Winter Diversion in the Man Cave

When it's one degree outside and there's a foot of snow on the ground...what does a guy do to rest his mind and relax a bit in the middle of another Midwest Winter? I mean a guy can only read so many books, write so many Sunday School lessons, and watch so many Mythbuster reruns before cabin fever begins to creep in.

How about going down into the basement, entering the man cave, pulling up to his work bench and building models? What? Yep, at age 53 I'm returning to my childhood roots and am building plastic models again. It's kind fun, it takes my mind off of all the other things my mind is usually filled with, and it gives Karen a break from me following her around the house all day asking her what she's doing. She's been telling me to "Go get a hobby!" for several years now. I'm slow, but I do eventually catch on.

I've always been fascinated by airplanes so I do have a DC-3 project under way. I've also had in interest in trains and recently discovered "weathering" rolling-stock as an art form. It's amazing what train artists can do to make a nice shiny scale model train car look like a real train car with all the discoloration and aging. It truly is an art form of its own. If you want to see some samples of "extreme weathering" by some of the best in the business, click here. They even have "Car Of The Year" nominees and winners!

Anyway, I'm quite intrigued by the process. We ran out the Hobby Lobby in Zanesville and I used some Christmas money to buy some chalk, some model paint, some bargain brushes and a can of dull-cote to get started. What a hoot. How convenient that Santa dropped off six HO scale model train cars to build! I don't have any interest in building a layout or anything, I'm just fascinated by building and weathering the individual cars.

A man and his workbench.

Applying chalk to a box car while Tanner observes my technique.

Tucker gets into the act, too.

My first attempt at weathering.

It's not an award winner but I know more about washes and chalk application and brush usage than I did when I started. I'm still working out the truck and wheel set options.

It's nice to give my mind a break. And we're due for another 5 to 9 inches of snow over the next two days...maybe I'll be spending a few more hours down in the basement soon!