Sorry for the late reply. Instead of using Atlas tracks for the roundhouse and engine facilities. How about using Tomix fine tracks? The connection is especially made for Kato and Tomix. Plus Tomix has many possibilities and their roundhouse is based on the same degrees as atlas. So using the Tomix turntable and the atlas’s roundhouse would be just a matter of spacing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
need some input everyone. i found a vintage chrome model of the st louis gateway arch on ebay. its just over 14'' wide and same height. i realize its not 1:160 (that would be about 4' wide lol) but taking some modelers license here. the railroad line that passes by the arch is underground. can the front back lines on a t-trak double module be hidden? I would think the size of the trains themselves would distract one from the size of the arch. weight wise i would think this is faily heavy. I wont know the weight until it is shipped to me by the seller, however $50 shipping from alabama to arkansas is either a ripoff or the item is heavy. if its heavy, should i construct a module base with 1/2" plywood? Finally i would like to be able to remove the arch from the module when transporting. so here are my questions: 1) has anyone made or seen a t-trak module of the gateway arch? 2) can the tracks be hidden to force perspective? 3) do i need to use a thicker board or would additional support be better? 4) would a triple be better for perspective than a double? 5) any way to secure it to the module to avoid sticky fingers? 6) should the arch be to the front of the module or to the rear to force perspective. TIA JBB
1. I personally have not seen one. But that’s coming from someone who has never lived any where near there so take it for what it’s worth. 2. Tracks can be hidden behind scenery or in tunnels, but don’t hide too much the trains are the show. 3. Depends on the weight. Usually 3/16th is adequate but maybe some blocks underneath with adjustable feet (like the edges get) would help. 4. The double or triple only has to do with the length of the module. The width is where you will force perspective and deeper would be better see #6 for why. 5. It’s metal and heavy... it’s also the arch, I wouldn’t think it would get sticky fingered but since it is metal it could be drilled and tapped for screws to hold it to the module. They could be removable for transport and storage. 6. Forcing perspectives is done large in front small in back. So if you want the arch to look scale you will want to move it back away from the viewer so it can appear to be in the distance. Making other objects in the area of the arch smaller than 1:160 would also play to the effect. I did an HO scale module of a container port that used a 1:200 scale RC container ship in the background where the water was. The containers near the ship were N scale and the containers at the tracks were HO scale. This worked really well and made the module look much larger than the 36” it was deep. Unfortunately all pics of this were lost on a corrupt SD card and I sold the module years ago... ship too.
Well Halloween inspired module will need to wait a few before getting any more updates. For reasons unknown to me, the terminal strips I like to use in my wiring are not available anywhere near me, so I have to order online. And since I secure them with screws that poke through the top, that need to be cut off, I have to mount the terminal strips before I move on to the scenery. On a second note... I’m thinking of using toothpicks for headstones in the graveyard. Just standard flat toothpicks, would these be large enough? I’m no expert on headstone sizes... and the price of them from Woodland Scienics is crazy.
At the size you've described, placing it to the background as forced perspective might work. Depth of the module will limit that ability. Fifty bucks to ship is a lot of money. If not heavy, the size should not be that great of a factor. A few months back, I shipped a very large box, (USPS), which it's size and that weight cost just less than thirty dollars. A box much larger than the 14 by 14 arch described.
As a member of a T-Trak club, Massey pretty much answered all your questions spot on. As for the $50 shipping, must be made of some heavy metal!
Well I got the fence all done now, and when I tried to "moss" it up the green I used was really powerful. Even dry brushing it turned the entire fence green!! OK so I wiped it off with my finger and achieved the desired effect. I also did the same with the base of the foundation and roof of the house. I don't know if it will show up well in photos but I will try when I get home tonight. Next up is a dead tree. I was not able to find anything I liked online that was affordable. Some of the offerings were just what I was looking for but the $15 plus tax and shipping price for one tree was a bit much. So I am going to try my luck at making one out of CAT5 network cable. The wires inside are single strand copper with insulation around them they are roughly 4-6 scale inches. So wrap a few of these together into a trunk and fan out a few strands as branches, adding sections of wire here and there for thicker branches and then wrapping it all in cloth tape, and paint. I'm hoping it works as well as I calculate it should!! We will see. I'm also thinking a small thin sheet of foam to give a bit of contour to the ground would be good as well. Also something to plant the trees into. Anyone have any thoughts on my toothpick tombstone idea?
So some work on the haunted module today. And the materials to make the pumpkins for the pumpkin patch. Yes these are going to be some big pumpkins.
Ok here we go! As presidents are being decided , I decided to do something far more important... or at least fun. I planted a few trees on my haunted module. I choose the back of the house for the big dead tree as I wanted to give the feeling like the tree was looming over the house. I need to weather it a bit but wanted to plant it first. Next up are some bushes near the tracks and maybe some pumpkins. I am really not looking forward to doing them. I know I could just glue a few down to the brown patch and forget the vines made out of thread... but you all should know by now that just not me. So more on that later. Lemme know what you think of tonight’s update.
I thought about that too but it's actually a wrought iron fence. So instead of breaking some slats I made it look rusty a bit. Kinda hard to see with my lighting but it looks nice and rusted in person.
