Thanks very much Watash, I figured it was something like that. I haven't made much progress on the project... its that time of year when there is no time lol. But there isn't much left to do, a bit of detailing, skin the underside of the booms then painting. Cheers Edward
Exhausting Work (bad pun) Here is the last bit I'll be able to get done until after the holidays, this is for Watash The angle makes them look uneven, but they are straight and even. Happy Holidays all
It is amazing. I guess you will disassemble it some to paint it? Very good detail, too. BTW, I think four pictures are the max to place in a single post for everybody. The "smilies" count as a picture, too.
First of all, absolutely fantastic work I must say!!!! I'm anxious to see more pictures both during and finished! Second, just to test a theory, here are a dozen smilies: :tb-biggrin::tb-confused::tb-cool::tb-cute: This is my 56th post. [Edit]
@Flash - Yes it will all come apart for painting, maintenance etc. The bucket and two booms can all come off separately. @Mike - You will have considerably more to work with than I did . For the mechanism to move the crane itself I would look at tanks = slower (instead of race car speed) and the torque to move the unit. The motor/gearboxes I used were from an old Model Power bridge. Once I realized what I could do with them I bought as many as I could. If you do a Google search for miniature gearboxes you will get some good hits. If it is to actually lift the engines & cars I dont think scavanging from cheap R/C units will work... I dont know what a G scale engine weighs, but it must be much more than HO scale. For the hook you could use something similar to what I have used as you will need the torque also for the boom. The spring in the boom... remember that you will be lifting a fair weight so I am not sure that would work as the spring would also have to support the weight of what ever is being lifted. Some other things I have tried succesfully, R/C Servos - they have a little stopper inside to limit their movement, remove the stopper (its easily done) and you have a self contained R/C motor gearbox combo... some of the larger servos are pretty strong! For the excavator, only the bucket is operated via a cable. The gearbox sits under the main body, the cable runs under the pivot pin for the main boom, over the rod that runs thru to support the tops of the 2 hydraulic rams, then over the pivot pin for the secondary boom, down to and under the pivot pin for the bucket, then attaches to the (spring loaded) hydraulic ram (whew ;-). The secondary boom is operated by a (bicycle) cable that runs from under the the unit in tubes to and through the hydraulic ram, the main boom is a straight rod from the gearbox. There are some pictures earlier in the thread. Hope that helps, let me know if I can help further. Your project is definitely doable, but will likely cost more than think... they always do Cheers Edward
It's Finished! Well I had the weekend to myself and finally finished the excavator, well except for weathering but thats sometime off yet.... I'm going to let the paint cure fully before I attempt any weathering... the thought of weathering it scares me though, wouldn't want to ruin it with a crappy weathering job lol. And I am still debating about decals. Cheers Edward
What do you mean Stuart? I don't understand your comment. Does it make you sick to see such fine workmanship, or does it make you sick because you wish you could do such fine work yourself? Don't feel discouraged old buddy! Or, maybe you have the tools and skill to do a better model? If you do Museum quality work, I would be most anxious to follow along while you present us a step by step article showing one of your 'scratch building' jobs! I collect these 'How To' threads, and seldom get to see things made for public display, exhibits, and Museums. If you want to learn how these are made, I'm certain there are a number of craftsmen here on TrainBoard who would be willing to teach you. Just ask.
Impressive project. Congratulations. Before actually putting any weathering on the excavator itself, why not quickly dummy up a couple of test pieces using the same materials and paint. No details necessary, just a quick and dirty box representing the body, and maybe a separate one for the bucket and an arm. Test weather these pieces and when you finally get the results you are looking for you can go ahead and weather the real thing. Kind of like testing weathering techniques on old scrap box boxcars before jumping in on your prize rooling stock. Regards Ed .
If I may translate for you Watash, "Totally sick dude" is youngin speak for "I really like it, buddy":tb-wink: Thanks to all for the kind comments. Here are the controls for it and power supply for it... The controls on the top row from left to right, main boom, secondary boom, and the bucket. The lower row right is the cab rotation and on the left is an unwired lights switch (didn't install them) All except the light switch are dpdt momentary switches. @Ed M - good idea for testing the weathering, thanks Cheers Edward
Thank you for the "translation". I couldn't get it with a dictionary. :angel: Your excavator is a great project and very well done. Thank you. Wolfgang
I apologize Stuart! It seems I am one of the 'Old Fogies' still truckin' around in the dark. "Keep on Truckin'!"
A good thread! And now I'm looking for the scenery. Will it be a pit or a building place? What's about a video? Wolfgang
Thanks Wolfgang, it will be a pit. I was waiting until I had some scenery in place before I updated with a new video. When I get the track down to that point, maybe a new video then Cheers Edward
