Weekend Update 2/24/13

[Dave Schneider]

Jesse,

Welcome to The Railwire and thanks for your contribution to the Weekend Update. It has been hosted in the N scale forum for as long as I can remember (which is less each week) but open to all scales. Are you using preprinted cardstock textures or doing it from scratch?

Best wishes, Dave

[Gozer the Gozerian]

You know...I do have a laser at home 

Joe

That's a nice start to the warehouse Dave.

I got what I think is a final drawing for the block portion of my Freight House.  I'll probably go over it 10-20 more times before I'm sure of it, but in the meantime I need to find a way to simulate the cement block.




Jason

[wcfn100]

You know...I do have a laser at home 

Joe

Duly noted Joe.  Of course, I owe you enough as it is. 

I guess I'd like to ask you, and anyone else with experience, if wood is really a good way to go.  This building is over 10" long and I know that warping can be an issue with wood structures. 

I'm definitely down with making all the vector drawings and having this cut for me, but I gotta know what I'm getting into.  I probably only have one shot at getting this done before the convention.

I'll finish the drawings and put together what all is needed and I'll just lay it all out for those who know more about the process.

Thanks,

Jason

[Puddington]

You know...I do have a laser at home 

Joe

Yesh, what's with you guys down south, first it's guns now you're letting guys like Joe own space based weapons systems in his home... what's next, I mean....what's that.... laser, as in laser cutting.... not killer satellite laser....darth vader..... oh....um....nevermind.......

[cv_acr]

Why can't I get frigging sharks with frigging laser beams on their heads? Is that so much to ask?

[Jesse6669]

Are you using preprinted cardstock textures or doing it from scratch?

This model was from scratch, based on photos and B&O plans.   I did a lot of photo-shopping and printed on Avery postcard paper.  More info: http://jessestmodels.blogspot.com/2013/02/bg-tower-and-techniques.html

Jesse
 
@cv_acr:  I have a factory in Chicago that makes miniature models of factories...

[chuck geiger]

Nice warehouse, Dave.  Really captures it from what I've seen of the photos of the real thing.

The only thing slightly photo worthy I've done all week is ballasting the tracks around the Scheissewasser Brewery complex.





Now to figure out how to make these building look more like a brewery.

Mostly I've been tinkering with DCC settings and tuning trackwork, plus soldering in a few more feeders into the yard for smoother ops.


some logos and tanks

[Gozer the Gozerian]

Heck , I don't keep track especially here on Railwaire...good thing really .  I love cutting new stuff anyway.   

What comes to mind off the bat is cutting this out of Acrylic....090 thick is available locally, but I can get .062 pretty easy as well.  Raster the block detail and Vector the rest of it.  I just did some brick background structures this way.  If you need to go thinner I can laminate a few layers of laser board at .023 each with a facing of thin stock at .014 and cut out of that too.  I have an N scale Taco Bell I am working on that is laminated laser board. 

If you go with the thicker stock then I can raster out the back to make the thickness around the window openings shallower pretty consistantly....then make laserboard window frames and backed up with .062 or thinnner clear styrene cut to fit the wells.  Cutting what you have drawn there shouldn't take more than an hour or so...depends on details and other stuff too.

Where there's a will, there's a laser. 

Joe

Duly noted Joe.  Of course, I owe you enough as it is. 

I guess I'd like to ask you, and anyone else with experience, if wood is really a good way to go.  This building is over 10" long and I know that warping can be an issue with wood structures. 

I'm definitely down with making all the vector drawings and having this cut for me, but I gotta know what I'm getting into.  I probably only have one shot at getting this done before the convention.

I'll finish the drawings and put together what all is needed and I'll just lay it all out for those who know more about the process.

Thanks,

Jason

[Dave Schneider]

Joe,

What does a laser like the one you use go for these days in upfront and operating costs?

Best wishes, Dave

[Day One]

Staged some trains for an upcoming ops session...


Put together some micro switches to be used for powering frogs...

[Gozer the Gozerian]

The unit I have goes for about $8K new, but you can get them used at a nice discount.  I know there are some on line that are selling for $2,500 or so, but I suspect they do not hold the quality we need. I have a Laser Pro  12x12 at home and it's a 30watt co2 machine.   Nice unit, very easy to operate and program for...using Corel Draw.  Works like a printer.  As far as cost to run...to be honest it depends on your production levels of course, but our power bill is pretty much the same each month until the winter and I use it for about 10-15 hours a week.  I don't see much of a change when I don't use it.
  If you get one, be sure to get a service contract...these are bullet proof, but wear easy.  We have two at work and have gone through two drive motors costing about $350 each to replace.
 

Joe,

What does a laser like the one you use go for these days in upfront and operating costs?

Best wishes, Dave

[Packer]

Vincent,

Sound like you got the package with the step risers. Now we need to see those in action! I am curious whether the top step bracket will be usable, as it is such a small piece. /snip

Tada:






Some modifications to the inside of the step well were needed to support the inboard bracket. The pilot had to be modified to support the other bracket. The modifcations were done with scrap pieces of styrene. 2 pieces of .03 square rod glued together make up the pilot piece, and 2 scrap pieces of .02 sheet were glued back to back to makethe inboard supports for the brackets. Later release P2K geeps will need pilot modifications.

That top "step" really was only to help lateral alignment. I glued the brackets to the shell, leaving that step even to the deck. Then I cut it off after the glue dried so I could get the step in.
1 down, 3 more for this GP7. Then comes the other 14 or so locos and at about 5 bucks a loco for etched steps (and I screwed some up), this could get pricy....

[bbussey]

Bryan,
The plan was always to strip and repaint.  I think you actually sent to the decal set a while ago that I'll be using.   That said, do you think I coul dget away with stripping the decals and just redoing those?

You could.  But some of the ESM properly-decorated cars remain available through the website if that helps.

[Philip H]

Bryan,
Thanks for the offer - I thought I remembered they were discontinued and sold out.  That said, I think I want to continue with these - bird in the hand and all that cliche'.

[DKS]

I guess I'd like to ask you, and anyone else with experience, if wood is really a good way to go.  This building is over 10" long and I know that warping can be an issue with wood structures. 

I'm definitely down with making all the vector drawings and having this cut for me, but I gotta know what I'm getting into.  I probably only have one shot at getting this done before the convention.

If it were me, I'd laser it, and use laserboard. It's strong and stable, and has a subtle texture that would simulate concrete block nicely. It also comes as thin as .010, so the raised strip could be cut separately and laminated on.