Yūrakuchō

[Englehart]

14 minutes ago, Rev Counter said:

Wow, having just read through all these posts start to finish I'm blown away by the level of planning, effort and detail that's gone into each tiny area of this layout. The whole project is truly a work of art. I'm particularly interested in the 7.1mm track and have been toying with the idea of trying to make some myself for quite some time. Your guide on resizing axles and the jig makes it seem dangerously simple enough to tempt me to have a go!

 

it's much easier to go 6.5mm instead as rails is readily available (z gauge), i've tried the 7.1 is a hit and miss without the proper tools. for now i've set it side due to resource issue but will do it again in the future 🙂

[cteno4]

Joe is a wicked, wicked man doing work like this! 😜 
 

jeff

[Kamome442]

Hi @Rev Counter thank you so much for the kind words! Converting trains to 7.1mm really does make a big difference, to me they instantly look more realistically proportioned. There is a community of modellers that convert trains often referred to Nj Scale. There are plenty of blogs where people share how they convert their trains, like @Englehartsays most people convert to Z gauge, it gives right effect and is a whole lot simplier not having to make your own track too! 

Converting the trains themselves is actually relatively simple, motorised cars can be a little tricky as you have to carefully cut away parts of the bogie frame. The hardest to covert would be SL and not something I would like to try, there are people who do and the results are always stunning.

 

Things have been slow around here for a couple of reasons, firstly I still trying to get to level of airbrushing and weathering that is good enough not to undo all the hard work I have put in so far.  Secondly I stumbled across a Twitter post a while back of someone who had 3D printed their own track which included a replica Pandrol clip, obviously I could not let that stand so I have been working on my Mk4 track. I will share the results once I am sure they are to an acceptable standard.

 

@cteno4 Mwhahahaha

[Englehart]

5 hours ago, Kamome442 said:

Hi @Rev Counter thank you so much for the kind words! Converting trains to 7.1mm really does make a big difference, to me they instantly look more realistically proportioned. There is a community of modellers that convert trains often referred to Nj Scale. There are plenty of blogs where people share how they convert their trains, like @Englehartsays most people convert to Z gauge, it gives right effect and is a whole lot simplier not having to make your own track too! 

Converting the trains themselves is actually relatively simple, motorised cars can be a little tricky as you have to carefully cut away parts of the bogie frame. The hardest to covert would be SL and not something I would like to try, there are people who do and the results are always stunning.

 

Things have been slow around here for a couple of reasons, firstly I still trying to get to level of airbrushing and weathering that is good enough not to undo all the hard work I have put in so far.  Secondly I stumbled across a Twitter post a while back of someone who had 3D printed their own track which included a replica Pandrol clip, obviously I could not let that stand so I have been working on my Mk4 track. I will share the results once I am sure they are to an acceptable standard.

 

@cteno4 Mwhahahaha

 

 

I agree on the conversion of bogies my bad was I did full conversion including modifition of all bogies instead of axles only

 

a replica of pandrol in N that's awesome

[Kamome442]

On 3/29/2023 at 11:19 PM, Englehart said:

a replica of pandrol in N that's awesome

 

They do look amazing, I think there are a few people making their own sleepers. This was the first version saw:

 

I did try 3D printing track a while ago and personally I am not convinced the resin is strong enough to hold the track especially on a layout that is going to be moved around for exhibitions. My version is just going to be cosmetic and glued on the sleeper. The clips used around Yurakucho are slightly different, luckily I did take some reference pictures of track while I was there. I haven't really gotten very far in designing them but this what I have drawn up so far:

 

The proportions and shape are still way off. The clip is far too big and obviously I won't last 5 seconds with open space around it, if it even printed. Even so from a normal viewing distance it should look pretty neat.

 

Still just a work in progress for now.

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Kamome442

[Rev Counter]

That looks great! If the clips are cosmetic, would the rail attach to the sleepers by the black 'clips' in the CAD drawing or by some other means?

[Kamome442]

46 minutes ago, Rev Counter said:

would the rail attach to the sleepers by the black 'clips' in the CAD drawing or by some other means?

 

A good question Rev, the answer is a little bizarre and over complicated as usual. The black part is what will hold the track down.

I have been having issues with the track I made using the little plastic chairs breaking and track lifting. They are designed for making points however I have been using them to hold down meter long lengths of rail. Unfortunately the expansion over that length has led to failure on 5 or 6 rails. I decided I wanted something more robust. I also figured if I should try and make them more realistic in the process. Here is a picture of one of the types of track tie used, taken from platform 4 at Yurakucho:

 

The black part is meant to represent the little block the rail is sitting on. This is actually an etched brass part:

 

The sleepers already have a predrilled hole in them to fit the plastic chairs I was using. My original plan was to drop a fine pin through the hole in the etch that the track would sit on and then crimp the brass plate around the rail to hold it in place. something like this:

 

The pin would then go through the sleeper directly into the baseboard. I did make a small section last year to test to destruction and worked very well, sadly I didn't take any pictures. After working out how many pins I would need and how much that would cost I decided to look for a cheaper alternative. I did mess around with etched pins that folded which reduced the price a little.

 

I have since moved to experimenting with strands of wire running hole to hole (a bit like a staple) and twisted together to be glued into the board and using them as contact to  get power to the track.

 

 

[Rev Counter]

This is insanely detailed and definitely presents some innovative ways of fixing the rails down. Definitely right up my alley and I'm now thinking of getting some sections of Code 40 rail and having my own try with it (starting with simply seeing if I can still solder)! Best of luck with the endeavour and I'm very excited to see how they all turn out!

[Kamome442]

Sorry Rev for not noticing you had replied, I hope a belated thanks is okay. Code 40 rail looks great, noticeably finer than code 55 and is useful to have around. I have noticed a lot of trackside structures are often made with old sections of rail. I am planning to construct some of the older sections of Yurakucho's roof supports with code 40 bullhead rail.

 

Finding Motivation

So there hasn't been much physical to report lately, I've had a degree of writers modellers block and decided to take a break if I wasn't feeling inspired. Thankfully there are no shortage of things that still need to be designed for this project. I started drawing up the parade of shops that sit under the KK Expressway running parallel to the tracks. 

 

The upper floors are mostly complete with lots of interesting window variations and vents (if you are into that sort of thing):

 

I have made a start on the ground floor, there is still plenty to do.

 

This will all be facing away from the viewer so I won't be spending a huge amount of time working on detailing. I will add lighting in the buildings so that I create some nice ambient light pollution behind the expressway and hopefully illuminate the trees that line road beyond.

 

One of the main reasons for my lack of progress has been creating the brick walls on the bridge abutments. I had assumed that 3D printing them with the brick texture would be the quickest solution. In reality I have been finding difficult to mask individual rows of bricks for painting as there is raised stonework on either side. I also found that the finished look, while not bad, did not really match the brickwork along the front of the arches.

 

I just wasn't happy with how it all tied in with arches when test fitting them on the layout. It pretty much led to a stalemate and I was getting frustrated that I could not get the desired look. I needed to step away. I decided recently to start again, this time I figured the simplest way to get bricks match the arches was to hand make them in the same way. I reprinted the four retaining walls with a recess where the bricks would be. I then constructed styrene brick sections, these are now all painted and just need a little weathering and varnishing. I am much happier with the overall look now.

 

I still need to paint the retaining walls a stone colour and weather them but once done the bricks can be glued in the recess. I also means I don't have to worry about any masking mishaps.

 

There are also three small recesses along the top of the decorative stone, these are for the metal crush blocks that sit under the bridge. I will again print them and paint them separately to get a nicer finish.

 

I also got around to making up a prototype pedestrian crossing light. It has been a lot more complex than I was expecting. Even with small 0201 LED's limited to 2.5v they were still so bright that you could not see the figure standing or walking. In the end I glued a small piece of paper between the LED and the outline of the person. To try to get the bluish green on the walk sign I dipped a white LED in Vitrail aqua green transparent glass paint. I am still not 100% sure it looks right but it is best I have come up with so far.

 

I am currently in the process of repainting the shop fronts for the arches, I wasn't happy with the finish on the metallic black so I am changing them to a charcoal grey. Hopefully the new found motivation will continue and updates will be more frequent in the future.

Joe

[cteno4]

Joe,

 

just stunning work and design as always!

 

On the leds for the pedestrian signs you might look at Gallery Glass. It’s a liquid acrylic that you can make pho stained glass with. When I was trying to find something to act as a diffuser on leds for streetlights and building I found their semi opaque white worked really well with just a small amount. I think they have some particles in it to help make it semi opaque and act as a good diffuser.

 

what did you make your little light housing out of? Did you etch and fold those? Did you print the figure outlines in black on clear acetate and then back with colored acetate? They look great!

 

jeff

[Madsing]

Hi Joe,

Wow, incredible! I was proud just fitting a single LED in my pedestrian crossing lights and now you show us what you have done!

Same question as Jeff. Please tell us a bit more…

I am trying to find a way to make a shunting route indicator like this one: https://booth.pm/ja/items/3447591, but with LEDs that would display at least one number (if possible more, but I really don’t know how).

Marc

 

[Kamome442]

13 hours ago, cteno4 said:

On the leds for the pedestrian signs you might look at Gallery Glass.

Thank you @cteno4, I will have a look at their range. The paint I used is a stained glass paint but it is transparent, I like the sound of using semi opaque to help defuse the light.

 

As for the how they are made I etched each aspect with the figure as a full etch, the surrounding black area was a half etch (which I filled with clear resin after painting it black) and the boarder as full thickness metal. I added an LED to the back of each with a dab of UV resin then sprayed the back silver. I had a separate frame that they both slot into and are glued in place.

 

I only etched 2 sets and having lost one walking figure to the carpet gods I need to etch more to carry on with testing. Below is the red aspect (left) next to its frame:

 

@Madsing on the right are the etched frames for a street light (top) and the bridge collision light (bottom). I haven't worked on them yet but I made the holes just over 0.2mm bigger then they should be. I am planning to cut small rings of brass tube, mount an LED in each tube with resin and drop the completed rings into the frame. I will need to cover the back of each ring to stop light bleed for that I am probably going to use some tinfoil.

 

I think for the next tests on the pedestrian crossing light I am going to ditch the separate pieces as this does over complicate the process. To isolate the two lights I am going to make a little housing in foil. I have been experimenting with making little 3D printed forms that I can shape the foil over to make security lights. I have been using the foil wrapper from a chocolate coin, it is nice and thick so I can bash it around without worrying about it tearing.

[cteno4]

OMG I am but a grasshopper 

 

jeff

[Kamome442]

2 hours ago, Madsing said:

I am trying to find a way to make a shunting route indicator like this one: https://booth.pm/ja/items/3447591, but with LEDs that would display at least one number (if possible more, but I really don’t know how).

Marc, I thought I liked a challenge but that is another level. To show a single number should be possible similar to how I did the pedestrian crossing. If it was up against something, like a building, maybe you could use fibre optics to get more than one number but it would be pretty complex. I am sure I have seen a gantry mounted route indicator modelled on a OO gauge UK layout before but I cannot remember when or where. If it comes to me I will let you know.

Joe

[Kamome442]

A New Mesh In Town

 

A while ago I shared a picture of a fine fabric I was going to use under a bridge, that is going to be modelled going through renovations.

For reference here is the picture I shared:

 

I have since found a finer mesh, that is a closer match the netting that was used. As before I have placed a bus under the to get a sense of how much will be visible through the netting:

 

Looking at the roof of the bus through the mesh, I am pretty pleased with the results:

 

Finally a close up look at the mesh:

 

The next step will be to colour the mesh blue. I now need to finish drawing up some etched bicycles to chain to the railings under the bridges. Once that is done I will have everything I need to fix the bridges down and it will just be a case of sitting down and putting it all together.

 

I have also removed the paint from the 5 shop fronts I had made and repainted them:

 

The originally used metallic black but this was too glossy especially with the little alcove lights were on there was light reflecting all over the place. They are now painted in anthracite grey, with a coating of 50:50 satin and matt varnish. I will use a matt black wash to highlight seals around the frames of the windows in the middle that in real life can open. I have made up a further 9 shop fronts, like the one above for further along the layout. These now need painting and a styrene base to fit on.

Joe

[Kamome442]

It is anniversary time again, 113 year since the opening of Yūrakuchō Station. 

To be honest it has been a tough year in terms of making the layout, with a lot of down time and frustration when modelled parts did not work out as planned. 

Having a break has certainly helped and looking at things with a fresh perspective. The biggest hold up has been working under the bridges trying to get the road finished.

I was planning to fix the bridges permanently however since added working lights under the bridges I have struggled to make parts accessible in such a tight space. If something got damaged there would be not really be anyway to make repairs.

 

I decided to make the bridges removable. To do this I am going to 3D print a base that will sit under the arches with a removable section that the bridges are attached to.

 

Once in position the removable section will need to be held most likely with screws and possibly small magnets to help align everything perfectly. 

 

The bottom half of the support with be behind the arches. The track bed will be cut back a little and sit on the lip at the back of the lower support.

This time I will be using my FDM printer while it is not the best for fine detail, I will use PLA plastic as it produces very durable structurally strong pieces.The resin printed retaining walls will cover the front of the support structure.

 

I should be able to get this printed next weekend, I will post some pictures once it is done.

Joe

[cteno4]

Good idea to make the bridge units removable. I’m sure you will end up finding other details you want to add/modify later on them! Magnet idea sounds cool, I always love it when you can use magnets for a task like this.

 

jeff

[Kamome442]

I like the idea of using magnets too jeff, they are great for ensuring everything lines up time and again.

 

I had a go at printing a support:

 

I wasn't expecting much from the first attempt but it has actually worked pretty well. The two parts push fit together and line up perfectly by themselves, I had forgotten how good FDM prints can be. 

 

I was going to use an M1 screw and 2 little magnets to hold everything in place but I probably drop that to just the one screw or magnet mounted between the two bridges.

 

[Kamome442]

The supports for a removable bridge are complete. In the end I went for a single M1.2 nut and bolt to hold everything in place. The nut will be glued in a recess on the lower half of the base. The nut will drop through the hole in the top. The hole in the top will be covered by trunking that runs between the tracks. I am thinking of making one section of trunking from a piece of mild steel as a cover to plug the hole. It can then use a magnet to lift out the section of trunking and access the nuts.

 

 

Test fitting the two bridges on the bridge supports:

 

Of course I could not resist the opportunity to build a jig for placing the supports accurately. It is just two top sections joined to give the exact spacing needed. 

 

The jig connected to the supports ready to be lined up and glued onto the baseboard.

 

I also have a rather snazzy jig made up to align the track accurately across the bridge but I will save them for another time!

Joe

[Kamome442]

Installing the Bridge Supports (Part 1)

 

When the bridge was going to fixed in position I had settled on permanently fixing the street lights in place. Now that I will be able to reach them if they get damaged I thought it made sense to include the tubes to run the wires off scene the same as the lighting along the front of the layout. To do this I first had to remove the pavement sections under the bridges. 

 

I also noticed that the exit for one of the tubes for a street light along the front would be under the new support. Moving it was just case of cutting it out of the board and moving it out of the way. Below the exposed tube waiting to be moved. 

 

Test fitting the new pavement sections before installing the bridge supports.

 

Final job for the day was installing the new base sections.

 

Tomorrow I will be finishing the new pavements by adding the curbs and a coat of primer. I will also be adding the tubing for wiring so that I fix the pavement in place.

[Kamome442]

Installing the Bridge Supports (Part 2)

 

Now that the new base is in place I thought I would share a couple of pictures showing the bridge in its fixed position.

 

And with the bridge lifted out of its base.

 

The next job is to print new covers to represent the stonework and hide the internal structure. This was relatively easy as I already had the 3D models I drew up earlier. It was just a case of adjusting the dimensions at the back so that is will match up with the support structure.

 

The basic design is for a two track bridge with a mirrored section next to it for the second bridge. The top of the rear decorative top was cut down to track level when additional tracks were added.

 

There are also some other slight differences, where the some of the original stones have been cut back over the years. 

 

The results are 4 unique printed sections, 2 for each side of the bridges. These are printed and test to make sure they fit.

 

Next up is making the removable supports for the two tracks of the Tokaido Main Line. These were constructed with concrete piers. Since starting the layout I was able to find some rough dimensions for these so I decided use the support structure to create an accurate representation.

 

The first of three sections for the Southern end is printed.

 

The Northern end is a little more complex. Seen here alongside the Shinkansen tracks there is a change in elevation from the road (at the back in this image). 

 

I am not quite sure yet how I am going to go modelling this section!

Joe

 

[Kamome442]

Toning Down the Brickwork

 

 

I have been playing around with ways of improving the look of my brick walls. When painting them I put a base colour for the mortar and then painted each brick using a mixture of three colours (base, lighter tone, darker tone). It looks okay however it is a little busy and I think the mortar colour is a little too bright, in reality it should be barely visible at this scale.

 

After a few experiments I found the solution was as simple as applying a wash with a rust colour.

I first coated the bricks with the wash then pressed tissue paper on the surface to remove the wash from the bricks.

 

The finished results:

 

I am much happier with how it looks now, I will use the same process on the arches. 

Joe

[cteno4]

Beautiful Joe, has to be the nicest N scale brick I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I remember ever seeing someone paint every N sale brick by hand like that! You da man!

 

jeff

[Kamome442]

Cheers jeff, I figured if you have small brushes why not use them 😄

[Kamome442]

3D Printed Viaduct for the Tokaido Shinkansen

 

I have finished printing the viaducts for the Tokaido Main Line and Tokaido Shinkansen. These support the southern end of bridges over Kokkai-dori Street and will lead directly in the fiddle yard on Yurakucho.

Source: Google Earth

 

I will start at the back with the two track viaduct for the Tokaido Shinkansen. This was a tricky little bugger the work out, there is an alley that runs between the two viaducts. This section of alley is branded as Uracori Ginza, I was able to find some video tours of this section, these were obviously focused on the various bars and restaurants. With careful pausing I was able to work out the positions of some columns. To fill in the gaps I used frog DNA reference material for the 日比谷OKUROJI redevelopment, for which I was able find plansl that showed elevations and plan views of viaducts.

Printing the viaduct in one piece would have a required a lot of support material so I settled for printing in 4 parts:

 

There is a lower floor that attaches to a reinforced section to support the bridge:

 

The upper section clips into place to form the track bed. A shorter trackbed section drops on the reinforced section, this part will attach to the bridge and is designed to be removable:

 

This screen shot (timestamp: 1:01:27) from CT hitorikamonen's YouTube video shows the tracks (on the left behind the fence) curve and change in elevation to fit past Shimbashi Station. 

Source: CT hitorikamonen YouTube Channel (Link Below)

 

A sideview of the elevation change on the printed viaduct:

 

Next up: the Tokaido Main Line Viaduct.

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Kamome442