October, 2008 Update: Trains-N-Towns<sup><small>TM</small></sup>


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Written by Paul D. Race for Big Indoor Trains^TM and Big Christmas Trains^TM

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Trains-N-Towns^TM, the Official Newsletter of BIGIndoorTrains.com and BIGChristmasTrains.com

This newsletter is for people who like O scale trains and Christmas trains, especially people who combine On30 or O gauge trains with collectible villages. It is produced in conjunction with the Big Indoor Trains^TM and Big Christmas Trains web sites.

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On the other hand, if you don't want to receive our e-mail updates, please e-mail me with a "Please Unsubscribe" message (worded any way you wish), and we will graciously remove you from our list.
Also, if you would like to subscribe to our free newsletter for garden railroaders (people running big trains outside), please join the Family Garden Trains Mailing List. By the way, you can subscribe to either, both, or neither, and we will just be glad to be of service, no matter what you decide.

New This Month

This article looks forward to autumn and the holiday season. Our biggest article includes free patterns and instruction for recreating a classic cardboard Christmas house of the '30s, '40s, and '50s. We also have two easy projects for adding seasonal touches to your indoor railroad or display village. Plus a last-minte announcement about two new Disney Halloween collectible series that will interest Disney or Halloween fans.

New Article: Building a Picture Window House - A new glitterhouse project
New Article: Spookey Village Billboards - A new, easy Halloween Trains project
New Article: Bringing Autumn to Your Railroad or Display Village
New for 2008: Disney Halloween Villages - A last-minute announcement for fans of Disney and Halloween

Note: We have several more articles in the works, so check our site often.

New Article: Building a Picture Window House

Howard Lamey, collector and designer of "glitterhouses," those vintage pasteboard Christmas village houses we used to use, presents a brand new project in time for the holiday season, complete with free, downloadable plans and graphics. This structure is a step up from our beginning glitterhouse project and will offer charming variety to your holiday village.

Click on the following link to read Howard Lamey's instructions for building a vintage-style cardboard Christmas village house.

http://bigindoortrains.com/primer/glitterhouses/picture_window_house/picture_window_house.htm

New Article: Spookey Village Billboards

The Spook Hill^TM billboards are easy seasonal additions to any Halloween village, including the Hawthorne VillageŽ Halloween trains and Villages

It's also the easiest Spook Hill^TM project so far, so it would be a good project to get the kids involved with. We've included two "spookey" billboards, one pumpkin patch billboard, and one Christmas tree lot billboard in case you're thinking ahead.

Click on the following link to download the free graphics and instructions for this project.

http://bigindoortrains.com/primer/spook_hill/billboards/spook_hill_billboards.htm

New Article: New Article: Bringing Autumn to Your Railroad or Display Village

Just in time for your autumn village display or seasonal railroad, we have combined two crafts ideas from last year's newsletter into one article so our many new readers could benefit as well. Like the billboards above, this article will help you inexpensively add seasonal color.

Click on the following link to see these easy, fun, and inexpensive projects.

http://bigindoortrains.com/primer/autumn_leaves/autumn_appearance.htm

Click for more information on this totally new Disney-licensed product.

New for 2008: Disney Halloween Villages

I just got the first installment of a very unique collection - the DisneyŽ Villains Halloween Village, which features the evil masterminds from such classics as Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmations, and Snow White. I really thought I was done posting reviews of Halloween products, since we're getting so close, but this is worth checking out, especially if you collect DisneyŽ. The first issue, Maleficent's castle, comes with chains on the drawbridge, Maleficent's trusted raven "hovering" overhead, and Maleficent herself, hovering over a spinning wheel, and raising a staff in her best "I'm getting ready to do something really evil" pose. The castle is illuminated by a blue lighbulb - how's that for different? This is as fine a "halloween sculpture" as Hawthorne Village has put out so far, and they've put out some great ones.

If you'd rather have a Halloween Village that's more family-friendly, the same page includes a link to the Winnie the Poo Halloween village.

Click on the following link to learn more about the DisneyŽ Halloween Villages:

http://btcomm.com/trains/special_offers/disneyvillages/disney_villages.htm#villains

Keep in Touch

We are continually getting more interest in this newsletter, in the site, and in the trains and towns we discuss. We welcome your questions as indicators of what we should be working on next (also, we always try to answer reader questions quickly). In addition, if you have any photos, tips, or articles you'd like to share with your fellow hobbyists, please let us know. The hobby grows best when we all learn together.

In the meantime, have a great autumn!

Paul Race

BigIndoorTrains.com
BigChristmasTrains.com
FamilyGardenTrains.com

To view the Trains-N-Towns^TM newsletter for September, 2008, click on the following link:

http://bigindoortrains.com/trains_n_towns/08_09_newsletter_indoor.htm

To read more, or to look at recommended Garden Railroading and Display Railroad products, you may click on the index pages below.

Click to see unique Disney Halloween village collectibles and more

Visit our BIG Train Store<sup><small>TM</small></sup> Buyer's Guide Pages

Click to see village and train collections for July Fourth, Halloween, and more!

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Note: Spook Hill^TM is a trademark of Howard Lamey, North Jacksonville, Florida. Big Indoor Trains^TM, Big Train Store^TM Family Garden Trains^TM, Big Christmas Trains^TM, and Garden Train Store^TM are trademarks of Breakthrough Communications^TM (www.btcomm.com). All information, data, text, and illustrations on this web site are Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 by Paul D. Race. Reuse or republication without prior written permission is specifically forbidden.
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