Ok, well following on from the sale of the first micro I built, and the near completion of the second, I got an email from someone saying they were sorry they had missed the end of the first auction, and asking if I would be interested in making a small layout on commission. I naturally was very pleased to accept the project, and I thought it would be good to document the progress here After a few options were considered, the final sketch arrived at looked like this. Drawn in RailModeller, with the landscape added in Illustrator. The scenery will be quite green on one side, and arid on the other. The customer has a couple of buildings to be included, and the track is going to be Rokuhan. The base is made from insulation foam laminated with Foamcore board. This is very light but also rigid. I printed the plan out at 100%, and marked where the void for the paved road needed to be. This is where it is at right now, next up will probably be track testing.
A very nice plan and your photo documentary will be enjoyable for all to see. This is good sharing by a fine builder for all to enjoy. Thank you for making the effort to share with us all. Kudos.
Thank you for the kind words Loren! A useful tip- styrene insulation foam is not easy to glue together. Solvent glues melt it, and water-based glues don't bond to the foam properly. and don't dry between large pieces. The method I have found to work best is to coat it with SBR (a liquid primer used in the construction industry) and once that is dry to use thinly spread silicon sealant, such as you use to seal showers and baths. The SBR goes on white, but dries clear (and tacky) Thanks!
Subscribed. I thoroughly enjoyed your last Z micro layout so this will be fun to follow. I hope to gain some more great ideas as I wish to build a micro Z scale layout soon myself.
Thanks Jim, hope you enjoy this one too. Any questions please ask, I'm happy to expand on anything that isn't clear. Cheers!
I've marked the position of the track, and cut out and stuck down a piece of 5mm foam core to represent the paved areas of the road and goods yard. Because I haven't worked with Rokuhan track before, I am doing some experimentation with my ideas for fixing it down and ballasting. My intention is that, should it be neccesary, the track could potentially be removed and replaced. My previous experience of using the tried and trusted method of using diluted PVA white glue has shown that whilst this gives great results, it becomes rock solid and difficult to modify if needed. On a test piece I have stuck masking tape on the area where the track is going, and small tabs of 2mm double sided foam tape. This tape is very aggressive so the masking tape should help it be removable. The 2mm thickness brings the ties up to "ground" level in the yard area. Here you can see the track stuck down but slightly raised. After a bit of research I found the ballast closest in colour and grain size to the Rokuhan track to be WS medium gray. I ran a bead of clear silicone along the edge, smoothed this out with a finger, then covered it all with ballast. After a light tamping the excess ballast was removed and looks like this... Any rogue pieces of ballast should be easy to pick off once the silicone has set. I used a thin wash of dark grey Humbrol paint (thinned with white spirit/turpentine substitute) to bring some relief to the moulded road bed ballast and to kill the plastic sheen. This has considerably darkened the WS ballast as well, so I think I will do this stage before applying the ballast on the real thing. Overall I am pleased with this result. It gives a much better slope and texture to the ballast, and uses no water in the vicinity of the track, an important consideration when it comes to the switch areas. Also, this is MUCH easier than ballasting non road bed track like Marklin! Once dry tomorrow I will probably destruction test this to see how easy it is to remove, but I am sure it will be easier than using PVA. The only thing I might add to the method is a light airbrush of the rail sides with the dark grey. This helps greatly to reduce the apparent size of the rail by killing the shine on the rail sides. Comments welcome!
Phil, This is fun reading and following. You are providing some very nice instruction and I think we all appreciate your sharing with the group. Your coverage of your progress is tops.
Thanks Loren! The test piece held firm but came apart with not too much hassle, so I am going to proceed with this method. Here are a couple of track test videos, the track is just clipped together, not fixed down yet. All good so far, the switches will be linked together and will isolate the non routed section, so two trains can occupy the layout. The train in the 2nd video, comprising loco, 8 hoppers and caboose, can park on the inner loop comfortably. http://youtu.be/i-YKkNrnryY http://youtu.be/X8i2276-Bsw
OK, after mucho track testing, I have got to a stage where I am happy with the running characteristics. This wasn't straightforward, I had the turnouts up three times, and apart twice. The pros and cons of the Rokuhan system have been covered in depth elsewhere, all I will add is that the geometry is fantastically flexible, and with care and perseverance good results can be obtained. And battery controllers are a compromise, especially when it comes to point control So next is to mask the track area off. The initial ballasting has been done, but final detailing of the track will be carried out last. Mountains are formed from more insulation foam, attached with more silicone sealant. The tunnel will be left open until the sides and roof liner have been fixed in place. The nearside of the tunnel will have a concrete portal, but I think the farside will be a blasted rock opening. Both still to be fabricated... This is just the basic topography now to get a feel of how this are going to work out. I have already decided to move the ridge line backwards to allow a better slope on the nearside for tree planting. The farside will be arid scenery and so can be much more sheer. Thanks!
Made some rock castings, and a quick preliminary stain with two different ink/alcohol washes. Stuck in place with silicone, and then the foam given a good layer of sculptamold.... More soon!
Inspiring to say the least! I need to get going on a new small layout. Keep posting the progress, as I really enjoy seeing the phases.
Thanks for the kind words guys! OK, onto the concrete tunnel portal. The mould I made for the last layout is a little too small to accommodate passenger cars on a bend, so after plenty of research on bridgehunter.com, I had a good idea of the kind of thing I was aiming for. I'm making this up as I go along, but I'm happy with the results so far. To simulate the board planking used on cast concrete tunnels I cut notches in some coffee stirrers. Cut to size and stacked together... Some loose card walls to form a mould... The resulting plaster slab then had the tunnel opening carved out of it... I sawed off the ends and reattached with a slight offset. Placed in situ for clearance testing... Carved and notched to fit the terrain. Propped in place with some dabs of glue, once this has set I will fill in the surrounding gaps to blend into the scenery. Next come the tunnel roof then the rest of the mountain. More soon!
Thank you for the encouraging words gentlemen! Here is the bedding in... I know the relief on the detail is much deeper than it would be in 1:1, but it looks much more reasonable in the flesh than the photos, and I figure I can always flatten it a little if I think it needs it. I have made the opening as small as possible (again) whilst still allowing clearance for Pullman cars and double stack container cars. The upper clearance is very tight, but if it isn't quite enough then I can always follow prototypical practice and cut notches in the arch! A bit easier in 1:220 plaster than 1:1 concrete Roof next...
tunnel portal It has been so long ago that I did any of this sort of work that seeing your progress photos, is making my creative juices flow and my fingers are beginning to twitch. The landscaping bug is beginning to rear its head.......... Thinking back to when I was doing a lot of that several years ago, I remember thinking that those times of creating were some of the most enjoyable times I've ever had in model railroading.......the garage heater was keeping the temperature livable, the radio was playing in the back ground and no one was bothering me late into the night as I worked on my miniature world in plaster and the such. I would finally go to bed feeling a tremendous sense of satisfaction as I contemplated my progress after each work session. Yes, those were really the good times. Until I can actually find the time to spend in the shop and create some more real estate in Z I'll live it vicariously through you Phil. Thanks for sharing. Itching to go replay those times.
Wonderful sentiments, very well expressed, Loren! I am delighted to think that my efforts are providing such inspiration, but I hope it isn't too frustrating if work is preventing you from getting time to get your hands dirty... I seem to have the opposite problem at the moment, too much time and not enough work, but recent life lessons have taught me that it is important to make the best of every situation. I picture the day when I am fully employed again, wishing I had more spare time, and it makes me appreciate this current hiatus and what it is enabling me to do! Silver clouds and all that...
Made a start on one of the two plate girder bridges that are needed. Z scale bridges are scarce or expensive or both, so I am proceeding with modifying a much more easily obtained (at least this side of the Atlantic) N scale one. I've cut out the centre section and trimmed the base down so I can use the inside faces. More soon
Phil, Outstanding! I've done that to numerous N scale items on my Z scale layout. Innovate, adapt and overcome! Merry Christmas! John
