Tom Daniel on his Bad Water Western layout

Over the weekend Vince contacted Tom Daniel with some questions about his Bad Water Western layout. Mr. Daniel proved once again to be a great guy and graciously answered Vince's questions about the layout. Here's an edited summary (Tom Daniel's comments are in "Courier" as is the convention here):

Tom Daniel's Bad Water Western module "won First Place" at the 1973 MRIA meet.

"At that same contest, John Olson also entered his HOn3 module which also won First Place in the 'Narrow Gauge" category. John and I became lifelong friends - and he - being an accomplished model photographer - among all his other talents - John became the official 'company' photographer for my Bad Water Western RR ..."

"There is NO actual operating BWW layout - rather, a series of modules, all still works in progress. The original Module Contest winner was unfortunately destroyed many years ago."

"Other than one or two shots in MR in years past; and the BWW images you saw via Max Models, there has been no definitive photo and text story about how the BWW came into being in 1949."

"Thanks for your interest in the Bad Water Western."

I'd like to thank Tom Daniel and Vince for giving their time to help clarify this interesting piece of model railroading history.

Tom Daniel's Bad Water Western at Max's Models

Vince contacted Tom Daniel about the Bad Water Western. Tom Daniel graciously replied and said there was a video about it at Max's Models. Amazing stuff!

Tom Daniel, Designer of Laser Cut Structure Kits

Ad snippet for a Tom Daniel designed Wood Freight Depot; MR Jan '99

While wandering around looking for some notes on Tom Daniel's Bad Water Western layout I ran across this interview with him in the February 2000 issue of Scale Auto Enthusiast. Near the end of the article he mentions what he was up to circa 2000 or so:

""I've done a lot of different designs since," Daniel says. A series of model-railroad scenery backdrops was among them. Daniel, an avid model railroader, designed those for his own company, HO West. Model railroad giant Wm. K. Walthers later purchased those designs, and continue to produce them under the Instant Horizons name. Daniel also designed HO scale buildings for Model Expo, and did some design work for Bburango."

This post's lead image is an ad for one of those HO scale structures that Model Expo ran in the January and February 1999 issues of Model Railroader. Regarding the featured Wood Freight Depot, the ad copy has this to say:

"New design by Tom Daniel is based on his boyhood memories of America during World War II. Although the Wood Freight Depot does not replicate a specific prototype, it combines many realistic elements for an authentic railroad atmosphere."

That's sort of an interesting tie in back to Tom Daniel's recollection of working in old boxcars from that era that he recounted in his May '72 RM article, An Inside Look at Boxcar Details.

I'll let the completist in me wrap up this post. There appear to be ads for Tom Daniel designed structures in these issues of Model Railroader: Mar '96, July '98, Nov '98, Jan '99, Feb '99, Mar '99, Nov '99, Dec '99, and Mar 2000. The upshot is his designs had been around for awhile before the Scale Auto Enthusiast article was published.

The search continues.

No sign of the Bad Water Western RR

Ad for 1973 MRIA show

I looked through all the 1974 issues of Railroad Modeler looking for other stories and photos about Tom Daniel's Bad Water Western RR layout as promised in the January issue but found none. 

Surprisingly I did find a mention of it in an article John Olson wrote that introduced his Mescal Lines layout to readers of Model Railroader's January 1984 issue - the famous 50th anniversary of MR issue. In the section on the railroad's background story he notes that:

"We [JDL: 'We' as in the Mescal Lines RR] connect the eastern Sierra with such serious and hardworking slim-gauge roads as the Bad Water Western of Tom Daniel (in Western Arizona), the Pelican Bay Ry. & Navigation Co. of Paul Scoles (who models the Northern California sea coast) and, of course, the Fiddletown & Copperopolis Ry. of those great old Carl Fallberg cartoons (we're still looking for it on the map!)."

Maybe I shouldn't be too surprised by the mention as John Olson also had a module on display at the 1973 MRIA show. Olson and Daniel likely have a connection that goes way back.

I'll have to see if Railroad Model Craftsman has anything to say about the 1973 MRIA show. Stay tuned!

Tom Daniel's Bad Water Western RR

Tom Daniel's Bad Water Western RR layout; RM Jan '74

Last night I was re-reading John Olson's article about his Cielo Lumber Co. layout that appeared in the January 1974 issue of Railroad Modeler. As often happens I wound up rummaging through the entire issue. In the process I stumbled across this photo of a little 2'x4' layout built by Tom Daniel. 

You may recall that a few years ago I wrote about how Tom Daniel was one of Railroad Modeler's founding contributors. He published a number of articles there from Dec '71 to Nov '72, but then wasn't seen again in its pages. Well, even though he didn't have an article in the Jan '74 issue, this photo of a layout he built for the Model Railroading Industry Association show held in Orange County, California in October 1973 was in it. So, it looks like he was still doing something with model trains in '73 and '74.

The accompanying article about the show mentions that Daniel's diorama "... incorporates a large highway in a logical manner. More on this in later issues." Well, this is 30Squares, so I'm off to look up those later issues :-)

Tom Daniel's Railroad Modeler year

Tom Daniel's M. Bezler & Company from Railroad Modeler Mar '72

I was reading some old Railroad Modeler magazines over the weekend, and came across an interesting kitbash, M. Bezler & Company, by Tom Daniel in the March 1972 issue. As well as a few odds and ends, it's built from our old friend the AHM Grusome Casket Company kit, and Vollmer's Two Story Factory, item #5610.

This wasn't the first article penned by Tom Daniel that I'd seen in my reading, and I started to wonder if this was the same Tom Daniel who designed all those awesome 1/24 scale showcar kits. Vince has got an extensive library on this subject, so I asked him. And he did the logical thing and asked Tom Daniel directly via email. Mr. Daniel replied quickly, and confirmed that he was the author of those articles. I'm a big fan of Tom Daniel's kit designs, and have featured here the T'rantula, Rommel's Rod, Ice 'T', and the Hot Wheels Red Baron - and I've got a 1/24 scale Red Baron kit stashed away in the basement awaiting assembly and a post. I didn't know he had an interest in model railroading too. 

So far I've found 8 articles in Railroad Modeler published over a 1 year period from December 1971 to November 1972. Most appear to deal with improving and modifying kits, as well as kitbashing. Here're the Tom Daniel stories I've found so far:

Dec'71: A Modified Mallet (modifying AHM's 2-8-8-2)

Jan'72: Shortline Combine (shortening AHM's 82' combine)

Feb'72: A Winterized E-8 (making AHM's E-8 diesel ready for winter operations)

Mar'72: M. Bezler & Company (kitbashing AHM Grusome Casket & Vollmer Two Story Factory)

May'72: An Inside Look at Boxcar Details (adding loads to boxcars)

Jun'72: Elephant Eared Berkshire (detailing AHM's Berkshire loco)

Sep'72: up to date depot (converting Life-Like's convenience store kit into a modern station)

Nov'72: Locomotive Riptrack (Diorama from a Kitmaster J3a Hudson & a Hobbytown 0-4-0 tank switcher)

In the story, An Inside Look at Boxcar Details, Mr. Daniel mentions in his younger days, this author unloaded many, many boxcars, and each had its own mystery and intrigue. Working inside one was ALWAYS at one of two extremes...hotter than a steam room or colder than a refrigerator. I always used to wonder at all the states, cities, towns and lonely spurs the average boxcar must visit during its travels.. which to me hints that there is more to his interest in model railroading than meets the eye. I'll keep you posted if more turns up, but for now, where's that Red Baron kit :-)

[4:09pm Update: The first issue of Railroad Modeler was September 1971, but it wasn’t until the March 1972 issue that they included a list of contributors on the index page. And in that list is Tom Daniel, and there he remained up to and including the May 1973 issue. In June 1973 he was gone, and it looks like the contributors list was shaken up a bit. Some old names were gone, some new ones appeared. Maybe there was a staff shake-up? Maybe some veterans had simply moved on? Was Tom Daniel a founding contributor? Questions, questions, questions.]

A short hiatus after a third inspection

Shot outdoors in bright sunshine using a concrete block for a backdrop - pants not yet fixed :-)

I'll be taking a little break from blogging now that the good weather finally seems to have settled in. I'll still be stowed away at home, futzing around the house and in the backyard. Hopefully the sunshine and fresh air will breath some new life into my stale postings. 

Inspection, Take 2

I sprayed some Dullcote on the figure's pants to see if that would kill the shine. It did, sort of, but maybe not really :-) Although the sheen is much reduced, there are still highlights under the LED photo lights. I should repaint the figure and take a few photos outside in natural light. Now that the good weather's approaching, I can move picture taking outside without freezing.

Inspection

Ice T anyone?

Vince and I were chatting recently about show rods and during the conversation he mentioned that I start many posts with "Vince and I were chatting recently about .....". I agreed I was getting sloppy and was now relying on overused phrases. Let me start this post again.

I was discussing the sociological implications of the sub-category of automotive technology known as 'Show Rods' with an esteemed colleague and member of the 30Squares editorial board. There was an inquiry as to whether I had ever built the Show Rod known as Ice T. I retorted that I had many odd years ago in my halcyon days. It was assembled in a naive manner with a brushed-on application of paint highlighted with primitive dots stippled on in a Jackson Pollock-esque style with a Sharpie pen. Art Brut? Homage to juvenile art of a lost era? Or maybe it was just a way to have some simple fun :-)

Body Installed

All the pieces in step 2 of the instructions were finished over the last couple of days, and that meant the body was ready to place on the chassis. The parts fit surprisingly well, and there's little flash to remove.

This tacky little project is proving to be a guilty pleasure :-)

Rod on Wheels, er, Tracks?

Getting a model car project up on its wheels is always a big milestone, even if its only got two :-) The Gromits are in the background trying to look the other way....

On the table

To have some variety, I've got a few projects on the go as well as the usual streetcar diorama stuff: I'm painting the Gromit figures for a Wallace & Gromit diorama I've been promising for years that it'll be done "any time now"; I pulled the Monogram Rommel's Rod off the shelf as Vince and I had been discussing it as well as a few other showrods; and I'm almost done a Walther's food truck kit Debra gave me for Christmas a year or so ago. All these involve a lot of painting, and that's proving to be quite a pleasurable activity.

Hot Wheels Red Baron

I was mentioning to Vince that in childhood days I thought the Red Baron was one excellent vehicle. Frankly, I can no longer see the attraction. What was I thinking? Although, when the plastic kit was re-issued a few years back, I eagerly bought one from the local hobby store – some sort of unfulfilled primal urge I guess:-)

Also, going through all the Hot Wheels photos I notice that the ones that are missing a single wheel are all missing the rear wheel on the driver's side. Coincidence or pattern? Can't tell.

Blazing diecasts

I was looking through some photos for an upcoming post and found these two from 2012 when I was taking pictures of my old Hot Wheels and other diecasts. I was fooling around with photo distortion at the time and rather liked these two images. I had thought they'd get posted at retroDynamics, but I closed down that blog soon after these were taken so they weren't posted. On the left is a Hot Wheels Lotus Turbine and on the right is the Red Baron. Below are some run-of-the-mill luxury cars from our present era - I bought them thinking I'd convert them to railcars!

T'rantula rides again!

The T in T'rantula doesn't stand for Tesla because even though it's a green machine there is nothing environmentally friendly about this gas-guzzling monster.

The model went together fairly easily and all the parts fit with a minimum of flash to be removed. The above photo shows it up on its wheels awaiting the engine and windshield.

The double-blower engine is the most prominent feature of this model, so I thought I should add ignition wires to the distributor since that part was front and centre. The kit's distributor unit is made of two parts: a body and cap. I discarded the cap and drilled out the body to accept the wires. 

The wires are some leftovers from packages I bought from Model Car Garage a number of years ago. I used red and black because I didn't have enough left of either colour, so I went with 4 red and 4 black. The wires were bundled together and glued into the distributor body with some medium thickness super-glue.

Some holes were drilled in the engine to accept the wires - the positioning is all guess work, nothing prototypical or accurate. They're held in place with some Krystal Klear.

Jumping ahead a bit, you can see how that side of the engine looks when the whole thing is seated in the body.

I did the same procedure on the other side. There's nothing fancy about this engine. Other than ignition wires, there weren't any other after market details added. The only detailing was merely painting various components. Ok, well, the ends of the exhaust pipes were drilled to open them up.

You can sort of make out the opened up exhaust pipes in this view from the back. There's also a packed-up drag chute glued to the back of the cab.

The kit comes with a deployed drag chute - that's it in the photo above with an N-scale figure. It might make an interesting passenger shelter for a streetcar turn-around. Although, now that I see it, it might be better in HO than N.

Dusting off the T'rantula

Tom Daniel's T'rantula dragster - a Monogram model - was the first model kit I built as a kid. I think my parents bought it for me. As the years went on it was cannibalized to make other custom car models. Whatever was left was eventually tossed out, or given to my cousin in order to clear things out prior to a move. 

I bought a re-release of the kit a couple of years ago and started to build it last summer. Ok, "started to build it" is a bit of a stretch. I bought some Colors by Boyd Lime Pearl to spray it with, glued a few engine components together, and then pushed it to the back of the workbench as I started on some other projects. A few weeks ago I dusted it off and started again. It's about half done, so it's likely to get finished. Soon I hope :-)

Those are the engine parts from the truncated first round of building last summer. They're quite well molded. This is one of the few projects where I didn't start by immediately stripping off all the chrome plating.

That's the body all glued up and drying in the dish rack after a little washing with soap and water. The tricky part was figuring out what to do about the interior and roof. After much head scratching, I built-up and painted the interior, then installed it and covered it with masking tape. The roof was then glued on and the roof-body seam was sanded out until smooth.

I used a bent coat-hanger as a paint stand and sprayed the body in the backyard on a nice day. Wrapping the interior with masking tape worked well and kept the interior from being coated with green paint. However, I had to be extra careful in pealing off the tape to make sure the steering wheel, shifter and pedals didn't get broken.