I walked into the train room today and there was a long train parked at Stonemans left over from the last op session. It occurred to me that the curve there would be a nice scene if the foreground was actually sceniced. So using photo editing, I added scenery to the aisle area. Below is what it looks like before scenery.
September 4, 2026
Nice curve!
I walked into the train room today and there was a long train parked at Stonemans left over from the last op session. It occurred to me that the curve there would be a nice scene if the foreground was actually sceniced. So using photo editing, I added scenery to the aisle area. Below is what it looks like before scenery.
September 1, 2026
Final Drawing 200-pound Parrot
I finished the drawing of the 200-pound Parrot Rifle. Now to see if I can get it to print. I am successful, then I can proceed with the base.
August 26, 2026
Bring out the big guns
| The portion of Battery Rodgers I will build a 8-inch Parrot in the front and a 15-inch Rodman in the rear. |
I am working on a diorama of Battery Rodgers in Alexandria in 1/32nd scale. This is a project I've been thinking about for a long time. There are several photos of the Battery Rodgers and some plans available. At least one of the guns survived and is now at Fort Foote, but on a different mount than what it had in Alexandria.
I built the Verlinden 15-inch Rodman, a kit that has been in my stash for at least 10 years. It was a tricky kit with no locating pins and a rudimentary drawing for instructions. Some of the parts were broken as I purchased the kit used. It took a bit of scratch building and lot of fitting and trial and error to get it to come out square. It is impressive.
Next, I need the 8-inch Parrott on a front pintle carriage. No one makes a kit of this in 1/32 (Cottage Industries made the Swamp Angle Parrott but it has a different carriage) or 1/48 (for use onto Aquia Line). So I decided to draw it in Fusion and try printing them on my 3D printer. It will fit on the printer in 1/32nd scale. I will probably print the barrel as a separate part, but the elevation screw will be tricky. I still need to add some details, but it's about 80 percent done. .