Wind Turbine Blade, Mount, and Sling - CG N Scale

[Mark W]

En route!  Finally!  Cannot wait!

[Mark W]

[basementcalling]

Awesome. Were a couple of the last cars in the train spine cars?

Looks like scale car width just became important. 

Would a double stack or autorack of similar length to the passenger cars be wider over the rail center and cause issues? Not that any manufacturer would ever offer containers that were not scale height or width.   

Can't wait to see what the ones I ordered look like when they arrive.

[prbharris]

Awesome. Were a couple of the last cars in the train spine cars..

Yes they were - and there may be a development of specific mounts for the 48' spine cars that N Scale Kits do.

http://www.nscalekits.co.uk/ttax48spinecars.html

At present the 89' Flatcar mounts do not work properly on the spine cars - but I am sure that there will be adaptations. Incidentally, some spine cars have been modified for the turbine load role - and these adaptations will be what are being suggested.

Peter

Peter Harris
N Scale Kits
www.nscalekits.com

[Mark W]

Yep, the initial proof of concept was a huge success.  I'll have to measure the track spacing, but as you can see 18" cuts it really close.  I'd recommend 20-22+ with a few slow test runs to make sure you don't get any snags.  Worst case, you point all blades to the rear of the train and have the tip brush a few spots rather than snag/derail. 

There does need to be some adjustments to blade's base mount design.  This will be a replacement part that can be used to upgrade anyone who ordered a Beta if you don't want to manually adjust it.

And as Peter mentioned, there will be other mount variations available soon as well! 

[Denver Road Doug]

Looks like they turned out well.   Great video...great demonstration of a typical view of the model and how it translates on a layout.  I'm very tempted to order some but I just have to pass, at least for now.

[Mark W]

[carlso]

Very nice Mark. The finish on the blade looks quite smooth. Did you do anything special to get that smooth finish? Thanks for the work on these.

Carl

[peteski]

Very nice Mark. The finish on the blade looks quite smooth. Did you do anything special to get that smooth finish? Thanks for the work on these.

Carl

It does look smooth in those photos (3 foot rule). But it would also be helpful to see come closeup macro photos of the blade surfaces.

[Mark W]

This one is straight out of the printer, sprayed with Krylon glossy white, just one coat.  I'm trying some other techniques on other blades which are already much more smooth.

It may be after next weekend until I have the super-high res demo shots available.  Gotta go see that Big Boy move this weekend.

[PGE-N°2]

Just out curiosity, but were you aware of the Micro Trains runner pack of Trailer Train flats with Wind Turbine loads that just came out?

Do you think it compares favorably (or prototypically) to the version you`ve built?

[jereising]

Since the question was addressed to Mark I'll let him answer but his version is much more prototypically correct.

[jagged ben]

I'm thinking I'm going to get some of Mark's parts and combine them with the MT sets.   Nice thing about the MT cars is the right markings and the VTTX reporting parts.  If you look at some prototype windmill trains it actually makes sense to alternate those with BLMA PTTX cars. 

Gotta find some time for this...

[jereising]

And as a point of interest, there are now hubs, nacelles, and a tower available to fit Mark's blades.  I have them on order but Shapeways is having difficulty printing the hubs, thereby delaying things...

I suspect you can use just about ANY flat for this stuff.  If you look at some of the pictures out there, you can hardly see the reporting marks anyway.  One of the cars is a QTTX heavy duty flat (also on Shapeways), and I've seen bulkhead flats as well for the smaller components. 

I'm trying for a four windmill train - this should be FUN!  I figure 24 89 foot flats and three QTTXs.  Make a nice train.

[Mark W]

Yep, MT's blades are an older, shorter design, and both mounts rest on the same 89 foot flat.  My guess is late 90s early 2Ks.   

My CG N Scale blades are modeled after the 2012 or so LM "Go Blades", using the "Universal Blade Train" system.  Fixed base on one car, sling truss on the second car.  I quote "Universal Blade Train" as that's what the guy who designed the prototype, who is also an N scaler, told me they call them.   

I've not gotten my hands on the MT set, but I suspect the quality to be like any other MT product.  One guy this weekend said they do not fit through Kato Unitrak Truss Bridge, but I didn't ask whether or not he's entering the bridge straight off a curve or straight in.  My CG N Scale blades have no trouble through the Kato bridge, nor standard single track tunnel portals on a 22" radius curve. 

I do know that in my experience with my blades, no other brand of 89' flat that I've tried comes even close to BLMA PTTX flats.  We've been running the blade train for hours at every show with Free-moNebraska.  The BLMA flats just work, and of course they're gorgeous too.

I'm hoping MT releases the hubs and nacelles separately, I wouldn't mind buying them to load on BLMA flats.  Doubt I'll bite on the set though.