Weekend Update 12/12/21

[CNR5529]

I’ve been using this to paint wheels…..


https://www.shapeways.com/product/F3U9YYWNL/n-scale-wheel-holder-33-quot


He makes them for 36” wheels and in multi packs as well.

Craig.

In case anyone wanted more information about the wheel holders, I started a thread about them a while back. They are very effective at painting lots of wheels quickly, particularly if loading multiple holders at the same time:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=51557.msg700520#msg700520

[BCR 570]

Forgive me if I missed a build thread, but are those Rapido/Prairie Shadows cars kitbashed with solid ends?

Yes, Rapido/Priairie Shadows cars with the ends sanded off and replacement 3D printed fixed ends.  Also just got 3D printed drop ends to do some of the HSC riveted gondolas which had a different drop end.

Tim

[robert3985]

Finally got my spray booth and paint room (laundry room) up and running a couple of weeks ago.  Got a new Harbor Freight Fortress 2 Gallon "Ultra-Quiet" compressor for just airbrushing which I am extremely impressed with, and dug out all my Paasche airbrushes and got them adjusted and spraying reliably.

Here are two old Overland unpainted brass UP cabooses fresh out of the spray booth.  Added some details to them such as the missing end-brace which goes from the brake wheel housing to the eve of the roof, smokejack bracing wires, window glass, brass brake hoses, ultra fine safety chains and Z-scale couplers with the Magnematic dongles cut off.

The CA-3 is before my era with its cupola running board, so that one would have been only in the Mineral Red scheme and I painted it up for a customer.  The CA-4 was Mineral Red until sometime in 1949, and is a Christmas present to a friend of mine.

I'll be doing another cupola-running-board CA-3 for sale on eBay for some Christmas money, and a couple of CA-4's in pre-Pool Armour Yellow for myself.

Anyway, I'm having a great time painting these and it feels excellent to start actually doing some model railroading again!

Photo (1) - UP CA-3 and CA-4 cabooses in early "Red" with added details and a bit of weathering:


Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Maletrain]

Robert, what is the "ultrafine safety chain" that you used?  Can't see them in the pics you posted.
 
The finest chain I have found is 40 links per inch, which is maybe already a little small for safety chains in N scale - 4 scale inches, while real safety chains I measured are more like 6 real inches - so I use 25 links per inch for safety chains.

But, other more commonly used real chains are more like 1-1/2" to 2" links, and those would be equivalent to something like 80 to 100 links per inch.  (Link lengths are not just the reciprocal of the links per inch, because they interlock and the diameter of the link material gets subtracted from its effective length in a chain.)

I have seen some 3D prints of "chains" that are smaller than 40 links per inch.  They are really not separated links, but just strips in a "+" cross section with the perpendicular legs of the "+" having alternating notches to look like the places where the links are the other pair of legs.  Those seem to look pretty good in N scale when painted well, because you really don't expect to see through the openings of the links for those very small chains in N scale.

Because I know you have an interest in very fine detail, I am curious what tips you can give us on chains.

[ednadolski]

I have seen some 3D prints of "chains" that are smaller than 40 links per inch.  They are really not separated links, but just strips in a "+" cross section with the perpendicular legs of the "+" having alternating notches to look like the places where the links are the other pair of legs.  Those seem to look pretty good in N scale when painted well, because you really don't expect to see through the openings of the links for those very small chains in N scale.

Best chain for N scale is photo-etched, tho it may be hard to find (this pic is custom-made, click for larger).  The 40 LPI is large even for HO scale (and doesn't look right in O scale either).



Ed

[peteski]

There is a thread about N scale chains: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=28291

[ednadolski]

There is a thread about N scale chains: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=28291

Traincat == Unobtanium   

[wazzou]

Traincat == Unobtanium   

True, but I doubt he was responsible for the manufacture of the actual linked chain. 
He distributed it, so someone made/makes it.

[robert3985]

As to what chain I used on my cabooses...I used the finest "real" chain that I have, which is, I believe the Traincat offering.  I don't know how many lines-per-inch it is (and I'm not going to count it right now) but it looks better IMHO than his etched offering...both of which you can see in Peter's @peteski photo.

The best "looking" etched safety chain was made by JnJ Trains...of which I have a single example of and will be using on my own CA-1's CA-3's and CA-4's.

As with many detail items, I am always on the lookout for those products I know of, that aren't made any longer, but still exist and are rarely offered for sale in a few places, such as Sunrise detail parts, JnJ trains stuff, Sequoia Models N-scale switch stands, MV lenses and non-sterile black 6-0 suture silk.  When I find them, I buy up as many as they have or as many as I can afford, and so it was with the Traincat chains...I bought several feet of both the real chain and the etched chain to add to my detail parts bin.

Both models are gone, so I don't have any photos of the chain on them, but I took a photo of the chain I used with other chains and objects of known size around to get an idea of how oversized even the best-looking N-scale safety chain is going to be.

Photo (1) - Chain I used is the small black chain above the larger bronze chain, which is what was supplied with the Overland cabooses. To the right is a fret of JnJ Trains etched safety chains:


The figure in the photo (I didn't paint it..it's "factory" paint) is a scale 6' tall and the coupler is a MTL Z-scale coupler, with other objects to get an idea of the bigness of even the smallest real chain.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[peteski]

As to what chain I used on my cabooses...I used the finest "real" chain that I have, which is, I believe the Traincat offering.  I don't know how many lines-per-inch it is (and I'm not going to count it right now) but it looks better IMHO than his etched offering...both of which you can see in Peter's @peteski photo.

Yes, the TrainCat etched "chain" is really fine, but looks nothing like a real chain.  I suspect that Bob himself designed the artwork for it (since his products were mostly etched brass models designed by him).  One very simple change would have made that chain look like real chain: Instead of being OOOOOOO, it should have been etched to look like O-O-O-O-O. Even being 2-dimensional, it would have looked much more like a chain

[Maletrain]

Ooops! When Robert wrote "safety chain", I was thinking about the chains used between cars to physically link them, not the chains hung across the open passage way between cars to block passage.  Those used between cars have links about 6" long, but those used across passages are much smaller (and not used on the B&O cabooses I have in mind).

The other place that often calls for smaller looking chain is from the hand brake wheel on a caboose down to the lever to go under the car for the more modern  brake wheels with horizontal shafts on metal brackets.  Same on the ends of some box cars and such.  Even the 40 links per inch looks too large for those places.

[Missaberoad]

That JnJ chain is hawt! I'll have to keep my eyes out for it... looks much more realistic then the linked chains, which unfortunately look like jewelry chains once they get down to a certain size.

[wazzou]

I remember a post made by GHQ on their own forum years ago, on kitbashing DPM's Reed's Books into an apartment building.
I tried to access it today but got an error message...
Anyway, they had hung awnings from the front and twisted something, but I can't recall what it was, but it made for convincing chain.

Anyone recall?

[peteski]

I remember a post made by GHQ on their own forum years ago, on kitbashing DPM's Reed's Books into an apartment building.
I tried to access it today but got an error message...
Anyway, they had hung awnings from the front and twisted something, but I can't recall what it was, but it made for convincing chain.

Anyone recall?

I don't know about GHQ, but DKS successfully simulated fine N scale chain using the stuff in this post. Unfortunately the photo link to DKS' website is broken. Too bad he did not upload photos to TRW.

More info about small chain, including some mention of the GHQ building and DKS "chain" is in this thread.

[GaryHinshaw]

This chain is about 64 links per inch (~2.5" scale inches per link) with genuine 3d structure:



Two caveats about it though:
1. I don't think it would do well in a more exposed setting (though it certainly could be made more beefy),
2. I can't see it without magnification, especially once it's painted black.