Weekend Update 10/28/18

[Cajonpassfan]

Some more outstanding modeling this week.  Mark, your diesel house is breathtaking! Tim, nice progress, I'm jealous.
My own efforts this weekend are a bit more pedestrian.

A long time ago I built a workbench from two file cabinets and a nice surplus 24"x68" piece of cherrywood. It has served me well, and the file drawers provide great storage for not only project files but also for flat building materials, styrene, wood, paper and such. However, the tabletop itself has become an out of control disaster zone, with tools and pieces of numerous projects awaiting resurrection cluttering the work area. So this weekend I resolved to do something about it and built  a 3' wide shallow drawer to keep at least the tools and maybe some parts off the bench. It's just a lined piece of 1/2" plywood with 1x2 pine frame and a 1x3 cherry front. The most expensive part was the glides from ACE Hardware, for under ten bucks. I'm very pleased with myself...now let's see if I can keep it organized
Otto K.

[TrainCat2]

I have not gotten to the trains yet... but working towards them. Just finished off painting and now doing the final assembly of a scratch built 30% Super Chipmunk done in the Pepsi scheme. if anyone wants to see more of this project, I'll post it in the crew lounge. As I am starting to concentrate on getting back into my hobbies, I got some modules planned for next year. More to be revealed ....

[GhengisKong]

Mr. Knight, condsider this a vote to post up progress pics!

[Lenny53]

(Yes, I DID try to make an N Scale Jack o'lantern, but you can probably guess how that went) 

Black jack-o-lantern decal on a pumpkin might work

[Santa Fe Guy]

Some more outstanding modeling this week.  Mark, your diesel house is breathtaking! Tim, nice progress, I'm jealous.
My own efforts this weekend are a bit more pedestrian.

A long time ago I built a workbench from two file cabinets and a nice surplus 24"x68" piece of cherrywood. It has served me well, and the file drawers provide great storage for not only project files but also for flat building materials, styrene, wood, paper and such. However, the tabletop itself has become an out of control disaster zone, with tools and pieces of numerous projects awaiting resurrection cluttering the work area. So this weekend I resolved to do something about it and built  a 3' wide shallow drawer to keep at least the tools and maybe some parts off the bench. It's just a lined piece of 1/2" plywood with 1x2 pine frame and a 1x3 cherry front. The most expensive part was the glides from ACE Hardware, for under ten bucks. I'm very pleased with myself...now let's see if I can keep it organized
Otto K.

Nice work Otto. and I must agree lots of great modeling on display.
Rod.

[davefoxx]

I finally got around to addressing the ride height issue on my A&R caboose.  Unlike my previous N scale fleet, I haven’t had to deal with ride height issues with my HO fleet, with one exception.  This caboose has always looked like a low-rider, and a coupler height gauge confirmed that theory.  Tonight, I finally remembered to buy some washers while I was at the home center.  A couple of washers on each bolster, and it’s riding much better.  The couplers are at the correct height now, too. 

Before:



After:



I’ve also been messing around with the settings on my locomotives that have ESU decoders.  Speed-matching is complete (speed and momentum), and I’ve tried to change settings, such as the horn and bell, to match the prototype, where possible.  I’ve also made it so features such as Drive Hold and Dynamic Braking work in all locomotives in a consist.  Sound has really opened up a whole new aspect of model railroading for me.

DFF

[narrowminded]

I got one of @Lemosteam  Keystone Details water fill and basin prints in April.  Filling some time this weekend I finally squirted some paint on it.  The base still needs another coat of primer from sanding the print lines, then final assembled, weathered, and dullcoated, but I'm liking it!  Thanks John for such a nice detail kit.

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Looking at the pictures, maybe I should just weather it as is.   Those sanded print lines on the basin might look better as they are than if they were gone.

[Onizukachan]

Put together about 12 feet of flex track on the living room floor and used a 5v and 12v power supply to finally run the GS-4.

Also added an LED carport light to an IMEX resin house I bought to be the first structure on our upcoming
Coast line route.

[peteski]

Put together about 12 feet of flex track on the living room floor and used a 5v and 12v power supply to finally run the GS-4.

Also added an LED carport light to an IMEX resin house I bought to be the first structure on our upcoming
Coast line route.

The carport light looks nice (but the photo is upside down - must have been taken with a smart phone).  \

I'm also curious as to why you needed  a 5v *AND* a 12v power supply to run the GS-4?

[wcfn100]

I'm also curious as to why you needed  a 5v *AND* a 12v power supply to run the GS-4?

Presumably for his DCC++ system.

Jason

[C855B]

... I'm also curious as to why you needed  a 5v *AND* a 12v power supply to run the GS-4?

I was assuming a makeshift DC throttle with a toggle switch selecting between normal track speed and Kato warp drive. 

[nkalanaga]

Mark:  I'd leave the print lines.  In that era, most concrete forms were made of boards, rather than plywood, and the lines look look quite natural.

[narrowminded]

Mark:  I'd leave the print lines.  In that era, most concrete forms were made of boards, rather than plywood, and the lines look look quite natural.

That's what I got to thinking when I saw the pictures.   When I broke through the paint, as expected based on how heavy the lines were on the two ends, reflex was that one more coat should do it.  Then I saw the pictures and thought about the weathering.   It looked like it might be the start of that process, not the problem I reflexively saw it as.  I'm still not used to making things just a little screwed up.

[Angus Shops]

More time in the layout room, continuing work on the both the staging yard and and the benchwork. The staging yard track work is about 95% complete and the switches have been 'roll tested' satisfactorily. Next step will be to wire it up and test its electrical function; I'm not expecting any problems but I'll feel better when this test is passed. The benchwork seems to be a never ending project...

I'm enjoying the process a building a completely new layout; it's a complex puzzle and a big planning exercise. I spent a lot of time staring at the the project so far and trying to make sure that I can complete the electrical work with relative ease. I'm one of those odd ducks who likes to progress well into scenery on parts of the layout before laying track, which will reduce access for later electrical work substantially. Luckily (I hope) these parts of the layout are are confined to the single track or simple passing sidings ('mainline running') so electrical work will be about as straightforward possible. Areas with more complex track will be completed in a more conventional manner, and access to the undersides of these areas was planned into the design. However, looking it over, I'm going to install as much of the electrical work as possible the those 'mainline' areas before scenery is started and long before the track is installed.
So far the layout seems to be coming together as planned; I've made some minor revisions to the plan 'in progress' and I'm trying to anticipate and resolve problems as I see them develop.
Geoff

[peteski]

Presumably for his DCC++ system.

Jason

No DCC was mentioned in that post.