I use a several step process. The first step was to make a casting in Hydroshrink. There are a lot of 1/87 modelers who have been shrinking vehicles from 1/48 and larger scales, see http://87thscale.proboards.com/index.cgi?. This can give you about 66% reduction. To fine tune the remaining scale difference, I then make a resin part replica of my 66% reduction, fix any distortion issues, and make an RTV mold with Naphtha mixed in. The Naphtha will evaporate out of the RTV rubber over about 5 days, shrinking the whole mold in proportion to the amount of Naphtha used. I have found that you need to get the RTV/Naphtha soup to cure as quickly as possible, otherwise the Naphtha will start to settle to the bottom, causing warpage. I have found a catalyst from Smooth-on for their tin-cure RTV, but you need an accurate scale to weigh the proportions. This process is how you see some strange N scale offerings, like that '74 AMC Hornet.
My few month old Bachmann Spectrum Dash 8's front truck jammed up some how, going forward the whole front of the loco would quite literally hop a few milimeters from the rails! So I ordered a new one for 10$ and replaced it today. Easy but those stubborn little drive shafts got on my nerves!
SCXY gondola I've finishing up a gondola right now. I added BLMA grab irons and painted the whole thing up. I used the stock Athearn trucks with FVM metal wheels. I just need to stop by the LHS to pick up the decals for the reporting marks. Otherwise I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out.
I am pretty pleased with how that gondola has turned out, too. If it weren't for the background differences I would have a hard time telling them apart.
Garrett, What do you find attracts the ladies more, the Axe spray or the thoroughbred horse on the locomotive? :tb-wink:
I've got a new project! With the success of re motoring my Virginia and Truckee Mogul, I'm going to scratch build some freight cars for it to pull! I'm currently in the process of cleaning up these drawings and making them to scale for N Scale.
Wow Mark!! Where did you find those drawings? I need a few just like that for a few of my own projects and cannot seem to find them anywhere!
They are linked from their home site: http://www.nsrm-friends.org/ http://www.nsrm-friends.org/nsrm11.html
Awesome. Thanks for the link. I will check that out when I get some time to go through it. I am working on the box car that UP brings out with their steam engines and it looks to be shorter than a standard box with double plug doors and a 60' length. I would just like to find specifics so I can faithfully recreate it. I think the number is UPP 9336
3-way to nowhere THIS has been staring at me from the middle of my workbench for the past month: [have actually been doing other work around & over it ] Although my mad turnout-building skillz have greatly improved ("what's any number times zero?"), I'm still a bit leery starting this #6 3-way, mainly because I'd like to get it right the FIRST time ("where's that laughing sound coming from?") so I can finish laying all my track on my Mt. Coffin & Kalama layout. Will probably finish tonight, though family holiday craziness seems to have a way of derailing project schedules
I've been working on a scratchbuilt tank car for my SD&AE railroad: #1001MW, used in fire service at bridge #102 (a.k.a. Goat Canyon Trestle). I have given it a base coat of white and I'm awaiting a pair of archbar trucks and some black paint for the final coat. The firefighting equipment, pump, hoses, etc, will have red trim paint. After that I will decal and weather it. The tanker itself--though only 40 feet long-- is quite large (as the prototype was) and actually dwarfs my smallest cars.
This is a bad "fret". I have so much on my "To-do" list I'm ashamed to even mention it. Amongst others, I have to lay track on my oNetrack modules, cleanup after the 16-month old little monster, wire it up for DCC, completely scenic it, install 10 decoders, build up the Tichy Train Group MoW set, paint/decal them, cleanup after the 16-month old little monster, start with all the stored/squirreled kits in the cupboard, cleanup after the 16-month old little monster... But...it's summer over here and a hot one and the garage (man-cave) is not a place to be when the sun is still up. So, for the time I'm riding my BMW R1150GS and not getting any train work done... Someday, when I'm big, I'll get around to it all...
Ok, I have made some progress! Here is the ugly first take and the beginnings of the second take at Virginia & Truckee #1005. Here's a photo of the prototype. Underside First side section Completed side view. Here you can see how ridiculiously oversize the ribs turned out. Scaled out, this model would have ribs 10 inches thick!
Here's 1005 with the doors, roof, and stand in trucks. And posing behind the Virginia & Truckee's Mogul "Empire" It didnt turn out too bad, but not good enough... those side ribs are WAY too deep. So, time to reset and restart. I gathered strips of more appropriately sized styrene and began again.
For take #2, I used evergreen "car siding" sheet for the....car siding. Then went with a .01 inch thick rib strip. Since the vertical ribs lay on top of the angled ribs, the overall depth is a more realistic 3 inches rather than 10" before. Here's the first try again for comparison: And that's it for now. More to come when I finish.
Nothing special for now. Been working on the Modern Coaling Tower from Walthers in N-scale off and on for a couple weeks. On hold and waiting to be packed up right now since we're going to be moving here in the next month or so. After that, who knows? I'm tempted to get a supply of raw materials for scratch building some C&O structures.
Mark, that boxcar is looking great! I'm glad you rebuilt it; the second go-round is much better! What do you use for adhesive? Every time I scratchbuild something it always ends up having a bit of superglue globs that need to be cleaned up...
well i finished the H.H. sd40-2 for the NS i trimmed the hoods roof off and raised it to match the roof line and filled with squardon filler. its looks ok BUT WAIT i just bought 3 brass H.H. kits and this is what i'm doing now i like brass!!!!
