Randy, that is some comparison. Its like saying the ugly witch is prettier then the hunchback of Notre Dame. Tim, you know Bryan is the biggest fan of CSX, so I am sure he will want a CSX Mi-Jack. Only kidding
Norfolk Southern, please! Sorry, I was out of town Thursday to Sunday, and I'm just now catching up. Thanks, Tim!
My kit came today. Talk about detail !! Next time we are going to have to ask Tim to add the tire brand names and a different serial number on each tire. This is a nice kit, especially the brass work railings !!! What's next ?? ...don
So would a USRA 0-6-0 replacement shell for the Marklin BR89 mechanism! And I would buy a dozen for myself!
Retiring is great! No more N and HO kits to take all your hobby time from you. More time to do special projects that really are fun. Now would be a great time to start in Z Scale, as you enter this new relaxing phase of life, and really put those casting talents to work for you!
BADLY MISUNDERSTOOD theory about retirement. It turns out there are just as many holes in the dike to be filled -- the holes just move over a couple of feet and have new titles. ...don
Post your Mi-Jack photos here! I encourage everyone who bought a kit of the Mi-Jack to post photos here as you build it or just the finished product. Show us where you place it on you layout/module. Intermodal Yards galor! I recieved a photo from Don Avila today! He is almost finished with his Mi-Jack! Nice work Don! Post Photos! Hobo Tim
Well, I am having trouble uploading photos. Any suggestions? If I try to get a larger size, this program won't take it. Tap the photo seems to enlarge it. Anyway, here is a partially assembled kit. Notwithstanding all my care I still got the wheels reversed. Saturday project to "unglue" and get corrected. I <<MAY>> lighten the weathering and intensify the horizontal safety railing in "orange". The balance of the brass should go on fairly easily as long as I am careful. As other parts go together everything should align properly. Should be a nice model when finished and touched up. All painting is by a very small brush and each piece is painted prior to assembly. Paint is chepo Wal*mart acrylics. I generally use 2 or 3 or 4 colors at a time. Pour a single drop of each color on a piece of teflon plastic and drag a TINY brush through the colors I want and do the mixing on the model, This guarantees the colors will NOT be even on the finished model. For anyone who has read Tim's instructions I still have 10 fingers along with the CA glue. ...don
No Photos Yet...................... Robert, Last night I soldered the tiny Ngineering magnet wire onto four 2x3 Yellow White LEDs. (Ngineering calls the LEDs of this size 2x3's)The wires were about 12 inches long. After testing to make sure they each work, I used a small dot of E6000 glue to fix a small diameter brass rod to the back side. This rod will be used as the lights mount. I let the glue dry over night. Today I bent the end of the brass rod about 1/8"" from the light and trimmed the brass past the bend about 1/16". I drilled a hole under the bottom of the drive wheel about 5/8" deep and centered. I drilled a slightly smaller hole diaginally near the motor housing on the inside to break thru to the larger hole in the wheel. This is where the wires will go to conceal them. I used the same drill bit to drill small short holes on all 4 outer corners of the main beams. The bit went diaginally into the verticle beam. Hole only about 1/16" deep. Photo below shows the wires coming out of the bottom of the drive wheel. Also notice the route of the wires on the bottom of the walkway. Photo below shows the verticle colum and the motor housing. Notice the wire as it hugs the inside of the verticle column and disappears in the hole drilled into the drive wheel. I then routed the wires from each corner of the Mi-Jacks main horizontal beams. I glued the end of the bent brass rod, attached to the LEDs, into each of the 4 holes drilled. I adjusted the LEDs so they would shine downward and slightly inward. I let the glue dry. I then routed each wire along the bottom of the walkways, super gluing as I went. All of the wires converged at the verticle column where I drilled the hole thru the drive wheel. Once all 8 wires met at the column, and the glue dried to hold them in place, I carefully twisted all 8 wires for about 4 inches. I placed the straight twist of wires against the verticle column and thru the holes I drilled thru the wheel. The wires now stick out of the bottom of the wheel. I glued the wire twist to the verticle column. Photo below shows wires converging at drive column and twist along that column. Wires are glued to the bottom of the walkway. The wires were at various lengths about 8" long coming out of the bottom of the wheel. I then trimmed them all to about 6". I have not proceeded past this point yet. I plan on using a 9 volt battery to make the lights shine. I will be using two parallel series of two with a 100 ohm 1/8w nano resistor on each parallel connection. According to Ngineering mathematics, this is the correct method of choice for two 3.6 volt LEDs in series. Please correct me if I am wrong. A hole will be drilled thru the layout/module and the wires past thru the hole and connected to the power source on the bottom. All wires are hidden under the walkways and thru the wheel. Only place you can see the wiring is on the motor housing side of the verticle column, drive wheel corner. I'll post more photos! Thank you! Hobo Tim
Photos! More Photos! Photo below shows the under side of the walkways and the column that the twisted wires are following. Shows the angle of the LEDs too. Photo below, notice the LEDs are slightly pointed inward. OK, now off to bed! Sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hobo Tim p.s All wiring, brass rod, glue and any other nonpainted surfaces will be painted the same yellow as the Mi-Jack and finally, I can paint the black details, flat clear coat it, and it will be finished! :teeth:
i couldn't get back to sleep after reading this, trying to ignore don's post. but's it there! how can i ignore it? i'm sorry, i'm rambling. please ignore this post.
Still More Progress!!!!!!! I have finished the electronics and electrical installations. I have mounted a 100 ohm 1/8w nano resistor to the underside of the walkway and soldered the positive leads to it. One resistor on each side. Remember, I have two parallel, series circuits. 3.6v + 3.6 v = 7.2v required to light up the LEDs for one set of series. Parallel the two series together and there you have it! Finished! Calculations say use a 100 ohm resistor in this series, so that is what I did. Photo below shows one of the resisters on the bottom of the walkway! I used a small diameter piece of shrink tubing to protect the wiring coming out of the bottom of the wheel. I then heated the tube at the wheel working it small enough to fit inside the drilled hole. I then glued the tube into the wheel using E6000 glue. Photo below shows shrink tubing before I glued it. I then cut a small hole in some black foam material, inserted the wire/shrink tubing, and captured the following few photos! Enjoy! One more photo to post! They may seem a bit blurry, I had to turn off the flash to capture the LEDs lighting effects. One day I will learn how to either hold this camera more steady or figure all the commands out! Hobo Tim p.s. One more photo to post!
Last of the Lighted Shots! Here is the last photo I have to post. For anyone who is skeptacle of whether this is really "Z" scale or not, I propped up a penny in front of it! Now, I have a few thing to do away from home, but when I return, I have to paint all of the details and wheels! Catch ya'll later! Hobo Tim
tim, that is fantastic. i was so tempted to order one, but my era is a little earlier and i have nothing in the way of containers or yard for it. it is a real work of art. i'll probably regret, oneday, not having it ... but one can't do everything. it IS just fantastic! dave f.
