Weekend Update 8/25/19

[learmoia]

Is the prototype wall textured in some way? Or should it be smooth/stucco?

Apart from some texture it's trying to replicate, could it be from layering in a vertical build process?..

~Ian

[rickb773]

Here’s your Green for the week! (Don’t ever accuse me of being inconsistent.)

Rarely am I this ambitious (I guess it’s an upcoming operating session that motives it) but I guess I’ll ride the wave while it lasts.

Unlike most of my layout this is a fictional area. I needed a loop in the back corner to get altitude to get a continuous run option. Loops usual require an access hatch which I have allowed for. The back corner is dark so an ugly 5 headed pole lamp has currently set up shop in the access hole.

To hide this area, I put a piece of plywood over half the hole and built a moveable hill to hide the corner. It is a stick framework with cardboard web, paper, and Sculptamold frame so if I need more than arm-hand access I can get it. This is not a finished scene but at least covers an ugly hole for the time being.

March 2019


May 2019


August 2019






Now onto houses and roads (can roads be green?  ).

[C855B]

Is the prototype wall textured in some way? Or should it be smooth/stucco?

Stucco, so it should appear sort of smooth, at least from a scale perspective. The horizontal striations I definitely expect from FDM, it was printed in a normal orientation, upwards from the structure foundation. The vertical ghosting? Got me.

[bnsfdash8]

A quick 3D project for a friend, an ATSF SD45B hood.

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[dnhouston]

Finished a sand facility from Model Tech Studios   

[wm3798]

This weekend's Retro project is to teach an old dog a new trick.


Actually, a dead dog.  A year or so ago I solicited your junk box basket case steam locomotives with the idea that I could come up with some way of making them useful on a contemporary layout.

Sadly, I can't recall who contributed this beast to the project, but it's the second engine to be adapted.  (the first was an old Bachmann 0-4-0 that I updated with some added weight and a new all wheel pick up tender... now one of my favorites to run on the Retro Rig.)

This one, a Bachmann "Northern" 4-8-4, came to me with drivers that spun randomly when power was applied, and drive rods that flopped around as a result.

This was a White Box model, not Bachmann's best work, and the design of the drive made replacing the problem drivers pointless.  The latest drive for this, with blackened wheels and really nice gearing, is a thousand times better, now if they'd only do something with the clunky old shell that's been with us,since the late 60s...

So, what to do?  I decided to pull the motor, which is a decent 5 pole open frame, for a future re-power project, and turn this into a piece of scenery.

First, built I little diorama base for it, with the idea that it would serve well as the proverbial "Old Locomotive in the Town Square" display.  So far the basic scenery is in, and I've weathered up the engine to make it look like the volunteers are still raising the money to do a better job of preserving it.



I painted the valve gear that weird silver grey that always seems to end up embalming old drive rods, and used the @Ed Kapuscinski  vodka weathering method (one for the engine, one for me) to give her that patina of age.

I'm going to add a few more accouterments, such as a fence around it and a set of steps up to the cab so visitors have somewhere to drink discreetly, or relieve themselves. 
I also want to include some tourists and maybe a camera totin' idiot or two.

This was pretty fun to do... now I'm eyeballing up those shiny vintage Rivarossis I have schlubbing around the layout, and thinking they might need a swig of vodka, too...

All the best,
Lee

[Dave V]

Finally making progress again at Ophir.  I finished the Oilton Club Saloon (the center two-story structure) which happens to be the only surviving structure from the railroad days at the Ophir Loop.  Also planning out backdrop positions.



At the base of the log retaining wall between Colorado Highway 145 and Howard Fork of the San Miguel River was a dizzying amount of debris and garbage.  Apparently during Ophir's 8 months of winter, residents found it easier to simply toss stuff over the side.  My debris pile is actually considerably thinner than the prototype.  The realigned Colorado 145 completely obliterates this scene today.

[altohorn25]

This weekend's Retro project is to teach an old dog a new trick.


Actually, a dead dog.  A year or so ago I solicited your junk box basket case steam locomotives with the idea that I could come up with some way of making them useful on a contemporary layout.

Sadly, I can't recall who contributed this beast to the project, but it's the second engine to be adapted.  ( the first was an old Bachmann 0-4-0 that I updated with some added weight and a new all wheel pick up tender... now one of my favorites to run on the Retro Rig.)

This one, a Bachmann "Northern" 4-8-4, came to me with drivers that spun randomly when power was applied, and drive rods that flopped around as a result.

This was a White Box model, not Bachmann's best work, and the design of the drive made replacing the problem wheelers pointless.  The latest drive for this, with blackened wheels and really nice gearing, is a thousand times better, now if they'd only do something with the clunky old shell that's been with us,since the late 60s...

So, what to do?  I decided to pull the motor, which is a decent 5 pole open frame, for a future report project, and turn this into a piece of scenery.

First, built a little diorama base for it, with the idea that it would serve well as the proverbial "Old Locomotive in the Town Square" display.  So far the basic scenery is in, and I've weathered up the engine to make it look like the volunteers are still raising the money to do a better job of preserving it.



I painted the valve gear that weird silver grey that always seems to end up embalming old drive rods, and used the @edkapuscinski vodka weathering method ( one for the engine, one for me) to give her that patina of age.

I'm going to add a few more accoutrements, such as a fence around it and a set of steps up to the cab so visitors have somewhere to drink discreetly, or relieve themselves. 
I also want to include some tourists and maybe a camera totin' idiot or two.

This was pretty fun to do... now I'm eyeballing up those shiny vintage Rivarossis I have schlubbing around the layout, and thinking they might need a swig of vodka, too...

All the best,
Lee

Here's my attempt at a Bachmann re-work.  Added a decoder, new decals, a few detail parts, shortened the drawbar, weathered it.  Not too bad for a resurrection from the junk drawer.

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[altohorn25]

Working on a set of Frisco E8's as stand in power for Lowell Smith's Texas Special cars until I can find a set of E7's to strip and repaint for a reasonable price.  I did do a little work on these:  painted the horns and trucks, filled in the lead unit pilot, added decoders, etc.  They look good with Lowell's cars.  I do have the correct decals for the E7's courtesy of Circus City Decals.  Matt is a great guy and will do anything you want for a very reasonable price.

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[wm3798]

Nice! How does that 4 8 4 for run? It looks to be about the same vintage as mine.

[altohorn25]

Nice! How does that 4 8 4 for run? It looks to be about the same vintage as mine.

It's an old one from the white box - wished it ran a bit better, but as I said, I really don't have anything in it at this point except the decoder.  If nothing else, it looks good in the yard with the other power I have.

[altohorn25]

Also working on Santa Fe steam fleet:  Newest addition is the 4-6-4 Hudson in the back (Pecos River Brass).  The Bachmann 4-8-4 Northern actually doesn't look too bad next to the three brass engines (Pecos River Brass 4-6-4 and 4-6-2, Key 2-8-2).  I still need to install a decoder in the 4-6-4 as well as weather it.  Here's a quick video of the Hudson pulling some of my heavyweights (some of these are stock MT, some are brass, others are re-worked Atlas cars):

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[dem34]

Now with those Vintage steam locomotives, what would be the difficulty in making a lens for the headlight?
Thinking of doing it with a Rivarosi Pacific.

[wm3798]

I've done a couple, and it's not too hard.  Get some clear styrene rod from Plastruct... a variety of diameters are available, and simply get your old Bic Lighter, you know, the one you used to encourage Crack the Sky to play another encore, and hold it close to the end until it softens into a little mushroom cap.  Cut it to length, and stuff it in the housing.  Easy peasy.



With the new light tube long enough, even the old dull bulb transmits reasonably well, although I prefer to replace the bulb with a fresh warm white LED.

Lee

[davefoxx]

This morning, I added some "green" to my layout, by applying ground foam as a base layer for a planned static grass application.



Meanwhile, on my daughter's layout, I "snowed over" a few more feet of Unitrak with lightweight spackling:



More on the Seaboard Central 3.0 and Aly Foxx's N Scale Layout threads in the Layout Engineering Forum.

DFF