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Contact me if you live in Ontario before you click the “Buy Now” button.

Only $59.99 plus $11 shipping.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer.

Joe

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Below are a series of photos for June’s Model of the Month. The building is part of my Circus Ship diorama I am building. I made the roof from a heavy card stock and laser scribed the centre ridge so that is bent easily at the roof peak. Other photos illustrate how I place my laser cut cedar shakes. I like to hand paint my shakes with a base colour (rail brown on this roof). After the base coat is dry I streak with a dark brown, followed by a dark grey. Once all is dry I glue the strips on the roof. The last step is to dry brush the roof shakes. You can see how the diorama is shaping up with 4 completed buildings. I think for July I will build 1 more house and maybe the lodge … we’ll see.

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Here are a few updated photos and words to update you on the progress of our fundraising efforts. Brooklyn now has her iPad and she loves it. I watch her work on it in my classroom and she wheels around the school with it on her lap all the time. The smile has never left her face and she is still very humbled by everyone’s support.

Together we raised over $1300 through kit sales ($1000), several people paid extra for their kits, several people donated money and didn’t want a kit and one my daughter Georgia sold cookies at our yard sale and donated $30 for Brooklyn!

As suggested by a donor, Brooklyn will put the extra money toward the purchase of Applications and developing her business idea. Check out her blog is you already have not

www.forthewhitecrayons.blogspot.com

We are ready to ship the kits (BUT) there is a postal lockout in Canada and because of this we are sitting on 40 kits that cannot be shipped until the labour dispute is over. I am hopeful that I will be able to ship early next week. I do apologize for any inconvience that this may have caused any of the 40 people who supported Brooklyn.

You can see how happy Brooklyn is with her new iPad along with the 3 HO kits that 40 modellers worldwide purchased in just 4 days! Check out the World Map, the orange arrows point to all of the places people live that purchased the kits.

I also threw in a photo of my most dedicated modeler during our lunch hour sessions. Martin really wanted his photo on my website displaying all of his efforts. We just finished putting on the decals to his Spitfire and he is very proud his efforts.

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Brooklyn academically is a high achieving grade 11 student with a 90+ average in University level courses (these are Math, Science and English credits earned to apply to University studies). What makes Brooklyn so unique is that she was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). SMA is a neuromuscular disease that progressively causes weakness in her muscles. Brooklyn undertakes physical therapy and respiratory therapy at home and school everyday because of SMA. She also is involved with Occupational Therapy to help her with her daily living and challenges at school. Brooklyn gets around in her power wheelchair … she has never walked. Whenever Brooklyn is away I have a panic attack because she is very prone and susceptible to respiratory problems. This past winter she missed a month of school because of a collapsed lung and complications. Never once have I heard Brooklyn complain.

While Brooklyn does have many tools and equipment at her disposal we have never found a computer or device that she can personally handle, manoeuvre or operate … until now. We have trialed the new Ipad and found that because of its’ size and less than 1.5 pound weight Brooklyn can personally and without assistance operate it. My school and budget could buy the Ipad but in the end it would not be Brooklyn’s.

Why the Ipad?

Brooklyn has recently started a blog entitled – forthewhitecrayons.blogspot.com Brookly often feels like a white crayon. Remember using your crayons? How often did you get out your white crayon and use it on your white paper? It was invisible and because of her SMA and confinement to a wheel chair she often feels invisible. She would use the Ipad to write up her blogs.

Remember your first summer job? Owen Sound is a small remotely located city and finding summer employment for a summer student in a wheelchair is difficult at best. Brooklyn has a great idea to start up her own business that is linked to disabilities. Brooklyn would review the accessibility of a business for people with a disability, write a review with recommendations and publish them to her website. Businesses would pay for advertising and have a direct link on the website to their business. Each week would have a theme such as: family restaurants, hair salons, banks, grocery stores, etc. Brooklyn wants to work and this is an opportunity that is flexible, unique and she has a personal commitment and passion for this cause. On a personal note my wife’s grandmother has recently suffered a stroke and is confined to a wheelchair. We are finding that everytime we plan an outing we have to call and ask questions about accessibility and a website like Brooklyn’s would benefit not only our physcially disabled population but also our aging population. She would use the Ipad for her business enterprise. NOTE: Brooklyn has applied to several jobs and continue with her business plan even if she finds some summer work.

Brooklyn would also like to write a freelance column in our local newspaper and other close by municipalities about her life, disability and business. She would use the Ipad for her column.

What can I do? What can you do? Below is a list of all the things you can do!

1. Full Steam Ahead is going to make a limited quantity (40) of the 3 buildings (pictured below … there maybe slight modifications such as roofing and castings in design) in HO scale that you can purchase. The cost of the fundraiser kit will be $32. $25 dollars will go directly to the purchase of the Ipad and a few accessories. $7will pay for postage & Paypal fees … Full Steam Ahead is covering all of the material costs and laser cutting for Brooklyn. Payment can be direct through a money order, chequre or Paypal. The kit will be available for shipment by mid June. Please email me if you would like a kit and are sending payment so that I can track the 40 kits joe@fullsteamahead.ca

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SHIPPING WILL BE MID JUNE

THIS KIT SOLD OUT IN LESS THAN A WEEK BECAUSE OF YOUR HELP! THANK YOU FROM BROOKLYN AND JOE.
Thank-you,

Brooklyn and Joe

Below are the photos for the for the ‘Circus Ship’ diorama. The model is one of the house illustrated as Mr. Payne is walking up to the village centre. Enjoy … more to come.

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Thanks Joe

I decided to create a series of buildings based on the book and the buildings depicted throughout the book. I hope you will enjoy watching the diorama come together over the next few months.

You’ll learn some new building techniques, learn about some new suppliers and see a great and meaningful diorama come together.

Enjoy your trip to a sleepy, Maine coastal village!

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I first saw the wooden coal tipple at an NMRA event in Woodstock, Ontario. It was built by Les Kauffeldt and I knew it was a winner when I first saw it across the contest room. Les won that competition and now you have the potential to build an award winning diorama with the Blue Ridge Coal Company.

This kit will allow you to take your modelling to a new level with brand new building jigs and techniques. This complicated looking kit goes together with such simplicity you will be amazed at your results.

The kit contains the following materials:
- 33 pages of detailed, step – by – step instructions (3 full colour pages reference photo graphs)
- custom designed signage
- detailed Weathering Tips & Techniques page

COAL TIPPLE (Dimensions 7″ x 2.5″)
- random scribed wood siding on the coal tipple
- corrugated metal roofing
- 49 highly detailed metal castings
- laser cut cardboard jigs to construct straight and square timber frame bents for your coal tipple
- laser cut coal bottom with laser cut timbers
- cardboard jigs to erect your tipple, keep it straight and glue your tipple together so that you don’t need 3 or 4 hands.
- templates to construct; x-bracing, and several loading docks
- coal elevator with in-ground coal pit
- coal chutes with handles
- laser etched coal plates and sliders
- stairwell and walkway jigs to construct the stairs

Weigh Scale Office (Dimensions 4″ x 5″)
- Random Clapboard Siding
- 2 tier resin foundation
- laser etched roof guidelines
- detailed metal roof castings
- laser cut rolled roofing
- detailed in-ground weigh scale
- highly detailed plastic window and door castings
- template to construct a loading dock
- laser cut window glazing

OTHER DETAILS:
- lots of stripwood to brace and complete your diorama
- a bag of coal to complete your diorama
- small tool shed that tucks under the coal tipple by the coal elevator and pit
- Vehicles are not included

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U.S.A. Residents and Canadian Residents $99 + $15 Shipping
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