g+scale Posts
 06.09.2018 I'm trying to grow my collection of trains without spending a fortune. I can't really say I'm very successful at that, but I definitely wait for good moments before making new purchases. That's how I… |
 23.07.2018 The Piko Taurus locomotive in G-scale I bought earlier this year is without any doubt a very good product. A conversion to DCC and adding sound functionality made the model even better and allowed me… |
 11.07.2018 When I was taking advantage of the sale offer at the MSL store, the Liliput beer car was not the only item I bought. I have picked one more product from the same manufacturer - a simple gondola car.… |
 03.07.2018 My recently completed Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter was meant for the garden layout display right from the start. As I was thinking about a good area to place it, I came up with an idea of building a… |
 27.06.2018 Decision to run your trains under digital control often doubles the price of adding a new locomotive. It is expensive, but in my opinion, it's definitely worth the money. The ease of control and the… |
 20.06.2018 I usually start my review with a photo of the product still in its packaging. This way I try to keep things in chronological order. But not this time. This time I'm kicking off with a photo taken… |
 04.06.2018 Some time ago I've finished assembling a helicopter model plastic kit. A friend of mine, Eryk, keeps nagging me to share the results of my work. He's right, the blog post covering this particular… |
 20.05.2018 I love adding details to my garden layout. I have a long backlog of items which should - at some point - become part of my miniature world. But my time is of course limited, so I have to take it… |
 15.05.2018 My large scale locomotive fleet is growing at a steady pace. This year it was expanded by two new models, one of which is Piko V36 engine. And since I'm running all my trains under DCC protocol, the… |
 12.04.2018 I would not really be myself if I brought only one souvenir from a business trip. That also applies to my most recent Californian adventure. In addition to the Piko hopper car, I've also bought… |
 26.03.2018 My last business trip to the United States was just one week long. I have decided however to stay over the weekend and do some sightseeing. I traveled down to southern California and obviously I had… |
 26.02.2018 The first weeks of year 2018 have brought several very interesting discounts on some of the Piko products. I have previously described my purchase of the Taurus electric locomotive in G-scale, and I… |
 22.01.2018 Have you had a chance to see the latest Piko 2018 G-scale catalogue? Have you noticed anything interesting? A locomotive that has been there for years - Class 1116 "Taurus" - is missing. There will… |
 03.01.2018 I have to admit I wasn't running my G-scale trains as often as I wanted to during the last season. Reasons aside, one of the consequences was a dirty track which caused some of the rides not to be as… |
 26.11.2017 Work on the tunnel for my garden layout is progressing very slowly. After my first failure with wood I have decided to change to a lightweight concrete structure which seems to be holding well for… |
 14.11.2017 It's hard to believe how lucky I sometimes am when it comes to my purchases. When I first saw a Polish State Railway G-scale freight car in Piko's 2013 catalog, I knew I had to have it. But the price… |
 29.10.2017 The very last purchase from my recent US visit worth mentioning is yet another experiment from my side when it comes to garden railroading. I've decided to obtain some typical American G-scaled… |
 17.10.2017 This is my last G-Scale building. At least for now. There's just no way I can fit anything more onto my layout. It's a pity but it's also a relief. Now I'll be able to focus on details and make my… |
 02.10.2017 I've brought two interesting items from my recent trip to the USA. I will be covering them both here on my blog. I'll start with the one that is easier to review. It's just a G-scale freight car,… |
 28.09.2017 Pola G diesel oil facility is an item that immediately caught my attention in this year's Faller catalogue. It just looked so nice in the official photo. Luckily it did not need much space and would… |
 13.09.2017 The town on my garden layout is almost complete when it comes to buildings. I have space for just two more houses and my intention is to fill those lots still in this season. Hence another… |
 30.08.2017 I've been experimenting with 3D printing for a little over 6 months now. Many of the results of my work have found their place on my outdoor layout already. And some of them dramatically affected the… |
 25.08.2017 When I started building my large scale layout, I immediately imagined a hill with a tunnel and a church on top of it. I've been looking for a fitting product that would resemble some sort of a temple… |
 01.08.2017 Some time ago I've opened the first business on my garden miniature world. It was a small restaurant from Pola G and even though I did not like the architecture of the building very much, it… |
 10.07.2017 My garden layout was always supposed to be fully DCC controlled. After putting money into my digital setup and the locomotives (here and here), the next step was enabling the handling for rail-track… |
 03.07.2017 Building the town on my garden layout reminds me of playing Sim City when I was a teenager. Just like in the computer game, the expansion of my G-scale settlement follows certain rules, too. Once the… |
 29.06.2017 I use my 3D printer almost daily. And almost every day I manage to make something useful. I don't blog about every single success as that would require an enormous amount of my time. This time… |
 25.06.2017 My garden layout is 100% flat. This is partly by choice but mostly due to its small size which does not allow any real elevation for the track. I wanted to introduce some variety to the landscape and… |
 14.06.2017 Another great discount at the MSL store and another nice addition to my G-scale rolling stock fleet. This time it's a container car manufactured by PIKO. Its catalog number is 37727 and it comes in a… |
 06.06.2017 The town on my garden layout is constantly growing. After the first settlers moved into my Pola G house, the time has come to give Piko building a try. For this reason I've obtained model 62050… |
 28.05.2017 After I had finished laying down the roads on my garden layout I've realized a tiny parcel has appeared. It was too small to put anything of reasonable size there. But at the same time it was located… |
 18.05.2017 Around 11 months ago I've decided to install my G-scale cars outdoors and I called it a test. I've promised I would take a look at those vehicles after 100 days and post the observations on my blog.… |
 09.05.2017 The spring is finally here and I was able to start my garden trains season now. One preparation step I've done before that was buying a track cleaning car to make my life a little bit easier after… |
 25.04.2017 And yet again, as I was making my purchase at the ArsTecnica store, I needed to fill my shopping basket "a little more" to get free shipping. Of course there was nothing of interest that would cost… |
 09.04.2017 It's still cold outside pretty often which makes it difficult for me to clean up my garden layout after the winter. I was however able to take a look around and one thing became clear - some of the… |
 03.04.2017 Finally! After weeks and weeks of planning, prototyping and 3D printing, my very own street lamps for my garden layout are finally here. And I have to say I'm truly proud to be able to present my… |
 24.03.2017 One of my priorities for this year's garden season is to establish a small town on my G-scale layout. I obviously need houses for that. I'm not yet sure how many I require, so I'm just starting with… |
 12.03.2017 Today's post is going to be short. I just want to show the G-scale boat I promised to make in my previous 3D printing article. It's ready, it looks nice and it floats pretty well:
I have again… |
 03.03.2017 A few weeks back I've presented my opinion on the Piko 62262 fishing cabin set. One thing I was disappointed about was the lack of accessories that could have made the product so much more… |
 08.02.2017 I've had my 3D printer for a few weeks now and the time has come to start producing useful elements for my layout. This is a rather straightforward process and the key to success is a good blueprint… |
 24.12.2016 Christmas season is a happy period for most of us. Not only you get a break from work and can spend more time with your family but you can also expect a nice surprise under the Christmas tree. In… |
 13.12.2016 The water pond on my garden layout was always supposed to look alive. I was even considering having some real fishes there but... they turn out to require a pretty deep container. Then I tried… |
 21.11.2016 While purchasing my last batch of N-scale wagons at the Hattons online store, I've also noticed they carried some G-scale products. I was not aware of that fact before and was even more surprised… |
 08.11.2016 The LGB 20755 electric locomotive is an item I've bought some months ago. My full review of the product can be found here. The engine performed very well throughout the season and I'm very happy with… |
 22.10.2016 Let's make it clear - the garden season for 2016 is over for where I live. It's been a good season and I feel I've managed to do a lot of work on my layout. Today might have been the last day with… |
 17.10.2016 When I first assembled the Pola G cargo loading building I liked the model a lot. It looked really good and featured a very attractive price. One thing it was missing though were accessories. And… |
 06.10.2016 And here it is! Another building for my garden layout. Actually, the manufacturer claims it's just a garden shed, but I will use it as a small summer / camping house. I expect it's going to look… |
 24.09.2016 The newly built city roads on my garden layout desperately needed some sort of street lighting. G-Scale lamps made by German or American companies are however really expensive. Taking into account… |
 16.09.2016 Some weeks ago I've created a small water pond on my garden layout. I have to admit I knew little about how to build it, so I just improvized. I did know however very, very well that a train was… |
 05.09.2016 The more elements I added to my new garden layout, the more I wanted to learn whether my miniature world already looked interesting from the point of view of its "inhabitants". The idea of seeing it… |
 27.08.2016 I needed some extra accessories to bring more life to my layout. And as always, I had a huge problem finding any "real" photos of the products I considered buying. So since I do own them already, how… |
 23.08.2016 The time has come to grow my garden layout even more. This time I'm building and installing "Waldau" storage hall which will act as a cargo loading point for my trains. The model is Pola G 331784 and… |
 12.08.2016 After building the first pieces of a street network on my G scale layout, I realized I may actually need to build a railway crossing. Luckily PIKO came up with a required track piece just this year,… |
 06.08.2016 A part of my new garden layout is supposed to be a "town area". And obviously a town cannot exist without streets. I was looking at different ways to make those and finally decided I wanted them to… |
 30.07.2016 Schleich is a company well known for high quality action figures of animals and people. Additonally they manufacture a rather small selection of accessories which also include some flora models. And… |
 08.07.2016 Pola G 330980 is a very small railway station model I was given for my wedding anniversary. Its official price on Faller website shows as 87,99 Eur but I'm pretty sure my wife managed to grab it a… |
 29.06.2016 I've bought some G-scale sized (more or less) cars last year with an idea of putting them on my garden layout. Without much effort my collection grew beyond of what I needed for a start. Currently it… |
 22.06.2016 Both PIKO and LGB offer a selection of track bumpers in case you want to build a sidetrack. There are a few models to choose from but I could find only one that offered an extra feature - a lighted… |
 12.06.2016 Garden solar lamps are available in many sizes and shapes. It so happens, that the cheapest of them look more-or-less like G-scale sized street lamps. They're not really that beautiful but… |
 05.06.2016 ...but I promise it's the last time, really. At least for now :)
Another 12 tons of stones have been delivered to my place...
...and it again took two weeks to transport them over to my garden.… |
 21.05.2016 And here's another G-Scale railcar I brought from my recent trip to the US. This time it's LGB and it's a live stock unit. Seems like my American freight train is getting longer and longer... And I… |
 08.05.2016 My recent visit to San Francisco allowed me to experience closing of the last real train model store in the city. It was a sad view to be honest, but a closing sale was involved, too. At 80% off I… |
 01.05.2016 There hasn't been much news on my blog recently, but I was definitely very busy working on my garden layout. The spring is here and I could finally pick up where I left off last autumn. So let's… |
 17.04.2016 LGB 20755 is a product that is no longer in production. I noticed the existence of this model a few months ago and was surprised by its rather low price. Seemed that at a cost of a regular locomotive… |
 07.04.2016 My plan for this year is to really grow my G-Scale layout. I'm talking here longer track, more trains, switches with remote control, etc. This is not only going to cost, it's also going to need more… |
 04.04.2016 The need of having a train station on a railroad layout does not need to be explained. Actually a miniature world should have two or more of such buildings to allow fully featured operation. But… |
 20.03.2016 I've had the desire to own a test rolling road ever since I started this blog. Such accessory is not only useful when working with your trains but also when shooting videos for YouTube. And here it… |
 13.03.2016 Unlike in Westeros, in Poland the spring is coming. So it's time to make some serious preparations for the new G-Scale season. I've decided to finally try electric control of my - not yet installed -… |
 21.01.2016 Following the review of my first holiday gift, here's a quick look at the second G-scale freight car I found under my Christmas tree. This time it's PIKO 37942: a small gondola car.
As expected… |
 05.01.2016 I was in doubt whether to do this review at all. After all, it's just a freight car. A single freight car. Does it deserve a separate review?
But then I remembered that whenever I'm considering… |
 29.12.2015 This purchase was not planned. I was buying something else at ArsTecnica and I needed to hit €50 to get free shipping. Decided to pick this set for less than €22.
Pola G 331745 is a collection of… |
 15.12.2015 Every layout benefits from models of people which make it more 'alive'. And that's also true in the garden railroading. What's different in the G-scale however, is the very high price of a single… |
 22.11.2015 Some time ago my family has bought me a wooden lighthouse for use on my garden layout. The building is not exactly G-scale but looks great and I'm going to be installing it as soon as the season… |
 03.11.2015 I did not have the need to use rail clamps on my garden layout, yet. It's not really surprising since I've just started my adventure with G-Scale, and everything I have is brand new. I know however… |
 31.10.2015 Another month has passed and I've managed to achieve some significant progress with regard to my elevated garden layout. My last update covered building the drainage/foundation for the future… |
 29.09.2015 September is almost over. I have been very much focused on elevating my garden layout in the past few weeks. The work has been going slowly but the results are already well visible. This is what it… |
 26.08.2015 This visit was not planned. I was spending summer holiday with my family at the Baltic Sea when I saw a banner advertising the Miniatures and Trains Park. Quick check at the map and I found out it… |
 16.08.2015 My initial garden layout turned out pretty good. The train runs well on it, the track is stable, there are no electrical issues. And I could just continue from here and keep extending it, if it… |
 01.08.2015
Passenger trains look so much better when equipped with interior lighting. Especially when run in the evening and in a nicely lit scenery. No wonder that after upgrading my N-scale coaches, I've… |
 21.07.2015 Sooner or later my garden layout is going to grow and I'm going to enrich it with a lot of decorations in order to turn it into a real miniature world. There are several options available here and… |
 07.07.2015 I should feel ashamed. I declare myself a train models fan and a person who loves beautiful "miniature worlds", and yet, for months I've failed to see the only train layout in my city. So it was… |
 28.06.2015 After the successful installation of the DCC decoder on my first G scale locomotive (described here), the time has come to install the sound module and bring some more life to my train. I again… |
 03.06.2015 I knew very, very well that my G scale train would be going DCC rather sooner than later. That's why I've made my reservation for the decoder at MSL already some time ago and waited for it to… |
 27.05.2015 The next batch of my garden track arrived some time ago but the poor weather discouraged me from doing any work outside. Luckily it got better last Sunday and I was able to start. The first step was… |
 03.05.2015 Another weekend with some very nice weather gave the opportunity to make more progress on my garden train. I've already managed to fill the gaps in the ballast with some extra stones, and the next… |
 27.04.2015 Having the layout components already arrived, I've decided to spend the weekend working in the garden. And since no real work was done so far, the first steps were to match the track pieces and start… |
 25.04.2015 My second PIKO 37130 train arrived a few days ago, so maybe it's time to write some words about my first impressions of the set. The set cost me 191,98€ which is 20€ less than the PIKO's recommended… |
 18.04.2015 Yesterday I've purchased 200kg of grit for my track ballast. I really had no idea how much rocks I needed so I just bought as much as I could easily fit in my car. And even now, looking at the 200kg… |
 12.04.2015 I remember very well that the moment I bought my first N-scale coach, I immediately thought: I have to have some light inside it. I've been trying to get that since then, applying several different… |
 08.04.2015 The main decision when you start thinking about the garden railway is how you're going to build it. There are two main options here.
Option #1 - you build it at the ground level.
This is fairly… |
 07.04.2015 The weather is getting better so it's time to start some garden works...
Step 1: define the layout border and start killing the unwanted grass.
And this is what my garden looks like before any… |
 06.04.2015 My N-scale layouts have been running DCC for some time now. The experience is so much superior to analogue control that my G scale layout is going to be DCC controlled, too (sooner or later). At the… |
 05.04.2015 I started thinking about the G scale layout back in winter when the weather wouldn't allow me to do anything really. So I had quite some time to think and plan.
My garden is rectangular (and flat)… |
 04.04.2015 So where did the "G scale idea" come from? Let's see...
my small N scale layout is really small (40x90cm) so there's not much to play with and not much more can be done (it's full!)
my bigger N… |
