Took our Brooklyn to Barrow Hill the other day and found 'Alycidon' prepped ready for a move on the mainline Seen later light Engine though Lockoford Lane at Chesterfield Going to have toi get him a smaller hi-Vis vest! Following in my footsteps perhaps? Kev
These good ole' Class 20, that once ran on my neighbouring railroad (now closed ) in deep France... And the young engineer-to-be looks happy... Dom
Progress on the building front: I've upgraded the NJAA observatory to animate the dome so it turns. The dome now consists of 3 parts, with the 2 hidden parts consisting of a light shield to keep the interior lighting from leaking out the sides of the dome and a motor mount to connect the dome to the motor shaft. I installed a short NEMA stepper motor and will be driving it using a standard "stepstick" stepper motor driver, normally used for 3D printers, because they're cheap and have microstepping ability. I'm also using an Adafruit DS1307 Real Time Clock so I can have the dome follow the sky as well as other effects. It's in black and white as I have a short length of black PLA that I'm using for small stuff until it runs out. Interior lighting will be dimmed 3mm red LEDS. Also, I'm also building actual rail infrastructure. Here's the Hudson and Manhattan Powerhouse. The real one is in disrepair, but is supposed to be renovated into an art center. On my layout, it's going to be used as concert space with a sizable lobby that is used as a bar. Designed using Fusion 360 and printed on a LulzBot Mini, it's still short a few details, such as frames and stained glass for the windows. The plan is to print the windows onto transparencies using a inkjet printer and build the frames off the same pattern. Interior lighting will be designed to simulate a concert using addressable RGB LEDs. I haven't decided exactly what that entails or how I'm going to do that, but it's going to be a fun challenge.
These are two really nice projects. Particularly the converted power plant into performance space. Be sure to have it close by a commuter rail station or PCC stop. Elevated trains would be pretty nice, too. Keep us posted with your progress. I have ideas about a similar project, tho not as grand as the power plant. I want to have the sound of live music coming from the building along with lights flashing. I'm modeling a roadhouse anywhere on the eastern shores, circa 60-70's. I'll be tuned into your progress. Like you, I'm not sure what it all involves but it is enjoyable finding out. Good work!! Jim
Flashing lights, I can do. I've even figured out how to control addressable ones via DCC (various technical issues make this more difficult than you'd think). What I want to do is rig moving mounts for the lights with a servo and maybe put a smoke machine in there. But, however you want to do it, I've found an Arduino (or similar) microcontroller is best. If you just want to have a bunch of regular LEDs in various colors flash on and off in sequence, that would be quite simple. Music players, I'm not so familiar with, but there are various inexpensive devices to play sound files, just so long as the file type is not MP3. Those tend to be a bit more pricey.
Hi, drken I like your plans for the power station. You clearly know a lot more than an I do on how to make things happen. I am going with the woodland scenic system. I'll deal with all the hubs and wires at a later date. I have 4 separate lights in the front of the club. The main hall will have some synchronized flashing lights. I have used the MTL Company store and house kit as the seaside roadhouse. I wish I bought a few more of these kits. The store can be used on any main street. The power plant build has many possibilities for sound, lights, special effects...a subway stop on an elevated track would be a good way to work in some trains. It would look like the old Boston Garden. The L Street power plant in my hometown is being repurposed into a huge luxury community along the reserve channel. It will include open space along the channel. An actual performance center would be a great idea for one of these buildings in real life. Lots of them are coming off line. You may be onto to something. Jim
Well, the real H&M Powerhouse isn't actually near any of the PATH stations, although one of the tunnels runs under the street next to it. It's in the middle of a triangle of stations, about 1/2 mile from each. It used to power the entire H&M system until they shut it down and started putting transformers in it. But, it's going in at the entrance of the main station (modeled after the Erie Lackawanna Terminal in Hoboken, in reality about a mile north). So, all the trains will run past it at some point. Besides, except for the World Trade Center, most PATH stations are quite unremarkable. I've never used the Woodland Scenic lighting system, but it definitely looks very useful to those who aren't that familiar with wiring. Just plug and play.
Almost done with my first EMD TR4. The body and frame for both units are 3D printed in brass. The trucks and fuel tanks are printed in plastic. Rokuhan Shorty chassis B Shinkansen is the source for the motor and running gear. The B unit still needs it's truck and fuel tank details attached. A few more touch ups to the paint and it will be ready to go.
Wow, that's good lookin'!! The Milwaukee Road actually used these sets on Mica Hill out of Spokane, WA pushing freights which had steam power. I believe the UP did the same over Summit in California.
Thanks Frank Finally got some Tamiya 'Smoke' Acrylic and it does work, even brush painted. I've done one of the Mk II Coaches that already had the glazing in so couldn't spray it but now its dried it looks alright. In future I'll spray the inside of the glazing strips before mounting them. The result looks a lot better than just clear glazing as the tinted windows really stand out on later British rail coaching stock Kev
Animek Kenworth T800. I'm pretty used to dealing with small parts when it comes to Z Scale but this thing pushed the limits!
Push the limits !? In a bad or in a good way ? Because I wish I would have done those colors, yours look way better than mine.
If I was to use some of showcase miniatures truck parts I could make this 3D print model look great! tri wheel dumper moves up and down!
Wow! Great job. Great paint. I've done several of Animek's kits and I know how tiny some of the parts are. The ladder truck is right up there for pushing the limit. It goes great with Twin Whistle's New England firehouse kit. I'm amazed at the accuracy of these kits and the number of parts per kit. You've mastered them. Jim
Hi all, Let's revive this interesting thread... I have just picked up some parts from Shapeways. See my work in progress on my MTL D&RGW GP9 pilot: The MTL coupler will be attached to th eshell with a small piece of brass as an interface. And I needed a couple of oil drums... All is designed in Sketchup and printed by Shapeways in Fine Detail Plastic (Smoothest). I did only clean the parts with some water/dishwash detergent in an ultrasoon cleaner. Afterwards just covered with some spray primer. No sanding done. It looks that Shapeways print quality is improving. /Frank