March Break Project (Model Train Build)

Gareth · **Reply #60 on:** May 16, 2011, 01:09:27 AM

Sorted pic Dan. How many more hours until it's done do you think? or is this going to be a never-ending project to tinker with?

Chako · **Reply #61 on:** May 16, 2011, 01:42:33 AM

No clue. I have never done anything like this before. I think once I start getting some green on there, I know I will be close to the end.

J-sews · **Reply #62 on:** May 24, 2011, 05:54:41 AM

Chako · **Reply #63 on:** May 24, 2011, 12:04:47 PM

Yesterday was frustrating. So much so that I had to walk away. My long passenger train kept derailing at 2 spots on the track. Of course, due to the gradient, this meant that most of the following cars would roll backwards and derail as a group. This of course necessitated repeating the whole thing over and over again until I got a good notion of what was happening. This took a few hours, and expanded all my patience. So I walked away from it for a few days with a good idea of what I might have to do to put the track right again.

I still haven't got to the fun final stages yet, and am sort of happy that I tested the full train on the track first before I did my scenery.

Chako · **Reply #64 on:** June 02, 2011, 03:38:05 AM

Nothing new to report. I did take this photograph of my friends HO layout...a work in progress.

Mercury · **Reply #65 on:** June 02, 2011, 03:10:09 PM

Alright, TIE Fighter!

Chako · **Reply #66 on:** June 03, 2011, 01:57:01 AM

He has a whole aeronautical thing going on there, from WWI fighters to jets. He wanted something from the future...a Tie Fighter fit the bill.

Mercury · **Reply #67 on:** June 03, 2011, 04:34:26 AM

I also like the harvest themed shag carpet. Groovy.

J-sews · **Reply #68 on:** June 03, 2011, 05:33:04 AM

Santa Fe SD40

Chako · **Reply #69 on:** June 03, 2011, 12:25:59 PM

Yes, an EMD SD40.

It is his favorite engine as he worked on them for the local Algoma Central Railway. He does like the Santa Fe colour scheme.

Chako · **Reply #70 on:** June 13, 2011, 12:36:47 PM

Nothing new to update on the build. I reckon once I get on my summer holidays, I should have the time to finish it.

On the flip side, I have been helping a friend with his G scale outdoor garden train.

He went with the cheapest route to see if it would look good. So he got himself a Lionel Penn Flyer toy train set off of eBay, along with plenty of extra plastic track. Then he moved his waterfall feature 8 inches higher, and built a clear Plexiglas tunnel to protect the train from any splash over. He also built some side rails just in case the train decides to derail and fall into his pond.

We both agree, the train accents his garden. I know he will be building onto it for years to come.

Mercury · **Reply #71 on:** June 13, 2011, 06:45:07 PM

That is an awesome idea! Could you get some more pics of that garden dan?

Chako · **Reply #72 on:** June 14, 2011, 01:04:24 PM

Here you go.

Mercury · **Reply #73 on:** June 14, 2011, 03:10:31 PM

Sweet. Cool ideas.

ryan1835 · **Reply #74 on:** June 14, 2011, 11:56:52 PM

go on chako get a 10 1/4 inch gauge track in your garden and a real engine

you can get up too 30 mph on one of these

Chako · **Reply #75 on:** June 15, 2011, 12:34:19 AM

I don't have the room for one of those.

ryan1835 · **Reply #76 on:** June 15, 2011, 09:22:13 AM

they also cost about £90k

Chako · **Reply #77 on:** June 15, 2011, 12:20:52 PM

I do have a friend's father who does have one of those park sized trains in his back yard. He does have the room for it, and it is great fun being taken for a ride on it. He built his using a lawn mower engine for the power source. It works great.

Chako · **Reply #78 on:** August 27, 2011, 10:10:59 AM

I want my kitchen back. So with that goal in mind, I am going to try and do a big push to get this project completed and moved upstairs. Hard to believe I have had this taking up my kitchen table since March. That is half a year.

I just finished plastering the sides. Tomorrow, I am planning on doing some painting.

The almost finished sides. Next step is to paint this black. At least the plaster adds a lot of much needed structural rigidity and should make it easier to move it later.

Back side.

Front side. I placed a towel to protect the table from the still damp plaster while working on the back side.

Once I get the outside finished, my next step will probably be to remove all of this again, and then start the real fun part, adding grass, shrubs, and trees to the landscape. Afterwards, glue down all the buildings. I can't wait to get this done. My goal is to get this done before going to work on the 6th.

J-sews · **Reply #79 on:** August 27, 2011, 03:08:43 PM

Looking good

Chako · **Reply #80 on:** August 28, 2011, 03:34:39 PM

Thanks. I figure another few days of working on it off and on should do the trick.

Time for a few more update photos.

The kit came with a set of 3 pigments that had to be mixed with water and then painted onto the rocks.

The colours are surprisingly light. I might paint some darker colours at a later date to give the rocks a little more definition.

Well once the rocks finaly got some colour, it was time to start adding some greenery.

After adding a few more colours of grass that you sprinkle onto the surface that was prepped with some scenic glue spray...

And where it it right now. Next step is to possibly get some acrylic grays and make a stronger wash to either colour those cliff faces, or carefully spray some scenic glue onto those cliffs and blow some darker powder onto them using a sheet of paper for control. Either way, I want those cliff areas a darker colour then off white/very light brown.

Once I get all of the grass cover/surface cover on, I will have to install the track ballast. After that, I will start gluing the buildings and other things. Followed by shrubs and trees.

Once all of that is done, I might declare it done!

Gareth · **Reply #81 on:** August 28, 2011, 05:01:21 PM

That paint effect is looking good mate.

Whoey · **Reply #82 on:** August 28, 2011, 05:04:38 PM

looking good... (wish I had somewhere to do such things...)

Chako · **Reply #83 on:** August 28, 2011, 05:13:49 PM

I really don't either. This project has taken over my kitchen for half a year. I just moved the table that was taking over my living room for the same amount of time upstairs. Soon, that landscape will follow. I can't wait to get some much needed living space back.

Chako · **Reply #84 on:** August 29, 2011, 01:33:41 AM

Time to make the trees. The kit came with 3 colours of clumped foliage. This stuff is basically chopped up foam. However, once I opened one bag, I noticed that the clumps were rather large for N scale. I quickly found a large container and dumped all 3 colours in and started to mix and break up the larger pieces into smaller ones.

Once I got the clumps down to size, I took apart the tree armatures and started to bend them into shape. These have a metal wire inside which makes them very easy to bend. once I had the tree skeletons shaped, it was time to brush on some Hob-e-tack glue. This glue is supposed to stay on for 15 minutes until it becomes clear. Once clear, you can dip the tree skeleton into the foliage. The result looks great. They even came with a temporary base to keep the trees upright till the glue dries. A nice touch.

Here are all my trees finished and ready to add to my scenery.

Scratch off the trees. The whole process took about an hour and a half to do from start to finish.

I am getting there, slow but sure.