Where is the Wooden Railway Series?

Well, it's on hiatus. An indefinite one at that. My basement (where I film) is being completely redone, and while this is cool and exciting, it means I won't be able to film for around a month or more. My parents say their goal is to be finished by Christmas, but we can't know for sure when we'll be done. I'm a little frustrated because I was only six episodes away from finishing up Season 5! But alas, time waits for no one! To wrap up, the series will be gone for a month or so. I that time you can expect more Engine Inspector reviews and HQ episodes. The Engine Inspector will become my priority while my series is on hiatus.

The Wooden Railway Series will return with Patience is a Virtue sometime in December! Thanks for your ahem... patience. ;)

A Big Few Weeks for SkarloeyRailway01!

Yeah, I've neglected the poor blog again, but I've been busy! Just look at all the stuff I've cranked out in the last few weeks! Oh wait, that's what this blog is for... well let's get going! First off is Fire Escape!

A fairly straightforward and simple episode to shoot. I got some kind of neat new angles when trying to depict what was going on inside Gordon's cab without showing just the driver and fireman. This worked pretty well, but I wish I had access to a more detailed cab interior than I did. This isn't my favorite episode I've done, but I think it's probably the best I could do with this story. On another note I always love the way Gordon's Hill looks! It's a pain to make that set, but I always feel it's worth it! Check it out now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaUIbh-g7U0

Next up was Gordon Proves His Point! 

Now this is one I'm really proud of! I've already gotten tons for positive feedback on it! Once again, I'm the first to attempt a Railway Series story like this one in Wooden Railway form. Tracking down two Brio Intercity 125s was kind of a struggle, but I can tell you it was well worth the effort! I gave the Intercities new coats of paint which really improved the look of the engines and made them into much more aesthetically pleasing models. The faces were simply paper with my own little faces drawn on, as usual with models like these. One thing that was a problem was how long the trains were in this episode, mainly James, Pip and Emma's triple header. It was so hard to keep all those darn wheels on the track and you can probably see in one or two shots that they're not quite all on track. Not having front couplings also made this a huge pain in the tender... All and all though, I think this is one of my favorite episodes of the season! I hope you enjoy it too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka1lQFZFeYQ

Onward and upward to my third ever TV Series remake, Oliver's Find! 

This episode is special for several reasons. Firstly it marks Oliver's first speaking role since Season 3! The poor little engine really didn't get a whole lot of screen (or page?) time in the Railway Series, so I had to pull an episode from the fifth season of the TV Series. This is also the first TV Series remake of mine since Season 3! I think I might do a few more in Season 6, but only time will tell! When I was making the episode list for Season 5, I wanted to do at least one TV Series episode. The ones I considered were: Gordon and the Gremlins, Double Teething Troubles, Bye George! and of course, Oliver's Find. I ultimately settled on this episode because I really wanted to give Oliver and Toad speaking roles again in a (mostly) realistic episode. I did, however, change up a handful of lines so that the story made a little more sense in the setting of my series (for example: "Oliver and Toad liked working on the Little Western" instead of "the yard") as well as combining the US and UK narrations of the episode (which are noticeably different) to make a more complete version of the episode. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n85R3nvAp8c

Oh, I also did another Engine Inspector review! :D That's also up on my channel! 

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!

Yeah... I've kind of neglected this blog... But that's all about to change! I won't cover the episodes I've done since my last post (as there are too many!) but I'll start off with Smokescreen!

I'm quite pleased with how this episode turned out! I got some new and interesting angels in as well as being able to give BoCo a speaking role for the first time since Season 3! I missed him...We also got to see Vicarstown Station for the first time EVER in my series! Caroline and Bulgy got little cameos too! Easy to film, easy to edit, and a really enjoyable story! I'm also pleased with how the score turned out as well. And yes, just like in Out of Puff the ash was real ash. ;) So if you haven't already, check it out! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xadm4K5GHc

Double Mid-Sodor Trouble!

Here's a blog post about the last two episodes of my series, Bulldog and You Can't Win. Let's get going!

Heeeeeey Bulldog! Haha, if you want to get that obscure Beatles reference look here. I really enjoyed making this episode! I think it turned out really well and it wasn't all that hard. Believe it or not, the crash only took two tries, but I did end up cropping it to get my hand out of the shots... grrrr... Anyhoo, all and all, it turned out great! If you haven't, check it out! 

Now we move on to You Can't Win!. 

This ended up getting pushed back to Monday because of some weekend chaos. Thank goodness for Memorial Day! Again, I'm very proud of this one as well! I experimented with puffing sound effects in this episode and I think it turned out well! I'm not sure I'm going to keep it, but what do you lot think? Not too much was really hard here, but it did take a long time. Lots of hills...lots and lots of hills... Well check it out! 

Stay tuned next week for Sleeping Beauty! That should be out this weekend. Farewell!

The Wooden Railway Series Returns

Another season is upon us! We're kicking off with the stories of Duke the Lost Engine.

Ah, Granpuff! This story has always been a favorite of mine, and I think I've done it justice. It wasn't super hard to create as it was all filmed on the set of the Mid Sodor engine sheds. That set is fast becoming one of my personal favorites! I also love how the derelict MSR turned out! I think it looks really unique compared to a lot of my other sets (the functioning and run-down versions). Stuart and Falcon's nameplates were just paper and pen. Simple, but sweet! Well I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I do! Here's to Season 5! 

Keep an eye out for Bulldog next weekend! 

Something Rather Devious!

My latest creation:

Muahahahahaahhaahhahahaha!!! Take that Neil Ben! Sharron Miller, you're next! Prepare to face the wrath of The Engine Inspector!

Season 5 Episode list (1st Draft)

So here's what I'm thinking as of right now for my penultimate season:

1. Granpuff
1. Bulldog

2. You Can't Win

3. Sleeping Beauty

4. Thomas and the Evil Diesel

5. Scrambled Eggs

6. What a Picture!

7. Trevor Helps Out

8. Down the Drain

10. High-Speed Gordon

11. Smoke Screen

12. Fire Escape

13. Gordon Proves His Point

14. Oliver's Find

15. Mavis and the Lorry

16. Toby's Seaside Holiday

17. Bulstrode

18. Toby Takes the Road

19. Patience is a Virtue

20. Peter Sam and the Prickly Problem

21. Pop-Special

22. Sir Handel Comes Home

23. Sir Topham Hatt's Engines

24. Post Early for Christmas (Will air as close to Christmas as I can get it)

Note that this is all subject to change! Don't get you're hearts set on anything yet, these are just my first thoughts. I still have some work to do with regards to getting the new engines I need. You can expect Season 5 to start sometime in May. 

Another season gone...

Well two weeks ago saw the final episode of Season 4, Paint Pots and Queens!

I think this is one of my strongest episodes yet! Everything just worked! Filming was not too hard, editing went smoothly, and I got it out on time (this blog post is another story...)! You'll notice I made no attempt to edit the story to make it make sense to have engines 8-11 there and this was intentional. I couldn't figure out a way that made sense. It was as simple as that. I thought about doing the TV Series intro, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. So I just left it an took creative liberties with the engines in attendance. I'm glad I made a Elizabeth II mini-figure that actually looked like her! A note on the flags: THEY WERE SO TEDIOUS TO ATTACH! But once on they stuck and didn't fall off. I think they look really splendid! Also God Save the Queen at the end was a stroke of genius on Mike and Junior's part and I felt obligated to replicate it! So check it out, and watch this space for more updates on Season 5! 

Oh and here's a music video while we're here! 

Enjoy! 

Another Triple Take Down!

Gosh, I let myself fall behind on the old blog again... Sorry about that folks! Let's get caught up now shall we? Let's start in the only logical place, with Stick in the Mud!

Gosh, I love Very Old Engines! This story in particular was a lot of fun! For everyone wondering, the mud was brown sugar. People always ask me that... and the answer never changes... Not too much really difficult here other than the rain effects. Just like in the TV Series, I used steam to make rain. I also imitated a Railway Series cover for the first time I can think of. All and all, I think it turned out great! Check it out! 

Now on to Duck and Dukes! 

This episode marked the first appearance of the Lakeside extension and marked the return of the television train. I'm telling you now, this isn't the last you've seen of the Duke of Sodor. ;) More on that in a later post. I also imitated Railway Series illustrations in this adaption in the form of the scenes with the Duke, Skarloey,  Rheneas and Peter Sam. The only issue that arose with this episode is I ran out of time several times during editing, pushing the release back from Sunday to Wednesday. But it made a nice mid-week treat. I think this episode was a great way to say farewell to the Skarloey Railway in Season 4, but fear not! We'll be seeing lots of them in Season 5! Make sure you check out this awesome story now!

Next I took a break from all the oddball remakes to do a Christopher Awdry classic in the form of Thomas and Trevor. 

First off, I used the text from the original annual to adapt for this remake rather than the TV Series episode. You know what set I hate? Knapford Harbor! Every time I need to use it, I find it really hard to work with and I always end up getting limited shots and angles. I might end up redesigning the harbor for Season 5 as I plan to tackle Toby, Trucks and Trouble next season. Not much else to say on this one, but check it out! 

Stay tuned next week for the final episode of Season 4, Paint Pots and Queens!

Very Old Engines Up and Running!

Time to talk about part two of Very Old Engines!

Someone commented on this video that they had never seen anyone attempt this story before. I suppose this is true of all of Very Old Engines. They're not easy stories to recreate as they require customized models. Fortunately for me, custom models have become my specialty. ;)  Bucking Bronco saw more of the cabless Skarloey and Rheneas models as well as my three Skarloey Railway coaches! They need a bit of touching up still, but they look good enough for now. Nothing really special in this episode besides the customs. Actually, strike that! This episode saw the return of Skarloey (the station of course). I haven't used that location since Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady and I was happy to bring it back! I also tried to replicate a few sets from older Skarloey Railway episodes. See if you can tell which ones. 

Check out the episode now, and keep an eye out for Stick in the Mud next weekend! Till then! 

Triple Take Down!

So here we go, I'm going to talk about the last three episodes in my series! Let's start with Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree shall we?

I don't think I could be happier with this if it was the TV Series episode! Okay, so I missed the Christmas season (mostly), I did manage to get it out on the 13th Day of Christmas... yeah, I know there's no such thing. Not a whole lot to say really, other than I really enjoyed filming this and it was really a lot of fun! As usual, the snow was flour and boy was there a lot of it! So if you haven't seen it already, check it out below! 

Back to the regularly scheduled episodes now! Next to be released was Mind That Bike! 

Once again, really positive feelings connected with this episode! It was short, sweet, and really easy to film! Seriously, I think I shot the whole thing inside an hour-and-a-half! It helps that the story is super short too! Also almost everything takes place on the Ffarquhar set! I love it when stuff is that easy! My lovely ERTL Post Van got some good screen time as did my (relativity) new mail car! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Check it out now!

Now onto the nineteenth episode of Season 4, Crosspatch! 

Again, really really really happy with how this turned out! Just totally delighted! I love it when I feel like I really hit the nail on the head with one of my remakes! These three are like the Era of Good Feelings for my series! I really liked the boat scene. It's probably one of my favorite scenes I've ever done! I took a little inspiration from Blue Mountain Mystery if you couldn't tell. ;) I think it's really a unique scene in what I think will be a really unique set of remakes! And if you like custom models, this series is for you! My cabless Skarloey and Rheneas make their debut in this episode, and boy do they look splendid! And by the way, there are three custom Skarloey Railway coaches on the way too. Keep an eye out for them! Did anyone notice that Dolgoch makes a cameo? See if you can spot him!

Stay tuned for Bucking Bronco coming soon!  

Tweet, tweet!

Yeah, I'm on Twitter! What's the big deal?

Oh yeah, you can hear my thoughts on all the stuff I get up to! Check it out in the link above and keep and eye out for Very Old Engines soon!

Obligatory New Years Message

Ring out the old, ring in the new!

Happy New Year to all my faithful followers and subscribers! I'd like to say thank you for more than doubling my subscriber count in 2012 and I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store! As of now I'm at nearly 300 videos and have just over 900 subscribers! These are both huge milestones for me and I'd like to say thank you once again for all your support!

Now down to business. I've had family in town, plus lots of time with friends over the holidays, so I apologize for not getting Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree out in time! Rest assured, it's still coming I just am not sure when. I truly wanted it up by now, but I have once again fallen a victim of circumstance. For now check out the latest Behind the Scenes and Outtakes videos (both number 20) on my channel!

Thanks again, and I wish you all peace, joy, and love in 2013!!