Scrounger's Baseball Field

Great ideas! We have stadium seat kits available that may work in certain applications. They are laser cut PolyBak material and are actually made in S Scale so they work really well for tight areas.

Great start Arnold, honestly baseball pretty much led me into this hobby as my high school field had a set of tracks right behind the left field fence.  It was always something rather interesting when trains would come through during a game.  That is what peaked my curiosity into railroads.  I always said if I ever built a layout a baseball field would be a focal point on it.  I am still working on the surrounding areas of mine and adding more detail.  I had a thread when I had it "working done".

Doug, great seats if I had the room I would have used them for a "reserved section" behind home plate. 

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

If you love baseball and trains and want a simple, inexpensive baseball field on your layout, you might consider something like this:

Woodland Scenics makes the green Fine Turf, the clay colored product for the basepaths 

Arnold

 

It turns out that the reddish brown baseball dirt is Woodland Scenics Fine Ballast.

I am very happy with all the Woodland Scenics products I have purchased over the years from LHSs and at train shows.

I have a few baseball figures who have not yet started playing games. Here they are sitting in the stands and playing catching in the outfield:

I believe the figures are by Scenic Express (unfortunately I did not save the box), which I purchased at the Big E train show last January.

Arnold 

Arnold! It just occurred to me that this is Not your Yankee Stadium. 

This could be Ebbets field! Brooklyn NY.

Did you know that Ebbets was nicknamed  Pig-town? apparently the major pig farms that served Brooklyn were there before Ebbits field was. You could have a pig farm on the outskirts of the ball field in memory of the pigs that made it to the dinning tables of NYC. Lol. 

looking well lit there, PLAY BALL!

btw, those two umpires look like they mean business.

Leroof posted:

Arnold! It just occurred to me that this is Not your Yankee Stadium. 

This could be Ebbets field! Brooklyn NY.

Did you know that Ebbets was nicknamed  Pig-town? apparently the major pig farms that served Brooklyn were there before Ebbits field was. You could have a pig farm on the outskirts of the ball field in memory of the pigs that made it to the dinning tables of NYC. Lol. 

looking well lit there, PLAY BALL!

btw, those two umpires look like they mean business.

 

Leroof, Ebbets Field is a good idea, and I thought of that, but my long term and challenging goal is to make the 2nd baseball field into the Polo Grounds.

The Polo Grounds was near Yankee Stadium on the other side (Manhattan side) of the Harlem River. Yankee Stadium was on the Bronx side of that river. Those 2 stadiums could be seen in the southern-most stop of the Put railroad.

Also, another long term goal is to make my whole layout more like a model of the Putnam Division of the NY Central (the Put). I already have equipment for the Put, which would include a Rico Station (Pocantico Hills Station), operating milk cars and platform (dairy farm in Northern Westchester County), ore dump cars (Tilly Foster iron ore mine in Brewster, NY), small steam engines and small 44 tonner center cab diesel).

Arnold

Pologrounds! Of course. Right across the Harlem river.

I think Putnam division will be a welcome possibility to your layout, so much history. Living there and knowing Putnam historians will make this flow! 

I am excited by this idea.

Looks great, Arnold!

 

I believe the figures are by Scenic Express (unfortunately I did not save the box), which I purchased at the Big E train show last January.

Arnold 

Arnold,

One way to tell who produced your players is by the weight.  If they are lighter then probably scenic express.  If they are heavier (sort of like artista)  then they are probably Kramer products.  They have long since stopped producing them, but you can sometimes get lucky and find them around.  Not the cheapest but really well made.  Here are the Kramer Products players that have been repainted to reflect the school colors of the High School I coached at.

The Polo Grounds would be a great addition to your layout, Arnold!  I didn't realize how close in proximity the Polo Grounds was to Yankee Stadium.  I'm a huge baseball fan and love learning all I can about the great stadiums of the past.

I think you can pull of the Polo Grounds, just like you did for your Yankee Stadium.  While I really appreciate those who can recreate perfect scale models of buildings - literally recreating a smaller version of reality - your job building this stadium is to give the audience the "feeling" of the stadium, not recreate reality.  I view this similar to the different painting styles over the years.  While realism has it's place and is impressive in its own right, an expressionist painting such as "The Scream" by Edvard Munch evokes an emotional feeling.  You accomplished the feeling of Yankee Stadium with Monument Park and the white facade above the scoreboard, but it also maintains a sandlot feel - reminding us of the days when we would play with our friends and dream of playing in Yankee Stadium.

To me, a baseball nut, but not intimately familiar with NY, the Polo Grounds has the following distinctive characteristics:

1. The field's shape in general, but specifically the unusually deep center field and equally unusual short distance to the foul poles...actually it would fit nicely within an 031 oval.  The scale is less important than the actual shape.

2. The clubhouse building, plastered with advertising (Chesterfield Cigarettes?), nestled into the center field bleachers

3. Willy Mays making the catch in deep center

4. Bobby Thompson's shot heard round the world "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!" over the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Maybe you could have a little sound clip play there with a push of a button?

5. People sneaking a peak from Coogan's Bluff

6. I didn't realize this before, but there was a huge rail yard right next to the Polo Grounds!

There are some nice pictures here: https://www.nydailynews.com/sp...on-article-1.2287046

Thanks JD and Bryan.

Bryan, I already have  the Kramer Products baseball figures on my first baseball field (my Popsicle Stick Yankee Stadium) as shown below:

IMO, Kramer (no longer in business) made the best O scale metal baseball figures.

JD, I agree with everything you say. I will be able to decorate my Polo Grounds, and shape the fencing to have a short distance down the foul lines, and a deep center field, to create the feel of the real thing, like I did with my Yankee Stadium.

A more ambitious modeling project would be to add stadium fronts and an upper deck to each ball park. Arnold

Arnold, agreed Kramer was the best.  I was very lucky a few York's ago to find a few rare pieces under a members table that he was happy to get rid of.  I think I paid 5 dollars for 4 additional people including one I had never seen before (the first baseman reaching high for an overthrown ball and it included a base that his foot stayed on.  

Although far from finished, I made progress today on my Polo Grounds.

Several months ago, my good friend, Melgar, introduced me to modeling with bass wood and a razor saw, and I made a trip to a local A C Moore Art Supply Store and bought a bass wood modeling starter kit. I never did anything with that kit until today.

The photographs below show the temporary structure that I made with the bass wood, which is held together with Elmer's Rubber Cement. I used rubber cement so I could easily take it apart, re-use the basswood and try again if I did not like the results the first time.

The top photo is without the lights on in the light towers, and the bottom photos have those lights on:

I will soon add fencing, including outfield fencing with the deep centerfielder like the Polo Grounds had, yellow straws for foul poles, signs on the outfield fence indicating the Polo Grounds  distances from home plate, and billboards that show similar adds (knickerbocker Beer, Chesterfield Cigarettes, etc.) like those the Polo Grounds had in the early 1950s.

Later on, I will paint the bleachers, fences and upper deck in Polo Grounds colors (mostly green, and over time I will get more baseball player figures and more fans seated in the bleachers. 

I may also add a roof to the upper deck, and may use material I have from a kitbashed engine house to make that roof.

Since this is the first time I have ever used basswood, I am relatively pleased with what I did today. Most importantly, I had fun. Arnold 

When the acrylic paint dries, I'll post photos of fencing made of cardboard from a pizza box. LOL

I love using something in the trash or recycle bin on the layout. Arnold

What a great ball field.  Don't forget to add two guys having a (drunken) fight in the bleachers with a big (usually Irish) policeman standing by to let them finish so he can haul them both to jail.  This is one of the things I remember from a trip to the Polo Grounds with my dad when I was 9 or 10 (1953-54).  Great work, really loved seeing your efforts.

Don

Arnold,

The new baseball field is already looking great. And the plan to model the "Put" is also an excellent idea. It will give you an excuse to purchase more New York Central locomotives. The Polo Grounds center field clubhouse will be instantly recognizable. Please include number 24 on the field and enjoy the journey.

MELGAR

Don McErlean posted:

What a great ball field.  Don't forget to add two guys having a (drunken) fight in the bleachers with a big (usually Irish) policeman standing by to let them finish so he can haul them both to jail.  This is one of the things I remember from a trip to the Polo Grounds with my dad when I was 9 or 10 (1953-54).  Great work, really loved seeing your efforts.

Don

Glad you are enjoying the thread, Don. The fight you describe reminds me of an incident I witnessed at Yankee Stadium. A guy in the stands was being disorderly so security dealt with it. The troublemaker was foolish enough to throw a punch at one of the security guards, who looked like he could play defensive tackle in the NFL. The security guard picked up the troublemaker off the ground and threw him several rows below in the stands. When he did that, the fans cheered. LOL.

Regarding this baseball field, one of the reasons I am posting photos and commenting about it, is to show how simple and inexpensive it is to create it. The cost of the Woodland Scenics products is modest. You want to put your money into good quality O Scale baseball figures, and if you like night games, good quality light towers with metal, not plastic, sheathing around the light bulbs. The other thing you need is enough space for a ball field, but it is not as much space as you might initially think you need.

In a few minutes, I will post more photos and explain how I used stuff around the house that cost nothing to make this ball park. Arnold

MELGAR posted:

Arnold,

The new baseball field is already looking great. And the plan to model the "Put" is also an excellent idea. It will give you an excuse to purchase more New York Central locomotives. The Polo Grounds center field clubhouse will be instantly recognizable. Please include number 24 on the field and enjoy the journey.

MELGAR

Thanks Melgar. #24 in O Scale is essential and will be fun to hunt down at train shows or possibly create. Ideally, the figure would be in center field with his back to home plate making "the catch." Arnold

Arnold,

Even better might be Willie, Mickey, and The Duke (24, 7, 4). The greatest years ever for baseball in New York City - in my opinion.

MELGAR

I agree, Mel. 

Here are my latest photos of the ball park. First, a panoramic shot:

Next, the view from the stands along the 3rd base line:

The coloring and shape of the field of play are often distinguishing features of a baseball park.

I am pleased with the coloring, specifically the green cardboard fencing (cut from pizza box cardboard painted green with acrylic paint), and Popsicle stick bleachers painted with burnt sienna acrylic paint. After looking at many color images of the Polo Grounds in the early to mid 1950s, green was the predominant color of the fencing, and the color of the bleachers in a couple of those images was reddish brown, which I like.

The dimensions of the field of play includes a very deep center field (483 feet) and my model replicates the shape of the old Pole Grounds deep centerfield. It also was very short down the foul lines (258 feet and 279 feet)

To my delight, I found more O Scale baseball figures in my basement so there is a whole team on the field and even a batter. Here's a photo taken from behind the catcher and home plate umpire:

I don't know where I got the plastic batter, and his bat had broke off, so I glued a piece of a wooden toothpick to his hands so he has a bat.  I believe the other figures are plastic Scenic Express O Scale baseball figures, with one exception.

Take a look at this photo of the centerfielder:

That figure is a Kramer metal outfielder making an over the shoulder catch. I found him in a jar of layout junk in my basement. He was in that jar because he is missing his left foot which had broken off years ago when I removed him from the layout after gluing him in place.

To get the centerfielder without his left foot to stand again was a painstaking task. I got him to stand by gluing small pieces of wood to his right foot and the bottom of his left leg.

Here are some more photos of my Polo Grounds:

It will be fun adding details down the road. I will post photos of them when I add those details.

The overriding theme is to put on your layout what you love. Doing so will make your layout special for you.

If you love baseball like I do, adding a ballpark will be great fun. It is also a relatively easy and affordable project. Arnold

Really cool. Shallow outfield, would love to bat there.

Bryan in Ohio posted:

Great start Arnold, honestly baseball pretty much led me into this hobby as my high school field had a set of tracks right behind the left field fence.  It was always something rather interesting when trains would come through during a game.  That is what peaked my curiosity into railroads.  I always said if I ever built a layout a baseball field would be a focal point on it.  I am still working on the surrounding areas of mine and adding more detail.  I had a thread when I had it "working done".

Bryan, I just clicked on your above link to your thread that took me to the photos of your baseball field.

I think you did a great job with your ball park.. I particularly liked your fencing, the dugout with players that look like they are yelling at the umpire, and the scoreboard. Also, I recognized some of your figures by Kramer, which are very nice. Arnold

JD, I agree completely with all your comments. I shared them with my wife because, like you and unlike me, she knows some things about impressionists, expressionists and art history. She also agrees with your comments. 

I love your idea of having people watching the game on Coogan's Bluff through a peep hole. I will try to make that happen down the road.

Arnold

I purchased a beautiful backdrop with an urban scene that I will put up within the next few days behind my Pollo Grounds.

In the meantime I just noticed that the current backdrop that I have, which I painted, is quite good, IMO. Here is a photo of it:

Notice the pine trees and sky behind the ballpark.

I share this to make the point that if I can paint a backdrop, anyone can do it. I have no artistic talent in painting, drawing and fine art. All I did was read about painting backdrops in model railroad publications, followed the directions to the best of my ability, and did it over and over again many times using acrylic paints until I ended up with something I liked.

Once I got started and saw I was making progress, I found that making a backdrop was one of my favorite model railroad activities. Arnold

Arnold, your painted backdrop is beautiful. I am impressed. It looks just like 

my forest I live in!

nice work.

 Leroof

Arnold your backdrop is quite nice.  It looks as if your forest is inhabited by Bob Ross's "Happy Little Trees."

Did you remember you had the broken "Willie Mays" in your junk pile or did you happen upon him while scrounging for this project?

I applaud your work, Arnold! It definitely has the feel of the polo grounds. The second deck is great. 

Hi Coach Joe 

That Kramer centerfielder with the broken foot had been forgotten and was recently found rummaging through a container of odds and ends. He does have his back to home plate like Willie and my center fielder is making a great catch, but it's over the shoulder, not a basket catch the way Willie did it. My recollection is that "the catch" in the 1954 World Series was a basket catch with Willie's back to home plate.

I have not decided yet whether to try and repaint my Kramer center fielder so he wears number 24, and otherwise looks more like Willie.  I would definitely do it if he was making a basket catch. Arnold

coach joe posted:

Arnold your backdrop is quite nice.  It looks as if your forest is inhabited by Bob Ross's "Happy Little Trees."

Although I never attempted a painting as an adult, I enjoyed watching Bob Ross's program where he demonstrated his painting techniques. He could do beautiful paintings luckily split, often using a palette knife instead of brushes. 

Wouldn't it be nice to hire an artist with Bob Ross's talent and skills to paint our model railroad backdrops? Arnold 

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

coach joe posted:

Arnold your backdrop is quite nice.  It looks as if your forest is inhabited by Bob Ross's "Happy Little Trees."

Although I never attempted a painting as an adult, I enjoyed watching Bob Ross's program where he demonstrated his painting techniques. He could do beautiful paintings luckily split, often using a palette knife instead of brushes. 

Wouldn't it be nice to hire an artist with Bob Ross's talent and skills to paint our model railroad backdrops? Arnold 

I like your style Arnold.  Bob Ross..."Everybody can paint, you only need  a dream in your heart and some practice."

Fendermain

"The Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant!" LOL.

Here are some photos of the Polo Grounds with the new roof I put on last night.

From behind home plate:

From down the 3rd base line:

From down the 1st base line:

Deep center field:

Arnold

Looks good Arnold. And certainly was accomplished quickly.

MELGAR

It looks fantastic! Is that all within a reverse loop? The Say Hey Kid returns!

MELGAR posted:

Looks good Arnold. And certainly was accomplished quickly.

MELGAR

It's a house of cards, not structurally sound, but as long as the big bad wolf does not blow it down, it should be OK.  LOL

JD2035RR posted:

It looks fantastic! Is that all within a reverse loop? The Say Hey kid returns!

Yes, JD. A reverse loop surrounds the ballpark.

My original plan was to have Field of Dreams there. Even went to the Big E last year and bought O Scale corn stalks. But, I didn't do it because it did not work for me to have my Field of Dreams surrounded by a reverse loop, which I wanted to retain for continuous train running.

For Field of Dreams, having a highway with automobiles nearby would be good to have, not trains.

Although there also was no reverse loop near the Polo Grounds, at least there were plenty of trains in its vicinity. Arnold

The thought just occurred to me that it would be easy to convert my Polo Grounds into Fenway Park. Both ballparks have  green coloring, and it would be simple to add the Green Monster, which is Fenway's most distinguishing feature. Fenway also has a deep centerfield, albeit not as deep as the Polo Grounds.

For Fenway, we can run New Haven passenger trains from NYC to Boston, and back.

So, I will also be on the hunt for the Splendid Splinter as well as the Yankee Clipper. 1941 was a great baseball year: Ted batted .407, and Joe had his 56 game hitting streak that year. Arnold

Arnold, I like it!  Love the addition of the upper decks!  So, now you have TWO ballparks on your layout?  I'm very jealous.  As before, no more room for one on my table layout.

Bryan, your layout and ballpark look fabulous.

You guys may need some vendors for all the fans.  What could go better than hot dogs?  Working on this small module for the table layout.  Took the brewery tunnel insert and used it to build the Nathan's display.

The guys have been asking Menard's for a brewery for years.  Just received it yesterday.  Got the car and Nathan's sign this Wednesday.  Many details still to go on this little project.

Jerry

I know you said you like listening to music as you run trains, these songs came to mind as I read your posts. I’m sure you’ve heard them numerous times before!

Thanks, JD, for the baseball songs. It will be fun to play them when running trains past Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds. Arnold

What a great ball field Arnold.   I started thinking about your comment on converting it to Fenway.  When Jerry showed his "Nathan's" hot dog factory I got to thinking about my year in Boston.  The thing I remember most about Fenway was that it was a classic ball park.  It was located inside a neighborhood, no big parking lots or meadows around and just outside the gates were lots of little restaurants and on game day lots of food trucks.  You got there on the "T" (mass transit) which was also good for the trip home especially if you had indulged in a few beers.  So if you wanted to simulate that it would at least be space efficient...modeling those food trucks might be fun as well.  Anyway this is a great job...thanks for sharing.

Don

CHOO-CHOO MIKE posted:

Choo-Choo Mike, I could not access the attachment in your above reply.

Getting close to completion. See photos below with urban scenic backdrop installed and penants of different colors on roof of Polo Grounds:

Panoramic shot from behind home plate:

Down 1st base line:

Down 3rd base line:

Season tickets are going fast. I recommend you place your order for them ASAP.

LOL, Arnold 

Urban scenic backdrop is from Railroadbackdrops.com, which advertises on this Forum. I am very pleased with their product and prompt service.

Here are more photos that include the backdrop:

Arnold

Arnold,

Nice backdrop!  Cool pics.  Love the Polo Grounds, forget fenway.  Love your ballpark stuff.

Any chance for a Yankee Stadium backdrop?  I sent this famous painting to my backdrop guy, and he printed it out as large as it could fit in that space.  You might be able to find a suitable pic for the Stadium backdrop.  A friend tried to make a facsimile of the stadium facade in his metal shop.  This was the best we could do with it....

May I offer one suggestion?  Go to google, get images of simple pennants, of the then 8, NL teams.  Re-size them in your word processor, print out in color, you don't even need photo paper.  Cut them out like you did the others...

By the way, the Babe always said he preferred hitting in the Polo Grounds.  Even more than the Stadium.

Keep 'em coming!

Jerry

JerryG posted:

Arnold,

Nice backdrop!  Cool pics.  Love the Polo Grounds, forget fenway.  Love your ballpark stuff.

Any chance for a Yankee Stadium backdrop?  I sent this famous painting to my backdrop guy, and he printed it out as large as it could fit in that space.  You might be able to find a suitable pic for the Stadium backdrop.  A friend tried to make a facsimile of the stadium facade in his metal shop.  This was the best we could do with it....

May I offer one suggestion?  Go to google, get images of simple pennants, of the then 8, NL teams.  Re-size them in your word processor, print out in color, you don't even need photo paper.  Cut them out like you did the others...

By the way, the Babe always said he preferred hitting in the Polo Grounds.  Even more than the Stadium.

Keep 'em coming!

Jerry

Your Yankee Stadium backdrop, Jerry, is gorgeous. Is it possible that I could get a similar Yankee Stadium backdrop and, if so, do you know the approximate cost of it?

This is my current Yankee Stadium backdrop:

Regarding penants, I have penants of National League Teams, but decided not to post a photo of them because of possible trademark infringement. The penants on my Polo Grounds roof are different colors with no team logos. 

Arnold

The backdrop and pennants look great, although I can't read what's on the pennants.

MELGAR

Thanks, Arnold.  It's the only ballpark I have room for.  Also, I think the one you have for the Stadium looks good.

My Stadium pic is 30" X 15".  Dave, from Backdrop Junction, made it for me after I sent him the pic and he said he'd see what he could do with it.  The price was right, $0.  I offered to pay him after it came in the mail, but, he never responded.  He'd made three huge ones for me that are on the table layout, and he did the highly specialized two, 35 foot by 7 1/2 inch backdrops that are on the overhead layout.  All are printed on vinyl, which makes them quite flexible and easy to work with.  Most require some type of backing, especially if you can't reach all the corners!  The first pic is one that is simply hung with Velcro.  The others use various materials such as 1/4 inch black foam board, cardboard, or poster paper. 

Dave is a pilot.  He has suspended his backdrop business for an undetermined time.  As to the price, I would guess it would be around $50.  I would either download that Stadium pic, or find something better, then send it to your backdrop guy and see if he'll try it for you.

Jerry

Arnold,

I found some free to download pennants, all 30 of them are in one pic.  You inspired me to update my Stadium scene.  Takes awhile to size them right and cut them out.  I used photo paper for the final print.

Jerry

Thanks Jerry, for the info.

I am relatively satisfied with my current Yankee Stadium backdrop, so I plan to keep what I have for the foreseeable future. Arnold

Great baseball field. 

It got me to thinking since it is now football season and if someone had the space he could install one of those old Electric Football games from the 1950s that use a vibrating field and the men with the little angled feet like on the Lionel cattle car and pen.  As I remember playing with my friends Electric Football game, most time was spent lining up the players and the action would be over in a minute or so per play.  It would give the kids something else to play with on the layout.

After all I have seen Lionel train layouts with slot cars (probably HO) running on the slot car track that seemed to get more attention than the trains.

Charlie

Choo Choo Charlie posted:

Great baseball field. 

It got me to thinking since it is now football season and if someone had the space he could install one of those old Electric Football games from the 1950s that use a vibrating field and the men with the little angled feet like on the Lionel cattle car and pen.  As I remember playing with my friends Electric Football game, most time was spent lining up the players and the action would be over in a minute or so per play.  It would give the kids something else to play with on the layout.

After all I have seen Lionel train layouts with slot cars (probably HO) running on the slot car track that seemed to get more attention than the trains.

Charlie

Thanks, Choo Choo Charlie.

Animated football in O Scale is a great idea. I would love to see such a thing. Arnold

Made a couple of more changes.

I glued the baseball penants and the American flag to little wooden craft sticks. Then, I stuck the sticks into strips of styrofoam painted green:

I like the look of the ballpark with the Lionel 646 Hudson pulling Postwar passenger cars:

Arnold

Great job Arnold!  My brother and I had the electric football and baseball fields.  They were a bit tedious to set the tabs right under the players to get them to go where you wanted.

Looks great, Arnold.  The figures are cool and the upper deck gives it a real stadium look.  You've got Willie, all you need now is Sal Yvers flashing the fastball sign to Bobby Thompson from the 500 foot CF.  Hahaha.

The Menard's Sprecher Brewery and Nathan's Hot Dog's are ready to deliver the beers and dogs to the ballpark.  Several more details need to be added and those screws removed, but you go through the high tunnel to the right, and you arrive at old Yankee Stadium.  Sorry those cool white LED's in the brewery wash out the details for the phone's camera.

Jerry

JerryG posted:

Looks great, Arnold.  The figures are cool and the upper deck gives it a real stadium look.  You've got Willie, all you need now is Sal Yvers flashing the fastball sign to Bobby Thompson from the 500 foot CF.  Hahaha.

The Menard's Sprecher Brewery and Nathan's Hot Dog's are ready to deliver the beers and dogs to the ballpark.  Several more details need to be added and those screws removed, but you go through the high tunnel to the right, and you arrive at old Yankee Stadium.  Sorry those cool white LED's in the brewery wash out the details for the phone's camera.

Jerry

Fabulous, Jerry! Now it's time for the homeplate umpire to shout out: Play Ball (and Trains)!

JerryG posted:

Looks great, Arnold.  The figures are cool and the upper deck gives it a real stadium look.  You've got Willie, all you need now is Sal Yvers flashing the fastball sign to Bobby Thompson from the 500 foot CF.  Hahaha.

The Menard's Sprecher Brewery and Nathan's Hot Dog's are ready to deliver the beers and dogs to the ballpark.  Several more details need to be added and those screws removed, but you go through the high tunnel to the right, and you arrive at old Yankee Stadium.  Sorry those cool white LED's in the brewery wash out the details for the phone's camera.

Jerry

Jerry, your layout with its multiple levels and baseball theme and decorations looks very interesting. And the structures look solid.

My Polo Grounds is not solid, but rather very flimsy, like a house of cards. If Willie crashes into the centerfield fence, the whole thing might come tumbling down. LOL, Arnold 

Fantasy Baseball, Ultimate Subway Series:

Don Larson's 1956 World Series perfect game at Yankee Stadium;

"The Catch" by Willie Mays 1954 World Series at the Polo Grounds.

Arnold

Way cool, Arnold!  They're close enough to pretend the river runs between them!

I notice you added subway cars.  I saw the thread about the trolley track that actually allows you to record and play your own station announcements.  Too bad it's fastrack.   Maybe one day, someone will produce a gargraves-like track that will do the same thing.

Larsen's first pitch to Gilliam.   I think I've sent you this one before...

Jerry

Added some scenic detail to Scrounger's Baseball Field today. Take a look at the photo below and see if you can tell what I added:

Do you know?

Give up?

Ok, it's the yellow foul poles. 

The least expensive way to make them is to take a couple of straws out of the garbage or kitchen cabinet, paint the straws yellow, and glue them in place.

Unfortunately, we had no straws or yellow paint in the house. I could have gone to a nearby McDonalds and pilfered a couple if straws (LOL), but since I needed the yellow paint anyway, I went to a local AC Moore, bought a wooden dowel, and a set of 42 acrylic paints on sale for $20.

Here's a close up of one of the foul poles:

I drilled 2 holes in the plywood board to secure the foul poles in place.

Arnold

Looking great Arnold!

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

I like the look of the ballpark with the Lionel 646 Hudson pulling Postwar passenger cars:

Arnold

JerryG posted:

Way cool, Arnold!

Larsen's first pitch to Gilliam.

Jerry

Arnold,

The 646 Hudson definitely tops off the scene....

And Jerry,

"Junior" Jim Gilliam #19. Another great Brooklyn Dodger baseball player. How could the Dodgers ever leave Brooklyn?

MELGAR

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Getting close to completion. See photos below with urban scenic backdrop installed and penants of different colors on roof of Polo Grounds:

Panoramic shot from behind home plate:

Down 1st base line:

Down 3rd base line:

Season tickets are going fast. I recommend you place your order for them ASAP.

LOL, Arnold 

Arnold:

The Polo Grounds look GREAT. I love the grandstands and the center field locker rooms access'. I can almost see in my minds eye, Willy Mays chasing down that long fly ball in center field.

I can almost turn my Polo Grounds into a home-made animated accessory simply by playing the announcer's call on YouTube (using my smartphone) on my Bose blue tooth device. The blue tooth device is phased with my smartphone.

It's amazing all the things one can access on YouTube.

The announcers' calls for Bobby Thompson's home run, Willie Mays' catch and Don Larsen's last pitch in his perfect game can all be accessed on YouTube.

You can do the same thing for any famous ball field or sports arena you have on your layout.

For instance, if you are into ice hockey, you can have an ice hockey rink and arena with hockey player figures on your layout, recreate the Gold Metal game between the USA and the Soviet Union, and play Al Michael's call during the last glorious minute of the game: "Do you believe in miracles?"

Arnold

Arnold, I also like the distance markers on the outfield wall. Nice work!

i found the above video for a recordable sound button. It looks like it would fit the bill, but no idea of cost. 

Melgar,   Gilliam was a good, versatile, player.  I actually made a DVD of the entire perfect game.  Years ago, when you could copy your saved movies and games, the YES network played the video.  Bing Crosby had it made in England, but, I can't remember what the technology was called.  It had Mel Allen and Vin Scully sharing the announcing, was shot mostly from behind the plate, and somewhat grainy.  Larsen, Berra, and Bob Costas were in the studio, commenting on different parts of the broadcast.

Also, you've heard Billy Crystal's story about bringing Wells to meet DeNiro?  DeNiro:  Who's the fat guy?  Crystal:  Bob, that's David Wells from the Yankees.  He just pitched a perfect game yesterday at the Stadium and he'd like to meet you.  DeNiro:  What's a perfect game?  Crystal explains it to him.  DeNiro:  Sounds boring.

Arnold, the yellow poles look great against the green decks.  Nothing like those Bose bluetooth speakers.  The boys can't believe the quality and volume of the sound it puts out.   When we're outside, I play everything from my phone.  I agree, Youtube has it all.

Still waiting for some shaded lamps, picnic tables, and figures for the Nathan's hot dog stand and brewery area but, the trains are running great.

Jerry

Way to go JD!!  Thanks!

I just looked them up.  They're cheap, $12 for one, less for more.   You can re-record your sounds at any time.  Runs on AAA batteries.  You can only have one recording at a time, but it can go 200 seconds.

I'll probably get a few for certain train scenes, including Yankee Stadium.  Recommend downloading from Youtube, converting to MP3, copying to your phone, then plugging your phone into the module to record your sounds.  The plug comes with the module.

Jerry

Sound modules are only about $10!

https://invitebyvoice.com

I’m  going to have to buy some myself! 

It would be nice to find one with the ability for multiple recordings. You could have Bob Shepard announce the whole starting lineup!

JD, they have them, too.  I'll have to decide which module(s) to get.  I like the ones that have the push button, and are enclosed.

Go to recordable boxes/usb-recordable-sound-boxes

Jerry

Arnold, It looks great!  I’ve been familiar with Willie Mays’ over the shoulder catch in that center field notch sine I was a boy.  What I have always wondered is why they never fenced it off in line with the main wall.  With such deep walls anyway it would have seemed logical.  

That aside, the notch was there, and it was one of the trademarks of the Polo Grounds, and you have done a wonderful job!

JD2035RR posted:

 

 

 

Arnold, I also like the distance markers on the outfield wall. Nice work!

i found the above video for a recordable sound button. It looks like it would fit the bill, but no idea of cost. 

 

That is so cool, JD. I'm technologically challenged, as is evident from the wiring on my layout, so I would probably need help figuring out how to use such a device. My kids who are 30 something could do that for me, like most all young adults or even children. Arnold

Mark Boyce posted:

Arnold, It looks great!  I’ve been familiar with Willie Mays’ over the shoulder catch in that center field notch sine I was a boy.  What I have always wondered is why they never fenced it off in line with the main wall.  With such deep walls anyway it would have seemed logical.  

That aside, the notch was there, and it was one of the trademarks of the Polo Grounds, and you have done a wonderful job!

Thanks, Mark.

I have an O Scale Pittsburgh Pirates penant that I got from the Internet, glued to a wooden craft stick the size of a tooth pick, that I would love to give to you for your future O Scale Forbes Field. And we know the announcer's call you would play from YouTube: Bill Mazeroski's 1960 World Series 7th game home run.

Though that home run broke my 9 year old heart at the time, now with all of the Yankees' championship teams, I'm glad that day in the sun for Bill Mazeroski, the Pirates and you, happened. 

Arnold 

Thank you Arnold!  I was only 4 years old, but I quickly knew Mazeroski was the hero!  After that, Clemente became my favorite.

 I read long ago Mickey Mantle sat in the clubhouse after that game and cried.  You were in good company.  The Pirates were incredible underdogs.  Congratulations to the Pirates for two more victories, and the Yankees for I don’t know how many!!

Thank you about the pennant.  I still wear a Pirates hat often.  Even some locals will question why.  It is for Maz, Clemente, Stargell, Oliver, Madlock, Van Slyke, McCutcheon and lots of others.

JerryG posted:

Arnold, I like it!  Love the addition of the upper decks!  So, now you have TWO ballparks on your layout?  I'm very jealous.  As before, no more room for one on my table layout.

Bryan, your layout and ballpark look fabulous.

You guys may need some vendors for all the fans.  What could go better than hot dogs?  Working on this small module for the table layout.  Took the brewery tunnel insert and used it to build the Nathan's display.

The guys have been asking Menard's for a brewery for years.  Just received it yesterday.  Got the car and Nathan's sign this Wednesday.  Many details still to go on this little project.

Jerry

Jerry:

Where did you get the Nathan's refer? It looks GREAT!

Mark Boyce posted:

Thank you Arnold!  I was only 4 years old, but I quickly knew Mazeroski was the hero!  After that, Clemente became my favorite.

 I read long ago Mickey Mantle sat in the clubhouse after that game and cried.  You were in good company.  The Pirates were incredible underdogs.  Congratulations to the Pirates for two more victories, and the Yankees for I don’t know how many!!

Thank you about the pennant.  I still wear a Pirates hat often.  Even some locals will question why.  It is for Maz, Clemente, Stargell, Oliver, Madlock, Van Slyke, McCutcheon and lots of others.

Mark:

Though I am a Yankee fan, I am an appreciator of all baseball. You have mentioned many legendary Pirates in your above quote. I also admired those guys as I saw them over the years. Another pirate that I remember, though far from legendary, was a catcher named Smoky Burgess. Being a former catcher myself, I tend to gravitate to others who played the same position.

Today I added fencing for the upper deck:

When I was positioning it, the whole structure collapsed, so I had to glue the whole thing back together again. LOL, Arnold 

Randy Harrison posted

Another pirate that I remember, though far from legendary, was a catcher named Smoky Burgess. Being a former catcher myself, I tend to gravitate to others who played the same position.

Randy, I was a pitcher in the Pony League. Since you were a catcher, we should have a catch some day. I can bring the baseball and the mitts, including a catcher's mitt.

I heard that a lot of great games are being played in a place called Iowa. Ya wanna meet me in Iowa? If not, maybe we can meet in a place called York, Pennsylvania. LOL, Arnold

MTH Proto 1 Dreyfus Hudson passenger train to the Polo Grounds:

Arnold

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Randy Harrison posted

Another pirate that I remember, though far from legendary, was a catcher named Smoky Burgess. Being a former catcher myself, I tend to gravitate to others who played the same position.

Randy, I was a pitcher in the Pony League. Since you were a catcher, we should have a catch some day. I can bring the baseball and the mitts, including a catcher's mitt.

I heard that a lot of great games are being played in a place called Iowa. Ya wanna meet me in Iowa? If not, maybe we can meet in a place called York, Pennsylvania. LOL, Arnold

Arnold:

It would be great to meet you in person. York in the Spring would be a good time.  I was an intercollegiate varsity catcherthat doubled on first base in the first two years of undergraduate study. Unfortunately, my over-abused, 69 year-old body will not allow me to play baseball anymore. Otherwise, I would love to have a catch with you. I still have all of my gloves, my catcher's mitt, first baseman's mitt and fielder's glove. After being his little league baseball manager when my only son was 5 - 10 years old and I was in my early 50's, I had to reduce my baseball activity due my deteriorating back and legs. Now I am and avid baseball spectator and life-long railroad junky.

Gentlemen:  I was 7 years old and sitting in front of the TV.  Mazeroski hit the homerun.  I had no interest in the game, but, it is my first Yankee memory.  Three years later, I cried for two hours when Koufax finished off the 1963 WS.  By then, I discovered I was good at baseball and was a huge Yankee fan.  I was so young, I may have thought it was a rule that the Yankees always played in the World Series.  I'm still not over either of those losses.

Randy and Mark, I've been a Stratomatic player since I was 12 years old.  Clemente is still the only outfielder in Strat history with a -6 arm.  That team had 4 catchers:  Hal Smith, Smokey Burgess, Bob Oldis, and Danny Kravitz.   Of course, only Hal and Smokey played in the WS.  Not starting Whitey Ford in game one cost Casey the series, and his job.

Randy, the Nathan's car was another lucky find.  When I saw that the Nathan's Miller Engineering sign was newly available, I coincidentally read a post on the forum from a guy that had two of the cars.  Going online produced two different versions for sale but, the prices were way more than I've ever spent for a single car.  I think both versions were put out by the Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers.  Two days later, I seriously lucked out, and got the car for less than 1/3 of what the other guys were asking.  You can still find one, but paying $200 for any boxcar seems ridiculous to me.

Arnold, haha.  Still, it looks great.  I have lots of leftover balsa and basswood sticks and planks.  All my scratch-builds are made with them.  If I use poster paper or cardboard, they are always framed with wood.  Here are two older pics.

You can't beat baseball and trains.

Jerry

Randy, I know a lot of fans liked Smoky Burgess, my dad being one.  There have been so many good players on all teams over the years.  My all time favorite catcher is Manny Sanguillen.

Last night while looking through some buildings in storage I found a football field I think from department 56!! I will try to post some pictures in a couple of days.

Guys, the sound box arrived.  I posted on it separately.  JD done good, because it works as advertised.  Small, cheap, easy to record to, great for train applications.  You can re-record as much as you like, but only one sound file.  This one is MP3, so you know you can also use music files.

Rizzuto's call of Maris's 61st.  Here is what I did with it:

The video is only 40 seconds.  I used a sound editor to chop the beginning of the atbat, so the whole file is 1:20.  No point in putting it all in the video.

Haha, Arnold, if you like it, you're gonna need two, one for each ballpark.

Jerry

JerryG posted:

Guys, the sound box arrived.  I posted on it separately.  JD done good, because it works as advertised.  Small, cheap, easy to record to, great for train applications.  You can re-record as much as you like, but only one sound file.  This one is MP3, so you know you can also use music files.

Rizzuto's call of Maris's 61st.  Here is what I did with it:

The video is only 40 seconds.  I used a sound editor to chop the beginning of the atbat, so the whole file is 1:20.  No point in putting it all in the video.

Haha, Arnold, if you like it, you're gonna need two, one for each ballpark.

Jerry

As Phil would say, "Holy Cow, Jerry, you did it!" LOL

That's a very cool device for those of us with baseball field fields on our layouts. 

Arnold

What I've been doing is taking a small blue tooth device, phased to my smartphone, and then going on YouTube and playing the announcers' calls for Bobby Thomson's home run off of Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds (the Giants win the penant, the Giants win the penant), and Don Larsen's last pitch in his World Series perfect game at Yankee Stadium, among other calls.

Incidentally, my father and his 8 siblings (all deceased now) had a connection to Ralph Branca. They lived in and about my home town, Mt. Vernon, NY.

Arnold

Also Willie Mays' great catch in the 1954 World Series is on YouTube.

Many of the anouncers' calls for the great moments in baseball can be accessed on YouTube. It's fun to play those calls when I have an audience to see the trains and baseball fields on the layout. Arnold

Arnold,

Go to google.  Youtube to MP3 converter.  Pull it up.  Go to Youtube and play your file.  Right click, select copy video URL.  Click on your open converter file.  Paste the URL into the converter.  Wait for it to upload, should only take several seconds.  It should tell you it's converting the video, then a download tab should appear.  Hit that, and it should go to your download file.  Now, you have an MP3 file, that you can move anywhere you want it.

https://invitebyvoice.com/coll...ical-insert-for-toys

I think I'm done with this scene.  Although the beers and dogs have been rolling to the Stadium, the Nathan's structure needed some detail.  I added lots of people and tables.  While I was waiting for the four tables I ordered, I made a try at making my own.  I kinda like the bare wood look.  Do you think I should paint or stain them, or just leave well enough alone? 

I also got some shaded LED lamps from Patrick's Trains and added them to the track side of the hot dog stand.  They may be hard to see in the pics.  Those tiny wires are sure a pain to work with.  I like the lamps, but my fingers hate stringing them together, then having to solder them to a long 22 gauge feeder wire.

The last thing will be to add another EZ Sound Box because I found a cool little 30 second song about Nathan's, done by a guy standing outside the original stand in Coney Island.  Just him and his acoustic guitar.  I'll have to post a short video for that one to make much sense.  https://invitebyvoice.com/coll...ical-insert-for-toys.

Arnold, here is the Strat-o-matic oldtime ballpark version of the Polo Grounds.  The current ballparks, of course, are all high definition photos.

You can't beat baseball and trains. (Or hot dogs and a beer)

Jerry

Jerry, I like your homemade barewood tables "as is." 

Thanks for posting your photo of the Stratomatic Polo Grounds. 

I may need to disassemble the stands for my Polo Grounds because I need to get a plumber to unclog a drain near there. However, when the plumber is done, I should be able to put my Polo Grounds stands back together without too much trouble.  Arnold

Okay, thanks Arnold.

Oh, no!  Say it ain't so, Joe!   Love your Polo Grounds!   You can see by the Strat rendition, and the overhead photos, why it was such a homer haven, and why the Babe preferred it to the Stadium.   Not to mention Mel Ott.  Strat rates each ballpark for average (Fenway has always been a joke for leftys) and homeruns (the Polo Grounds is up there with any ballpark in history). 

Let us know how things work out.

Jerry

Here are the pictures of the football field I found -- my granddaughter showed me how to do this!!

Well, this scene is about done.  Added a 30 second song about Nathan's, but can't find the name of the guy.  He's just standing outside the Coney Island store and strumming his acoustic guitar.  Forgive my one-handed video!   The very end shows the direction of the Stadium backdrop, and where the dogs and beers are headed.

I mentioned earlier today under another topic my latest baseball developments on my layout.

Below are a couple of photos of my Yankee Stadium entrance, which I made during the last couple of days using a Dremel tool, pieces of plastic from a kitbashed engine house, cardboard, glue and tan colored acrylic paint.

Arnold

I welcome feedback regarding my above Yankee Stadium entrance.

I think the best thing about it are the windows, which came from the engine house. It's neat to peak in through the windows and see the baseball field and figures, which are beautiful thanks to Woodland Scenics and Kramer Products.

Here's a panoramic shot of the Stadium:

Arnold 

Arnold:

That is GREAT work, very creative! Now, is it the house that Ruth built or the house that Arnold built?

Arnold, extremely cool!  The windows are really reminiscent of the old Stadium.  The kiosks and Longines sign add a lot to the entrance.  Your ballpark keeps getting better all the time!  It's definitely a great touch that allows you to look through the windows at the field.

Jerry

Got "sucked" into going shopping with the wife, but walking through the Dollar Store toy department I found plastic Baseball players!!!!!! They are pretty close to O scale and at 5 per bag I got 2 complete teams - different color jerseys and everything!!!