serenityFan - Discussion thread

[disturbman]

Thread reserved to discuss serenityFan's project and updates.

[disturbman]

Nice project serenity! I like the idea of the tram terminus and of the open market.

 

I think this party is going to be quite interesting. For the moment all the projects are of equal quality, interest and, for me, source of excitment. I'm really pleased with all this.

[Bernard]

Serenity - Great idea, a project that will add on to your existing layout. What material are you using on top of your WS inclines?

[serenityFan]

Thanks guys ... I'll need all the support (and the occasional nudge) to make sure I'll finish this one on time   :grin

 

I got tired of all the holes on my inclines and risers, so I covered almost everything with 3 mm cork sheet, the same material which covers the entire base of my layout. I was planning on covering all risers with plester cloth, however the small section that I did came out very rough, bumpy and uneven, the unitrack won't lay flat on them. So I had to scrape them off and cover all the track section with cork.

 

Any suggestions for the base for my diorama? I need something thin and strong, too thick of a base and the diorama will sit too high on the layout...

 

Edit: the pic in the progress thread is too big, here is a more sane version ...

[disturbman]

I've seen in creative hobby shops very thin (like milimeters high) leaf of wood. Might be sturdy enough, if not some foam core boards might do the trick. I used one day some that were like 5 milimeters and it was really strong. A diorama could held on top of it. :)

[Mudkip Orange]

I've seen in creative hobby shops very thin (like milimeters high) leaf of wood. Might be sturdy enough, if not some foam core boards might do the trick. I used one day some that were like 5 milimeters and it was really strong. A diorama could held on top of it. :)

 

I used 5mm hardboard on Mudkip Dentetsu 1.0. I think availability is regional - it was at Lowe's in PHL, but I haven't seen it anywhere here.

[CaptOblivious]

You could use even thinner tempered high-density fiberboard from your local art supply shop (brandname "Hardbord"). I've found 1mm tempered HDF board to be really tough. It's pretty cheap too.

[Bernard]

Nice start to the project!

[Bernard]

Excellent results on weathering the track, you can do mind. 

 

Here is a test you can do to take the paint off the head rail before you airbrush. Take a small amount of light oil on a Q-tip and spread in on the head rail only. Airbrush the track and then wipe off the paint that got on the head rail. If you're doing a lot of weathering of track on a layout, this is a big time saver.

[serenityFan]

Thanks.

 

When I checked the results again this morning it looked a bit too light (orange), maybe the paint colour becomes lighter as it dries. Certainly looked better last night, although that could also just be my eyes around midnight

 

I must admit I originally thought this weathering business is difficult, however having tried it, is not as difficult as I thought it would be... and the difference is quite visible especially when you put is side by side with un-weathered track.

I might even do some more tests to get a darker look.

 

I think I did read about oiling the rail before hand,  does that also work if I'm painting using a manual paint brush (and not airbrushing)?

[Bernard]

[quote author=serenityFan link=topic=1681.msg16407#msg16407 date=1253148428

 

I think I did read about oiling the rail before hand,  does that also work if I'm painting using a manual paint brush (and not airbrushing)?

I don't know. I might not work if some of the oil got on the paint brush then none of the paint will adhere to the rails. So forget what I suggested and stick to what you're doing, it's working.

[Bernard]

Serenity - The biggest compliment I can give you is that I'm going to copy your method!

I like the effect you got and there is a wall of my layout that I've been having problems deciding on what to do with. Now I know!

What material did you use for the road.               

[serenityFan]

Glad you liked the method 

Of course I found this method on the internet, however I can't find where I saw it. I'll post it later ...

 

As for the road in the picture, that is actually cork which will serve as bed for the flex track. The track will go along the wall, where as the actual road will be at the front of the module.

[serenityFan]

The original post where I read about my concrete-ing method, check out this link:

 

http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=33002

 

and look for engineerkyle... also has some pictures of his results.

 

On another note, I have tested ballasting a piece of flex-track (not on the module, but on a test strip). Luckily I decided to do a test-run first, as this is my first time, and the results are not what I expected.

 

It wasn't as dense as I hoped, I will try again and this time maybe I have to push down and compact the ballast into the space especially around the rail ties.

[Bernard]

The Tram Terminus is quite a detailed project you're doing, I didn't realize it. (I thought the demo model looked good,who makes it out of curiosity) I like how you measured the Portram with the platform. Can't wait to see the next step when it's painted.

[serenityFan]

The Tram Terminus is quite a detailed project you're doing, I didn't realize it. (I thought the demo model looked good,who makes it out of curiosity) I like how you measured the Portram with the platform. Can't wait to see the next step when it's painted.

 

Which demo model are you referring to? This one? [smg id=675]

Or the other one in the link?

[disturbman]

That's heavy modeling that you are doing. Great job! To see you work like that gives more strength to actually try scratch building.

[Bernard]

The Tram Terminus is quite a detailed project you're doing, I didn't realize it. (I thought the demo model looked good,who makes it out of curiosity) I like how you measured the Portram with the platform. Can't wait to see the next step when it's painted.

 

Which demo model are you referring to? This one? [smg id=675]

 

That's the one.

[serenityFan]

Yes, i made that one as well. That was the first iteration, and it allowed me to try different things. Like I tried several ways to make the roof section. Also it allows me to learn from mistakes. For examples the pillars are not straight because I did the holes on the roof and on the base separately. Now for the real model, I know that I need to align and create the holes on both the roof and the base together so the pillars are really straight.

 

All these little things are the main difficulties I encounter when scratch building. Once all these are known, it is quite straight forward to make the final model. I'll also practice painting the model on the prototype later. 

[serenityFan]

That's heavy modeling that you are doing. Great job! To see you work like that gives more strength to actually try scratch building.

 

yes, give it a try. I think you're not that far away from actual scratch building with the way you're using paint on tape give hour small house more texture.  taking the first step is always the most difficult. I tried to scratch-build a small hotel to sit on the top of my plaster mountain but it never got off the ground. Luckily this terminus did much better, and it gives me more confidence to built other buildings.

[disturbman]

Nice work Serenity! It's coming along nicely! 

 

I have one or two questions for you:

- Did you rework the end of you rails to fit them in the platforms? Meaning, did you cut away the clip system and remove the eclipse?

- What did you use to form your platform? Cork and

[Bernard]

Serenity - Your layout looks very precise and neat. If you don't mind could you show a wider photo of the layout, the bench work looks good.

[serenityFan]

Nice work Serenity! It's coming along nicely! 

 

I have one or two questions for you:

- Did you rework the end of you rails to fit them in the platforms? Meaning, did you cut away the clip system and remove the eclipse?

- What did you use to form your platform? Cork and

 

Thank disturbman ... for the end of the rails, I didn't cut the clip system, I just covered it with a layer of balsa wood.

 

So the first layer is 3 mm cork, this layer sits on the base and the track also sits directly on the base. I make a cut on the cork to fit the clip:

 

[smg id=690]

 

The clip now sits flush with the cork layer, so I can put the second layer (which is 2.5 mm balsa wood) on top covering the clip:

 

[smg id=691]

 

 

Serenity - Your layout looks very precise and neat. If you don't mind could you show a wider photo of the layout, the bench work looks good.

 

 

I haven't taken a new photo, so I'll just insert an existing photo here:

 

[smg id=661]

[smg id=687]

 

So looking at the second photo, in order from the bottom to the top I have:

Ikea table, Woodchip board, cork 3mm, the base (cardboard) for the module, another layer of cork 3mm, balsa wood 2.5mm. 

[disturbman]

Ok... so your base is balsa wood. I'm having myself a problem to find the products I need to build my platforms.

[disturbman]

Now, you see. "Don't take any pictures with your mobile phone!" should have been one of the guidelines. 

 

Glad that both of you are making progress. Because I'm not. I wish I could but I just can't locate the building material (foam, cork and/or styrene) I need. I can't even score blue foam boards in places like "home depot" here. I must have missed something.