Half a square meter of Japan...

[cumber_s]

Part One:
My little Japan
Outline and introduction

So after my introduction and after a day of hard studying and programming(Software engenieer to be)..
The baselines:

The topic will be a small Japanese village. The working title : Higashimatsuyama is yet not fictional
(been there ;-)  guess at which company)
but I take just the name from it. The real city is to big, but i already have a feeling about the town, the Landscape should feel a bit like the area in west Saitama.

55*115 cm made of MDF plates and wood framing (mostly recycled materials)

The first  step was the painting of the Kato car set:
then the wodden framework . My main intentions here are a enforced stability and durability.
Electrically I plan on using a Tomytec controller in combination with a self designed analog control
(stage 1)
the next  development scheme will be a self designed digital system(Microcontroller based)
an idea ghosting arround for quite a while...

[Bernard]

Your off to a really nice start. I just purchased some Kato cars myself and you added a lot of nice details to them with you painting. (talk about tiny brush strokes)
Do you have a track plan?

[cumber_s]

Part 2

Track plan and Setup of the town.

So here is my project again. This time with a overview of the buildings and the Tracks.

My idea to the right  a goods (and wood) storage and  station. This is fixed well mostly.
The left area going up a hill with a street going though (with a busstation + bus)
 Right now i think about a few variants on designing my village.
-> see pictures below

The buildings seen there are basically the ones I have ( 2 more kato buildings (the small shops))
and the rest of the Greenmax kit.
on the front right corner I also plan on using one front of the greenmax factory ("leftover") but I am not yet sure about this.

The big wooden corner building has also an unmounted brother but I dont think i should use it a second time.
And one stone building (Tomytec)

The station is of the line separation type the trains comming out of the tunnel (on the left) going through the station can go either staight (this line is currently out of service) ;-)
or back to the tunnel (where a secondary line is starting)  See, the holding track is meant to store trains starting at this station.


I am right now ( since my last construction spree this evening) thinking of setting the tomytec temple building on top of the hill.
 


So the first asignment for YOU!
Which village do you like the best?
The pictures :

[@ Bernhard the last one is the track plan , material Arnold in combination with Roco material ]

[Bernard]

I see you're going to have a mountain in the corner, how will you have access to the track inside the tunnel? Also is that spur/switch also going to be inside the mountain? If you move the spur switch down the straight section you can have a bigger storage area.

[Mudkip Orange]

This is a very nice start. I like the profile boards for the rear of the scenery, and the track plan's not too bad either.

So the first asignment for YOU!
Which village do you like the best?

One of the things I like about Japan is how irregular the older areas are, you have streets that evolved literally from footpaths through fields and no one ever saw fit to "improve" them.

So for that reason I'm going to have to go with option "C" as it's the most asymmetrical and the building angles and placement don't quite follow the track or the sides of the board.

[westfalen]

This looks like it's going to be a nice little layout.

Japanese modelling really lends itself to small layouts.

[KenS]

Looks good, and very nice paint job on the cars.

But have you provided enough support under the MDF?  I looks like there's only a wood frame around the outside, and MDF has a bad tendency to sag over time if not supported (or if gets wet, e.g., from scenery-making).

[cumber_s]

wow , so much reply "overnight" (I know that we're inpernational)

Yes , the MDF ist supported 5 times with struts , sorry the pictures wil follow when I cover the electrical part.
I already tested the stability by sitting on the layout (it holds). That thing about stility when getting wet is also on my mind , well is not that bad (the lower side is laminated) and i plan on use syrophoam as a base for my scenery.

The motorised switching systems will be added later , when I have the budged to buy them.
Currently I plan to buy the "conrad servo switching motors" . I plan to buy the economic tripple pack.
But thats a bit down the line (the new store in stuttgart has not opened yet)

Yes the is an opening right where the switch is located. I just flexed it out after taking the pictures.
I will keep you updated...

[cumber_s]

Big news:
another update,

After a long hiatus , Graduating , searching for a Job and a new University .


What has happend before, the tracks and the hill have been modelled (with Styrodur(c) and papermache)
I tested the electrics , the doudle crossing did not make it into the final draft ( wasnt 100% reliable).

I Made a first coating , and tested the grass subitute (I plan on using "Heki" materials , got them at a closing sale this  january) , looks ok and holds relatively tight... The street ist just an idea , need to do a few more layers of paint. Also thinking about adding a Greenmax 2 story house somewhere , the villiage still seems a bit small. Maybe on for from left corner...
What do you think?

But see for yourself...


What I am currently thinking about is if I  should add electrical catenary or not , I have a few electrical Modelles but also Diesel ones ,  the last photo is a stand in for the poles i want to use , if ...
I have no idea, help me  

[KenS]

Adding catenary poles, even if you don't add wires, goes a long way to making the scene.  I did this on one part of my layout that was still rather unfinished, and it really added to the appearance.

Actual catenary wires are more problematic, and make track cleaning hard.  But on the few layouts I've seen with them, the result is very good. Some people have used EZ line successfully.  This is a stretchy material so if you bump it while cleaning track it can bend without breaking or tearing out the poles.

[cumber_s]

Well my mind is kind of split on the issue od cantenary poles , one the one hand , most(70%) of my stuff is electric.
but i like the very rural setting (it contrasts with the big city I am going to move to)

The poles will be colored like everything on the layout (see the inital project report with the 5 cars...)
About the wire, this still needs some thinking, because of the fine work and the risk in messing the whole thing up,
ohh and did I mential that stability and movability are an issue...

Well currently I am working on the grass and foliage , with the lightning and electical supplies beeing the next step.

Stresslights will be my next target, the ones on the market are either to ugly (the chinese ones), or to european
(the european ones).

Anyone any idea?

I already know of the manufacturer "BraWa" and thought about chosing them (I currently reside in the same town ),  but am still uneasy and think about scratching the lights with leds (like the housing illumination)

keeping you informed and awainting your oppinion...