A New Railroad Scene Addition by Mr. Don Ulmer

 Monday November 9, 2015
Sunny and back to seasonal temperatures

A new Railroad Scene Creation

by Mr. Don Ulmer

   I decided to check up on a few people whom I had the pleasure of meeting visa the Net, and posting about the. One of these fine people is Mr. Don Ulmer. I had seen his superb creations on 

ebay a while ago, and had to write about Don. 

  Don produces unique scenic props and items for model railroading. If you search out his name through my blog "labels", you'll find several posts about this "artist". His creations are magnificent, and if I ever had a model railroad, I'd create a miniature scene with some of his work.

What's interesting about the sign below is that it reads "Moose Jaw trading Post". There is a 

MooseJaw, Saskatchewan, Canada (I',m Canadian), and I wonder if the sign is a reproduction relating to that city?

I like how Don ages his models to fit "retro" into old landscapes. 

This fine model will soon be available on ebay, 

so you'll periodically have to check to see when this item goes on sale.

I've added one address below to which you can connect on my blog. However, you'll have to do some "homework" to find the rest. 

Please click here to visit another post about Mr. Don Ulmer

Don;t work is one of my best "discoveries" that I've found in writing about toys, and I'm glad to be able to share this with you.

Thanks for stropping by,

and as always,

have a great part of the days or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey 

Don Ulmer Says Hello

Thursday, December 26, 2014
Partly cloudy, and warm

Don Ulmer Says Hello

   I was surprised to hear from Mr. Don Ulmer yesterday.  I had discovered Don on ebay in February of this year and wrote several posts about him and his fine "artwork". Don makes exceptional retro-looking items that model railroad enthusiasts place into their scenes. His fine work looks very weathered, and fits well into certain rural and rustic scenes. I had never seen such items before, and so I had contacted Don in February of this year, and added several posts. When I return to Don's website and ebay store as I normally do for all my guests, I would look for Don's latest creations.

  I don't have an agenda book or a work log, and try to "remember" what I want or need to do for future posts. Obviously, I had forgot about Don,and many other people this year. I've been busy chasing milestones, but forgot the most important thing- keeping in touch with people. 

  I wrote back to Don, and he's been busy at his regular job, and mentioned that he's still selling, but that the profit margin on ebay can sometimes be small for the effort that he places to create his exceptional work. I personally what he means. When I was buying and selling, it was hard to just meet my expenses.There's not that many old toys up here in Montreal (I stopped looking), and when I found them (at auctions or Toronto antique stores), they were too expensive. And when I sold them back on ebay, I inevitably didn't make much considering that most were shipped from the USA, and then I resold them back either here in Canada or "The States".

Please click here to visit Don's website

Please click here to visit Don's ebay homepage

O, On30,On3 Custom Truck

1934 Ford with mobile home in tow,Custom,one of a kind,Totally redone,new wheels and tires,repainted,Detailed and weathered,mobile home is resin,wheels match the truck,new bed in the truck,real wood,barrel and wood are included but NOT glued,you may change if you wish! 1/43 scale but is big enough to work for O scale. Home Sweet Home!

 I like how Don take's plenty of photos to present his items. Personally, if I had a model railroad in my basement, I'd be sold from just the first photo. However, as a blogger, it's super to have so many photos to present to everyone.

I like that "weathered" and aged look that Don add's to his artwork. I don;t know if Don would call this art, but I do. There's a lot of effort and detail that goes into these pieces. I especially like the bottom photo above with that "aerial view" I like that large red patch!.

On30 Custom Passenger train

On30 Custom Built Passenger Train,nothin like it anywhere,all resin,Built,Painted,Weathered and Detailed.You do nothing,just put em on the rails and go.Look perfect behind a Porter or small critter.Each one is 2 3/4" long,tight curves? Not a problem. Thought these would be an easy build,as always they weren't ,but they look good.

When I was in university, I would go "Up North" by bus to go fishing in late August. I would take the bus ( I didn't drive then).  Riding on a bus allowed you to see much more than driving a car, and I remember seeing cabooses and these small portable  structures usually parked alongside the railroad. I'm sure they were used in the remote areas where railroad workers would replace rail sections or clear the track bed of weeds and plants that had grown over the summer.

O, On30,On3 Custom truck #2

One of a kind Custom Kenworth,repainted,detailed and weathered.These trucks work hard,I try to show that, I seem to forget the logging industry is still going on,so I did a newer truck,ya got big logs,ya need a big truck and  here it is! Count the rings on those logs,must be a super fast growing tree!!!!!!!!! Somethin is fishy here! 1/43 scale

I like the custom side posts that were "welded" to the steel horizontal beams on the truck's bed. I also like the "logs"that were carefully selected to be proportioned properly to the size of the truck. I hope you read Don's humour for this truck. I like how he commented on the fast-growing tress through their annual rings. 

Imagine of trees could grow this fast!

Of course, this truck is not an "old old" vehicle, but  it certainly would fit in well with a train platform of that era. I've seen great mini-cities in Toronto where  a train club had set -up whole "mini-worlds" of trains and cities when the Toronto toy antique show was going on.  It's unbelievable how much detail that you can see in these set-ups. 

Thanks for dropping by and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

So What's Don Ulmer Up to this Spring?

   Sunday, May 5, 2014
(Cloudy and rain- What else is new!)

So What's Don Ulmer Up To

This Spring?

  I discovered Mr. Don Ulmer a few months ago. In blogger's time, that seems a very long time. When you write each day, it's hard to keep track of time. But the last time I wrote about Don was in February. Where does the time go? Don is an e-bay seller who also has an interesting website. He's an "artisan" who modifies model trains in his unique style of "retro". He also makes "interesting"mini-scenes for model O railroads. I won;t say more about his "interesting"scenes, because you absolutely have to visit my previous post to see this!

Please click here to visit Don Ulmer's website

Please click here to see what Don Ulmer is selling on ebay

Below:

An  O, On30, On3 Custom Diesel Critter

Specially painted for a retro and well-used diesel locomotive, with working headlight.

Below:

An  O, On30, On3 Custom Diesel Critter

Specially painted for a retro and well-used diesel locomotive, with "calf". 3 HO scale switchers were used to build this unit. The locomotive is powered, but the "calf" is not. Weathered and detailed, knuckled couplers and working headlight, new cab, headlight, air tank, and scratch built exhaust on both sides, these conversions run great.

As you can see, these scratch train engines are quite distinctive 

and made to look old and having worked very hard.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

Can't Get Enough of Those Custom-Made Scenes for Those On30 Scale Railroads

Monday, February 24, 2014
                    (Cold and Sunny)

Can't Get Enough of Those Custom-Made Scenes

for  Those On30 Scale Railroads

   If you've been reading my blog last week, I added 2 posts for about a master craftsman by the name of Mr. Don Ulmer. I first caught a glimpse of an interesting item for sale on ebay, and of course I had to investigate. Of course, as the expression goes - "the rest is history". Don creates interesting mini-scene for the On30 scale model railroads. These are the smaller sizes, but that surely doesn't take away from Don's masterpieces. What's most interesting about model railroads is the scenery, and most people, including myself overlook the scenery for the moving trains. 

   For myself, The miniature world of model railroad tabletops is even  more interesting that the trains themselves, and hobbyists spend more money and time creating these fascinating miniature cities and towns more than they do with the trains. There are many hobby stores most likely in your city and of course on the Net, and it's unbelievable what can be purchased or made by hand. Of course, it's easier to have Don make one for you, and his  prices are quite reasonable, if you happen to be the winner on  ebay.

Please click here to visit Don's ebay store

Please click here to visit Don's Website

I added Don's unaltered image that he sent me. Even though I photo-edited his images, they still are masterpieces. I didn't want you, the readers to see something different form what you might see on

ebay.

I have seen though the most fascinating lighting on some tabletop model railroads on the Net, and I think that  that's important as well, at least from my perspective as a photographer.

I thoroughly enjoy changing Don's photos from daytime to nighttime or sunny days. I've learned quite fast in a photo-editing software to do this. As much as Don has thanked me for posting his work, I have to thank him for allowing me to "readjust" his photos. By the way though, I never change the actual items in the photos.


Thanks for dropping by,
and as always, 
have a great part of the day or night,
wherever you may be.
Stacey
Please feel free to write to me anytime at:
toysearcher@gmail.com

More of Don Ulmer's Masterpieces for Model Railroading

Wednesday, February 19,2014
                       (Cloudy and Mild)

More of Don Ulmer's Masterpieces 

for Model Railroading

    A few days ago, I introduced everyone to Mr. Don Ulmer. He crafts unique scenes for On30 model railroading. He prefers to make and design his own scenes rather than have people ask for the "same, same".  For today, I decided to use a photo-editing software to embellish his excellent work, and create some night scenes. I felt that a night scene would be more dramatic that a daylight scene. Don gave me the OK, and I proceeded. If you prefer to see his photos on ebay, just click on the link below his name.

Please click here to visit Don Ulmer's items for sale on ebay

Don makes both unique truck items or scenes with several items in them

I got lots of enjoyment  from enhancing Don's images.  I shoe twilight and evening modifications, because that's what I feel is most exciting about model railroads. That is to say, seeing the trains in an unlit room with light solely fem the train and the miniature world lighting on the large beds that the train rest on.

Are these fantastic or what?

I adjusted the images for this last scene for sunlight with clouds. I don't think this man would be selling his produce at night!

I hope you enjoyed Don;s fine art work on these items, as well as my lighting modifications . I know I veered outside my "old and antique" realm of writing, but in this case, I couldn't resist!

Thanks for dropping by,

and have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

Please feel free to write to me anytime at:

toysearcher@gmail.com