Category: Calico

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Building an On18 Locomotive | Calico Mountain 14

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

This week's project takes us back to Calico Mountain for the build of an On18 Saddle Tank Climax locomotive! This freelanced design was inspired by a similar On30 model by David Wingrove (not by Al Judy as stated in the video) and is named in honor of the designer and builder of Knott's Calico Mine Ride, Bud Hurlbut. Join me as I build this little critter from the ground up, starting with a smooth running Kato 11-109 N gauge mechanism. I add a working LED headlight, Porter details from Railway Recollections, a custom cab, graphics, and all the bells and whistles.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

Kato 11-103: https://a.co/d/6fIzKrV
Railway Recollections: https://www.ebay.com/str/railwayrecollections?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=XSJRN_XgSg-&sssrc=3418065&ssuid=fWepkjmJT9O&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Cordelia’s Cafe | Modeling with Printed Paper Textures

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

Calico Boomtown Part 9

As promised, here's a video on modeling with printed paper textures. Follow along as I take Cordelia's Cafe from rough mock-up to finished model, with an emphasis on the digital tools I use to model realistic looking signs, walls, and structures using cg textures on printed paper. I use Adobe Photoshop and realistic cg textures to model the intricate graphics on the front wall of Cordelia's Cafe - a structure inspired by Cordelia Knott's famous fried chicken dinners and Boysenberry pies! Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

Designing Laser Cut Structures with Adobe Illustrator: https://youtu.be/5pZWQwMsZPY
CG Textures: https://www.textures.com/

The Maggie Mine | Calico Boomtown 8

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

Sometimes you gotta change things up! This is a little story of the mine that moved – from Hanging Rock to the boomtown of Calico. I built the mine back in 2019 but recently decided that I like it better in a different spot. In this video, I show how I blended the model into the town of Calico and added a few more details to turn it from a background model into a foreground model.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

Polyurethane Carving Foam: https://www.dickblick.com/products/sculpture-block/

Calico Mountain Ore Cars | Calico Mt Pt 13

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

It’s back to Calico Mountain this week to build a string of rustic On18 ore cars inspired by the Knott’s Berry Farm original! These cars take advantage of some commercially available 3-D printed HOn30 frames, and some laser cut parts of my own design, to model credible recreations of the classic Calico Mine Ride “ore cars.”

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

3-D Printed Car Frames: https://www.shapeways.com/product/JQQCTK6Z2/hon30-mann-s-creek-frames-4?optionId=61798964&li=shops

Grandt Line Hardware: https://www.grandtline.com/products/miscellaneous-hardware/

Micro-Trains Wheels and Couplers: https://www.micro-trains.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=63

Building a Western Boomtown Part 7: The Calico Depot

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

I’m back in the saddle again, working on my western boomtown of Calico! This time out, it’s the Calico Depot – built from a wonderful kit by Full Circle Models. I add a few of my own twists and custom details to the structure and chronicle the entire build from start to finish with in depth descriptions of each step along the way.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

Full Circle Models

Thunder Cam: Calico Mountain Time-Lapse

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

Howdy Folks! This special Thunder Cam episode features a time-lapse on the construction of Calico Mountain. I began the Calico Mountain expansion of the On30 Thunder Mesa layout back in January of 2021, and even though there are still a few things to finish (including the massive underground mining scene), I thought it might be fun to sum things up so far. Enjoy!

Dave

Building a Western Boomtown Part 6: The Calico Jail

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

Just next door to Goldie’s Place is the Calico Jail, home to that infamous hard-luck case, Sad Eye Joe. In this installment of Building a Western Boomtown, I build my own version of a slab-constructed wooden jailhouse, inspired by a similar structure at Knott’s Berry Farm Ghost Town.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

Building a Western Boomtown part 5: Goldie’s Place Bordello

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

Every Wild West boomtown needs a bordello; a place where the lonesome miners can spend their hard earned gold dust on a little female “companionship.” Enter Gold Dust Goldie’s, the classic bordello from Knott’s Berry Farm Ghost Town. In this episode, I show how I built my version of Goldie’s Place, right down to the animated leg sticking out the window! Lot’s of wood structure construction tips in this one, including how to model old, weathered, paint-chipped walls.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

Calico Mountain Expansion Part 12: Creeks & Waterfalls

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

The Calico Mountain expansion continues! In this episode, I model Calico Creek and its tall, dramatic waterfalls. Step by step techniques for finishing the stream bed, making waterfalls from acrylic sheet, mixing and pouring clear epoxy resin, and adding ripples, rapids and final details.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave