Neon Noir Designs

[cteno4]

Being a scientist I’m totally metric when computing, but when constructing stuff I just default to imperial most of the time as 5 decades plus building in imperial just is more muscle memory for me. Either can be precise, just fractional inches are tougher to deal with than base 10 metric! Luckily in modeling the precision with scaling for most everything makes it all not matter so much. Why I use the 2mm to the foot most all the time, easy to do and close enough for most all scenery modeling.

 

jeff

[Cat]

1 hour ago, Bob Martin said:

That’s why imperial sucks for anything involving precision.  While I don’t live in a metric based region, the engineer in me always uses metric.

 
Converting to metric just makes my head spin. 
6.35kg per stone — what were they thinking?!?
Even 6.33kg would have made more sense.
~ , ~
 
Ordering some festival clothing from Japan, the sizes were given in shaku and sun.

[Kamome442]

 Thank you for the feedback, here is the latest version:

 

 

 

I moved the feet markings to every even number (I think this helps to differentiate the two sides), added holes at 1 foot intervals and made the metric/imperial lettering bigger.

I have also made the ruler 1cm shorter as this allows me to fill a standard size etch sheet without any spaces.

 

If you think the original size is better I can request a non standard sheet size for etching but it would probably increase the price.

 

 

[cteno4]

Joe,

 

fantastic! 21m/70’ is plenty, best maximize your etch for efficiency.

 

thanks so much this will be great!

 

jeff

[Kamome442]

No worries, it was neat suggestion. I will tidy up the drawings a little and get them ordered this week.

 

I was thinking if people prefer slot to be able to mark with a vertical line I could fit them in like this:

 

 

Let me know if you would prefer this over a small round hole.

Joe

 

[cteno4]

Ohh nice Joe! The slot is handy to make a mark and like I said I tend to go to a main unit with the lead and count over with the pencil lead to the fine measurement. My eyes require some squinting for the fine marks these days if not bright light. I do love my incra rules with the slots in the wood shop, makes for much more accurate marks.

 

this is so nice Joe!

 

jeff

[Doddy]

Great job Joe!

 

Did you get any response to your plan to etch large scale manhole covers? I have a project in mind.

 

And here is hoping you don't suffer with Etsy payment freezes.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66201042

[Kamome442]

Thanks @cteno4 I will get these ordered this week. Should be here at the end or August.

 

Hey @Doddy, did you mean the 1:12 scale covers? I did etch one design as yet I have not really done anything to promote the idea. The one one I have is the paper doves design from Hiroshima. I am more than happy to draw up any design needed if you can find a use for them. 

 

I saw the article about Etsy earlier, it is a little working for people with depend on the money. I have not had any issues so far and thankfully any money I make I use to make more things not to pay the bills 

[cteno4]

14 hours ago, Doddy said:

And here is hoping you don't suffer with Etsy payment freezes.

Sounds very much like they are trying some AI to identify businesses that may have trouble and refunds needed. Amazon has been doing a lot with sellers like this and even with buyer reviews. One of my reviews was flagged as having been “bought” and all my reviews suspended. They would not tell me which review nor exactly what made them think I was selling reviews (of course that’s off my ethics scale) through all the appeals I did. Customer service admitted this was all turned over to an AI system and a total black box that had total control on convictions and appeals (one cs admitted they never saw an appeal granted). Stayed that way for a year and then I sent an email to jeffbezos@amazon.com complaining and a couple of hours later very apologetic email to me and within the day all my reviews were back and allowed to review! Go figure…

 

It will be fun when skynet is running things…

 

jeff

[Kamome442]

Hi @Doddy if it helps this company catalog lists the dimensions of all their covers: https://www.hokusei-kogyo.co.jp/catalog_data/pdf/cata_architecture_18_n.pdf

The fire covers are in section 11 near the back.

 

@cteno4 interesting, I hadn't considered they might be trying out some form of AI or automation. To be honest Etsy has changed a heck of lot since I joined. It used to be quite supportive site recently it seems to have become a victim of its own success. I have only ever had two disputes with customers both for items getting lost in the post. The first not long after I started I had a member of admin mediate, the second more recently just hit me with a bluntly worded automated message telling me to sort this out immediately. They also introduced a star seller criteria that incentivises you to meet certain goals, such as sending out orders within a set time. Which feels very Amazon! If you achieve these goals Etsy will give you additional promotion and move your listings up. While I am not totally against the idea of helping those who work hard to build good customer relations, one of the goals is making a certain number of sales each month. This seems to penalise sellers making small amounts of bespoke items over sellers shipping large amounts of pre-made stuff. It feels like its going against the what the site brands itself on and moving closer to an Ebay model of selling. I guess it a sign of the times.

[cteno4]

Ugh bummer Joe! I was worried that was the case. Covid also got folks demanding fast service and being treated like little princes and princesses. Amazon’s ever spiraling vortex of efficiency also feeding the fires and everyone trying to throw AI at everything to make it “better”…

 

jeff

[Kamome442]

@cteno4 yeah it is a shame to see changes happening to the detriment of sellers. That said it does give me a huge customer base that would take a lot of work to get anywhere near if I was doing it through my own site. I also like the fact that they deal with the payment side, I don't like the idea of seeing or holding other peoples banking details. 

[Kamome442]

A few new items available from today.

 

Tree grates, these are on the smaller sheet, £5.

The number of grates that can be made depends on the size of each design (Style 1: 20, Style 2: 12, Style 3: 16, Style 4: 16, Style 5: 12, Style 6: 7)

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1538765161

 

1:80 scale version of the tactiles. £7

Include 75 blister pattern, 75 guidance pattern

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1524516118

 

Medium round lanterns (warm white), £10

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1524519374

 

Small round lanterns (warm white), £10

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1538695771

 

 

Finally, just to try something a little different I happened to find a government document with nicely detailed information and dimensions for using tactiles in the UK. I decided to try out a couple of etches in 1:76 (OO gauge) to see if they would of interest to UK modellers. The standard is a 40cm tile so a little larger than the 30cm commonly used in Japan. If anyone is interested I can can have a go a looking up the specs for other countries and produce them in the desired scale.

 

1:76 scale tactiles, 3 versions available. £7

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1524550282

[cteno4]

Excellent as usual Joe! 
 

jeff

[Kamome442]

Hi All,

 

I have the next 6 'animal' barriers drawn up and ready to go. I will order these nest week so they should be ready for sale in some time in September.

 

As you can see they are not all animals this time around. I was thinking of renaming the range to something like portable barriers going forward. It is not a particularly interesting name so if anyone can think of something better please do let me know. I will include some waterslide transfers for the Shinkansen designs, it would be a little harsh to expect people to hand paint those!

 

I have spent the week working on the manhole covers @Doddy sent me. There are some lovely designs and after having taken to Streetview to have a look around Kinosaki Onsen I am really looking forward to seeing what Daddy is going to be making. I should hopefully have them all done by next weekend. 

 

Joe

 

[cteno4]

Awesome sauce Joe!

 

Momotaro demon?

 

jeff

[Madsing]

6 hours ago, Kamome442 said:

I will include some waterslide transfers for the Shinkansen designs, it would be a little harsh to expect people to hand paint those!

I love the Shinkansen designs!

Thank you again Joe, you are a great source of inspiration. I'll definitely try the waterslide transfers.

I have tried several ways to paint last year's frog design. Not easy. What worked best for me was painting them all white, then dry brushing green paint.

 

 

That's what they look like on the layout (not at their final location, I just put them there to check).

 

 

Marc

 

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Madsing

[Beaver]

What primer did you use? Painting brass works best when you start by applying etch primer all over and then paint on top.

[Kamome442]

@Doddy WOW! I was looking forward a nice little static diorama of a bridge over the river and maybe a tree, something like on one of the covers you sent.

 

What you have in mind sounds epic, really looking forward to seeing this one develop.

 

@cteno4 It is described by the maker as a Shisa Guard, only sold in Okinawa. Some info here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shisa

 

@Madsing I haven't had a go at painting any of mine yet, really not looking forward to it. Looks to me like you have a done a smashing job there. I was considering painting them white then using a Sharpie to carefully colour the raised parts. 

 

[Kamome442]

Thank you @Doddy to be honest it is pretty much just tracing over the design at 1:16 scale. A 1:150 version will take a lot of simplifying most likely just a silhouette of the figure and solid tree.

 

It is going to be a very atmospheric looking diorama and a great location to model.

[Madsing]

12 hours ago, Beaver said:

What primer did you use? Painting brass works best when you start by applying etch primer all over and then paint on top.

I have used Tamiya Metal Primer (No: 87061) as a base coat. Painting in a single color was easy, but I tried several ways to highlight the details.

 

Test 1: Airbrush Tamiya green, then use my finest brush to highlight the eyes. Difficult (to me 😀)

Test 2: Airbrush Tamiya green, then apply a white wash to highlight the details. I didn’t like the result. 
Test 3 (as on the photos above): Airbrush Tamiya XF (flat) white, then dry brush X (glossy) green to highlight the raised surfaces. 
 

Marc

[Kamome442]

I received the scale rulers today.

 

I need to carefully clean off the burrs from where it was attached to the frame. I think I am going to hand sand them against a block, to make sure I don't leave an uneven surface. A ruler isn't much use if it doesn't have a straight edge!

 

Close up of the metric side:

 

Close up of the Imperial side:

 

I will try to get these on the shop over the weekend. I also have a few more fence designs in the same order. I will put those up this weekend too.

Joe

[Kamome442]

Project updates

 

There are a couple of test etches I have been sitting on for a while now. I keep getting side tracked with new ideas, a nice problem to have I guess!

 

Bus Mirrors

 

Oh Boy! I have been putting off trying to make these up and for a good reason the parts are tiny. Cutting parts from the frame is very tricky. Making two bends for the centre mirror was not too bad, I used small pliers to fold the metal against. I used masking tape to hold each mirror, placed a drop of CA glue on the back and placed on the frame.

The results are pretty good:

 

 

 

I still need to have a go at the drivers side mirror.

[cteno4]

Very nice Joe, looking forward to them! Sammy is going to spend the rest of his live glueing mirrors onto his fleet!

 

I use the tape method a lot, I tape a piece of blue painter’s tape down to the work tray. Very handy soldering smd leds. With they made a double stick painters/drafting tape.

 

jeff

[Kamome442]

Cheers jeff, it would certainly keep Sammy busy for a while!

 

Project Updates

 

Fire Escapes

 

Testing has gone really well, the fold lines work perfectly. The handrails on the landings require a 90 degree fold and then push fit into the landings. I put two round holes on the back of the landing, to fit it I glued two 0.4mm rods into the wall for the landing to slot into. The only issue is fixing the handrails to the steps this was very tricky. I am going to redesign those to have have a small fold on their legs that will fit into holes on the side of the stairs.

Results of the first test:

 

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by Kamome442