Modular Station Project

[gavino200]

You may want to shield your eyes. This post may cause aesthetic pain. I'm going to try for the world's ugliest MS paint mashup here. This weekend I think I'll put the Station Center on a foam- board and start turning it into a module. 

 

I bought six more new-type. Kato platforms as I had no luck tracking down supplies of the old ones. I may paint the platform tops for some continuity. I'm also going to order some more of the LEDs I used on the original platforms. 

 

I'm going to leave a wide margin of foam-board on each side, as I'm not sure how much modelling I'll carry with the module. But for the station, I was thinking of the following. 

 

The back side of the station will be simple, with a fence or alleyway. 

 

For the front side, I'm thinking of getting rid of the stairs and joining the overpass to a building that will act as the station-house with some shops. Perhaps a road and access point in front too. So I'll have to start looking for suitable buildings and Japanese stations of take inspiration from. 

 

Yes, sorry. This is horrible.

 

 

The two station parts ready so far to be magnetized. 

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by gavino200

[cteno4]

cheap roll of 18" white butcher paper is your friend, lets you slide it under things to do drawings like this of roads and such to play around. we use to do it on the old club layouts fiddling with new ideas for track and where stuff would go. also great for throwing on the work bench while painting or doing messy stuff as it sits flat and is not so hard to look at like newspaper can be!

 

jeff

[gavino200]

All the structure units have been simplified to two wires each with resistors on board. I gave the module a foam-board base. There's a lot of space left at the front as I'm not sure yet what I'll do with the front of the station. I added in two temporary buildings as placeholders. 

 

Next up will be marking all the footprints and connecting all the LEDs up via magnet connectors which will also hold the structures in place. The whole module should only have two LED connections. 

 

Back. There will be a fence and a lane here. 

 

 

Front. These buildings are just markers for a future station front building with shops. I may add some kind of courtyard, but I have to do some prototype study first. 

 

 

 

[gavino200]

I decided to but the station house back on my workbench. It's mainly for the platform canopy lights. When I first lit the station I tried a method where I put individual tiny LEDs in the hanging bars along the edges of the platforms. It never looked as good as I hoped and there was a good amount of glue visible, so I could never do station close-up pictures. I changed all the other platforms to a better method a few years ago, buy I left  the station platforms because everything was wired together in the same big mess of wires. At this stage I have a decent bit of experience with these things. Redoing it won't be such a big deal. I know I won't regret it. 

 

 

 

 

 

[gavino200]

It took a while but I'm glad I did it. I got rid of the visible LEDs and cleaned up all the hot glue mess. There's a bit of light leak. and I underjudged the resistance on the stairway a bit. I may fix that in the future. But I'm happy with it. I think the indirect light looks much better. And without the mess I'll be able to take close up station scenes again which I love. 

 

 

 

[gavino200]

I'm planning to add the magnet connectors to the first Platform this weekend. I'm also starting to think about how to kit-bash the second and third platform stairwells so that they're connected to each other and the station house. I think this is my first real kit-bash. I'm equal parts excited and scared. 😱

 

[Cat]

46 minutes ago, gavino200 said:

I'm planning to add the magnet connectors to the first Platform this weekend. I'm also starting to think about how to kit-bash the second and third platform stairwells so that they're connected to each other and the station house. I think this is my first real kit-bash. I'm equal parts excited and scared. 😱

 

Fear thee not!  One of the delights of working in plastic is that if any mistakes do happen, they are very easy to fix.  Bits of plastic and/or putty work wonders for filling in any gaps.

[gavino200]

I started working on the magnet connectors this weekend. I used various thickness of styrene to make and internal base to place in the platforms that left just enough space for two stacked magnets. The magnets are attached to the platforms by epoxy (JB weld). I have a feeling, the hard part will be attaching the lower magnet to the foamboard base. It would be simple if it were just one structure, but all three platforms have to align. I bet I'll have to do this step a few times before I get it right. As long as there's some stick and there isn't glue covering the magnet it'll be ok. I can add more epoxy after attaching the wires. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cteno4]

Nice! Good job with the sub floor.

 

Experiment some with the epoxy on the bottom magnet to glue it down. You only really need a tiny dab. And remember to clean off the magnet bottom well and the area where the magnet will glue down to. Alcohol prep swabs are nice for this as they are a little rough to help rub off any grease. You only need a tiny dab of it really. Too much and you get a big quash out and harder to attach the wire or even potentially blob up the side and onto the upper magnet if using the 1mm thick magnets.

 

jeff

[gavino200]

The down magnet glued ok, after all. I attached the wires Jeff-style using a bit of temporary adhesive putty to keep things in place. I applied conductive glue, which is pretty messy stuff. I couldn't resist testing the electrical connection, and it works. No to see if it functions a glue. I'm going to leave it a good few days without touching it and then give it a layer of epoxy (JB weld) to hold everything down. I used an upholstery needle to thread the 30g wire through the foamboard. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[inobu]

Make sure to test for heat. Poor connections generates heat. Heat starts fires.

 

Inobu

[gavino200]

Thanks inobu. I’ll check for heat.

[gavino200]

The contacts work pretty well. I had to adjust one set and raise up the baseboard magnets a bit, but that wasn't hard. It's nice that the magnets hold the platforms in place so I don't have to use the Kato platform white plastic connectors. I'll be able to life out segments to detail, set up scenes or get at track problems. 

 

Overall, I like the method, but it's a bit of work. I'll probably only use it for specialized locations. 

 

 

 

[cteno4]

Excellent Gavin!

 

it’s the sort of thing that first takes some working out, I expect a lot easier as you do more. Also this was a more complex set to do here, mine have been just playing with a few tomytec buildings. Individual building are pretty simple and should be quick to do a bunch at a time. I can see how the long platforms don’t sit quite as cleanly as a small building.

 

I just love things just pop off, no messing with plugs and feeding wires in and out and then dangling under the layout. When you think of the time wiring a plug or soldering it up really isn’t much more if any.

 

Cheers

 

jeff

[gavino200]

46 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

Excellent Gavin!

 

it’s the sort of thing that first takes some working out, I expect a lot easier as you do more. Also this was a more complex set to do here, mine have been just playing with a few tomytec buildings. Individual building are pretty simple and should be quick to do a bunch at a time. I can see how the long platforms don’t sit quite as cleanly as a small building.

 

I just love things just pop off, no messing with plugs and feeding wires in and out and then dangling under the layout. When you think of the time wiring a plug or soldering it up really isn’t much more if any.

 

Cheers

 

jeff

 

Yes, for sure. I also like how they can simply be lifted off the board. It's quite an advantage not to have to use the platform connectors. They cause a big jolt when you undo them. 

 

I have a few ideas about how I can simplify the method. Also, I deliberately made these as robust as possible. Probably I've been a bit redundant. For example, I used epoxy, then silver glue, and then epoxy again. That's probably more than I need to do. I don't have a lot of experience with either of these glues. I still have to build up a picture of how little is really necessary. 

 

For this weekend I'm going to switch to kit-bashing the two accessory station structures together. And I may paint the station foamboard a concrete color. I'll probably be working on those buildings for a while. After than I'll try a more streamlined approach to doing more magnet connectors. 

Edited February 26, 2021 by gavino200

[cteno4]

26 minutes ago, gavino200 said:

It's quite an advantage not to have to use the platform connectors. They cause a big jolt when you undo them. 

you can snap them apart gentler if you just angle the platofroms to one side then back to center one side pops then when you come back the other side. similar to Unitrak unsnapping.

 

its on my list to do a full set of pictures doing one of the tomytec buildings, especially now with the loop method.

 

jeff

[gavino200]

38 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

you can snap them apart gentler if you just angle the platofroms to one side then back to center one side pops then when you come back the other side. similar to Unitrak unsnapping.

 

Yep. That's what I do. It's still disruptive. With the magnets you can just lift one platform straight up vertically without disturbing either of the neighboring platforms. I don't glue my figures in place. I put them on tiny transparent bases, so I can rearrange them anytime I want. It would be nice to remove a platform without disturbing them.

 

38 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

 

its on my list to do a full set of pictures doing one of the tomytec buildings, especially now with the loop method.

 

jeff

 

Do it this weekend, Jeff!! No time like the present. 

[cteno4]

6 hours ago, gavino200 said:

Do it this weekend, Jeff!! No time like the present. 

Easier said than done! 
 

jeff

[gavino200]

I searched for a long time for some discontinued Kato island platforms. I need the old ones that would match the platforms that I already have. No responses here from ad I placed in the classified section. Multiple run-arounds from sites that said they had them, charged me, and then started looking, only to find that they couldn't buy them (I hate that business model). I even found a few at a store in Germany, but the owner cancelled saying he thought the cost of mailing them was unreasonable for me (thanks, I guess). I eventually gave up and ordered 6 of the new Kato platforms which wouldn't match. A few days later Philip S advertises right here that he's selling a bunch of unopened old platforms. Hobby search was nice enough to cancel my new platform order, even though it's against their policy. And here the are, the little beauties!!!

 

Edited February 26, 2021 by gavino200

[cteno4]

You must trust in the great material continuum! 
 

jeff 🖖

[gavino200]

The kitbash begins. It's actually very basic, so something suitable to cut my teeth on. I just have to turn these two little square rooms that lead to the stairways, into one continuous walkway. I don't really have to break down the existing walls, but I am anyway so I can pass some crossbeams to give the piece some strength as one individual piece. I think it'll be easier to manage as a singele piece. 

 

Walls are demolished. Styrene pieces are cut to calculated specs. The light proofing process has begun. 

 

 

[gavino200]

Going back to the magnet connectors and the question of "Fu" (how much force the magnets generate). My conclusion on four 2mm magnets attached to one Kato island platform is ---- "Not enough Fu".

 

I'll be using a slightly larger magnet on the next trial. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by gavino200

[cteno4]

Yes I would expect 2mm dia magnets not beefy enough for platforms. They are long and easier to have some wrack on them.

 

jeff

[gavino200]

14 hours ago, cteno4 said:

Yes I would expect 2mm dia magnets not beefy enough for platforms. They are long and easier to have some wrack on them.

 

jeff

 

Well, objectively the little magnets are probably fine. I just like that little magnetic feel. I'd like to feel it a bit more. It's more of an aesthetic consideration, I guess.  🤣

 

[gavino200]

So the light proofing is done. It's always a bit tough to go back to white on top of black. It's not perfectly white but it will do. A couple of posters and a few figures and I'll start adding LEDs and trying to put it together. I wasn't going to do any detailing, but I figured the least it needed was a different color for the floor (also easier to paint grey). Though the stairs are a real pain.