Summer 2011 project party!

[Martijn Meerts]

It's time for the JNS project party again :)

 

The idea behind the project party is to give people some incentive to work on something (small) they've been putting off, or to just build a small something they've been thinking about building. While we've tried several things before (setting a certain topic for the project party, setting a maximum size for the project party, etc.) this time around things will be much easier. This time around, the only rule is that whatever you build has to be Japanese (and model train related of course :))

 

Some examples of what you could do:

- Build a small T-trak module

- Build a small town you can drop into your layout afterwards

- Finish/build a custom skyscraper with full lighting and detailing etc.

- Superdetail/weather rolling stock

- Build a brass kit

- Etc.

 

The project party will officially start the 1st of July and end the 31st of August. This gives you a total of 2 months to work on your project. The time up to then you can spend planning your project and gathering materials if needed.

 

During the 2 month building phase, you should also post your progress on the forum, so that people can follow along how you do things, and how everything is shaping up. After the 2 month building period, the forum users will be able to vote for the project they think should win. The winner will get a little something for their effort. Exactly what the prize will be I'll announce when voting starts, as I don't want it to affect the building process itself. (What you build should be something you want to build, not something that should win a prize :))

 

 

To sign up, please start a new topic using your forum name as title of the topic, and, if you already have an idea for a project (however rough it is) you can explain what you're planning on building.

 

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask them here ;)

 

 

** NOTE **

Even if you sign up, you don't HAVE TO finish, or even build a project. We're aware a lot can happen, and the project is really just for everyone to have fun :)

[rpierce000]

One thing I saw on the original thread that amused me and I thought should be repeated here is that the project:

 

"Must be fun!"

 

So... for all of you slogging away in the salt mines of model trains, cut it out!

 

Hmmm.... A salt mine. I haven't any idea what the prototype would look like. I guess I could just build a mountain and say it was on the back...  I think in Japan most salt is sea salt. The things I think of in the middle of the night.

[Martijn Meerts]

Well, statistics show that when prizes are involved, there's always people joining in to purely for the prize, not for the fun of the "competition" itself.

 

Of course, I don't expect anyone here to sign up for the project party purely to win a prize, considering their project party entries are more expensive than the possible prize they'll get =)

[keiman]

:grin all ready to start tomorrow.

[rpierce000]

Having not participated in one of these before, I assume that start, process and end photos, along with narration are required for an entry?

 

If anything else is needed, say a physical item sent to the judges or measurements of some kind, please let me know.

 

Thanks!

[Martijn Meerts]

Bob, the idea is really just that you start a project, and post your progress in a thread here. That way people can see how you build something and how you're progressing, as well as give comments about improvements or how to solve certain problems etc.

 

The judges are all the forum users who wish to vote for their favorite project, so sending physical items to judges would be a bit difficult :)

[keiman]

Only a few days to go, how is every one getting on?

I know mine and Sir Madog are finished.

[Sir Madog]

I have started to work on my station module. I changed the design to a stub-end terminal, which is fine for the bi-directional EMU´s of the line. This allows me to add one more module to the layout, which is going to be a temple module. I plan on something as spectacular as the waterfall module, which is definitively finished now. Latest pictures are in my thread.

[KenS]

Well, I'm not going to be finished.  But I'm hoping to hit the 50% mark, or come close to it.  I've been working on two more road segments (to bring my total to 3). If I can add the last bits to them and get them painted, that will get me about two feet of roadway, out of the four foot total.

 

So, not done, but enough of a road to look good from that side of the layout.  I count my successes where I can find them. 

 

I'll post photos of the current state later today, and the final state at the end of the month.

[Martijn Meerts]

Last day of the project party today! 

 

 

Of course, I ended up not being able to do much on mine, it's getting rather annoying, since it's the 3rd time in a row that I hardly get anywhere :)

 

Next time we'll do a winter project party so it's not too hot in the train rooms around the world to work on things.

 

 

I'll put up a poll tomorrow with all participants, so that people can vote for their favorite project. The one with the most votes gets a little prize.

 

The prize in question is a very general thing, usable and enjoyable by everyone. I'd also like to thank Bob at BTTrains.com (rpierce000 on the forum) for donating a good part of the prize, as well as taking care of shipping and handling of the prize :)

[KenS]

Next time we'll do a winter project party so it's not too hot in the train rooms around the world to work on things.

 

This was a winter project party for many of the people on the board.  And to be honest, I like the idea of the summer parties since I need more motivation then anyway.  But it would be good to have one in the other half of the year for those who can't participate in the June-August months.

 

One suggestion I'll make for the next one: eliminate the separation of planning from doing.  Planning in advance is important, but everyone does it differently, and once you finish planning it's time to "do", not wait two weeks for the starting bell.  Just send a "the contests starts now and will end on DDDD" note and let people figure out how they want to use that time.