Weekend Update 9/26/21

[u18b]

Been a long time since I worked on this.

U33B phase 1.

Black is painted.  Now I'm slowly doing decals.

[GaryHinshaw]

Been a long time since I worked on this.

Same!  I started this signal bridge project a full 10 years ago, but it has languished until my 3d printing abilities finally pushed it over the top.  This is the iconic signal bridge at Tehachapi Loop:



 (I'll wrap the LED leads when I mount it on the layout.)  The bridge structure and decking are from a Traincat kit, the relay cabinet is from a Showcase signal kit, and the signal heads, brackets, mast pedestals and foundation blocks are 3d printed.  For the heads, I adapted @C855B 's design, and added the target plate and support brackets to make a one piece for ease of construction:




Happy to post the files for anyone who wants to print their own.

[dnhouston]

Continuing with the detail work around the yard/stockyard area, this weekend I completed a windmill. 
(Sorry for the crappy picture, my workbench light burned out while I was applying the weathering and I had no spare bulbs  )

[peteski]

Continuing with the detail work around the yard/stockyard area, this weekend I completed a windmill. 
(Sorry for the crappy picture, my workbench light burned out while I was applying the weathering and I had no spare bulbs  )

Actually David, in this "crappy" picture your tiny model of a windmill looks like a 1:1 scale windmill!

[randgust]

The NW3 project for Tom is coming along nicely.   Most people are baffled on how I do custom wire handrails, which is to assemble and solder them up on a semi-finished shell.  So the basic painting, and any decaling behind them, has to be finished first.    So these are the final shots before I start all the wire and final detail work.



I like this angle because it emphasizes that one-of-a-kind oddball hood bulge for the steam generator area.



Man, those GN Empire builder schemes are a chore to paint and decal!

[jagged ben]

Same!  I started this signal bridge project a full 10 years ago, but it has languished until my 3d printing abilities finally pushed it over the top.  This is the iconic signal bridge at Tehachapi Loop:



 (I'll wrap the LED leads when I mount it on the layout.)  The bridge structure and decking are from a Traincat kit, the relay cabinet is from a Showcase signal kit, and the signal heads, brackets, mast pedestals and foundation blocks are 3d printed.  For the heads, I adapted @C855B 's design, and added the target plate and support brackets to make a one piece for ease of construction:




Happy to post the files for anyone who wants to print their own.

I was really proud of the job I did on that kit, but you did better.  Not a surprise, really.

[metalworkertom]

Happened across this on Facecrack . Now I want to know more.
J.M. Jones Lumber Co. locomotive #1 at Ferriday, 1941

Source: www.ttarchive.com

[wazzou]

Well, I don’t think it’s a locomotive any longer.  But, it was a Climax at one time.

[dnhouston]

Actually David, in this "crappy" picture your tiny model of a windmill looks like a 1:1 scale windmill!

Thanks, Peteski.  High praise indeed.

[GaryHinshaw]

I was really proud of the job I did on that kit, but you did better.  Not a surprise, really.

Thanks jb.  I'm sure yours turned out great too.  I sure miss @TrainCat2 ...

I also drew up and printed out these little guys:




I'll weather them once I've checked for light leaks.  (I also need to tweak the base of the stacked head so it prints a bit more cleanly.)  These will be sprinkled in several places around the layout, so it's a good thing they're easy to make.

[johnb]

just completedan Rslaserkits bank and got a BLI NW2..

[johnb]

[NtheBasement]

I also drew up and printed out these little guys:

Really came out well.  Curious: how long does it take to create the design for something like this?  And what software did you use?

[thbguy]

Was over at @hegstad1 house on Saturday for some motive power testing and he shot some primer on this amazing set of Budd cars that I picked up on eBay to do the Empire State Express as seen in 1946-48 and 1956-58.

The 3D printing detail on these cars is really really well done. Robert Nunes created them.



The fleet starts to take shape.

I’m doing the “Detroit” section through southern Ontario and the (more or less) full consist as it was occasionally diverted from Buffalo to Detroit on Canada Southern (CASO) rails. Going to try a different stainless steel technique rather than the typical All-Clad method as the NYC was not all that keen on “pristine” cars, and they are well into their journey by the time they hit the region I’m modeling.

Now I need to do research on the interior colors!

[altohorn25]

I've always liked the Southern Pacific black widow paint job, so I finally got around to getting an A-B-B-A set of n scale F3's for my layout.  These are Kato units that I added Digitrax DN163K0b decoders to.  I also installed windshield wipers on the cab units, unimate couplers between the units for close coupling, a MT 2004 coupler to the pilot of the trailing unit, and a MT true-scale coupler to the pilot of the lead unit.  All that is left is to give them a nice coat of weathering, and they'll  be ready for service.
Not too much "custom" on these units, just a few things to make them look a little better than stock.

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