A Simple O Scale Ceiling Light Fixture

Re-Posing An O Scale Figure

O scale figures can be purchased inexpensively in large lots. Unfortunately, those lots usually come with many duplicate figures. And often the poses are static -- figures just standing or sitting, rather than appearing to be in motion.

Repainting can help mask some of the sameness, but to add even more variety and action to O scale figures, try re-posing some of them.

Here's the build video showing some simple techniques.

Adding Realistic Lighting To A Diecast O Scale Vehicle

This little project adds an extra touch of fun and realism to an O scale vehicle. When I say "O scale vehicle," I'm taking a bit of license, because there are very few diecast cars actually labeled 1:48 scale. Most are 1:43. Fortunately for O scale modelers, some manufacturers tend to build their 1:43 diecast vehicles undersized, which means they look about right in an O scale setting. You just have to pick the ones that do look right.

Some diecast vehicles have transparent headlights and tail lights, which makes them ideal for lighting. You can just stick LEDs right behind them. The only other consideration is making sure there's room enough in the vehicle for the LEDs, resistors, and wiring. In tight spaces, tiny surface-mount LEDs can be used. But they can be a challenge to solder.

For this vehicle, I decided to just light the parking lights. I used orange and red 3mm water clear LEDs. Today's superbright LEDs are too bright to look realistic in this kind of application when their rated current is used, so I underpowered them by using relatively high value resistors with 3.3 volts of power.

I was very pleased with the results. The photos don't do justice to the color of the lights, but they do give a good indication of the effect of adding lighting to a scale vehicle.

Here's the build video and the photos:

An O Scale Attraction Brochure Rack

Attraction brochure racks were common sights in motel offices and restaurants throughout the last half of the 20th century.

The size of this model is about 5 scale feet tall, and about 28 scale inches wide. It's built entirely from paper and white glue. I plan to wall mount mine in the interior of a model structure, about a scale foot above the floor.

Here is the build video. Dimensions and the printable brochure graphic (in png and jpg format) are posted below.

The brochures in the graphic are various vintage brochures from the southeastern United States. I picked them mainly for color, since they're illegible when printed scale size. You can use the picture as a template in a photo editing program and substitute your own if you like.

Typical trifold brochure size is 4 inches wide by 9 inches tall. Size the print to match your scale if you're not building in O scale.

You can modify the plans in several ways: You could make the cabinet section (the lower half) taller, you could add extra rows of brochures, or you could eliminate the bottom section and a row of brochures and make a counter top version.

Click on the pictures to enlarge, right-click to save them to your computer or device. Have fun building!

O Scale Soda Vending Machine Build

Here's the vid of my scratch build of an O scale classic soft drink vending machine from the 1950s and '60s. It was a blast to make.

I made the wrapper graphic using GIMP open-source image editing program, and printed several copies to use for the build.

And here is the wrapper, in png and jpg formats. Click on a picture to enlarge, then right-click (or long-click) and "save as" to save it to your computer or device.

Original Vendolator (later, Vendo) VMC-81 soft drink vending machines stand about 54 inches tall, 25 inches wide, and 18 inches deep.

Set your printing size and resolution to match your scale. Best results will be obtained using a laser color printer (although some inkjet printers are capable of fine detail), and building in O scale size (1:48, 1/4" = 1') or larger.

Have fun!

O Scale Folding Lawn Chair Build

I wanted some O scale folding lawn chairs!

This fun project is based on the fine instructions I found online here. My version is a little "looser" in execution. The build video is below.