What did you do on your layout today? (N scale)

[cteno4]

The factory workers might work

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10055383

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10402495

 

Jeff

[Darklighter]

The factory workers might work

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10055383

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10402495

 

Jeff

The latter are definitely correct. Here is a nice construction site scene: http://www.1999.co.jp/itbig13/10134281b.jpg

[IST]

Thanks for the tips guys!

[railsquid]

Slowly, achingly slowly, the incline takes shape.

 

incline-construction by Rail Squid, on Flickr

Edited July 13, 2017 by railsquid

[medusa]

So, today I opened that can of worms....

 

Some of you may have noticed that I was offline for some time. Well, last time I set up my Nekomori layout there was a really discouraging accident with the wooded hills. As a follow-up I stuffed everthing in it's storage and tried to forget what happened for a while. Today I took a peek, and... things may not be that worse.

 

The accident happening to the hills was just sunlight. I glued Iceland moss to a cardboard skeleton to get that hill shape. Iceland moss for modelling purposes is sold dyed and "conserved". The latter means it has been soaked for some time in a mixture of glycerine and water which should prevent the moss from drying out completely. Which inevitably happened long time ago on model train layouts -- the oldies here probably remember that.

Under normal operation I never had any problems with my Iceland moss covered hills. After setting it up for one or two days I put it back for storage in a big plastic wastebag. Went well for a long time, the moss stayed soft and flexible.

Then that sunny day came.

A few hours of sunlight changed everything. I was amazed by the lighting on my layout and took some nice photos. Then it turned out the hills have become totally dry. Just touching the trees made them immediately crumble and break off. It was terrible. In an act of despereation I took a flower spray, sprayed water over all the dried moss and stuffed it into it's plastic bag. Away to the top of the closet and forget it. Sort of.

 

 

It turned out today things were not that bad in the end. I mean, didn't know what expected me, maybe a stinking white cover of mold on the cardboard parts from the water I sprayed in.

But everything was fine. The moss had become flexible again from the moisture. It is not as soft as it was new, but at least it will not break and crumble any more. Cardboard was still intact. I had just to re-glue a number of broken trees and the hills didn't look that bad again.

 

Conclusion: Iceland moss can be recovered, at least partially. Seems it just takes time for it to reabsorb moisture (if you provide some, in a plastic bag or so).

Edited July 14, 2017 by medusa

[medusa]

With all the green on my bench, I simply could not withstand...

 

[railsquid]

The unique multi-gauge AC/DC multi-voltage Dr Yellow was out and about checking clearances, while ongoing construction work reveals the interesting and colourful geology of the region.

Kato 923 "Dr Yellow" by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[medusa]

Ah, interesting foamstone sediment in a truly fascinating pattern. Wonder in which age it was deposited and if it contains tiny fossils. :)

[railsquid]

Ah, interesting foamstone sediment in a truly fascinating pattern. Wonder in which age it was deposited and if it contains tiny fossils. :)

 

The blue/pink strata are thought to have formed during the various Daiso eras, while the white layers are classed as Tamiya.

[IST]

Added some cones, barriers and grass to the T-trak modul.

Run some trains on the moduls, so you can see Japanese trains in England. :)

So, not too much, but time spent well.

 

           

[keiichi77]

Although not technically N scale they are pretty close (1/144) and will be in my airfield scene on my future layout. I also have a few real planes but I will build them later....lol  Work can get pretty boring as a projectionist after you see the same movie a couple times so I started taking my Tomytec Gimix kits to work and build them after intermission.  One more VF-1 to go but I want to put the LED kit in it, which I don't have yet. You can never have to many "red shirts" AKA the "brownies" ;)

 

Edited July 16, 2017 by keiichi77

[serotta1972]

Added some cones, barriers and grass to the T-trak modul.

Run some trains on the moduls, so you can see Japanese trains in England. :)

So, not too much, but time spent well.

 

IMG_2093.jpg   IMG_2094.jpg   IMG_2096.jpg   IMG_2098.jpg   IMG_2101.jpg

Wow, great work there IST! Love the grass, if and when I ever start doing any scenic work - I will consult with you on how to make the grass.

 

P.S. - take a few a minutes and give your trains some love and apply the roof details.  :)

[IST]

P.S. - take a few a minutes and give your trains some love and apply the roof details.  :)

 

You are absolutely right, but I do not dare to do it. :) On the moduls I really do not care if I position a small point of glue badly or I use more glue than I should, but on a model train...

[Railtunes]

Reply to message 564 from marknewton:

 

Thanks for the note. So, what was your association with the 44 class: driver for NSWR, railfan, modeller? For me it was the "internationalism" of the model and, of course, it was an ALCO!

 

I'm currently working on another kitbash of the "World" Alco. Indian railways had the second most number of these - 99, compared to Australia's 100 - and they did a kitbash of one unit by putting a second full cab (probably from a retired loco) on the flat end. I've got a couple extra old Ibertren shells around and figured out that the kitbash will fit on a Kato SD-40 chassis, so this should be something unique on several counts! See the attached photo of the prototype.

 

Still no sign yet of the new 44 class from Phil Badger. I've had my order in for  some time now, so I guess I'll have to drop him a note to see how things are coming along.

 

- Paul Ingraham, AsiaNRail

Edited July 17, 2017 by Railtunes

[bill937ca]

Testing a Tomytec Hankai Tramway 161 on Tomix R103 tram track.  As this is a big tram with a low hanging body there maybe some issues with sideframe clearance and body positioning. The temporary track is on top of my work in progress bulletin board streetcar layout.

 

[serotta1972]

You are absolutely right, but I do not dare to do it. :) On the moduls I really do not care if I position a small point of glue badly or I use more glue than I should, but on a model train...

Istvan, the parts are press fit and do not require any gluing.  I too am wary when it comes to having to glue parts.  You just have to be very careful with the tiny antennas.  With your modeling skills, this will be quick work and some patience with those tiny antennas.  

[cteno4]

You can drill thru the antenna mounting holes if they don't go thru the shell. Then once you have press fit the antenna or part, apply a small drop of glue into the hole below. This way it gets cement but no glue on the outside.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[Kiha66]

On applying the small detail parts and the question of glue, what I've been doing for most of my models is disassembling the body, then installing the part and adding a drop of glue from the inside of the hole.  The important thing is to not install the windows until the glue is dry, as I've heard horror stories of glue fumes fogging up the plastic "glass" in some cases.  A tooth pick or very small wire is helpful to make sure the glue makes it all the way to the gap between the part and the hole. 

[IST]

Hey, thanks all the tips, I think I have a new project for boring winter evenings. :)

[kvp]

If i have to glue such small parts, i usually try to use white pva glue from the inside. This glue is good to hold the parts, but could be easily removed from plastics. (especially the water soluble variant) This works great for the occasional loose bogie cover plate too.

[cteno4]

Yep pva works well for this kind of pressure fit as it fills up any small gaps and locks things in place. Make sure to dilute it a little as when it's early thick it it does not penetrate well. As kvp noted it is reversible with a drop of water on the inside of the shell soaking for a while to soften.

 

I usually use a dab of good old plastic model glue. Usually if the part needs removal it's due to it breaking off. Then I just redrill the hole and mount the replacement. I drill holes a tiny bit smaller and then use the good old dental root canal rasps to ream the holes out just right for a good fit, then reglue.

 

Using ca glue inside shells (and structures for that matter) is taking a risk as cs fumes can definitely fog clear or tinted stryene windows! Does not take much in the right conditions to fog them! I grabbed some ca glue at a train show to quickly glue a tomytec building back together after being dropped. With only a tiny bit used I plopped it down on the layout and of course the fumes could not evacuate and the windows fogged! Had I left it upside down for 20 min it probably would not have. I have heard of folks saying they have had fogging occur many weeks after glueing something with ca, but I've not observed that other than on clear acetate and that was more of the fogging slowly progressing over a few days.

 

Jeff

[Pauljag900]

The tomix track and points arrived to finish the tram layout.All working fine.

Next step will be to set it out then cut around the track and drop it into the foam.

[JR 500系]

Looking great Paul buddy! I love that tram yard in front of those buildings, very prototypically correct!

Edited July 23, 2017 by JR 500系

[Pauljag900]

Cheers sammy,

Today I had a go at cutting the foam around the track,bit of patching up to do around the points but turned out pretty ok.

When done it ll look ummat like this I guess,tho in time I ll probably swap the smaller buildings for taller ones,just used what I ve got left over for now.

[serotta1972]

Wow, that looks great Paul!  it's the perfect thickness.