…that it hasn’t been out of its box since we moved 7 years ago. It was the reissue from several years ago and was at a great blow out price but its ugliness rates a 10+ and has no charm like a PostWar unit.
That being said, I have an AMC controller hooked up to it and its still fun to play with. My goal is to repaint weather and basically remove some of said ugliness. I started on the roof section before the move but stopped there.
Looking for ideas, pictures from the forum.
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Roman,
Aside from the weathering you have already started, the first thing I would do is tone down the yellow or repaint it to something more industrial looking. The yellow goes a long way to making it look like a toy.
i am very interested in how you make out as I have one still new that will need the same makeover. Hoping you'll post some pictures of the finished project.
Thanks,
Ed
Yeah, the yellow has to go. It's too distracting.
Roman
Here is a link to a previous thread that has a neat example of a repainted loader, saw mill and the Walthers Lumber Yard building. I think it looked great and blended as one scene.
Roman
You sure hit a problem. My grandson thinks the thing is fantastic. On my new rebuild it's currently stored in it's box. I have no plans to use it either. So I'm going to watch what you figure out. Currently The new sawmill I have presents just about the same problem and it's still in the box. I want a decent looking lumber yard area and neither look correct. If nothing else I may tear it apart and see if I can scratch build a wooden structure to put the operating parts in???
The following thread shows what Zeke did to his operating accessories...
Zeke's balsa wood shell for the deck helps a lot. The yellow just looks like brand new equipment. (CAT) You might try some decal sheets and make scrapes and rust marks from the logs and perhaps a company name for the sides. A safety sign or two on the roof supports would help. Some LED lights with shades under the roof.
Also, notice that Zeke didn't alter the original pieces, just dressed them up.
Draw the eyes attention away from the yellow and hide the green.
I guess I have to get one now. Everyone says the kids love'em, so the grandkids need one. And... there is an Alaska RR log dump car.
Roman, that is a great attention grabbing action accessory but, I agree a bit on the ugly side. Get rid of the yellow and put a sign on the roof like Roman's Lumber or something like that. Signs make structures more like real life. Just a thought. Here is a photo of my decorated Lionel Ice Station with signage:
Steve, Lady and Tex
Nothing a little DuPont overhaul couldn't fix as some others have already suggested. 
Thanks for the info all. I knew I had seen those pictures on here before but my searches came up with nothing. I like the wood deck idea. The big yellow tray is the biggest distraction to me. I'm going to take it apart this weekend and see what I come up with.
Roman, I would airbrush the tray a flat dark gray or even black. Your eye is pulled to it in yellow. Yellow is bad enough but when it's shinny yellow plastic it's even worse. I would also think of using shingles on the roof. They come in strips from a number of companies. You can just glue them on the plastic roof. Show us your pictures as you progress. Don
Lets think back to the original market for Lionel accessories. They were designed as kids toys and the marketing dictated a non-prototypical and colorful presentation. Same with train speeds. Kids liked to see them racing around the tracks as fast as they could without derailing. Again it was the marketing people thinking like kids. When the market changed over unfortunately Lionel did little to change the appearance of their accessories. For the most part they still look like kids toys. I say just paint them a more subdued color.
well, I figured nothing says more industrial than black so I started there for the tray and gray for the base. Thinking maybe some warning placards here and there and some other details. Going to work on making a balsa platform to fill the space on the left along with a couple of the Lionel lumber sheds I picked up.
Interesting taking it apart to paint. Wound up with 2 left over screws that I can't figure out for the life of me where they go. I became that stereotype!!
And don't forget to put some yellow & black safety tape on for added realism. heh
That is looking great. It sure does give an industrial look and feel.
I would think that around any lumber operation you would see sawdust and/wood chips. That might be a little detail to add for some realism.
I am anxious to see the platform as I have a need for a couple of platforms.
Thanks,
Ed
Hugh, your setup is great. This had given me some great ideas & motivation.
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