Weekend Update 7/26/26

[BCR 570]

Last night our 7th Division PNR-NMRA held a summer social at Confederation Park in Burnaby.  The British Columbia Society of Model Engineers (operating as the Burnaby Central Railway) run on several miles of 7 1/2 inch gauge track within a seven acre site.  If you are ever in Vancouver it is worth a visit.  More at www.bcsme.org

The live steamer seen here is a Canadian Pacific 4-4-4 Jubilee:




For the layout, I completed trial patches of initial ground cover on plaster (mixed tile grout on the left; sifted dirt on the right).  Not sure which to go with yet:




For my museum train staff sleeper, I removed the couplers from the trucks and body-mounted them:






After removal of skirts and conversion to body mount couplers, the car is ready for paint and decals:






Tim

[Jim Starbuck]

The UP had a Budda with a B unit IIRC . What would be even cooler if it had FPV so it can actually be used as a track inspection tool . Sperry as well . An RTR Budda would sell well , at least to me 🥸

Richie, Is this the one you’re thinking of?
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This is one I did a few years ago.
It runs on a modified Kato 11-109 chassis. It has sound and functioning marker lights thanks to @Hassmarc.

[Mark5]

I finished the Showcase Miniatures / Mad-About-Cars GM 1947 Silverside bus.

Going to attempt to 3D-print at least the rear Scenicruiser windows and probably the windshields.  But clear resin never has been my friend, so we'll see.

Awesome! How did you end up doing the windows?

[bbussey]

Microscale Krystal Klear, then after curing a wash of Tamiya transparent teal acrylic on the inside faces of the side passenger windows to provide the tint.

[robert3985]

Microscale Krystal Klear, then after curing a wash of Tamiya transparent teal acrylic on the inside faces of the side passenger windows to provide the tint.

Did you airbrush the Tamiya Transparent Teal acrylic or brush paint 'em?  I've had bad luck airbrushing Tamiya Transparent acrylics as they haven't turned out glossy, but sort of matte.  Probably haven't got my airbrush settings just right for that paint yet.  Luckily, the failures were on old scrap passenger cars...

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[bbussey]

Did you airbrush the Tamiya Transparent Teal acrylic or brush paint 'em?  I've had bad luck airbrushing Tamiya Transparent acrylics as they haven't turned out glossy, but sort of matte.  Probably haven't got my airbrush settings just right for that paint yet.  Luckily, the failures were on old scrap passenger cars...

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

Bob, I used a micro brush to apply my mixture to the inside faces. Ratio was 3 parts transparent blue, 1 part transparent green, 16 parts clear, 1 part retarder (if working out of a paint cap) and 4 parts distilled water (to prevent the tint from permanently clouding the Krystal Klear windows. Just one swipe across the inside face of each window. The application uncures the windows temporarily, turning them milky teal, but they re-cure as teal-tinted clear within minutes. It works on clear resin also. It should work on clear styrene and true glass as well.

[Jesse6669]

I was "on the road" for much of the past couple weeks (a trip on Amtrak #6/5 to Denver and return).  I stayed downtown at the Hilton Garden Inn, which quite pleasantly had this view and is a very nice hotel to boot--with a good restaurant, clean, and well appointed:
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After I got back I decided to take a break from East Norwood to start a Z scale steam project.  I had picked up one of the Rokuhan USRA 0-6-0s last year;  I don't really model steam era so it just sat in it's box.  I think it was in watching a Charles Smiley video I saw an SP 0-6-0 and ended up going down the rabbit hole...  SP had a bunch of switchers in class S-10 and S-12 that resembled this model, some built by Baldwin and some home-built in Sacramento.  Close enough to the Rokuhan model except for the tender.   I decided to try the Vanderbilt style, class 70-C-9 and dug up the SP dimensional drawings and a bunch of pictures on the internet like this... 



And got to work 3D modeling.. I ended up with this: 



After a test print I revised a few things-- e.g. the handrails were too skimpy, I need races for the wire to the electrical pickups, etc.  The revised version is on the printer now.





I'll probably just solder the wires to the contacts on the trucks.  I also want to replace the couplers with N-Possible frame mounted.

[rickb773]

Finished the end caps for my T-Trak modules.

It drug on a little longer than expected.  I expected to be able to use the carriage bolts that held together the modules on my recently departed PRSL but they turned out to be only 2" bolts. Went to Lowes expecting to get the hardware I needed by they only had (7) 2 1/2" 3/8-16 bolts and 6 wingnuts. Went to Home Depot and bought the missing bolt but they had no 3/8"-16 wingnuts. I ended up ordering them (a box of 25) from Home Depot and they arrived in 3 days. I also pickup up a flat cabinet handle. Even though my modules were made with 1x2s the weight still adds up



I added a plastic bag under each module to contain the under-module wiring and keep it from flopping around when not in use (and the spare puff ball trees). When the module is on display it can hold the end cap bolts and wing nuts. I taped 3 sides down with duct tape and and stapled it to the bottom. I figured that the staples might tear through, so I first opened the bags and placed a piece of duct tape just inside the opening and stapled into that.



Even though I measured, the placement of the carriage bolts they probly would be a little off from side to side, so I marked the endcaps with the module names (top & bottom) and the side. I was never a fan of using "Side A" & "Side B" so I marked each module East and West. I figured if you looked at the module from the front and assumed that North was behind the module, The right-side would-be East (sun rising) and the left side West (sun setting). Even I should be able to remember that.

For dust protection I slipped a yard waste bag over the module ends. Two-foot modules can be covered by a single bag, but the three footers need one on each end.



The modules safely stored above the freezer:

[dandopinski]

Some progress on the Draper Tapers....

[mu26aeh]

I touched up a weathered railgon from MT by Atlas with appropriate graffiti from pics

[up1950s]

Awesome! How did you end up doing the windows?

Why am I not surprised , you da man . N scales dream is that you Chris , and Randy are enticed by big buckeroos to head up an R&D team for a classy risk taking manufacturer such as Broadway Limited , or another ?

[chuck geiger]

Summer diorama project this year.

[craigolio1]

Some progress on the Draper Tapers....

Ohhhh I like this. I’m not up on my wide body diesels. Are those Rapido -8? Or are they someone’s print of the MLW HR616 I think it was? An SD50/60?  I’d love to hear more about these.

Craig

[dandopinski]

Hi Craig

These are Kaslo Shops resin/etched metal kits. The two on the RHS are SD60s and the one on the left is a SD50. They fit nicely on Atlas chassis.

[dandopinski]

I also have a Rapido -8 and two Briggs models resin -8s