1 week ago the Garden State Division of the NER/NMRA had a
meet at the Scotch Hills Country Club in Scotch Plains NJ. They used the WIP format (Works in progress)
of clinics where there are stations where a clinician will be located and the
attendees rotate every 30 minutes from one station to another. Each station covers a subject that the clinician
presents with about 15-20 minutes of info and 10 or so minutes of Q&A. They also can be hands-on clinics where
attendees can work along with the clinician and pick up a new skill. I gave a clinic on standardizing your car fleet: proper
weight, metal wheels, couplers all the same and at the right height etc. I discussed the importance of setting your
standards and having each car meet those standards before they ever hit the layout.
Other clinics presented at the meet were:
Dave Ramos- Building Fast Tracks turnouts
Craig Bisgeier- Casting parts in resin
Tony Koester- Kitbashing buildings
Ralph Heiss- Weathering rolling stock
Joe Calderone- Creating retaining walls out of meat
packaging containers
Bruce De Young- Applying and weathering dry tranfers to
rolling stock and structures
Ted Pamperin- Using creative methods and materials in
building your layout
The WIP format has been used in the NJ Division for a few
years and has been successful. GSD’s
version was a big hit and my hat goes off to Jim Fawcett and the whole GSD crew
for putting together a fun meet.
Here
are some pictures from the day’s event:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieWfslppJEW7E7RvhpmfiEaiuHnRw_hfMOiOmilpb-4mKAYqQN3zotEwpJE-OfnMAzVIBMqvjMQlOplFSTLPr8DK5aeus8YcH-PuObRq1-bswwB68Eo0wBQLKPjwmv0O_CfCEyOfUzpEjx/s1600/GSD+WIPs+Bisgeier.JPG) |
Craig Bisgeier demonstrating resin casting. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglwLhA6IyhrpxLh3KHhodtDNS2iDZChrPpgmpew4BcSrqEIIL9FJ4hgIR06mCeUHhB854Umt8T3VwIwa8REF6ocE-aLa666hZfBOozb5pe0rNXuthulNG6RQ6dGPiPOhVWeebrxewJ5MR/s1600/GSD+WIPs+Calderone.JPG) |
Joe Calderone demonstrates how he builds retaining walls from meat packaging. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNJNlyENI5kCfMiv7dXxIItJNyXhbuJYIxUOHXWtBRfWLdLtP51BAr8NUc5qjgwft3vyeW94bOVVVbXSXD4-1RHa6DCht-qKrlYzT5-kbA70LyLSD69j0AbQK2Wg8UHh3vje2J4NwD4af/s1600/GSD+WIPS+DeYoung.JPG) |
Bruce DeYoung and his dry transfer clinic. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmkyL8f6QZ1D9aB4-Z9sg3G4fRSCzIQEZuY48xVEkLMao6alCkfrBJTc3kfBL44T6VJZfVd85RFuWODO_HHvCDSB4VcNqZkH2f3KlpPQvLXxo_Q0HyxKeHiZ5hgRycwtzE7bGYSnUoBqGB/s1600/GSD+WIPs+DiIorio.jpg) |
Yours truly and my clinic on car standardization. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCE2_eg_gtV5n8stZ9WSK78GGZYgR6KIBggha_qa7ODTWud9IkPpnX56lHLfZenHd8KvHBVWPYMsZJ8rIKV0UHcytFcQGSJLNJpMH6XXcPlD7GdzafXc8FwP_lbTpUkv4BRWnGsz01AG2/s1600/GSD+WIPs+Heiss.JPG) |
The Commodore, Ralph Heiss and his weathering clinic. (See! He's still alive even though he doesn't update his blog! :) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUQdNC176VZ4VXhkpzDFN8__VY8MO9diOwCnEXLMHc9f1TjNrtukMUHoYY5OeX4M-rhRyLa3kCjjrj1s6Pcn5RvNgUwMLABBK1so9kVOUlpHmKUEMn9WA6XLZ6GqYB6wFbAqMNLBlM5E7/s1600/GSD+WIPs+Koester.JPG) |
MRP editor Tony Koester and his kitbashing clinic. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZc0GuyHfsH0rJmb5vE3_N9xKO0RmRrN9JxQb0k-qhW7gMiDm_vsl6sQHkVqr3O5h4tQTsZ3H52MSeadUMKeGak69fsempGydGq5tLiBQfheGUCDObO0ixrBhXXwRQ5sY3IR5SvJqOLKG/s1600/GSD+WIPs+Pamerpin.JPG) |
Ted Pamperine discussing using some different and unique materials to build your layout. Ted was a major influence and help to me in developing my Gator Foam bench work. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVWcp4hmlfQa2dNhUHU3W3vDjOwwC3UiQk5I_smjw7Il4-Urjm4xUoPns-OtGosPfuPs9msxVc_V8BFuPmO7g6pg4VPWmfEIn72nETuHyQMdO4QLPniBa1U-Ps77AzO45VMnmuWJfqLkH/s1600/GSD+WIPs+Ramos.JPG) |
Dave Ramos giving his clinic on building Fast Tracks turnouts. |
All in all, every clinician was in agreement that the time flew by and we all had a lot of fun doing the GSD meet. :)
On another note: The Valley Forge RPM Meet is coming up fast and again will be held at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, March 28-30 in Malvern PA. I'll be there again and I will be doing an update to my last clinic on modeling the Ma & Pa RR 1943. Last time out the clinic was well received and we had a lot fun during it. Now, just know that if it's after 12 noon, there will be a good chance of a Stoli Martini with a twist sighting in the general vicinity of my lectern. I like to keep my clinics informative, but also lighthearted. I do not try take myself too seriously. If you plan on attending the Valley Forge meet stop on in to my clinic and say hi. :)