N scale "What's on your workbench?"

Mark Watson Oct 28, 2009

  1. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Finally finished the lumber carrier. Made some scale lumber laods to suspend from the deck cranes and then heavily weathered the whole ship with both Polyscale weathering and Bragdon dry weathering. The old rust bucket has been in service since the end of WW1 and has had some upgrades like a surplus radar set after WW2 and was refitted with two Alco engines from scrapped landing ships. Salt encrusted from the heavy seas in the Pacific Northwest she soldiers on carrying cargo and people to the remote areas of the region. Her owners the CP haven't figured out yet whether to keep her sailing or sell her to a private owner, or for scrap.

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    The gangway was made from styrene channel and railings and the tread is brass screen that has been chemically darkened.
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    Bow shot. She still has her crows nest on the mast, and a top deck steering station for close manuvering that has better visibility than at the inside con.

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  2. upguy

    upguy TrainBoard Member

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    I'm not sure is this counts as "on your workbench," but it is the latest project that I have completed. I finally got around to updating the tour of my N scale Oregon Western Lines layout on my Facebook page. I don't know if you can see the pictures or not if you are not a member, but you can give it a try if you are interested. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone.
    http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.476543132389471.100317.105403896170065&type=1
     
  3. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    John Moore: The ship looks great but it is not a waterline model. How do you place it on the layout? Thanks.
     
  4. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Neither was the first one but the solution is the same for both. At the time of harbor construction I simply build in the recess for both vessels probably with a router to a tight fit and then like the first, seal around it so the water pour stays in place. I only need a 1/2 inch deep recess since the hull is shallow on both. Everything else is waterline that is almost finished or under construction including the last of my big vessels a 115 footer. Because of the things that can be possibly broken on this I am going to use the Saran wrap to prevent the water pour from adhering to the hull for easy lift out and workbench repair as I plan to use on the research vessel. I've yet to build a box and do a small pour to test which I hope to do soon, but if it works well then I will use this for all vessels that have booms or masts that could be damaged, even my waterline stuff that could also adhere to the water pour. I've had to remove some stuff from a water pour before and it was a real chore. And depending on the water pour depth at the dock portions I may not even have to route out the surfaces. The workboard it is setting on has half inch squares and you can see with the flat bottom and shallow draft it is about a half inch to the waterline looking at the squares.
     
  5. Flash Blackman

    Flash Blackman TrainBoard Member

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    John: Thanks. Very interesting modeling job, especially the use of the Saran wrap.
     
  6. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Flash, what I have undertook in both of these vessels is a completely different tack on modeling in one case I downsized the scale of some commercial models, the planes. and in the vessels I up sized. What I wanted was some hulls, which I found at a LHS in two kits available a lot cheaper than I could cast them and both in the relative sizes I wanted. Thought at the time and still is that it would be easier to "sink" the vessels some in the layout than try and cut the hulls to waterline. Examining the rest of the supplied parts in each kit I found that a number of things wern't to the scale of the kit and actually closer to a better look in N scale. Decks were trimmed of all castings not to scale and unneeded for the final vision. I found that the cast on bollards were much closer to what is needed in N scale than some of the commercially available stuff thus kept items like that. The original intent was to completely build the superstructures out of styrene for both vessels but as I studied the parts I became aware that I could actually increase the scale by the addition of added styrene strips on the parts I kept and inlarged the portholes and hatches and removed some cast on details. In the case of the research vessel the hanger is entirely scratched and all the hatches and cargo booms of the cargo vessel along with the research vessel are scratched. New hatchway doors are fabricated from three styrene pieces. A number of the lifeboats for the kits were modified into squared stern workboats. So a completely different tack than what Pete is doing with his vessels In that I started with some commercial products to get my desired end product and about a $40 investment in mold and casting materials. However I do have a bunch of resin cast small craft hulls underway that are being done in waterline format. The mold masters were done in styrene and then hulls cast that were in three basic sizes, the largest being 80 foot.
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    Some of my superstructure for these small craft are being made from cut apart, and then castings made, of sections of N scale wood coaches and everything else is styrene including the deck funnels and exhaust stacks. Variety in deck houses and hatches gives me some different craft for a small fishing fleet and commercial craft.

    And in taking a hint from Pete's ships in sections I have one that is comprised of two cast hull sections to give me about a 115 foot craft along with what I hope will be a small self propelled barge underway.

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    I do not have any intention of trying to make anything as a commercial venture, just too much like work in my now retired state of mind and being. I'm just looking to get enough to populate a small harbor on a river. I have been at some of these for over a year now and just trying to get some of the parts, or make them, make me very appreciative of the level of work that Pete has put into his vessels, and the level of difficulty.
     
  7. Avel

    Avel TrainBoard Member

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    Wow! Nice! What size wire did you use for the handrails?
     
  8. marty coil

    marty coil TrainBoard Supporter

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    Almost done with a AT&SF corrigated side drop-bottom woodchip gon....decals arrived yesterday.
     
  9. bnsf dash 8

    bnsf dash 8 TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks, the handrails are Tichy 0.008" phosphor bronze wire on GMM stanchions.
     
  10. Pete Nolan

    Pete Nolan TrainBoard Supporter

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    I've been playing around with this 110' patrol craft for about a year and a half. When I had excess casting material, I've been dumping it into the hull and deck house structures, until I accumulated quite a few. The "bandstand" amidships is a gun platform that held everything from a single 40mm to two .50 caliber machine guns. As a subchaser the aft deck held depth charge racks and throwers; as a patrol craft there was usually a single 21' rescue boat.

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  11. Matthewd5

    Matthewd5 New Member

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    That is beautiful workmanship are there any books for beginners?

    matthew
     
  12. Randy Stahl

    Randy Stahl TrainBoard Supporter

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    The best model picture I've taken. Thes are just some Intermountain tank cars that I "customized" a little .
     

    Attached Files:

  13. Randy Stahl

    Randy Stahl TrainBoard Supporter

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    A few hours after I took the above picture... I totally forgot what I did ... I did have to leave for a few hours to rerail a centerbeam in 10 deg F weather though..

    Randy
     
  14. ram53

    ram53 TrainBoard Member

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    A pretty pair...

    A heavily modified Kato SD40-2mid production which I have shown before (started out as an ATSF), with an LBF Aeroflo which was lowered, had BLMA trucks/36" wheels added, body-mounted MT couplers, custom-made to-scale end stirrups, and weathered. Shot outdoors in the late afternoon on these increasingly warm December days. The other picture has an unmodified LBF aeroflo which sits high even on the 33" MT wheels. I had to lower the car almost one scale foot to get this appearance and use the underslung 2004 couplers. The stock car looks so top heavy it's going to fall over! I don't think there are 36" MT pizza cutter wheels or these cars would look grotesque.
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    With this setup, there is no space for the mounting screw for the coupler, which will hit the outboard axle. I had to use a plastic dowel instead of a screw and flush cut it. I removed all the truck bolster build-up, then added one MT shim to get this effect with the BLMA truck/wheel combination. I designed the end stirrups from published car drawings and had PPD make up etched pieces in nickel silver. I think I overdid the rust on the wheel faces, but in indoor light, the effect is not nearly as strong.

    Here's a close-up of the lowered, detailed LBF coal gon:
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    I only have about 25 of these LBF cars, and they are a mixture of NOKL, CNA and the odd BNSF. I suppose I could "do" them all in about a week in an assembly line fashion. I also have about 15 Deluxe CNA Bethgons which need similar treatment. I've got both 8-car Kato CN Bethgon sets, plus the 3 individual cars, at least they don't need lowering, truck replacement or new stirrups or loads. I'm waiting for the new NARC/PWRS Canadian-built coal gondolas which are of an older vintage, but should have great details and body-mounted couplers RTR. Would be nice if they or even Athearn would re-do the newer aluminum coal cars in some of the names seen here in the north, like CP and TILX.
     
  15. Pete Nolan

    Pete Nolan TrainBoard Supporter

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    Mathewd5,

    To which post are you referring? Welcome to TB! As you are a new member, I presume your post may have been delayed a bit so, while it appears just below mine, it could have been written earlier and refer to someone else's post.
     
  16. Jim Wiggin

    Jim Wiggin Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Ram 53, those Gons look great after your work. I think the rust on the wheels looks good. I would also like to see you post a step by step on how you lowered and detailed these cars. Nice SD40-2 too!
     
  17. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Working on the next two vessels of my small harbor fleet. Seen in back is the self propelled barge still incomplete and what will be my 3rd largest vessel at 115 feet. Had a fun time getting the pilot house and rear control station windows done since they angle out in a V with top and bottom panes of glass. The two tubes seen in the foreground are mounts for the cranes. The only commercial parts so far are the window frames all the rest is styrene on a resin waterline hull that I cast much earlier and then combined two hulls to get the length.
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  18. Ghengis Kong

    Ghengis Kong TrainBoard Member

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    I want more details on that SD40-2! It looks like MBE chicken wire was used...
     
  19. John Moore

    John Moore TrainBoard Supporter

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    Continuing on both vessels the barge and the 115 footer. Added another section of superstructure and then cast two winch drum assemblies from resin and designed the cradle for them from styrene. Another section of superstructure surrounds the winches on three sides being open on the aft side.
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  20. subwayaz

    subwayaz TrainBoard Member

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    Doing some nice work there John

    Glen
     

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