limit. Being on a fixed income Mik’s ‘disposable income’ was usually meager at best. We all respected that.
Pwesonally, I would love to see what some of the folks here could come up with entirely from their junk boxes. There are some pretty extensive junk boxes out there.
Bob C.
Mik’s final results may not have always ‘Wow-ed’ the high-dollar, rivet counters amongst us and I hate to admit that his hand-brushed paint jobs sometimes made me shudder a little bit
but I ALWAYS admired his “MOXIE”. I liked his work a lot, warts and all. I only hope people don’t squint too closely at the meager photos I post. I think Mik kind of embodied the custom, shoestring modeler in all of us. Maybe we might have thought we’d have done it differently…but we didn’t do it at all. So…put up or shut up.
It’s getting hard to find a model that runs on it’s own power for under 50 bucks these days on the auction sites and under 100 on retail sites. I think the challenge limit should be bumped up 10 or 20 bucks from mik’s 30+/- challenge.
Jus sayin’
S
Oh, Shudder to thing what would come from a junk box build in my shop. It definitely wouldn’t be an accurate model of anything.
From what I remember from last year, part of the “rules” were, if its already in your possession (junk box, supply shelf, neighbors trash) then it doesn’t count against the $30.
A piece of rolling stock would be interesting, but since we don’t all have the same junque stashed away, we all wouldn’t start from the same starting point. I thought last year’s challenge was rather cool. “Here is a door, build something around it.”
Whatever the challenge is, I am interested in stretching my skills, and getting my behind out of my armchair.