Weekend Hobby & Bodging Thread

Greetings gang. Yes, that's Rod the Mod and his fantastic HO scale Three Rivers City layout that has been featured many times in the model press over the years. When he's on the road, he rents out a room and actually builds kits, and works on locos and rolling stock for the layout that's based in his Beverly Hills home. I guess tossing TVs out of the window and boffing Miss Pamela doesn't quite cut it anymore!

Hope your weekend is going well. And weekends are made for hobbies, crafting, bodging and all kinds of creative escapes. Let's head to the basement, studio, garage, craft room or hobby area you have carved out and get creative. As always, please use all power tools, supplies and any hazardous chemicals with care. Proper eye, ear and lung protection is also priority one. And if you feel awkward or funny performing an operation on a power tool, STOP. Figure out another way or another tool to get the job done safely. Now, let's see what we've got cooking.

First, Ben Uyeda is a designer who is well known in the YouTube maker community. Here, he utilizes a CNC to create molds for making a modular concrete planter bed.

British ceramicist shows his process for creating a distinctive carved vessel, with tips on how to make unique clay bodies and glazes.

Last time we had the finals for Landscape Artist of the Year and now the winner of the competition, Ophelia Redpath (sp) gets to execute a 10,000 Pound commission for Britain's National Trust. The subject will be a landscape inspired by Snowdonia in Wales. I like her style, which as elements of surrealism with a bit of a nod to American artist Grant Wood.

David from Czech Republic (I think) is an outstanding model builder specializing in armor. Here, he makes the daunting task of 1/35th scale figure painting look simple. Nice step by step tutorial.

For those curious about sewing, this gentleman takes you step by step on making your own pair of pants. He has an accompanying video on drafting your own patterns as well as many other sewing-related videos on his channel.

One of the most rewarding aspects of model railroading is handlaid track and turnouts. It's challenging enough in the larger scales but in N scale (1/160th the size of the real thing) it really demands patience. And this guy is constructing a dual gauge N and Nn3 one!

Sure, R/C model airplanes are cool, but there's something about the nostalgia element of a rubber-powered free flight model that just lifts your spirits. This gentleman is an expert in the field and here he shows his method for constructing an oval fuselage on a jig in balsa. Many other informative videos on this aspect of the model airplane hobby.

Polymer clay artist extraordinaire Ace of Clay takes you step by step in creating a character called Sundrop from "Five Nights at Freddy's."

I've seen molten aluminum poured into fire ant colonies but this gentleman uses it for lost foam casting in sand for decorative objects. Scares the hell out of me but maybe one day I will be brave enough to create some sculpture pieces.

Back to model railroading, and for something completely different in terms of foam, Dave Meek uses extruded pink foam to create amazing desert scenery on his On30 Thunder Mesa layout, which we've featured before. It's his rendition of what the railroads at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm might look like if they actually existed somewhere in the desert southwest.

Finally, a master furniture restorer whom I have featured before does an incredible job bringing back what really is something ready for the furnace into its former glory as an art nouveau cabinet.

posted by J.J. Sefton at 05:16 PM

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