Refresh of NorCalF’s Goals
Gregg Fuhriman
September, 2017
I thought it would be useful to post the roots of NorCalF's history as we
celebrate the 20th anniversary of NorCalF's founding. But more
importantly, after looking through the photos that were shared of this latest
BarnBQ layout, I'd like to remind the group of NorCalF's big picture modeling
philosophy and goals.
Free-mo in northern California originated in 1997 when Jim [Lackner], Harry
[Wong], Doug [Fuhriman], and myself decided we wanted a way to operate our
super-detailed, weathered, prototypically-accurate locos and cars that were
sitting on shelves or stored in boxes. Gary [Green] soon joined, forming the
core foundational group whose original tongue-in-cheek name was "Bay Area
Regional Free-mo". We soon linked up with Chris [Palomarez] from SLO and some of
his colleagues from LA, who briefly assumed the name "Southern California Area
Regional Free-mo". So when we did our first joint test setup in a San
Mateo motel meeting room in 1999, we were literally "SCARF and BARF". Ha Ha.
We decided a more serious name was needed for our first big public event, a
joint setup with the SLO modular club at the 2000 National Train Show in San
Jose. And NorCalF was born.
The NorCalF "founding five" set the goal to build modules with track and scenery
that were just as prototypically realistic as the train equipment we had been
building, sort of an "RPM for scenery". In fact, there were several links formed
between the RPM crowd and Free-mo, as our modeling philosophies and goals were
basically identical - build models that were as close to the real thing as
possible.
I want to refresh these goals now, so that NorCalF setups will soon once again
present the very best, most prototypically accurate modular model railroading on
the continent. Doesn't that sound like a great thing to be part of?
For train equipment, that means prototypically correct detailing, painting, and
weathering. Real trains are almost always dirty, to one degree or another.
You very rarely see factory-floor shiny locos and cars in the real world.
So with this in mind, I strongly encourage everyone in NorCalF and Free-mo to
pursue the "RPM mindset" and resist the "easy" path of pulling a new loco out
of its box and dropping it on the Free-mo layout. Take the time and put in the
effort to research your chosen prototype, add the correct details, tweak the
factory paint, and *weather* those locos and cars. Or at the very least, hit
them with some Dullcote (though that is a weak substitute for actual
weathering).
Perhaps there is some fear involved in potentially "wrecking" that expensive
loco, and so it remains all shiny and toy-like forever? There's an easy way to
overcome that fear: practice on low-cost, "disposable" models to build up your
detailing and weathering skills until you have the confidence you won't "wreck"
those models you really value. Go on eBay, etc. and pick up some cheap, old
models to practice on. At worst, you'll ruin some $5 cars. At best, you'll be
able to turn a profit by re-selling the weathered cars (it's surprising what
weathered equipment can go for on eBay etc.).
And while weathering those cheap cars, take on the mindset that it's the most
valuable car in the world to you, so you'll try to do the very best job
possible. Otherwise, if you see the car for what it is (a cheap piece of
disposable junk), your efforts will be for naught. At least half of good
weathering is the mindset of the artist.
I've been putting this into practice myself. I'm slowly working my way through
my DCC loco fleet and upgrading the lights, details, and paint, then weathering
them using a mix of chalks and airbrushing. I will no longer run out-of-the-box
locos at Free-mo setups (I hope to do the same with cars, eventually - now when
I prep a new car for operations, I weather it before putting it in my Free-mo
transport boxes). I use prototype photos found on the internet, or from my own
collection. I simply *look* at what's in the photos, and then try to replicate
it. I go piece by piece - what do the trucks *look* like? OK, replicate that.
What do the pilots *look* like? OK, replicate that. What does the roof *look*
like? OK, replicate that. Pretty soon, the entire model is weathered just
like its prototype.
The same process can be used when designing, building, and scenicking Free-mo
modules. Choose a prototype, study photos of it, then break it down into small
"pieces" and replicate what you see. If uncertain what scenic materials and
techniques to use, just practice on disposable blocks of foam or scrap pieces of
plywood until your methods and skills can produce the look you want. Don't be
afraid to use non-commercial materials. You'll be pleasantly surprised what can
be done by *not* opening a box! This is how I did my Glen Frazer module. I
failed at a lot of side experiments before hitting on the formula that produced
the look I wanted.
As illustration and inspiration, here are some pics of a few locos I upgraded in
recent years following this method, staged on a section of Glen Frazer module.
These are factory-painted models to which I added or corrected a few details,
added small decals and brushwork to correct the paint, and then weathered:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124853761@N08/albums/72157665530219470
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124853761@N08/albums/72157669801800976
Thanks for reading.
__._,_.___
__,_._,___