After accumulating several of Alan Curtis Models kits I've finally found the time to begin assembling them. The first project I tackled was upgrading 10 auto racks which turned out to be a very clean, easy to accomplish job, considering my initial fears about destroying the sill while cutting the old floor out. I've posted a few photos of the racks on the layout at http://photos.yahoo.com/mfiles269 I haven't used a digital camera nor posted photos before so I hope they are available for viewing. Please let me know if it doesn't work! Mike Cannone San Diego
The shots look great, though you've got to be a member of Yahoo to view them. I really like the looks of your layout. How about more pix of that?! [ 02 March 2002, 19:11: Message edited by: ten87 ]
Mike, Great pics and the conversions look good. I wouldn't mind seeing more pics of your layout at well I also noticed in one of your pics that you have made concrete retaining walls. How did you make them as I have similar walls to build as well any help would be appreciated [ 02 March 2002, 20:20: Message edited by: Colonel ]
Mike, as you know I have already seen those photos. You should put them on a website, with more of your superb layout Also, you could then post the pics direct on here.
Thanks all. Paul, about those concrete retaining walls. I posted some more photos so you can see it better. For the retaining walls I purchased a 4' X 8' sheet of .040 styrene at a plastics retailer and used that to construct the walls quite reasonably @ $11 a sheet. The walls are actually two layers of plastic glued together. The retaining wall behind the depot where the palm trees are in the photo is about 3.5" high, made of a solid piece 3.5" X whatever length you wish. Its second layer is the arch pattern which began as a 3.5" tall piece on which I measured, scribed and snapped it to make the arches layer then glued it to the solid piece behind it. The whole thing is hot glued to vertical supports and to the plywood base of the city's upper level. The same process is used for the lower retaining wall in the foreground. For other walls I used strip styrene to construct structural columns, adding a third layer. The columns add depth to the otherwise bland horizontal surface. Now I have to figure how to get some of those pictures posted on a web site so they can be viewed easier. Mike http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/mfiles269/lst?.dir=/&.src=ph&.view=t
Mike , thanks for posting the pics, your layout is just superb. If you look at the wall on pic rack 4 did you just glue a second piece of styrene to make the supports? to give the 3 dimensional look?
Yes Paul, the supports are actually one piece of plastic cut from a piece the same size as the back of the wall. I just marked the support column locations, scribed, and snapped out the rest of the plastic to get one continuous piece. You could very well use strip styrene, say .040 X .125 to get the same look - with less work too. I found that in my case I needed the rigidy that two layers offered. Mike
Really like the urban layout! You're on the right track with the tagging, but how about some more grime on the walls? Truely outstanding work!
Mike, You have inspired me to give it a try. I will be going to ny local hobby shop in the next few days and see what styrene they have. One more question, How did you paint the walls and what paint did you use
I spray painted the walls Testor's Camouflage Gray. Check out my "model" for the walls at the beautiful Japanese layout of a French city called Sarllac. I found it through the NMRA's site. http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~sarllac/bk00.htm Try a plastics retailer if you'll be needing to build lots of walls. For the price of ten 6" X 12" Evergreen white styrene sheets I purchased a full 4' X 8' sheet, rolled it up to fit in my car and I've been using it for walls and scratch building projects for 1-1/2 years. The best to you and the project. Mike
Mike, thanks for the additional pictures, your layout is stunning, and fully deserves a website all of it's own Edit: I can see why you were inspired by the Japanese layout, what a brilliant layout and website! Very interesting construction pics. [ 03 March 2002, 09:45: Message edited by: Alan ]
Thanks Alan. Because I work alone on my layout and don't belong to any clubs, I've come to depend on the inspiration and help from those modelers and enthusiasts on lists like Trainboard. I have also scoured every web site listed under layouts on the NMRA's site. People are very helpful with construction tips and Sarllac was my inspiration for those retaining walls. Mike "A picture's worth a thousand words!"
Mike, Just to let you know i went to the hobby shop today and bought the styrene that you suggested . I have already started to build retaining walls around this area I'll post some pics in the next few days Once again thanks a lot for your advice
Mike-I am with the rest of the guys-what a great group of shots -show us some more. How about a trackplan? Thanks
Well,we know Paul will be staying outta trouble for the next few days. Good looking layout Mike,only one thing missing. It's own website.
Thanks - you got a taste of 2 years work! Hey Catt - how do ya get a site? Do I need something called FTP software? I have Cox Cable's Internet service where I understand space is available for customer web sites. What's the FTP about? Thanks, Mike
Paul, your city section is going to look great with those retaining walls. If you have any questions as you proceed I'll try to help. If you haven't already, check out the Sarllac web site for a wide variety of construction ideas in a city module with lot of walls. The URL is in an earlier post. Mike
Mike, great photos af your layout! Paul, it reminds me of yours... FTP = File Transfer Protocol. It's a remote version of Window's Explorer, if you wish, where you access your portion (web site space) of the ISP and transfer the files to it. You may add your own sub-directories under the HTML directory. Ask this question in THe Club Car for a deeper explanation. Gary.
Mike 0catch is the one I use. You can get a free site from them,but you won't be able to post from it. I buy my webspace for about $6.00 a month you get 250mgs of space .The more months you get at a time (I buy it by the year) the cheaper it is. Click the redlink to check them out.Ocatch
