Let's talk about cardboard Christmas houses and accessories

Visit our Contributors' Pages:
Visit Family Christmas Online Visit Howard Lamey's own web page, LittleGlitterHouses.com Click to Sign Up for Maria Cudequest's Collectibles Blog
Visit Family Christmas Online Click to visit Papa Ted's Place - the ultimate cardboard Christmas house resource. Click to return to the Old Christmas Tree Lights Table of Contents Page



Note: To ask a question, sign up for our "Christmas Times" newsletter, or learn how
to apply for membership to this forum, please visit our Contact page.


Note: All content on this forum is Copyright (c) 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 by Paul D. Race
and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content
or plans may be republished or sold, nor may any plans be used to make products to sell without prior written
permission from Paul D. Race and the individual who contributed the content or plan in question.
For permissions or questions about this policy, please contact us using our Contact page.
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 7:46 am

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Sat Nov 02, 2019 7:10 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:27 pm
Posts: 1678
A while back I invested in some model Hogwarts Express trains. The O gauge Lionel trains are Lionel's first foray into any Euro locomotive, and they're actually very nice if you don't let the kids handle the locomotive - the stanchions holding the handrails on are ridiculously fragile. The "G Gauge" ones are battery-powered toys, but fun to run. I haven't bought the "Ready to Play" version because it only runs on the chintzy 2" track that nobody makes but Lionel. Yes, they did that on purpose to keep people from mixing their battery-powered trains with EZ-Tek or New Bright or whatever. (Actually that's the same reason Lionel invented "O gauge" in the first place - to keep people who invested in Lionel trains from buying trains from anyone else. Gotta love 'em.)

At any rate, I always liked the Great Western Railways Hall class locomotives that were adapted for the Harry Potter movies. So when we went to Universal Studios parks in Orlando, I took copious notes and lots of photos. Then I published an article about the real Hall class locomotives that were being used in the movies and the parks.

Here's the link to that article:
https://halloweentrains.com/primer/hogw ... xpress.htm

I also experimented with running the battery-powered toy version on my outdoor railroad. It looked surprisingly nice, especially with the extra cars I picked up for it.

Attachment:
lionel_hogwarts_express_on_nb _n_dc3_600.jpg
lionel_hogwarts_express_on_nb _n_dc3_600.jpg [ 89.03 KiB | Viewed 22502 times ]


I'm now planning to run it on my railroad when we have our Christmas-themed open railroad Nov. 16, 2019.

To help it look "at home" I'm trashbashing three old plastic Fisher Price Castles.
Here's what they look like primed.

Attachment:
primered_castles_600.jpg
primered_castles_600.jpg [ 78.29 KiB | Viewed 22502 times ]


More as progress happens.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Sat Nov 02, 2019 7:14 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:27 pm
Posts: 1678
Also, I dummied up a Platform 9 3/4 sign. Turns out the typeface they used "Modern No. 20) is included with several Microsoft products so I had it on my system without realizing it.

Here's my take on it:

Attachment:
platform_9_3_4_round_sign_720.jpg
platform_9_3_4_round_sign_720.jpg [ 57.74 KiB | Viewed 22501 times ]


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Sat Nov 02, 2019 7:20 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:27 pm
Posts: 1678
For a free PDF of the sign above, right-click on the following link and tell it to download to your computer. "Save link as" or whatever language your browser uses.

Attachment:
platform_9_3_4_round_sign.pdf [382.61 KiB]
Downloaded 922 times


The mattress police will probably be after me to take this link down eventually, so download it while you can.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Sat Nov 16, 2019 6:22 pm 
Offline

Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 4:58 pm
Posts: 917
I just found this post. I really want to see the finished set-up. And I am curious as to who the mattress police are?

Lucy


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2019 10:34 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:27 pm
Posts: 1678
Lucy,

The "mattress police" refer specifically to the (fictional) enforcers who show up after you rip the tags off your mattresses. It was a "gag" in a WKRP show and the movie Fletch. To me and a few others of a "certain age," it refers to people who enforce stupid laws in general, like Warner Brothers suing restaurants where their people sang "Happy Birthday" to customers (which was actually fraud on Warner Brother's part, since they didn't really own the copyright). In this case, printing the number 9 3/4 in a big circle shouldn't hurt any body, but Warner Brothers has filed "cease and desist" orders for far less.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2019 10:34 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:27 pm
Posts: 1678
Here's an article about the process and outcome of this trashbashing effort:

https://halloweentrains.com/primer/hogw ... astles.htm


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2019 11:38 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:46 pm
Posts: 2249
I was told that Hagrid approves of your project as well as Snape...i have just one question...

WHERE IS THE FIRE BREATHING DRAGON?...

Howard...

_________________
View my Little Glitter House Photo Album
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOODm--XeeYEyxSdc4RY4DdTpQBRuRSWuipFHFP7-QWtidYW9c6Az-qbcAAQXLsBw?key=YlNqQjVkbWRLcjlSS3F6dHZQa3RhN0x5Mm9MTFd3


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Mon Nov 18, 2019 12:23 pm 
Offline

Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2011 7:32 pm
Posts: 2336
So excited to see this completed.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 5:42 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:27 pm
Posts: 1678
Howard, I did get around to adding the dragon in 2020.

I thought about putting them on a mobile next year, so it looks like the dragon's chasing them around the castle. . . .

Attachment:
harry_potter_flying_800.jpg
harry_potter_flying_800.jpg [ 104.59 KiB | Viewed 17404 times ]


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 6:00 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:46 pm
Posts: 2249
Paul...
Dragon: APPROVED! Mobile idea: YES!...
Howard...Snape...Hagrid...

_________________
View my Little Glitter House Photo Album
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOODm--XeeYEyxSdc4RY4DdTpQBRuRSWuipFHFP7-QWtidYW9c6Az-qbcAAQXLsBw?key=YlNqQjVkbWRLcjlSS3F6dHZQa3RhN0x5Mm9MTFd3


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  




Click to see sturdy Lionel(r) trains that are perfect for your Christmas tree.



Note: To ask a question, sign up for our "Christmas Times" newsletter, or learn how
to apply for membership to this forum, please visit our Contact page.


Note: All content on this forum is Copyright (c) 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 by Paul D. Race
and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content
or plans may be republished or sold, nor may any plans be used to make products to sell without prior written
permission from Paul D. Race and the individual who contributed the content or plan in question.
For permissions or for questions about this policy, please contact us using our Contact page.



Visit our affiliated sites:
- Christmas Memories and Collectibles -
Visit the FamilyChristmasOnline site. Visit Howard Lamey's glitterhouse gallery, with free project plans, graphics, and instructions. Visit Papa Ted Althof's extensive history and collection of putz houses, the largest and most complete such resource on the Internet.. Click to return to the Old Christmas Tree Lights Table of Contents Page Click to sign up for Maria Cudequest's craft and collectibles blog.
Click to visit Fred's Noel-Kat store.
- Family Activities and Crafts -
Click to see reviews of our favorite family-friendly Christmas movies. Free, Family-Friendly Christmas Stories Decorate your tree the old-fashioned way with these kid-friendly projects. Free plans and instructions for starting a hobby building vintage-style cardboard Christmas houses. Click to find free, family-friendly Christmas poems and - in some cases - their stories. Traditional Home-Made Ornaments
- Trains and Hobbies -
Visit Lionel Trains. Free building projects for your vintage railroad or Christmas village. Click to see Thomas Kinkaded-inspired Holiday Trains and Villages. Big Christmas Train Primer: Choosing and using model trains with holiday themes Building temporary and permanent railroads with big model trains Click to see HO scale trains with your favorite team's colors.
- Music -
Carols of many countries, including music, lyrics, and the story behind the songs Wax recordings from the early 1900s, mostly collected by George Nelson.  Download them all for a 'period' album.
Best-loved railroad songs and the stories behind them.
Heartland-inspired music, history, and acoustic instrument tips. Own a guitar, banjo, or mandolin?  Want to play an instrument?  Tips to save you money and time, and keep your instrument playable. Own a guitar, banjo, or mandolin?  Want to play an instrument?  Tips to save you money and time, and keep your instrument playable.



Click to trains that commemorate your team!

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group