The NPPX - A ‘Beer Can’ layout on a shelf

[robert3985]

Oh yeah....very nice printed tie strip!  Prototype sized spike heads???  That would make them right at 0.010" long, and about 0.007" proud of the tieplate.  That sound about right??

Anyway...very cool!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[ednadolski]

Oh yeah....very nice printed tie strip!  Prototype sized spike heads???  That would make them right at 0.010" long, and about 0.007" proud of the tieplate.  That sound about right??

IDK the exact measurements.... I made the drawing at full scale size (based on some proto .pdfs of a spike) and then reduced it by 1:160 in the slicer program.

The spike heads are kind of more like flattened ovals, tho of course that's too small to see in an N-scaled print.





Ed

[garethashenden]

What are your plans for protecting the crossing? There seems to be very little available commercially that is even close to scale. I've been thinking I'll need to print my own when I get there, but I want to see how you handle it first!

[dem34]

What are your plans for protecting the crossing? There seems to be very little available commercially that is even close to scale. I've been thinking I'll need to print my own when I get there, but I want to see how you handle it first!

DKS has a writeup of how he did his.
http://davidksmith.com/modeling/animation/project-46.htm
I think of it as a roundtoit project, my thoughts were:
Poles of course are brass tube, Desktop print out the crossbucks or hack a commercial one.
Flashers seem relatively easy to scratchbuild with brass sheet and hole punches + LEDs
Gates I would 3D print the counterweight then scratch the arm out of brass to use as a common for the SMLEDs.

[ednadolski]

What are your plans for protecting the crossing? There seems to be very little available commercially that is even close to scale. I've been thinking I'll need to print my own when I get there, but I want to see how you handle it first!

Probably initially just some signage. I am interested in some kind of flashers, but like you say since it will have to be scratched together,  it will have to come later.

Ed

[haasmarc]

Ok Ed, the concrete looks great!  Can you give some details on how you did it?  Especially the nice smooth road surface.

[ednadolski]

Thanks @haasmarc tho really it's not a lot of process to it.   Basically, it's a matter of mixing up the cement powder with water, tho I make it a bit thinner so that it will flow, then pouring it into the forms (made of foam weatherstripping tape) and leveling it with a straightedge.  Once it firms up I remove the tape/forms and scored the joint lines with an x-acto blade, using a light touch, and also lightly scuff/score the surface with some #220 sandpaper, moving in random directions.  I also use the sandpaper and/or the edge of a blade to flatten out any bumps or wavy parts that weren't completely leveled, and work in some chips and cracks with the tip of the x-acto blade. I lightly buff the surface with my fingertips (wearing a nitrile glove), then vacuum up the dust and let it sit overnight, since it has to be fully dry to see the final color.

I'm planning to do some more weathering/highlighting with some thinned washes and powders, and it's probably a good idea to seal it with a clear coat spray (with ventilation).

In looking at the pics I'm not happy with the way the painted edges on the grade crossings came out, so I'll probably re-do those too.


Ed

[ednadolski]

Some post-paving scenery repair work, and some structure mockups.  I'm thinking the long warehouse building perhaps is a little too tall for a lumber/building materials structure....?  I don't like the gap underneath it where the pavement gets low/wavy, so I have to figure out a way to address that.

I'm not thrilled with the way the concrete warehouse is nearly touching the backdrop.  It would be kinda hard to fix at this point, but it's not too noticeable.

I also have to touch up the backdrop where it picked up some spatter, and I am thinking to add some distant/hazy mountains and perhaps a treeline.














Ed

[garethashenden]

I think the height is fine. There will be racks inside, so as long as its within forklifting height it should be good. It doesn't look wrong compared to the vehicles.

[GaryHinshaw]

Height looks about right to me too.  As far as the foundation goes, I think you should have the siding lapping a concrete pad:



Looking good, overall!

[ednadolski]

Not an awful lot of progress lately, tho some of the background structures have been taking shape.











(Looks like I made the concrete warehouse just a little too deep.)

Ed