Century Foundry Signal kits are available

[JoeW]

Hi Gang
The signal kits are available.  The four signal kits allow many variations, there is also a outfitting kit that allows further variation. I hope you will come check them out at the Showcase Miniatures website http://www.showcaseminiatures.net/century-foundry.html
Thanks for all the comments in the previous posts
Joe




Fixed URL: Ian

[Cajonpassfan]

Joe, WOW, beautiful! Thank you!
Can the ladder be mounted sideways, ala ATSF practice.
Regards, Otto

[jagged ben]

Gonna have to give these a try, I think.

Like the dwarf.

[Mike Madonna]

Joe,

VERY impressive! Right up my alley... 

[JoeW]

Joe, WOW, beautiful! Thank you!
Can the ladder be mounted sideways, ala ATSF practice. 
Regards, Otto

Good question Otto,  Yes many of the Santa Fe configurations of the US&S type equipment can be accomplished.  I assume you are talking about the cabinet mounted signals. Just rotate the mast and cabinet 90 degrees.
JoeW

[ryan_wilkerson]

These look great, thanks Joe!
You're really cranking out a lot of great products in this line, much appreciated!

[babbo_enzo]

Joe, VERY impressive! Right up my alley... 

And ... on mine alley too!! SUPERB!
Prepared to mold some Thousand ? 
Have a picture of the LED assembly with the fiber? Use an heat-shrink tube or what?
I think a square piece of styrene will do a removable base for the layout, LED glued on the bottom side?
My poor wallet!

[wbv]

Just wanted to mention that we have made discounted bulk packages for the pole mounted signals available on the website. 

Thanks...

Walter
Showcase Miniatures

[Philip H]

Wow!  Those look fantastic.  I may have to get some dwarves for my yard, but I can't use them on the main as KCS was never a searchlight road.  Good looking though.  Thanks for making these happen.

[arbomambo]

Otto,
The fiber-optic strands, included with each kit, are as thin and flexible as any LED wire you'll find...there won't be any issue with the fiber optic that you still wouldn't encounter using wire to LEDs...bunde-ing it, threading, etc...
Here are some pics of the individual parts...with a US dime in the last pic to show scale...photo etch hoods are also included, if one wants to roll and form them (a la the BLMA target signals), but I'm going to stay with the hoods as molded onto the light assembly...more scale and 1950's looking.










I might add that being able to pose these with the battery box doors in the open position is a very neat bonus!...this kit is of the single box type...I also have multiples of the double box versions and the 'pole' versions...each kit includes parts to make two targets on a single pole...so there are a number of variations that can be built from each kit....I also have a number of the new Wig Wags heading here...the power poles and the transformer pole assembly is also very nice!
And I haven't even mentioned the very thorough instructions included....very detailed, very well technically written, with plenty of diagrams and history...
~Bruce

[jagged ben]

Bruce, Thanks!

If it's not asking too much, maybe you could also show us some photos of how the fiber optic connects to the signal head and gets installed in the tube?

[peteski]

Joe,
it's me (the ferocious bulldog again).    I'm not sure if I should be honored or upset to be singled out in your blog. 

It is about the stainless etched ladders.  When building this type of a kit, I prefer to solder parts together for the strongest and cleanest build.  I realize that stainless steel is stiffer than brass, but it doesn't solder easily.  And using a CA glue (or epoxy) will likely result in weaker joints.  And the glues (for strength) have to be applied thicker than solder.

To me the sturdiness of the entire assembly would have trumped the stiffness of the parts themselves.  It is still a very fine kit, but I would have preferred brass ladders. 

I'm also curious as to the diameter of the fiber optic.

[robert3985]

Peteski,

Soldering SS isn't that difficult if you use the proper flux.  Once again H&N Electronics comes to the rescue with Superior No. 71 and 78 soldering paste and gel flux formulated for "hard to solder metals", including SS...available here: http://www.ccis.com/home/hn/page27.html

I use it for soldering SS running boards to brass mounting tabs on my brass caboose superdetailing projects.

Here's a pic just for the hell of it showing Plano SS running boards for my Hallmark "Welded" UP caboose (actually a CA-7/8):


The 96/4 Tin/Silver solder is a good choice too, and a resistance soldering station is invaluable 'cause it allows simultaneous clamping and soldering with the "tweezer" handpiece on really fine, small parts.

[arbomambo]

some more pics....
I scanned the instructions (both sides) to show how well they're written and illustrated...no guessing here.









nothching the mast/tube for the fiber-optic strand seemed, at first, a little daunting....in practice it was quite easy, using the advice given in the instructions...threading the fiber-optic strand is easy;the strand has no issues going into the mast/tube and through to the bottom, that is, once you 'thread-the-needle'.




even easier is drilling the signal head for the strand....the end of the strand will be 'heat' flared and secured into place with Krystal Kleer.....I love the groove cast into the back side of the signal head....I'll CA the strand into this groove so the strand can be made to look as if it is exiting from the bottom of the signal head (a la the prototype)...the instructions show diagrams that illustrate the different ways one can thread the cable/strand into the mast.







These signals are, truly, little works of art! I am really excited about FINALLY having these  scale signals available....I'm going to inquire about the possibility of adding a cast finial for the top of the mast...it would be the very last perfect touch...but, of course, many didn't have an ATSF-style finial (I'm the proud owner of an actual ATSF finial...procured just west of Tolar, NM, during the massive signal replacement in 1996...it was a shame to see all those beautiful searchlight signals knocked down and laying on their sides for miles and miles)
Thanks for looking,
Bruce

[arbomambo]

Here is a pic of my first trial signal...almost complete...apart from the fiber-optic strand and subsequent painting...all I have left is to glue the signal 'number' plate...the kit provides all manner of shape and size plates...I have yet to determine which I'll use for this one...
I wanted to produce an ATSF-style signal from this one....going through all my period photos that show ATSF signals only served to confuse me further as to ATSF practice...I have pics of signal targets centered on the mast...offset to the left (as viewed by the engineer), not to mention the orientation of the electrical cabinet, if one was integral with the signal! I finally decided to orient the cabinet this way, simply because i had more pics that showed them this way!
I might add, that I spent, roughly, an hour and a half throwing this one together...not bad for the first-subsequent builds will go much quicker after this one is almost behind me.
Thanks for looking,
~Bruce