Model Train Talk South Africa
Model Train Talk Workshop => Layout Design => Topic started by: LooVille on November 24, 2014, 07:55:03 AM
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Hi All,
OK, let me share my process of building :)
I used AutoCad to do the design as I have the software and know how to use it.
I built a wooden frame, 2000x820mm, used 90x22mm SA Pine with the normal 20mm sheet foam you buy from the hardware shop.
The foam I cut with a hot wire cutter my dad built for me.
Here is some pictures of the start.
Will update some more a bit later.
Cheers, Evert
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Beautiful!!!!!!! :thumb: :thumb:
Keep it coming!! :biggrin:
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OK, here is some more.....
After I layed all the track and connected all the power (so I can run a train as a test :)) I started with the building of the mountain.
I, once again used sheet foam and made "ribs" and connected them all with pieces of foam.
I used creet-stone to do all the landscaping, much cheaper than plaster of paris. So for the mountain I went to the pharmisy and bought some gauss. I cut the gauss in smaller pieces and dipped it into a watery creet-stone mixture. then layed it over the foam mountain structure. Worked very well.
To use real rocks will be way to heavy, so I bought 2 different rock moulds from Woodlandscenics and made my own. Also with creet-stone.
I bought 2x 5kg bags and for the whole layout I used about 8kg. So it did not get that heavy.
Here is some pictures showing the progress....
Cheers,
Evert
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I like the idea of making the ribs for the mountain from sheet foam.
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Good Morning All....
Mountain side was built so now it was time for the opposite side of the layout. That is where I wanted to build the town, station and some hills to finish it off.
I bought a set of houses including a church from Faller and liked the layout from the picture on the box, so I used the idea of the different levels to do mine as well. I used that spray-able expansion foam to do the landscape. Worked well and was easy to shape.
Houses in place :)
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Right, next.... lights in the houses.....
Easiest was LED's, they do not get hot and they should last quite long.
So I got some LED's and some resistors, so I can power the LED's from 12V.
Fitted everything, but they were way to bright and way to white :-\ Now what.....
Paint the LED's.... ??? Let's see what will happen ??? Works awesome :)
Now I'm happy.....
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Hi Again....
Problems, or rather I did not have a glue how to do it..... I originally did not want to automate the points, but my dad convinced me otherwise so I had to make a plan. So I used SEEP point motors. I had to build some sort of fixture to mount them to the layout as everything was foam. So I built cardboard boxes. Cut nice squares out of the foam base and fitted everything. My dad built me a CDU unit. Figured out that we need that after I melted a point motor :( But I guess that's how we learn sometimes. I read up on this stuff so much but for some reason missed the past of the off-on-off switches and CDU.
Any case, it's all done and really works well. Took quite a looooong time to build and fit.
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So, finally !!!!! I can start to paint and make some stuff come alive ;D
Some much more research and learning how to do things. How on earth do I paint a rock to look like a rock ?? ??? I had no idea...
So I found a video from Woodlandscenics that showed it very nicely. So here we go.
I mixed 3 different colour of paint. Dark brown, a lighter one, but with a bit of red in and then a lighter, almost mustard colour.
The 3 combinations made it look awesome. I am quite impressed and I got good comments from people so far.
Then I also did some of the grass. I bought the Woodlandscenics grass effects, 3 different ones, and mixed a 4th.
I first painted a small section with normal cheap water based sand colour paint, while it was still wet I sprinkled some grass over that and then with a spray bottle I sprayed some scenic cement (thinned white cold glue or wood glue) over that. Works perfect and look awesome.
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Good Afternoon All....
This one I'll have to do in two blogs, too many pictures :)
I wanted to have a river on my layout, so I once again looked at the Woodlandscenics how to's. Yea, I like them :thumb:
I bought the Realistic Water as well as the Water Effects.
I painted the section of foam on my layout blue and faded it out to the river beds until I was happy with it. First ever attempt, so it was all trail and error. Painting done so poured the water effects in. Looked awesome.
Next day it did not look so awesome any more :( the water effects was gone :eek:
Then I realise that the foam have to many spaces between the "foam balls" so with a period of time it sucks the liquid up, like a sponge.
So OK, it should be sealed now, so I tried again. This time it worked much better. Left it a few day so it could dry properly.
Then another disaster when I got back to my layout. For some weird reason the realistic water reacted with the foam and it looked like a volcanic eruption in the river. Now what ??? OK, start again from the beginning. I broke everything out, then build the river out of creet stone. Then on top of that I painted a few coats of resin, just to properly seal the creet stone. Now we can paint again....
OK, here is some pictures, I'll do the rest in the following reply.
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Continue with River....
First picture is after I did the resin....
So now it was painted again so I added the realistic water again. WhooooHooooo, this time it is a success :biggrin:
So my dad came to see what I was doing and asked me where the river was coming from..... Mmmmmm... Oops, I never thought about that one.
So, I changed a few things and created a little pond on top of the one mountain and a waterfall going to the river. Can work very well. To make the waterfall was fun.... Take a piece of plastic, squeeze lines of water effects next to each other. It is like silicone so it does not run. Then I took a brush and mix them a bit together. Sorry difficult to explain. Woodlandscenics have an awesome video on how to do that. Once it was dry, I peeled it off the plastic and glued it with water effects to the mountain. I used the water effects to make rapids and water movement as well.
And once it was all finished I painted it rapids and water movement with the dry-brush method.
I'm very happy with the end result.
Here is the last pictures.
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Another electrical step ;D
Need to get the Signals to work when I change the points.
At the start I decided to buy the SEEP point motors as they have a power switch option as well, but because with N Scale being so small the point do not move far enough to make contact :-\ So now what?
So my dad did some research and found a guy in England who helped us with a awesome solution.
So we bought the parts, 2 relays, ons switch the other one on with resistors where the power can only flow the one way. Think that is what it is called :eek: Not so good with the electronic stuff.... Well it works. We also had to build a more powerful CDU to operate the points.
Here are some pictures.
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Next Biiiiiiig Project to the layout.....
One thing I was not sure I could do, but I took the chance and I'm quite surprised at some of my skills :thumb:
I searched for a nice picture that have sky, with some clouds and some hills at the bottom. After a quite extensive search I found something.
I printed it out and pasted the picture in parts on hardboard. Then it was the painting. I re-painted the whole picture and this is the result.
I'm extremely happy.....
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Hi all.....
Another something small I added to my layout. Just wanted to do something extra.
And with me like to build kits I thought of adding a aeroplane to the backdrop.
Mmmmmmm.... problem with the scale :( Could not fine a 1:160 scale kit, so I had so settle for 1:144.
Yea, I know it is to big, but on a 1.8m wingspan it would be out 1mm, so I thought that would not kill me.
So here we go. This is what I build. Was quite a mission because it is sooooo small, but I enjoyed it and I'm happy with the finished product.
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Beautiful work all round. The idea of the plane is a very good one indeed.
Thanks for taking the time to post your progress steps.
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^^^^^^
he said it! great work and thanx for sharing your efforts!
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Hi All,
As most of you know I have been changing a few things on my layout for the NEW extension I'm planning to build in the near future.
But, while doing that I'm also improving on a few things and here is something extra I have added.
Together with the stuff I got from my grandfather I got a packet of Noch power poles. I wanted to use it on my layout and I ended up the weekend doing just that. Came out awesome and I even added some power lines :) I scratched in my wife's sowing stuff and found fish line they use, but it is extremely thin. Worked awesome, I just ended up painting the line black.
Here is some pictures, they small so I hope everything is visible.
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Those little details really make a layout. :thumb:
ICE train next to an American diesel, not completely wrong, can't remember the year now, but Amtrak did once ship a ICE train over to the states and towed it around with a few diesel's as a demonstrator, they where considering to buy a few, but then never did.
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Yea, I love doing all the small detail. It really make such a big difference.
LOL ;D I just like the look of that picture. And you know me, I do trains, I don't really care what pulls what or who parks next to each other O:-)
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Jorg, you missed the Japanese steam loco pulling German coaches!
I have to agree with Evert - all trains are nice...except Pensy :peep: :stir:
Yes, Amtrak trialed an ICE train. They actually ran it on its own on the speed corridor between Washington DC, New York and I think even up to Boston on the electrified lines. http://www.railfaneurope.net/ice/ice_usa.html
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Right, so, some of you might remember that I ordered Some Vollmer Cantenary for my layout.
I finally received it about a month ago. So now the track is finished and I could fit it.
I have to say it is not to difficult to do, it just take some time, but once it is done it make such a big difference.
What I also did was to paint the poles a different colour. Out the box they are grey, almost the same as my balast, so they dissapear a bit on my layout. I went for a red brown colour, so painted but also rusted a bit. Make quite a big difference.
Here is a few pictures.
Cheers.
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Very nice!!!
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Nice, but I'm going to through a spanner in the works now, >:D.
I think the grey mast looked better.
Okay granted you only have one line that has catenary, the catenary system can easily overpower a layout, i.e. it really sticks out like a sore thumb.
So having the mast a bit camouflaged and the wires painted a medium matt grey will also help to make them a bit less conspicuous.
Just a thought, don't take it the wrong way. :)
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Thank you for the comment, but I think it works well and because I only have the one line it is not too much. But I understand what you mean.
I think if you would do the whole layout it might be to much. For mine and I also think the look of my layout it works well.
Cheers. :thumb:
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I had the old Märklin catenary system on my previous layout and when I painted the wires a medium grey it made a huge difference to the whole layout, it was less obtrusive.
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Good Morning All..... Yea, it's been a while.
As you know we had to move and now my trains is with my parents, so time to work on them is a bit more difficult and the move and getting the new place sorted and settled in take time, but I manage to have time over the weekend and it was so much fun.
Got quite a few small, but nice things done. And it make such a massive difference.
Finished some more Cantenary.
Also added the rails between the track over the bridges, what a mission. The long one was quite difficult.
And then I added some more power to the houses..... I connected the power/telephone poles up with the houses. Looks quite cool.
Here is some pix, enjoy...
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WOW!!! Very very nicely done!!!!
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Very nice Evert. Love it! :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
I worked a little bit on the layout over the weekend again :biggrin: Was awesome.... And I ran some trains, even better..... :biggrin: :biggrin:
I made concrete pillars for the Cantenary Poles to stand on. Think it came out quite cool. All the Cantenary is up now. Now I have to just fix the landscape around them again. Some grass and bushes....
Cheers.
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It seems upside down? ;)
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But its looking very nice... :thumb:
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:thumb:
Catenary really adds another dimension to a layout.
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Nicely done Evert! :thumb:
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Good Afternoon All....
WHoooooHooooo Cantenary is all up..... I have also fixed everything around the poles and made it neat again. I'm really happy :biggrin:
I'm still struggling to figure out about the square ending of the mountain, not happy with that yet. :(
But I came up with a few ideas so it should look better. (I know I should have thought of this when I was designing, but it is the way things go and it keeps the layout interesting while it is changing a bit)
So I added a hill at the bottom.....
1st pix is how it looked, rest is now after my change.
It is better, but not finished yet. I'll keep posting :thumb:
Cheers and enjoy.
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Well done, that is a definite improvement. :thumb:
Enjoy the long weekend.
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Good Morning All,
OK, so, lots of people have commented on my layout and one of the comments that has been bugging me was, how does the cars and people get in and out of the town? So with the extension quite far already it gave me an opportunity to change that. I have the castle close by so I was thinking of something...
Build a tunnel underneath the three tracks out of the town towards the castle.
Mmmmmmm, :eek: might be quite a challenge.
So here goes.....
Pic 01 - How my layout is looking now.
Pic 02 - My dad sugested we cut a piece of PVC pipe to form the inside of the tunnel. It will be stronger and I do not want to damage the track.
Pic 03 - general position I was thinking for the tunnel, obviously under the track ;D
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OK, so now I just need to get the courage together to do this......
Pic 01 :
I started off by marking the position for the tunnel entrance and exit.
Then I made a cut so I do not damage the track or surrounding area.
Pic 02 :
Then very carefully I saw a section out of the facia and started to cut the foam away.
Pic 03 :
Tunnel is cut and the PVC pipe fits in nicely :biggrin:
Pic 04 :
I glued a section of styrofoam at the bottom of the layout to give the tunnel a base.
The layout is only built on two sheets of 20mm styrofoam, so cutting in under the roadbed will go right through.
Next step is to glue in the road, then fit the tunnel, then the entrance and exit and then finally paint, weather and landscape :thumb:
So, I'll post again once I have made so more progress :thumb:
Cheers,
Evert.
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Very nice, just like the prototype where the tunnel is dug through the ground instead of covering it up later.
Following with interest, but this will look fantastic.
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Awesome Evert! :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
So I worked a little bit more on the tunnel :biggrin:
Pic 01: I made my own pavement/side walk.
1.5mm card board. I scarred some lines in so it look like sections was casted and painted it grey.
Still need to weather them.
Pic 02: Then I also drilled 3 holes for the 3mm LED's and painted the inside of the tunnel a concrete colour.
Pic 03: Then I made up the LED's
Pic 04: I worked out basically where and how the roadbed will look and I glued the pavements to that.
Next will be to finish the road inside the tunnel and also finish the inside of the tunnel.
I'll paint the LED's brown again to give it a yellow-ish colour and to dull the white from the LED, as is way to bright.
Pic 05: Here is a pic with the tunnel placed on the road.
Hope you all have a good day and speak again soon.
Regards,
Evert Loo :thumb:
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:thumb:
I like those pavements.
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Very nice Evert! :thumb:
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Hi Evert
Coming along nicely bud. Keep at it.
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Good Afternoon All,
Another update :biggrin: manage to get a few things done last night.
Weathered the road.
Glued on the PVC tunnel.
Then I painted the LEDS brown, don't like the bright white look. The lighting is uneven, but I think it looks more real like that.
Neaten all the wiring up so now it is ready to be fitted on the layout.
Here are some pictures.
Enjoy the weekend all.
Cheers,
Evert Loo
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Good Morning All....
Fitted the PVC tunnel last night :thumb:
I think it looks awesome..... :biggrin:
Pic 01 - tunnel fitted with roadbed in place.
Pic 02 - worked everything off with some creatstone (tunnel portal still needs to be fitted, so can't do too much).
Pic 03 and Pic 04 - Lights off and on.
Cheers,
Evert Loo
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Very neat.
Now you just need some Faller N scale Car System trucks to drive through there. ;D >:D :stir:
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Oh Yes! There you have the need for the next extention! :stir: ;D
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Very nice! Looks awesome and a new article for N Scale Magazine in the pipeline! :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
Small update.....
I borrowed the Concrete Tunnel Portal from Woodland Scenics by BigEd as I could not find my own one.
I used one on my layout next to the waterfall, but the one that is left is just missing :(
So my dad said lets mold it....
We went to http://dala.co.za/product_003.php?id=31 and bought a 250ml bottle. R85 I think.
Pic 01 is the original
Pic 02 is the mold
Pic 03 is the final casting. I used creatstone that I siffed and I let it gry for about two days.
I'm very happy with the results. Next step is to make is shorter as it is way to high. Needs to be about 40mm
Then it is painting and fitment and then the final painting and finishing off.
I'll fit this hopefully during the weekend.
Cheers,
Evert Loo
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Nicely done Evert. Master of many trades! ;D
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Nice!! :thumb:
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Good Afternoon Everybody.
I did quite a bit of work in the past week and over the weekend.
I managed to shorten the molds I made from the Tunnel Portals.
Painted them and fit them on my layout.
Then I had to nicely finish it off so that all the joints and holes are filled in.
Now I still have to finish all the bushes and put the market back.
Really starting to look nice now.
Can't wait....
Cheers
Evert Loo
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:thumb:
I also need some Portals. >:D
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Good Morning All,
So last night I spend another hour or two in front my layout :biggrin:
Now my project is 99.9% complete :thumb:
I still need to touch up the fascia and would like to add a car in the tunnel and some small touch ups on the paint work.
I'm very happy with the way it came out and the way it all fits together.
Here is some more pictures.
Enjoy and speak again soon.
Regards,
Evert
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Very nicely done! :thumb:
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Nice one Evert! :thumb:
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Good evening all,
Last update from my tunnel build. All finished now.
Market back in, car fitted in the tunnel, thank you Ed :thumb:
Her is a few pictures.
Enjoy and speak again soon.
Cheers,
Evert :biggrin:
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That really came out beautiful. Well done.
And I spy your Glacier Express in the back ground. ;)
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Nicely done :thumb:
That car in the tunnel looks kinda familiar... :innocent:
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Awesome Evert! I must say that N gauge modelling goes very quickly. :stir:
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Good Morning All,
So at the last Toyfair I had some electrical issues ???
The Analog Oval of my layout refused to work. I did not have time to fix this at the show, so I decided to leave it and have a look at home. Much easier and I alto have all the tools I needed.
So got home and found that from all the moving and in and out plug of the layout the main power cable broke off.
Easy fix, but while I can access the electricals, I decided to change the way it was connected.
I fixed both the Analog and the DCC main feeds to the side of the layout, so now I can just plug in without cables that can move and get damaged.
Also made two fly-leads to plug into the controllers
I also neaten up some of the other wires.
Next step is the rebuild the control panel :) Waiting for the Perspex to be engraved and cut.
Here is some pictures. Enjoy... :biggrin:
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Another Small Update.....
I bought on BidOrBuy a set of Rail Crossing Signals. (ModelPower)
They come in all black and I desided to paint the Poles white. Think it looks much better now.
Next step is to make a electronic board to make the lights flash.
Cheers, and speak again soon :thumb:
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:thumb:
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Good Morning All,
I'm busy redoing my Control Panel.
Received the Perspex yesterday, WHooooooHoooo...... :thumb:
I used 3mm Milky White Perspex.
Got all the text engraved and holes for the switches and lights drilled.
Last night I sat painting all the text and then cleaning it all off. I think it looks quite good.
Next step is to tape the Layout on the back and then spray the back black.
Then building a light box so whan the layout is on the track will be lit.
Will keep updating.
Cheers and have a good day. :biggrin: :biggrin:
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Hi Evert,
Maybe you want to reconsider the lettering colour; black letters against a black background will not be clearly visible.
Cheers,
Steve
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Wow, Evert that is going to look fantastic, but tend to agree with Steve that black against a black background does not work to well.
Or do you have some thing up your sleeve to surprise us? :)
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LOL :biggrin:
Yea, I agree, black on black does not work, but remember the Perspex is Milky White.
The black from the back does show up as light grey.
I will take some pictures tonight. I sprayed it last night.
Cheers,
Evert
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Love to see the results. Start thinking to build ours. 8)
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Good Morning All,
As promised, here is the results of my Control Panel.
Pic 01 is the station section with points taped off on the back.
Pic 02 sprayed Black and tape removed.
Pic 03 view from the front
Pic 04 light behind the panel.
Last night I soldered all the LEDS (resistors to the LEDS), so tonight I will start to fit everything.
Then I have to remove the current Control Panel and rewire to the new one.
Can't wait..... :biggrin:
Cheers,
Evert
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Hi Evert,
Looks awesome. I'll let you know when mine need doing and you can visit ..................
Cheers,
Steve ;D
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Watch out Evert - his panel will be 2m x 6m! :innocent:
Well done BTW. Looking AWESOME!!! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
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Awesome Evert! Watching with great interest. 8)
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Awesome, Evert that is going to look fantastic. :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
Hope you all had a awesome weekend :biggrin:
I put in some serious hours and is now about 80% finished :thumb:
Friday night I stripped the old Control Panel out and disconnected all the wiring.
Fitted the new Panel on the the frame work.
Then I started to fit all the components.
Saturday I could not work so Sunday I spent the whole day fitting the last things and started to wire it all.
What a huge job.
I still have 2x switches for the lights to wire and then the power to the track.
Then it is all done. :thumb:
Hours so far:
2h - Painting the Panel
5h - Friday night
12h - Sunday
If I have to guess it will be tonight and maybe tomorrow to finish. So another 6h or so.
Cheers,
Evert Loo
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Looking good!!! :thumb:
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Yes I know how much time and work goes into designing and building a nice control panel.
When its all done, you will forget all the time and have pleasure every time that you look at it.
When I built those panels on Wolfgang's layout I did not have a temperature controlled soldering iron yet, just a 30W Weller.
It was on for so long that the handle started getting hot. I was forced to have a break. :)
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Good Morning All,
OK, last update before Hobby-X
I finished all the wiring last night - the most important ones to make the layout work :biggrin:
So now the total hours looks like this....
Hours so far:
2h - Painting the Panel
5h - Friday night
12h - Sunday
6h - Tuesday evening
I still have to wire all the LEDs for the switches on the panel.
As well as the ON/OFF of the actual layout.
Then there is still a few small things I want to make look better on the wiring from the panel to the layout.
All in good time :)
1st, wiring at the bottom of the Panel
2nd, connector block for all the points
3rd, complete panel switched on. Lights of the track plan looks extremely bright on the picture, it is not as hectic.
4th, Old Panel..... WOW, what an improvement.
Cool, hope you have a good rest of the week and speak again soon.
Cheers,
Evert
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Nothing like a deadline to get things done speedily !
Enjoy the display and hope you make many converts.
Cheers,
Steve
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Hi Evert, awesome man. :thumb: :thumb:
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Very pretty.
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Hi Evert
Verry good - why that works so instantly by you? When I do some things like that, I have trubles all the times... ;D
(Oops - now I discovered your post in the other file...) >:D
Go ahead!
trainmaster
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Good Morning All,
Yea, it's been quite a while, but I was busy with maintenance on a few Loco's Ed and myself bought and now it is end of the year also, so there is not really time to work on the trains.
But I did manage to to something I was thinking about for quite some time. I started with part of it on page 3.
Top of the mountain where the backdrop touches the layout it is just straight, so I changed it a bit. Added some more trees and bushes.
Looks much better now I think :biggrin:
First pix is the original before my change.
Second one is now after the change.
Cheers,
Evert
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Very nice, I especially like that rocky outcrop in the middle that you have added. :thumb:
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Looks like some progress was made :innocent:
Well done! :thumb:
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Awesome Evert! :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
So one thing I have not finished on my layout is the 2nd connection to my train yard. first one is done and it works well. Pic01.
So this weekend I decided it is time, I have one month till the show on the 3rd of March.
Pic02 is how everything looked before I started to dismantle.
Then it was trees out, cabins out, back board and some of the landscaping had to be cut away.
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Yesterday I finished all the prep work so next is laying the new point and a pice of straight track that will connect to the train yard.
Pic01 and 02 - I had do build a base for the track, as everything under the trees was hollow.
Pic03 - I also added a profile piece so that I can have something to lay the creatstone cloth over.
Pic04 - Last thing I did was to cut the track where the point must fit in.
So now everything is ready for the track.
I'll see if I can do that tonight.
Cheers and enjoy the day.
Evert
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Hi Evert,
nice to see, but wow a lot of deep surgery to connect the
yard extension.
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Hi Evert,
nice to see, but wow a lot of deep surgery to connect the
yard extension.
Remember, normal mortals like me would just lay the track right over the mountain terrain.
Not Evert. It will be surgical!!! :biggrin:
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Nice ! :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
So I managed to do the track work last night :thumb:
Was a bit difficult to get the point in there, but I managed and it all works well.
I have also soldered all the connections, so I will not have any issues.
I pushed a boxcar around the point and it feels good and smooth, so I'm not expecting any problems.
Tonight I'll solder in some feeder wires and then a test.
Cool, speak again soon.
Cheers,
Evert.
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Prototypical bricks there... :peep: :stir:
Looking good. :thumb:
Don't you feel the heat? Was in the garage for 10 mins and nearly drowned in my sweat... :eek:
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Good Morning All,
So my sun was sick at home with the flu yesterday, so when he was sleeping I got time to work a bit on my layout :thumb:
Got quite a bit done.....
On Tuesday evening I finished the creatstone cloth to form the base for the rocks, trees and grass.
I glued some rocks in and also managed to fill in all the gaps. Think it will work very nicely.
I also added the two cabins back.
So tonight I will paint the rocks.
Then it is the painting of the ground cover and then grass.
Re-ballast the track again and then the Catenary and Trees can then go back.
Cool, enjoy the pictures.
Cheers,
Evert
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:thumb:
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Nice Evert! :thumb: :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
Small update from my side, I had to work this weekend so not much time.
Painted the rocks on the back and planted the grass.....
Next is the front side where the cabins is.
Cheers and speak again soon.
Evert
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:thumb:
Are you still going to weather the track a bit?
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Hi Yörg,
Mmmmmm, not to sure. Currently it is all natural weathering :biggrin:
I have to say those Woodland Scenics Weathering pens does look awesome, so I might buy one and try them out some day.
Cheers.
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Good Morning All,
Had some time last night and decided to finish the grass on the new hill and gorge section.
Think it looks quite good.
Next is the balast for the track again and then the catenary and trees. Then it is as good as new again :thumb:
Love it...... Awesome to work again and all the pleasure it give me. Really cool.....
Cheers,
Evert.
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Very nice !! ;D :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
Managed to spend a little bit of time with my layout over the weekend.
Finished the feeder wire s for the additional track.
Then I also ballasted the new sections. While I was busy I fixed all the placed on the layout where the ballast came loose, So all is fixed now again :thumb:
Looking really good and I like the way it is turning out.
Cheers,
Evert
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Looking great. :thumb:
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+1 :thumb:
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Wow nice! :thumb: :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
Small update, I started with adding back all the trees and bushes. Still lots to do, so this is only the start :biggrin:
Cheers and have a good Weekend all.
Enjoy.
Cheers,
Evert :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
Spent some good time with my layout this weekend. Cleaned everything and washed the river and the fountain. Now the colour is brights again and not grayed because of dust. Also washed the cars, and cleaned the all the houses. So I'm happy :biggrin:
I also finished the section of the woods that I was busy with. So cantenary, trees, bushes, ballast and electronics are all done.
Small things I still have to do, cut the sliding panel (entrance to the tunnel) to size.
Re-paint the facia on that side of the layout.
And last is to fix the airplane again :( Bump it while I was working and the wings came off..... Ai, Ai.....
Enjoy the pictures.
Regards,
Evert Loo
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Also washed the cars,
Be careful, its illegal to wash cars at the moment in Cape Town. >:D
;D ;D
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It's looking like your normal layout again. :thumb:
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Very nice! :thumb: :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
A friend here at work was kind enough to make something for my layout :biggrin:
His wife told me that something is missing - a Hollywood sign.....
Mmmmmmm, nice idea, so he made me a LooVille sign.
So now I need to build a frame behind the letters and mount them.
Think it will be a nice finish on my layout.
Here is some pictures.
Cheers,
Evert
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Wow, that is awesome.
Some hikers around it taking photos. :thumb:
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Brilliant! :thumb:
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Super Touch! :thumb: :thumb:
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Good Morning All,
So I finally sat down and started to build the structure to hold the LooVille name :thumb:
I used a combination of styrine strips and cardboard.
Structure will go a dark colour and the letters I will do in white.
Here are some pictures of the build.
Enjoy.
Cheers and see you all at the show :biggrin:
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:thumb:
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Good Morning all on this extremely COLD morning.....
I did some good work on my layout and finished the LooVille signage. Must say it came out awesome, I'm very happy.
Now I just need some painters and some photographers to complete the scene. All in good time.
Enjoy the Pictures.
Cheers.
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:thumb:
I still need to find a name for my layout as well.
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Well done!!! :thumb: :thumb:
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:thumb:
I still need to find a name for my layout as well.
Hint: Looville is taken... :stir:
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;D
It will have to be a German name.
:thumb:
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please not!
means
trainmaster
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Nice :thumb: :thumb: :thumb
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Hello All.....
Yea, and so the layout always changes :biggrin:
I finally bought the Painters from Woodland Scenics..... So Cool !!!!!
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:thumb:
That painter on the ladder, I have serious doubts that he is following all the safe
work practices. ;)
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Very cool little scene that.
I like the spilt paint too.
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Right..... It's been a while and it's been a looooong time comming......
:biggrin: ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE :biggrin:
My layout have not been operational for some time so I decided it is time to get things fixed and up and running again.
A While back I bought some new connector plugs from Wish.com and they are awesome and good quality.
So it was time to change.
Picture 01 - I took the old Molex plugs out and replaced them with the new plugs.
Picture 02 - I also added a set to the front of the layout as it make life easier at home.
Picture 03 - Is the Main Bus that will go the the new connectors.
Picture 04 - Just a picture of the control panel
Picture 05 - Overall picture of the wiring of the layout. I know it is not the best or neatest, but it works and for me to make changes or add stuff is easy.
Enjoy and speak again soon.
Cheers.
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:thumb:
the beauty of smaller layouts, just flip on its side to do the wiring, no crawling around on the ground.
As you get older you appreciate those things more. :)
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The wiring always shows the other side. Well done Evert. :thumb: :thumb:
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:thumb:
Remeber rule 1 - if it ain't broke, don't fix...
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Hello, Hello Everybody,
So, one place on my layout was always a bit of an after thought and I never really did something there.
So I decided to make some changes and this will also make the flow from the town module to the yard module better.
Pic 01 - currently there is some trees in-front of the tunnel entrance. The dead one I never really liked.
Pic 02-04 - I pulled them all out and build it up with some styrofoam and a new section of facia..... The idea is to create a hill with some more trees and bushes.
I think it will look good and will be a nice change to my layout.
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Once the creatstone was all dry I painted it with my brown earth colour and the covered it with grass.
Then it was time for trees and bushes.
I'm still busy with the bushes, going to take a while to complete that :biggrin:
Cool, enjoy the pictures and speak again soon.
Cheers,
Evert :thumb:
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Hello All,
Some more changes to my layout :biggrin:
I bought another Ready built WoodlandScenics building (Hardware Plumbing Electrical Paints)
Desided it will look nice next to the General Store as the look very similar.
But that mean I have to take the General Store off the layout and move it slightly.
So it was removed..... Picture 01
I had to remove the pavement as well as the street light and all the detail I added.
Test fitted the two buildings..... Picture 02 Think it can work yes :biggrin:
So, new pavement was built..... Picture 03
Then I tested the Lights and found that the light of the current building was not working anymore, so I decided to add the new strip LED's in to the buildings. Much nicer I think :biggrin:
Picture 04
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I tested the LED's, but they are way to bright..... Picture 01
So I painted them with brown and while paint. There is 3 LED's, so each was done differently to get the perfect light as well as brightness.
Picture 02, I like the colour and the brightness of the buildings.
Once happy I soldered the wires to the layout and glued the buildings in place..... Picture 03
Picture 04, I started to add some details back to the scene, 2x street lights and a few other things.
Not finished yet..... Will send some more updates soon.
Cheers,
Evert
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Nicely done Evert! :thumb: :thumb:
The dimming of the Led's came out beautifully. :thumb: :thumb:
Regards
C & W
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Nicely done Evert,
I also like the lighting effect very much.
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Good Morning All.....
Last little bit of building to fit the 2 buildings nicely to the layout.
There was quite a gap at the bottom of the first building and the light bled through there, so I decided to add some creatstone, Pain it and add some grass and bushes.
All sorted now :thumb:
Regards, Evert
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Hello All,
Yea, so I found another something to change on my layout :biggrin: It never stops.....
almost 10years ago I layed this track across the wooden bridge. This was the first ever kit I built for the layout.
I decided to lift the track and move the sleepers close together and also add additional feeder wires.
Picture 01 is the current...
So, the track was lifted. Picture 02
I cleaned the layout as far as possible.
Then I cut the spacers between the ties away, moved them together and refitted the Guide Rails.
Track was fitted and train tested......
Awesome, it all still works..... :thumb:
Cheers, Evert
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Track Fitted.... and Trains running :thumb:
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:thumb:
Its those small details that really make a layout awesome.
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Peco code 80 bridge track - well done! :thumb:
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Nicely done. Can you please explain the track between the tracks on the bridge. Seen it many times. :thumb:
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And a hell of a lot cheaper than using Micro Engineering bridge track !
From someone who had the T-shirt, and got it covered in blood trying to fit the damn Micro Engineering rail joiners. :rant:
Steve
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Nicely done. Can you please explain the track between the tracks on the bridge. Seen it many times. :thumb:
Here is the explanation : :biggrin:
The intention is to keep derailed cars from going over the side....they can also be seen around overpasses where a derailed car might want to wander and strike a support column for a high way bridge. These "guard" rails are usually referred to as "Bull" rails so as not to confuse with a real guard rail...the type which keeps the flanges from picking the points of a frog thru a turnout.
Cheers, Evert :thumb:
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Wow, thank you Evert. :thumb:
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Hello All......
Yea, this is why they call this a lifelong hobby :biggrin:
I decided to rebuild the scenery in front of my station. O:-)
I'm also going to change the catenary from being only one line to be all 3 lines. I will look more realistic and the double poles with cross wires should look quite impressive.
I cleared the current single poles and also removed all the scenery stuff, I still want to remove little bit more of the ballast.
I have placed 2 sets of catenary poles in place, just to see if it will work. Will add about 6 sets.
Think this will be a nice change to the front of the layout.
Cheers, Evert
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That will look great.
Looking forward to seeing this layout again.
You will need lots of tables at the next show, Z,N and HO scale layouts. ;D
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Awesome Evert, never ending hobby. :thumb:
Ciao
ColWer
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It will look good however I have cleaned your track for the last time... :innocent:
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Good Morning All.......
OK, so the progress is slow, but it is getting there.
Picture 1 is the kit I have for building this.
Most of the poles are up and the wires are in. I still need to add some details and some small bits that need some painting.
I also have to add the tension wires and tensioners.
I took the old crossing out and rebuild it, think it is much better now :thumb:
Then some bushes and then I think it will be done again...... :biggrin:
Cheers and enjoy the pictures.
Evert :thumb:
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Looking very good. The random blend of ground cover colours really stands out.
Steve
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Very neat.
:thumb:
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Very nice looking indeed! :thumb:
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Awesome Evert. Like it very much. :thumb:
Ciao
ColWer
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Good Morning All.....
Yea, It's been a while, but the Catenary change at my Station is finally complete :biggrin:
Took me almost 3 weeks, but I think it looks great. I clean the track with my Tomix Cleaning car and it works great.
I have not put my Peco cleaning Block or WoodlandScenics Cleaning Stick on the layout for the past two months and my trains run like a dream.
Enjoy the pictures :thumb:
Cheers and speak again soon.
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Awesome, looks great.
Few people realize how long it takes to put up catenary.
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Nicely done Evert! :thumb:
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Awesome, looks great.
Few people realize how long it takes to put up catenary.
And how difficult track cleaning become...
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The rail based track cleaner is the long term answer there - like the Tomix track cleaner. It vacuums and polish the rails. Great cleaner and worth every cent!
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Nice! :thumb: :biggrin:
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OK, so my Wife and her Parents club together and gave me money to buy a Grass Applicator. This was in July 2020 already.
So finally stock arrived in SA and I added a bit and bought the Static King from WoodlandScenics.
I also bought Light, Medium and Dark Green Grass in 2, 4, 7 and 12mm.
Now I can play very nicely :biggrin:
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So last night I was playing a bit.
Put some WoodGlue on a Piece of AluminiumFoil and wow...... So cool......
Picture 01 and 02 is pieces I made.
I used 2mm and 4mm Light and Medium Green mixed.
Then I left it to dry for a bit and added some more glue on the edge and blend some 4mm Dark green in.
Once fully dried I peeled it off and apply WoodGlue to the bottom of the grass patch again.
Then I molded it into my layout. All the trees and bushes is already in place, so I have to do this slightly different from the norm.
Think it look quite good, I like it.
Picture 03 is the before
Picture 04 and 05 is after I applied the StaticGrass patch and blended it in.
Cheers, Evert
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Very nice Evert. Very good reviews about your applicator. Like it. :thumb:
Ciao
ColWer
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Good Evening All......
It's been a VERY, VERY long time since I have posted anything here O:-)
But I did some work the past week and took my layout to the show again. Layout performed so well and I was really happy with what I achieved this far.
I decided it is time to play with some snow...... I really like it and it give a awesome look. I prefer to do it very lightly, so not to much scenery and detail is lost.
Might not look realistic or the way snow fall, but I like it.
Then I also added quite a bit of Static Grass......
And I had to re-do the river as it was really not looking great any more. Dull and no gloss.
I added a thin layer of resin and then added the woodland scenic water effects...... For the waterfall I added a little bit of stuffing so it looks like the water is foaming a bit.
Enjoy the pictures.
Cheers, and speak again.
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And the river .....
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Very nice, I like the ripple effect on the river. :thumb:
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Very nice. :thumb:
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Good Afternoon All :biggrin:
Small little update on my layout.......
Have been cleaning and making Scenery look nice again for the show :thumb: Some of the Scenery is 15 years old so it is a little dull .....
I have also added some more bushes, never-ending story.
And I have added some soild from our garden, think it make quite a big difference, almost look more real.
Lastly I have added a little bit more snow.......
Will add more bushes, but overall I'm happy again and the trains run like a dream :biggrin:
Enjoy the pictures.
Cheers and see everybody at the show.
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Looking very nice Evert, but please have a good talk with your balasting team.
>:D
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Looking very nice Evert, but please have a good talk with your balasting team.
>:D
LOL :biggrin: Jörg.
Yea, I still have to talk to them and get the crew sent out :thumb:
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Awesome Evert. :thumb: Love it.