JR-Chiisai: Enoden T-Trak

[Martijn Meerts]

That's the one yes. I've been able to find quite a few pictures of the gate that leads to the track, the garden, and views from the building from inside the garden. Haven't been able to find any images of the left side of the building though, the side pointing towards the station.

 

I can just come up with something though. The idea is to get the buildings laser cut, so I could start with my own interpretation of the bits I can't find reference on, and once I do get reference, I'll adjust it and get a new one laser cut if needed. 

[cteno4]

Martijn,

 

to cover the riser foam on the edge just get some wood edging veneer and you can slice sections as needed or even cut a contour for the bit above the module base. Stain it similar to the base and should look fine with the straight even seam to the base. Get birch like your ply wood to stain it similarly and get it without heat adhesive backing (this is glue pre applied to the back that you activate with a hot iron rub on the veneer and not a good idea in this case!). Some come with a PSA backing which might stick well enough for you and if not then some heavier adhesive. It comes in rolls in sizes like 3/4”, 1”, 1.5”, 2” (and their metric cousins) wide and up to like 250’ Long!

 

you can also just use styrene and paint it, but the veneer looks nicer as a frame.

 

Glad to see you are back at this, it’s something that’s always been in the back of my head to do. One of our club members is looking at doing a branch line balloon for a special scene like this (not enoden).

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

Veneer would be an option, if it was possible to get it at reasonable amounts and prices. Apparently, it's not a very popular material for non-professionals over here. So far I've only found in in large quantities, which is more expensive than just making new bases, and I'd have a LOT left over, or in really small quantities in odd shapes that are smaller than the modules.

 

Actually, around where I live, the selection in wood is really bad. The local hardware store has some, but you spend half a day trying to find wood that's actually straight. Ordering it online means pretty hefty shipping cost, so that's not really an option. That's the great thing about the place where I have my things laser cut, they make sure they have high quality sheets of wood.

 

Painted styrene could be interesting as well, if you paint it like it's a cutout of the actual landscape, so you see the layers of dirt and some rocks in there, but I think that would draw too much attention away from the actual scenery on top of the module. (And I'm not good enough at painting to make it look convincing …)

 

For now I'm still just using Google Maps to measure out parts of the Enoden line, and drawing some ideas up on paper. I still don't really have the time or motivation to start working on an actual module quite yet.

 

[cteno4]

It is tricky visually with a cut thru like that. Black works but if the black strip gets too much then you get the eye flipping into negative space things that can be distracting from the scene fast that the viewer is not concious of all all. This is why I hate Ttrak faces painted a solid color. Natural wood grain works well as our eyes tend to just accept it and don’t start doing as many odd things with it visually. We always try to put it up near interfaces like this in visual range in exhibits and don’t use painted, metal (that does a whole mother thing), or solid Formica’s and such. It not cheap to do durably but done right and it just fades away, especially if it’s near touching areas, and eye focuses on the subject better.

 

that would be fun to do on a module, layer the dirt/rock/pavement strata up along the edge along with some cut off utility pipes and such along with a cut thru building and even a car! Would be a nice little find in a string of modules. Doing something really fun but a bit subtle in places can really peak folks visual interest again for the whole piece. Whole thing can’t be that way or just too loud. It’s the Hitchcock thing of crescendos and rests for the eye and brain.

 

Yeah you don’t find it in stores a lot except for the woodworking stores. Might look around to see if there is a wood working store somewhere, they are good for this stuff and will also sell sheets if veneer in various sizes that would work.

 

on second thought for this work the preglued might work to your advantage as it will hold up better if you saw an irregular edge and give you a sturdy backing that will hold glue well.

 

check online as  5m roll of 18mm is like 8 euro here on amazon

 

https://www.amazon.com/Cloverdale-78250-Band-Banding-25-Feet/dp/B000BZ0ZN6/ref=sr_1_15?keywords=Veneer+edge+banding&qid=1551123636&s=gateway&sr=8-15

 

Jeff

[Sheffie]

I thought about this when I was planning on having a hill at the front of my layout. I gave up on the idea when I caught myself wondering how many rock strata to include and how big would an N scale triceratops fossil be

[Martijn Meerts]

Jeff, since I'll be designing and laser cutting and / or 3D modelling most / all buildings, there's definitely the option to do a cutout of buildings, and add interior details to it. Most of the buildings I'll probably close off though, but some of the more interesting ones could be left open. It could be fun doing some sort of underground detail like drainage pipes on some modules at some point.

 

I know we have the veneer strips for a reasonable price, so I might experiment with one of those. I do think the strips here have been treated with some sort of layer, so it's impossible to stain it.

 

 

Sheffie, a triceratops would probably still be quite big, but definitely possible. Could probably find some 3D models of the skeleton of one, scale it to size, and then 3D print it, could be fun.

 

 

I did make a little bit of progress again, measured up some buildings around the elementary school, sketched the outline on 1:150 scale, and tried placing them around a bit on a sheet of paper where I sketched a module at full size. Need to do a little more measuring and draw some more buildings, and then I can probably post a picture of it. It's going to be very much 2D initially to see if / how things fit. After that I can start working on very crude 3D versions of the buildings to get a better idea of it all.

[MatrixFY]

A Triceratops skeleton for your 3d printing pleasure:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2071610

[cteno4]

Also can just nicely lasercut out your profile for a veneer piece! Much easier than trying to hand saw with a jeweler’s saw!

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

Little bit of progress on the design. This is the first of 2 modules of the area around the elementary school between Wadazuka and Kamakura.

 

I measured the track, road and main buildings, there’s still 1 building missing in the bottom left. This drawing is the actual size of a single T-Trak module, measurements are made using Google maps, so they’re not as accurate as can be, but accurate enough. 

 

I’ve also bought some chipboard so I can make crude versions of the buildings in 3D to get a better idea of the scale. 

[cteno4]

Great work and process Martijn! Kudos! 

 

Cheers

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

It gives a good idea of the space you have. I noticed that when I drew the outlines of the modules and the track, I felt like I had quote a lot of space for buildings. Then I started measuring the first buildings, and thought they were really small, and I'd be able to fit more on a module than I initially thought. Once I actually cut out the buildings and put them on the module sketch it became clear that you really don't have that much space after all. The module in the picture is also one with a depth of 25cm, so it's one of the bigger ones.

 

I'm looking at possibly getting a double length module laser cut since I really want to get a train station set up sooner rather than later. If I do end up doing that, I'll likely also experiment a bit with designing a module base where the 'ground' is a bit higher, to make up for the Unitrack's raised roadbed. And possibly some other ideas like contoured sides and adjustments to make road running look better. Depends a bit how much I can fit on a single sheet of wood of the size the laser cutter company uses.

 

 

[cteno4]

Here in the us modules have gone deep, most are doing 13”/33cm deep modules on 33ttrak straights. There is no standard on depth. Actually funnat times to see the back edge wander and not be the straight line.

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

Added a few more buildings. Pretty sure I’ve got them covered. There’s another building between E and G, but only a very small corner would be visible, so I might just skip it, or scratch build it from some scraps rather than get it laser cut. Then again, if I end up having space left on the sheets to be cut, I can always add it, we’ll see. 

 

Next step is to figure out the heights of the buildings and make some crude mockups. 

[Martijn Meerts]

Sketched out the first of the buildings (building B on the overview sketch). Reasonably happy with it, but the door feels too tall, and overall it’s about 4 to 5 mm taller than a 3 story Sankei kit. That doesn’t sound like much, but I’m not sure this is supposed to be a full 3 story building.

 

It’s a bit slow going, but it’s not that easy getting somewhat correct measurements. Takes a long time getting it all done. 

[cteno4]

Moderator note, sankei spirited away was split off as it’s own thread here

 

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

While the H0 project is still ongoing, I'm getting to a point where what I thought would be relatively easily is actually turning out quite challenging. For the C55 I need to bend some rods into shape for all the plumbing and electrical surround the boiler. Getting this in the correct shape and correct lengths is for more challenging than I thought it'd be. Just 1 sand pipe took me about half an hour, and it still doesn't quite fit like I want it to 🙂

 

So, rather than start working on a different H0 kit and ending up misplacing parts, and still not really knowing what I want to do with the big layout, as well as seeing a lot of T-Trak modules again recently, I decided to pick up my Enoden T-Trak idea again. I already had a bunch of modules, but all of those had the track mounted on top of the module. Much of the Enoden though doesn't have an embankment, or only a very minor embankment. I could've fixed that on the existing modules, but I decided to design some new ones, and also add some additional strength, and a place to mount some simple nuts and bolts to act as feet. These new designs have 4 variants, 1 for street running where the entire module is 7mm taller, but the track is still at 70mm; 1 for track with no embankment where the module is 5mm taller, and the top of the module is the same as the top of the sleepers; 1 with a minor embankment where the module  is 3mm taller and the Kato roadbed is more or less the same height as the Tomix roadbed; and 1 regular one where the track is mounted on top of the module.

 

 

 

After re-drawing everything in Inkscape (I don't have access to Illustrator anymore), I sent it off to the same place I had the previous modules laser cut. 2 days later I received 2 sheets of 3mm birch plywood with a total of 5 modules (1 single track street running, 2 single track no embankment, 1 double track no embankment and 1 single track slight embankment. All of these are 250mm deep, and I was actually surprised I could fit 5 modules on 2 sheets.

 

 

 

In my rush to get the drawing done and the modules cut before my week off from work, I managed to miscalculate things a bit. The track here actually sits too low, and obviously there's a bit of a gap that shouldn't be there.

 

 

 

So, checked the designs, fixed some things, and sent off another request to the laser cutter, luckily I needed a smaller sheet this time, so the additional cost wasn't too bad. In the meantime, I was thinking of making a wooden jig to help building the modules, and then remembered I have a 3D printer. So I built me a couple of little helper tools to keep the corners at exact 90 degree angles while the glue dries.

 

 

 

New sheet with all the fixed parts, mostly the sides and the center bracing was wrong, so those were cut again.

 

 

 

Dry fit test of the street running module, showing the track is nicely sunk and only a little bit of plaster (most likely) is needed to fill up the gaps 

 

 

 

Glued the slight embankment module, and hooked it up the 1 of my existing modules. It fits perfectly, so I can use the 'old' modules to make a nice loop while working on scenery on the new modules. The old modules will eventually get scenery as well, not planning on getting rid of those 🙂

 

 

 

This shows the slight embankment. I feel this looks more appropriate for sections of the Enoden where it's close to roads and such. For sections where it's in forest-y areas, the old modules can be used since the embankment there is higher.

 

 

I guess there's not that much reason to make these distinctions between no / slight / regular roadbed, but I do have a tendency to overthink things and try to be a bit too close to the prototype at times o.O

 

 

[katoftw]

The laser etched JR logo is a nice touch.

[Martijn Meerts]

Did a little more work on the T-Trak modules. Since my holidays are over already (1 week is way too short 🙂 ) things will be slower once again. I'm also doing a bit of experimenting with techniques, and I need to spend some more cash on stuff like scenery materials and tools. It's been a while since I did any scenery, so I don't have all that much stuff to work with.

 

 

 

This is just a picture of the internal bits to make the modules more sturdy. There's a cross section for some extra strength, and the 4 corner inserts help with keeping things at 90 degrees, add rigidity, and have a hole in them for a simple M8 bolt to act as adjustable feet.

 

 

 

Had a double track module cut to test that as well. Distance between tracks worked out perfect.

 

 

 

For street running and things like grade crossings, I've been working on a little 3D model to print. This is an early version that fits in between the track. It's a bit too tall and too wide, but other than that it fits well.

 

 

 

Another view of 2 inserts back to back. The disadvantage is that when making the gap a bit bigger, you can clearly see the sleepers in the gaps. I've tried to make a version that simulates Kato's Unitram inserts, but with the FDM printer that wasn't really doable. I'm still in the process of cleaning / reorganising the train room, so I can't use the resin printer at the moment, but once I can I'll do another test print using that. Still, for a first attempt and spending only a couple of hours, it's not bad at all.

 

 

 

This is the first module I want to start building, it's an area around the Daiichi Elementary School, close to Wadazuka station. I'm not sure why this part interested me, but I marked it on the map, and it's the first area I made a 1:1 scale drawing of. The track here is sunk into the module so the embankment isn't as crazy, and the grade crossing won't need insane ramps to cross the track 😄

 

[Martijn Meerts]

In the recent days I've been having a look at ways to create all the custom buildings needed for the Enoden modules. While a bunch of buildings are fairly standard, most of them seem to not be standard enough for kit bashing. Seeing how sturdy Sankei's kits are once built, I decided to have a look at card stock, and ways of cutting it.

 

Finding good quality card stock is more difficult here than it really should be. I eventually found a place that has fairly smooth 216 gsm solid core card stock in quite a lot of colours. I ordered a couple of sheets, and compared it to Sankei's stuff. The stock is slightly lower weight than Sankei's stuff (Sankei is probably around 240-250 gsm), but layering it should work. I also bought some 300 gsm water colour paper to use for structural support. Unfortunately this was only available in pure white, but since it's water colour paper it should be easy enough to paint in any colour. 

 

For testing purposes I'll try to cut some bits and pieces, and glue some coloured stock on top of the water colour paper and see what kind of strength I'll get out of that.

 

For accurate cutting, I'm looking at a Cricut machine. It looks to be a good alternative to a laser cutter for paper crafting. The nice thing as well is that a Cricut can also pens to draw before cutting, so it would be possible to draw for example planking on the side of a building. Other than that it can of course also score and emboss card stock, as well as cut templates for road markings and the like. 

 

Other than that, still have a lot of tools I need to get for scenery building. For the road I'm thinking of getting one of those Woodland Scenics road building starter kits, and give that a go. I'll then also need to pick up a static grass applicator and probably some other bits and pieces. Funny enough, I'm getting somewhat more motivated again to work on the various projects, but every one of them optimally needs some new purchases (a good daylight lamp with magnifier for the H0j C55 detailing, a bunch of track and turnouts for the big N layout, and a cutter / scenery tools for the T-Trak project 😄 )

 

 

[Cat]

Looking forward to seeing the building experiments!
 
I love the plan with the road and buildings off-kilter to the tracks, and buildings in the foreground for added depth of scene.

[Martijn Meerts]

So, I ended up buying the Cricut Maker 3 after seeing some pretty impressive videos and getting some feedback that it should be able to cut pretty detailed pieces.

 

The machine arrived yesterday, and after initial setup I figured I'd try to cut a replica of 1 of the walls of a Sankei kit. I measured up the Sankei wall, drew it up in Inkscape, exported it to Cricut's software, and a new wall came out of it 😄

 

 

The top one is the original Sankei wall, the bottom the custom version. There are some differences of course, I haven't engraved the vertical lines for example, and my cardstock isn't as heavy as the Sankei one. Also, corners on the Sankei are more square, but that's only really noticeable in the very small square ventilation openings. Considering measuring, drawing and cutting this took maybe an hour, I'm not at all unhappy with it.

 

Still need to do more experimenting though 🙂

 

 

[Martijn Meerts]

Did another bit of testing with the Cricut. I don't have any scoring tools, so I instead used the cutting tool with the lowest pressure setting to create some panel lines as seen in the original. The cuts are quite deep which makes the cardstock pretty fragile, but it does look pretty good. On some heavier card stock this would've worked great. I also tested cutting the 300gsm watercolour paper, but that stuff isn't really dense, so it started ripping it rather than cutting through it. Especially the smaller detail didn't hold up well, so I'll have to find an alternative for that.

 

 

 

 

This is also the last test cut I've done based on a Sankei kit. I just wanted to use it as a test to see if the measurements were accurate from Inkscape to the Cricut software, and then to the actual cut cardstock. Next step will be to draw up some custom buildings based on the buildings around the area I'm using as prototype for the first module.

 

 

[Madsing]

This really looks impressive!

When zooming into your photo, as you mentioned, I also get the impression that the corners are not so square. Can you take a closer shot? Would it be possible to cut the corners differently, in two steps?

I am considering purchasing this kind of cutter, or a laser cutter…

Do we know how the Sankei kits are manufactured?

[maihama eki]

5 hours ago, Madsing said:

This really looks impressive!

When zooming into your photo, as you mentioned, I also get the impression that the corners are not so square. Can you take a closer shot? Would it be possible to cut the corners differently, in two steps?

I am considering purchasing this kind of cutter, or a laser cutter…

Do we know how the Sankei kits are manufactured?

 

Pretty sure Sankei cuts their card stock with a laser. Their base material and laser process is exceptionally well developed. They are able to cut and scribe the material with minimal residual laser burning or discoloration.

 

Sankei is a long time producer of exhibition and museum models. The Minichuart kits are only part of their business - although maybe a large part in terms of revenue.

https://www.m-sankei.co.jp/company/ 

 

I don't have a laser cutter, but have sent designs to Ponoko for cutting many times. They have good service and seem oriented toward hobbyists. I have had them cut cardstock, wood, and acrylic.

[cteno4]

I think a lot of sankei’s lasercutting magic is their laserboard. It’s exceptionally stiff and I think has a lot of resin in it that does not burn or singe much with the laser. A friend was doing a lot of architectural models using lasercutting and had a few companies that made excellent laserboard that did not singe and you could even etch with differential color layers. Sadly those all went away as 3D printing pushed aside lasercutting for architectural modeling. Ive not see any other company with anything close to sankei’s sekret sauce laserboard!

 

all that resin makes it super tough to cut with a knife.

 

cheers

 

jeff