Weekend Update 9/27/20

[Bryn]

This weeks job. An old Roundhouse N scale reefer has been dusted off to learn how to weather on white, there is nowhere to hide your mistakes on a blank canvas! Extremely pale brown oil wash all over to dull down the model, powders to dust the sides and water mixable brunt umber oils stippling for the rust marks.

[Mark W]

I'm 3D printing a 1,680 foot bridge in N scale!

I have about 80% of the final design work complete, and should be able to start permanently installing the bridge this week!
Actually, not permanently because it's designed to bolt and snap together!


https://i.imgur.com/uhwstCd.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/Wj67QiR.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/Bf1WbjC.jpg

[GaryHinshaw]

That looks really good.  What LEDs does it use?

Ed

Thanks.  The LED is from RR-CirKits (last item on their product list).  These are pretty much plug 'n play with their signalman driver card and they have a perfect signal green colour.  Mike sized the head cavity to accept them with a minimum of fussing, whereas the original Showcase head required a bit of filing to get a good face-on fit.  The finish and detail on Mike's part is finer too, but the Showcase kit is otherwise impeccable.

Is that a Wutter signal base?
Did you purchase full Showcase signal kits and just discard the head or do they sell separate bulk parts?

Yes.  In the lit shot below, you can see it mounted in one of Alvin's printed frames.  Very handy design.  Showcase is willing to sell parts, but honestly, the head casting is only one part of many in a signal kit, so I don't think it's really worth the trouble.  The harder part might be convincing Mike to get in the business of printing heads... 



[This oblique view shows the colour nicely, but looks dim.  It's plenty bright when viewed face on, but the colour saturates.]

[craigolio1]

Thanks.  The LED is from RR-CirKits (last item on their product list).  These are pretty much plug 'n play with their signalman driver card and they have a perfect signal green colour.  Mike sized the head cavity to accept them with a minimum of fussing, whereas the original Showcase head required a bit of filing to get a good face-on fit.  The finish and detail on Mike's part is finer too, but the Showcase kit is otherwise impeccable.

Yes.  In the lit shot below, you can see it mounted in one of Alvin's printed frames.  Very handy design.  Showcase is willing to sell parts, but honestly, the head casting is only one part of many in a signal kit, so I don't think it's really worth the trouble.  The harder part might be convincing Mike to get in the business of printing heads... 



[This oblique view shows the colour nicely, but looks dim.  It's plenty bright when viewed face on, but the colour saturates.]

Wow that is the perfect green.

[altohorn25]

I've been working on a Southern Pacific three unit diner over the past couple of weekends.  This is a Des Plaines Hobbies kit; prototype is one of the three unit diners used on the Shasta Daylight.  I'm going to foob it a little and use it on my Cascade.

Krylon rattle can Dull Aluminum and Testors Guards Red.  Microscale decals.

I have another three unit diner kit from Des Plaines and I ordered Union Station Product sides for the three unit diner used for the Lark.  I'll start working on that next.

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[craigolio1]

I've been working on a Southern Pacific three unit diner over the past couple of weekends.  This is a Des Plaines Hobbies kit; prototype is one of the three unit diners used on the Shasta Daylight.  I'm going to foob it a little and use it on my Cascade.

Krylon rattle can Dull Aluminum and Testors Guards Red.  Microscale decals.

I have another three unit diner kit from Des Plaines and I ordered Union Station Product sides for the three unit diner used for the Lark.  I'll start working on that next.

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That’s a neat set of cars. How do they corner with the full width diaphragms?

Craig

[altohorn25]

That’s a neat set of cars. How do they corner with the full width diaphragms?

Craig

I glued the diaphragms "shut" to keep them from derailing.  I have 19" radius curves and it goes around them fine.  I wouldn't try anything less than that.

[Super_G]

Got the grab iron holes drilled out for a couple 80MACs/90MAC.
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Just about ready to paint and decal. Just waffling between adding PE radiator fans or not (if I can even find a few sets of BLMA Modern EMD Fans...) Also got parts to do an Amtrak Phase V Dash 8-32BHW and paint/decals to repaint Phase IV P42's to Phase V. Also, don't ask how long it took me to find a good match to the Phase V blue...

Also, must be cabbage season...

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[dougnelson]

Decided to use my IH Farmall tractors for a delivery to the local Farmall dealer from an X32b automobile boxcar. Built the concrete dock from scratch and made the tractor load on the flatbed truck - an IH of course.

[C855B]

Decided to use my IH Farmall tractors for a delivery to the local Farmall dealer from an X32b automobile boxcar. Built the concrete dock from scratch and made the tractor load on the flatbed truck - an IH of course.

Great scene!

[nkalanaga]

Mark W:  I've wondered before about how practical it would be to 3D-print N scale truss bridges.  You've proven it CAN be done, and they look good.  Would you consider it commercially viable?

[wm3798]

Then using bits of stuff I had laying around, I built a dog house.



No Rigby.  It's for the turntable!





The way the table is wired, I need to keep an eye on which end is up for track polarity.  Having a control stand at one ends helps with that.

Lee

[fcnrwy23]

Completed GHQ IH Farmall tractors with Peteski's decals. 

Fantastic!!  I remember the two that were on Grandfather's' farm, which was just north of Wautoma WI.  Back in the middle and late 1960's.

Peteski -  Is it possible to get (1) set of decals for the "Gunderson Family" farm on the FCN?? 

Jerry G.

[fcnrwy23]

Last of the Vehicle Kit-bashing and Painting...


Why are these items here... You ask?....  Because, they are Out Standing in their Fields..   

Since, I was cleaning house on all my unfinished vehicles. And I am currently working on a fellow club members' home layout. (He is now in the "Scenery" stage.)  I figured to assemble all of them and give him the excess to "populate" his layout.

Vehicles =
These are the last of my Resin, Showcase Miniatures and Oxford Diecast samples. 
The Transit  GGX colors  was completely repainted.(Oxford stuff is actually a plastic shell with ALL the details "printed" on the outside.  I had to protect the windows from the "interior-side' from overspray.
The Atlas Taurus'   GGX color  Only problem with this unit, was getting the window piece back in without screwing up the edges. If not done right, they crack..
The Ford Explorer  is a resin kit, bought at the Chicago NSC convention, some years ago.  I don't have the manufacturers' packaging, so  I can't get anymore.  It is not a bad kit and is something more modern-era in vehicles.
I still need to find a better way of creating "Window" for these kind of kits. I have tried Kristal Klear, but it still doesn't look right.
The Ford E-350 Box Van   is a Road Apples "Cab".  The Box portion is made entirely from styrene..  I am waiting on some cast metal Wheels/Tires and plan to upgrade all of the Resin vehicles on the layout.
The Ford COE  Is a Showcase unit.  I just finished it without any real mods.
The Forklift  Is one of two, that I did some years ago. (An article on it's construction is in the May? 2004 N-Scale Magazine).  The only upgrade work was to correct a oversight, I replaced the front wheels/tires with a wider set. It looked to narrow and thus unstable for a "Yard" unit.

Freight Cars =
These are Roundhouse 50' Mill gons.  I used up the last usuable parts of the two sets of the MR&T decal sheetsl I had left.



I used an online photo of one of these cars, as a guide and just changed the reporting marks numbers, for cars further down the number series.  I "Modernized them by patching-out the Capacity data and adding Safety stripes.

FCN Deadline =
Since, I like the Other Aspects of the Railroading.  Over the last couple of years, I decided to use up some of the extra BXX-7 body shells that I had acquired for projects, but never used.   The  latest addition, is 5786 which is an exTTI (TransKentucky Transportation) exxCSX B36-7.  I have posted how to build the "Sill assembly" on this site before, so I won't go into that construction.



With the experience that I have gained from doing the last two units.  The exConrail and exTTI units.  I plan a "REDO" on the exBC Rail unit.


The NEW FCLX/GGX Shops and Yard, South Ford City =


I finally got around to do the finishing work on this part of the layout.  I built this about two years ago and it is located, to the left (South) of the Ford City shops and yard.  The location will be added to the System Maps as, South Ford City..
Since, this part of the layout is near the Computer.  I made provisions for a "programming track" at this location.  A Digitrax PR3 was added to the computer set, but still needs to be connected.

And since, I was finishing up the remainder of the vehicle kits.  I set aside a few pieces for this operation...


This than pretty much cleans out my vehicle spare parts and kits...

Time to get back to the Electrical projects.


Jerry G.

[sd45elect2000]

3177 is right, 5786 needs the turbo hatch gone. This is the first thing you pull when you're pulling the prime mover.