Weekend Update 9/29/19

[JanesCustomTrain]

Completed the second batch of rebar cars.  Shown here on free mo module for photography before heading to the club for running next weekend.   N Scale Kits cars, Shapeways load prints, custom decals from Circus City for the project.

Would it be possible to see a close up macro shot of the rebar load ? Thank you.

Jane

[JanesCustomTrain]

Very nice!  Could you post a link to the Shapeways rebar load?

Just search for 'rebar' and they show up.

Jane

[arbomambo]

No, these are 3D printed on a Photon, and are a model of a different prototype (US&S H-5) than the Showcase (US&S H-2). From what you are saying I'm evidently not familiar with their newest revision. The most recent I have from them was a new casting with more room versus the initial fiber-optic version, but it didn't accommodate their LED board other than using the board as the back. That, and Gary's difficulties getting the smaller RR-cirkits board to fit without a lot of carving what he had on hand, was the driving force behind this effort.

OTOH, if you were following our chatter in my layout thread, having 1:1 examples in-hand led to the discovery that the Showcase heads are roughly 20% oversize. I enlarged my design to fit their etching sets, but in their absence I would have done the whole enchilada and it would have been at scale, as the RR-cirkits LED fits the scale version in 3D resin.

@GaryHinshaw , how old are those Showcase heads you have? Bruce thinks we might be barking up this tree unnecessarily.

You do have the latest Showcase Miniatures signal head then...the original ones had zero room in the head.
~Bruce

[diezmon]

I've been painting...

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[GaryHinshaw]

Just search for 'rebar' and they show up.

Thanks. My mistake was searching for n scale rebar: 47,000 results...  Here's the link:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/75KNT42EN/rebar-loads-nscale?optionId=65182284&li=marketplace

You do have the latest Showcase Miniatures signal head then...the original ones had zero room in the head.
~Bruce

Yep.  Of course the Showcase kits are outstanding on their own.  But Mike's part might make them nearly perfect.

[MichaelWinicki]

[BCRail_FSJ]

I've been painting too.   Currently in BCR "one tone green"   with the second dark green tone hopefully applied this week.

Initially I was concerned at the chunky oversized yellow handrails but they will be heavily weathered as per prototype photos and will end up mostly black,

[BCR 570]

Op Session 17 was held last night with friends Michael, David, Nolan and Philippe.

Last summer session with the Dawson Creek yard job; RS-10 581 pulls cars from the Northwest Wood Preservers mill in to the yard at Dawson Creek:




Lots pf power on the shop tracks at Chetwynd:




Three engines, 21 cars and caboose comprise the westbound Dawson Creek Switcher:




C-425s 810 and 804 bring the southbound Septimus Turn into Chetwynd:




This will be my last op session for a while so most cars were routed off the layout and into storage.  I am taking advantage of the opportunity to trade in my Lenz DCC system for new components.  I hope to take advantage of the ensuing shutdown to get some work done on the layout.

Tim

[rochsub]

Overview of the N Scale UPRR Geneva Subdivision

[conrailthomas519]

I see your point in the jerking of the camera while chasing the train in the video. I'm not a drone person, but I will ask? Is it even possible to use a smaller camera drone to actually take the filming? Or is that not even possible for this situation?

[Bob]

I'll probably post this under the Cumberland Subdivision thread as well, but is anyone willing to say something about how you model asphalt?  There are quite a few examples I can find on the web, but what do you think works best in N scale?  I built my first styrene structure - the shelter at the Duffields commuter station, and now I need to model the asphalt base upon which it sits as well as the parking lot and adjoining road.  Using a video from Model Railroader as a guide, I used contact cement to adhere 100 grit or 220 grit sandpaper to a styrene base.  I painted the former a dark grey, then tried to dry-bush on light grey highlights but did not do a good job. I also think it is too dark (bottom piece of styrene in lower right image). Given this, for the 220 grit sandpaper I used a light gray as a base color, then added an India Ink wash and then some weathering powders.  The 100 grit is just too darn rough; the 220 grit may be OK.  Perhaps I should just paint plain styrene?  Any advice would be appreciated!

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[davefoxx]

Staging yard, including sector plate: Done.



More on the Seaboard Central 3.0 thread in the Layout Engineering Forum.

DFF

[SP-Wolf]

Made a bit more progress on my DF2 class F3 set.

Next: a little touch up - spray on a clear coat. Add windows and some final detail parts -- some light weathering.



Thanks,
Wolf

[wm3798]

Made a lot of progress on Retro 2.0, cutting the final sub roadbed foam, finalizing the route of the mining branch, and building the little control panels for the upper and lower levels.


This week I'm hoping to finish the track and wiring installations so I can move the layout into the office so I can start working on the scenery.

Lee

[nkalanaga]

Unless the asphalt is in very bad shape, 220 sandpaper would probably still be too rough.  Styrene would be closer, and most aged asphalt is surprisingly light in color.  One idea would be to use a hardware store light gray primer, most of which are dead flat, and which would probably "craze" the plastic a little.  The resulting very small cracks would be about the right size for parking lot cracks, and a little weathering will show them well.

I used Rust-O-Leum (sp?) "Cold Galvanizing Compound" for my roads, and must have gotten a bad can, because it was perfect.  Light gray, dead flat, some crazing, and it WILL NOT come off.  The next can I bought was medium gloss silver, like fresh galvanized metal, totally worthless for model roads.  I wouldn't recommend trying it, unless you have a use for the rest of the can.  And, yes, it really is "galvanizing compund", basically zinc metal in a binder, and the can was very heavy.