N Scale T-Trak

billmtx Oct 28, 2010

  1. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks Joe. I have done that many times in the past too. This wiring is pretty good hanging free but if it gets into trouble then masking tape or hot glue to the rescue.
     
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  2. WPZephyrFan

    WPZephyrFan TrainBoard Member

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    WOW! A Saturn V! Is that a kit or...?
     
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  3. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    It's Lego!! Yes you can make a round rocket using Lego bricks. It's my favorite Lego set I have ever built. It will actually separate at each stage and there is a small LEM that fits inside the top of the 3rd stage just like it would have been in launch configuration. Amazingly the F1 engines look just like the real F1 engines, not just a toyish stand in. The J2 engines are not as close as the F1s are but still it's a good looking model. Now if they would just make a kit for the access and service structure with the mobile launch platform!!

    The set number is 21309, it was a special set from their Ideas line. It has 1969 pieces, and it took me about 2 hours to build. When you stand it up on it's engine bells the rocket is about 3 feet tall.
     
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2020
  4. MK

    MK TrainBoard Member

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    Wow! Must have some hefty weight! I just checked on Amazon and it's $260 but I'm sure it's worth it!
     
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  5. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Lego usually sells for $.10 per piece retail and I paid $199 for this set. It is pretty heavy and it was worth every penny. The instruction book is a book and it has different factoids about the moon missions as you go through the build.
     
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  6. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Well I started building the wiring harness for the modules last night. It was going really good at first but then when it came to soldering some of the wiring together I found that my solder did not like my iron or wire. I will have to try again this weekend when I can get some more solder. I ran out of daylight to get some pics of the wiring harness, I will try to get that up here soon.
     
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  7. badlandnp

    badlandnp TrainBoard Member

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    Tip for soldering, get some paste flux for electronics.It is amazing how well that it works!
     
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  8. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Yup I know it. I have some and I always use it. My issue is this is a brand new roll of solder and from the get go it didn't want to stick well to anything, even the tip of my iron. I also even changed tips since the one I started out with is quite old. My favorite solder is no longer available thanks to Radio Shack going out of business so I tried another brand... That I will never try again. I ordered some rosin core from my local auto part store and it should be here today.
     
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  9. MK

    MK TrainBoard Member

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    Watch out for lead free solder due to ROHS requirements. That's are a b*t*h to work with as they need a higher temperature to stick to things. There are still 60/40 and 67/33 solder out there, easily purchased.
     
  10. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Radio Shack has an on-line presence. I ordered some items from them about two months ago.
     
  11. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    !!! I will have to look and see what I can find. Thank you
     
  12. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Ok so I did order some rolls of solder from Radio Shack and it works perfectly!! I finished the harness tonight, and even ran a loco for testing. I did have to switch from the BWWB standard to BWBW so my cross over would function correctly. It’s all good as that is how the club I am in operates as well. We have an AR1 in out balloon modules when we run a out and back type layout. So here is the pics of the updated harness and the underside of my modules.

    B41D680B-39DD-4FE3-BE7E-0785B9984AE0.jpeg 4F1A7D37-0EFA-4622-AD3B-C241ADEEE0F9.jpeg 503F2833-3C9D-4ADF-921D-72D80022B15E.jpeg


    P.S. The bare spots have been wrapped and the soldered areas protected from shorts and pull outs.
     
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  13. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Ok got the station placed and now for the rest of the city. I started a thread asking for some help with some city planning for realistic scenes (dang, I wish I had thought of that for a title when I made the other thread). So I won’t bore you with double posting that stuff here. Anyway here are a few shots of the station on the center module.

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    And an overall shot of the whole set of modules.
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  14. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Got some roads down.


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  15. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Ok so the previous post didn’t show the middle module. Well that a 2 fold reason why. First I am making the roads match the end modules so I can either add modules to the middle of this set or as seems here remove one and everything will line up. Good idea huh? The next reason is the center module is getting its hill made. Yea it’s just a little bump but it was needed. I am using drywall mud for this, it should be dry enough to sand tomorrow

    36AC7197-083C-4699-B3F7-37D20DAFF7C3.jpeg 47A556DE-9E49-4A4D-9FC3-04430F29061C.jpeg
     
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  16. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Well the mud took almost a week to dry completely. I was able to sand it some after 2 days but you could still see where it needed some more time after I sanded it. Here is the freshly painted new road profile. Sorry it’s kinda hard to see all being the same color and texture.


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    Oh, and I finished the little shopping center.
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    And lastly, I got the roads down on the modules. Sorry I don’t have any pics of the 2 outer modules only together but trust me, the roads line up there too. I will get that shot here eventually. Oh, and I will start painting them in a couple of days, I want to give the glue plenty of time to set up before getting the paper wet again.

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  17. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    So my daughter wants to build a Halloween module. But she wants to use it all year round... OK!

    So I was looking for a Victorian style model to turn into a haunted house. I ended up finding a Model Power Haunted House.

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    So... looking at this model I see a couple issues. First it’s got green grass! If this is a derelict haunted house who has been mowing the lawn and watering it? The other issues are the colors. It is modeled in bright beige and shiny green. So I dulled mine up. I used some pewter grey acrylic paint dry brushed over the shiny plastic.

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    And last but not least I made the module “dirty”

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  18. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    Nice work, how about the grass?

    "I like your sign out message. Six months in combat was enough for me. Now it's the little boys at the top." :barefoot:
     
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  19. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    thank you and thank you for your service. It’s sh1tty that the American people disrespected you and your fellow soldiers and sailors over a war that was started and run by politicians over a fear of a different political system.
     
  20. Massey

    Massey TrainBoard Member

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    Ok so I built a house tonight. I think it turned out pretty good. The weathering looks just about right, the house looks like it is falling apart. They did give me some acetate for the windows but really? Most of them are boarded up and those that are not could be broken out any way. I think I’m gonna add some moss to the roof. I need to moss the wrought iron fence that goes around the house as well.



    84B8D612-5400-4B63-B925-BA5E44A79415.jpeg DDFA0903-0346-40F7-A376-314FF94D1E5F.jpeg DB4E536D-800E-4667-BCE9-A0EFC3052E64.jpeg 58700B77-8644-4F0F-9E3D-3894882B38B6.jpeg

    And the shiny black fence is dirty. I need to rust and moss it next.

    F893ED29-0050-4095-8529-223E81C41E62.jpeg


    Next up for the module is a pumpkin patch, a spooky dead tree and a graveyard.
     
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