What did you do on your layout today? (N scale)

[railsquid]

OK, so I finally got the double-track main loop sorted, as in fitted all the track together, which is complicated by the need for 7.5 degree angles (= a very fine-toothed saw and some butchery with plastic nippers) further complicated by the current unavailability of Tomix  317mm radius 15 degree curves. Next step is to wire it up so I can use more than one controller with it.

[cteno4]

Looks like, yeah, but in fact I was too lazy to extend the table fully. :)

It's a small canal! Or fault line...

 

Jeff

[nah00]

Visitors this weekend so had to put it away! ..

P1080798 (1280x856).jpg

 

What is this organization of track that I see? I thought you were just supposed to throw it in a box!

[buckingham]

What is this organization of track that I see? I thought you were just supposed to throw it in a box!

Haha. That box is so convenient - once we had downed the six bottles of Rioja that came with it. Edited January 29, 2017 by buckingham

[nah00]

Built my first Sankei kit (a small shrine) and didn't just want to leave it as a roadside one so I gave it a tree to be the shrine for. Did a (barely visible) shimenawa and made some shime from from thicker paper.

[ToniBabelony]

Friggin' ballasting... Gotta get this done before doing any other substantial stuff. Also, got extra footpaths and cable gutters from Kato to add some liveliness to the otherwise barren stone fillings. Makes for more realism and a physical barrier for the ballast. :)

 

[enodenlover]

Today I went to my not-so-local hobby shop ( the Hobbytown USA chain ) and bought a sheet of one-sixteenth inch styrene. After a few hours of cutting and sanding I now have a gently winding paved road on the layout. Originally I was going to do this with painted fine grain sandpaper but I decided that might be more appropriate for gravel walking paths. Might do them that way but I may go with Z gauge ballast instead. Decisions, decisions.... 

 

Bob

Edited January 31, 2017 by enodenlover

[tossedman]

What did I do on my layout today? Nothing. Again. Oh wait, I surfed the interwebs looking for inspiration. So... research, I did research, yeah that's it, research.

 

Cheers eh,

 

Todd

[serotta1972]

Friggin' ballasting... Gotta get this done before doing any other substantial stuff. Also, got extra footpaths and cable gutters from Kato to add some liveliness to the otherwise barren stone fillings. Makes for more realism and a physical barrier for the ballast. :)

 

Looks great Toni, for a second I thought you were using the double track plates.  The foot paths and gutter are a nice touch.

[ToniBabelony]

Looks great Toni, for a second I thought you were using the double track plates.  The foot paths and gutter are a nice touch.

 

Thank you! It's a good replacement for the discontinued double track plates from Kato as well. I'm using Unitrack purpose ballast here, so it's perfect as well for T-Trak:

 

 

Now I need to really start cracking on the landscape of this module, as I'm taking it to a closed meeting in a few weeks. It doesn't really need to be finished perfectly though, as it's more for the entry of a contest in a month or so.

[enodenlover]

I spray-painted the styrene roadway pieces that I made yesterday with Tamiya Royal Light Gray and glued them into place. Looks pretty good.

 

Bob

[medusa]

Not strictly layout but I put all the tiny extra parts into my new Kato EF210... looks absolutely amazing but nearly drove me insane when trying to get the tiny brass whistles in. I'm becoming too old for this... :)

A question about the numbers: rubbed some on, seems this is made from very thin metal sheet with some sticky stuff on the back. How durable is this? Does it need some additional protection (e.g., thin layer of transparent paint)?

[Martijn Meerts]

Adding the tiny detail parts tends to add about 1 year per part added ;)

 

The rub on type of lettering can come off if you handle the train around those areas a lot. A clear coat will help protect it, but that does mean you'll likely have to clear coat the entire locomotive, otherwise you'll definitely notice where you've clear coated and where not. You'll also need to decide which type you want to go with, full gloss should be out of the question, so it's either semi-gloss (satin) or flat/matte. 

 

Actually, a flat clear coat on things like buildings and such will take away the plastic look quite a bit, so that's also something to look at. Some of the best clear coat for modelling is the Mr. Hobby Topcoat, they come in spray cans, so no need for an airbrush or anything. They're used a LOT in the Gundam plastic kit scene.

[cteno4]

there was just a report on the n scale yahoo group about the rustolium clear coats of being very nice quality stuff, superior to the old testors dullcoat. satin apparently gives a nice finish for cars to make all the decals come out with a very similar look to the painted areas and blend in as natural. comes in a satin, semigloss and matte.

 

next trip to the craft store i plan on trying a can to play with

 

https://smile.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-249087-Painters-Purpose-12-Ounce/dp/B002BWORZE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1485988562&sr=8-4&keywords=rustoleum+2x+clear

 

https://smile.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-249859-Painters-Purpose-12-Ounce/dp/B002BWOSAS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485988461&sr=8-1&keywords=rustoleum+2x+semi+clear

 

https://smile.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-249117-Painters-Purpose-12-Ounce/dp/B002BWOS5I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485988562&sr=8-2&keywords=rustoleum+2x+clear

 

https://smile.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-249845-Painters-Purpose-12-Ounce/dp/B002BWOS8U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485988749&sr=8-1&keywords=rustoleum+2x+clear+satin

 

jeff

[ToniBabelony]

Added the centre divider, finished up the main part of the ballasting and thinking hard about the station situation.

 

 

 

Maybe it's a nice idea to cut the station in half and have one half of the layout be covered by elevated tracks instead of a massive platform blockade.

[JR 500系]

Looks great Toni san! I am in high votes for a bus terminal in front of the station, along with turn tables for taxis which is oh so common in Japanese train stations!  :)

[ToniBabelony]

Looks great Toni san! I am in high votes for a bus terminal in front of the station, along with turn tables for taxis which is oh so common in Japanese train stations!  :)

 

A bus terminal is the most viable idea I think as well. Maybe a small terminal railway or tram station as well, but I think I'll scrap the narrow gauge section. The narrow gauge will probably become a standalone project as a Dutch layout, as most of my rolling stock is or will be Dutch narrow gauge anyway...

 

I very much like how it looks now:

 

 

[Densha]

Instead of all-viaduct, you could also go for a bit of embankment or simply some shops under the viaduct.

[nah00]

Not strictly layout but I put all the tiny extra parts into my new Kato EF210... looks absolutely amazing but nearly drove me insane when trying to get the tiny brass whistles in. I'm becoming too old for this... :)

A question about the numbers: rubbed some on, seems this is made from very thin metal sheet with some sticky stuff on the back. How durable is this? Does it need some additional protection (e.g., thin layer of transparent paint)?

 

Since they were such a pain for me to get on I sealed it with brush-on matte clearcoat. It shows up kind of ugly around the transfer but after the horror of putting them on I didn't want to have them come off and from 3 feet away you can't tell. For the horns I usually just cut off most of the peg (I leave just enough for it to 'catch' the hole in the shell) and glue it on that way. Also makes it easier to use the little tool they give you to attach the peg. 

[medusa]

The little tool they supplied broke apart on the first try... had to use my trusty old tweezers and a fingernail.

Thanks to all for the clear coat hint... have no good experiences on other models with this, always looked "dirty" after some time. If a number falls off after some time, -- well, like the prototype even models show signs of wear. ;)

 

Today, another test (again and again):

 

 

Runs very well on R315 curves, both directions with no problems at all. No more any derailings. Seems the '210 has better knuckle couplers than the older '65. Which immediately leads me to the question, are these newer Kato knuckles available as spare parts? They also look way better than the older ones.

Edited February 2, 2017 by medusa

[ToniBabelony]

Instead of all-viaduct, you could also go for a bit of embankment or simply some shops under the viaduct.

The station will be on shops and an entrance, as well as an overhead building. Underneath the viaduct will also be an assortment of useful constructions, like a police box and so on. Firstly I'm going to plan the street layout and then the buildings. Most buildings will be custom builds anyway, so no worries about fitting pre-mades in place.

[IST]

Laying tracks and signals on T-trak moduls.

(Yes, I know, weights are quite unique. :) )

 

  

[Suica]

Laying tracks and signals on T-trak moduls.

(Yes, I know, weights are quite unique. :) )

 

IMG_1466.JPG IMG_1467.JPG

:laughing7: Reminds me of something I saw recently.

 

Edited February 3, 2017 by cteno4
Fixed YouTube embed

[valkyriepm]

Working on detailing/weathering the Moha. Here's the beginning of the cowcatchers. Trial and error!

 

Martin

 

[enodenlover]

I've gotten quite a bit done today. Cut a slot into the bulletin board that's the layout's base to allow the track connector wire to disappear under the board, and glued a few postwar-era Japanese advertising signs to the bus terminal. Also painted the YSK shrine and torii gate castings that I got from Rakuten the other day. I might even get something else done tonight if I can drag myself out from in front of the TV.  

 

Bob