Neon Noir Designs

[Madsing]

Platz is doing it a bit differently with these guard rails: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10096021 (http://www.platz-hobby.com/products/1823.html). That way, we don’t have to drill so many holes…

[cteno4]

Joe,

 

a thought for cap material, maybe pvc wire insulation? Just strip and experiment with some different kinds and gauges of wire. Softer and may cut straighter with your multi blade setup. Could be an easy way to get a colored cap.
 

i have the same blade deflection issue on my various chopper units and thicker styrenes and round and square styrene tubing.

 

the micro turning is really not very hard. I just use xacto blades as chisels and I have a few different kinds of micro scalpel blades that make nice micro chisels. Have to put the magnifying lamp over it and just clamp down the roto tool (my proxon has a pop on sleeve made to clamp it down in a bench vise. Then just need to have a block of scrap metal at the right height for a tool rest. You would be amazed how tiny you can lathe like this! Made flower pots down to like 1.5mm. Parting off is fun, have to carefully have a piece of tubing over the part so the tiny bit doesn’t go ping across the room!

 

jeff

[maihama eki]

I hope you don't mind me continuing to show my results with your excellent photo etch pieces.

 

Here are the first 2 signs that I completed. A few comments on them... The graphics you created and shared for the signs are excellent - super high resolution, crisp and clear down to this tiny size. My printer is the weak link. You can see that the narrow white lines around the borders don't really resolve. I am using a mid-price HP color LaserJet printer, and printing on white decal paper.

 

I primed the flat side of the signs with white and then applied the decals. I left the back side bare metal. The posts are 0.5 mm brass rod painted white. After I assembled them, I sprayed them with a clear flat coat (Tamiya TS-80).

 

I think they came out well despite the printer limitations.

 

The detailed backs are really nice since you aren't always viewing from the front.

 

Finally, compared to a pre-printed Greenmax stop sign that I had. I cleaned up the Greenmax sign minimally and hit it with the flat coat as well. Your signs are sooooo much nicer.

 

My printer has limited me on printing tiny decals before. It's a little hard to find a higher resolution laser printer. The more expensive printers are expensive because they are faster for office use, not because of better resolution. I don't really like ink jet for printing water slide decals.

[cteno4]

Wonderful maihama!

 

it makes you realize how some details like the poles and sign thicknesses being more svelte and to scale can make a scene feel much more real. Some details the minds eye just fills in or paints over, but some like poles can get caught in it’s craw not jibing with the viewer’s visual memory.

 

i also love the effect of the naked metal backside and the tiny mounting brackets.

 

kudos again Joe!

 

jeff

[Kamome442]

22 hours ago, cteno4 said:

a thought for cap material, maybe pvc wire insulation?

 

Thats is a great idea! Thanks for the suggestion @cteno4I will give it a go.

 

1 hour ago, maihama eki said:

I hope you don't mind me continuing to show my results with your excellent photo etch pieces.

 

@maihama eki I am really happy that you are sharring your experiences it gives me some really good feedback that I can use to improve o what I make going forward.

 

1 hour ago, maihama eki said:

You can see that the narrow white lines around the borders don't really resolve.

 

I can see that is hardly visible and pretty pixelated. I drew it to scale but I wonder if it would be better to make the main body of the sign a tiny bit smaller. This would create a wider white line between the outer boarder and central part of the sign.

 

1 hour ago, maihama eki said:

The posts are 0.5 mm brass rod painted white. After I assembled them, I sprayed them with a clear flat coat (Tamiya TS-80).

 

 I really like how the posts look in white it creates a nice contrast to the bare metal back of the sign.

[maihama eki]

6 hours ago, Kamome442 said:

 

I can see that is hardly visible and pretty pixelated. I drew it to scale but I wonder if it would be better to make the main body of the sign a tiny bit smaller. This would create a wider white line between the outer boarder and central part of the sign.

It would help with my printer situation, but In general it might be better to seek out a better way to print these rather than trying to compensate for the printer's limitations.

 

The other thing is my printer has cyan, magenta, yellow, and black toner and combines those in different ratios to make other colors like the darker blue and the red. There is some small imperfection in the alignment of each print head to the others. It's only noticeable when you try to do very demanding things like these tiny signs with fine lines and look closely at them. I think some printers have more toner colors and maybe tighter alignment of the print heads and might yield better colors and resolve the fine lines better.

 

I wonder if anyone else has printed these and had better results.

 

A commercial print shop might have a better printer and get better results.

 

6 hours ago, Kamome442 said:

 

 

 I really like how the posts look in white it creates a nice contrast to the bare metal back of the sign.

I drove around suburban Tokyo in Google street view looking at signs. It seems like the white posts are pretty common for these sort of signs. I saw some posts that were larger diameter for the bottom of the post and then smaller diameter for the top half.

 

I thought .5 mm in n-scale or 75 mm (around 3 inches for my US friends) in real life seemed like about the right diameter for the posts.

 

The other thing I noticed and did not yet implement is that often the signs are offset on the poles away from the street to allow more room for cars and trucks in narrow streets.

[Kamome442]

I had a look at the sheet I printed, the lines seem better for the square and circular signs. The white line for the triangle signs is slightly thinner looking at the source images I used. 

On 10/21/2022 at 6:10 AM, maihama eki said:

A commercial print shop might have a better printer and get better results.

 

That is an interesting idea for sure.

 

That is One Funny Looking Elephant

I have been working on the next detailing pack. I have included some tactiles as I missed them off the last pack. I have also added the road sign shapes for all the little supplemental signs. Seeing as there are so many shapes and sizes it could easily complete the sheet along with the animal barriers. I could remove some the roads sings and put them on the next sheet if anyone would prefer some manhole covers are included.

 

For the road sings I have also used the edge of the frame to note the dimensions of each sign. This ties into the decal sheet for the signs. The first letter(s) denote the signs shape: Circle, Square, Rectangle or Triangle. The numbers indicate the dimensions of the sign (full size). A number at the end denotes a variation of the same shape sign. 

 

I have also been drawing up the first parts at 1/80, the animal barriers are almost finished, I just need to alter the wording for each etch.

 

I have also been working on the fence etches. I have added marks for accurately drilling holes and switched the rows to widthways. Again I have added labels around the edge of the frame to indicate the fences dimensions.

[JR East]

Nice job. I'm surprised of elephant ... it's looks like a rabbit or a cat with mustaches. 

Edited October 28, 2022 by JR East

[Kamome442]

[Kamome442]

Hello, Sorry for the long absence, I took on some extra responsibilities at work to cover another teacher who was absent. If I am being honest, I had no idea how much extra I was taking on 😬 School has finished now for the holiday so I can finally get back to hobbies. 

I have done a little more work on the fences and have a rough plan to release batches of them throughout the year. This is really to try and spread the cost of set up fees on getting new etch designs drawn up. I have ordered a small test sheet to make sure I am happy with the designs once I have received this I will order the full sheets for the first series. Here are the fences planned for the first half of the year:

 

Some of the more recent designs I have been working on will appear later in the year:

 

This release order is not set in stone so if there is a particular design you would like to see sooner rather than later I can move it up.

 

I haven't done too much on the lanterns as the idea of fiddling around with small LED's while tired was not really very appealing. I want to get something working this week now that I have all the time in the world! I did manage to get a process for adding the little caps that I am happy with:

 

This was using pvc wire insulation as suggested by @cteno4, thank you jeff it works perfectly. Once I have a few working prototypes I will share some pictures. I have been buying up LEDs each pay day so I do have a little stockpile to work with. I have a rough timeline for releasing the lanterns as long as there are no unforeseen issues.

 

I have also been working on a set of grates to go around trees. I want to add a couple more options but these will also appear at some point in the future.

 

Joe

 

 

[cteno4]

Joe,

 

Hey glad that worked! The pvc insulation worked best for me in my chopper, doesn’t deflect the blade but is stiff enough to not crush.

 

very nice lanterns! Think I’m going to have to get lazy here and order some!

 

jeff

[brill27mcb]

It's awful when work gets in the way. Retirement is the solution.

 

Rich K.

[Kamome442]

@brill27mcb retirement you say, I will have to look into that 😀

 

I have finally managed to make up some working lanterns that I am happy with. Here are the results. I had to light the small lantern separately (middle) to show it lights up completely. When the medium was lit (right) the camera adjusted the brightness and made it look like it was only half lit.

 

I will start making up a few sets. It did take 20 minutes to make each one hopefully as get more practice that will speed up.

 

I have somewhat fallen down the rabbit hole (Alice in Wonderland reference) with the road signs. Here is an image of one of the signs I need to make for Yurakucho, one thing that stood out was the stop sign. It is certainly not an 80cm sign, the other signs are 40cm.

Source: Google Streetview

 

I found a very nice set of articles on note.com about the sizes of signs and a rough guide to how they are used. They included some nice diagrams (see below) and some photos of real world examples.

Source: https://note.com/roadsign/n/n6d58200674a5

 

The most useful part of the article is shown below and gives some guidance of the different sizes and when to use them.

 

Source: https://note.com/roadsign/n/n6d58200674a5

 

I have no doubt that there are going to numerous examples that don't follow this guidance but for creating printable signs it is pretty extensive. Basically there is a standard size (1倍) in this example a 60cm sign. The size increases when mounted high above the road (1.5倍 - 90cm) or when vehicles are travelling at higher speeds such as expressways (2倍 - 120cm). The size reduces for urban areas (2/3倍 - 40cm) where speeds are lower.

 

I have redesigned the banners slightly (now above each set of signs) and added a little icon on the right it indicate if they are standard size, smaller or larger than standard. It is taking a little time to compile info and set out but when I do release the full version is will include an info page with some examples of how the different sizes can be mixed and matched. New layout below:

 

 

Finally I have managed to track down the mystery sign from a few pages back. It is an eel and the sign lives outside a takeaway called Kaneyo near Ōtani Station. The original picture I found was just captioned funny sign, not much help. Another images was posted last week on social media and reply was posted naming the restaurant. From there I was able to find the location on Streetview confirm it as a genuine sign.

Source: Google Streetview

 

I have made up a little supplemental sign to match the original, I believe it translates to 'eel alert'.

 

Joe

[Kamome442]

Just to let you know the second detailing pack is now available. Direct link added to the first post. I have actually had them for a few weeks now however postal service in the UK somewhat collapsed in January with no overseas sales possible. I decided it would be better to just hold on to them until I was able to get orders out unhindered.

 

The pack contains some animal barriers, tactiles and supplemental road signs. 

 

Here are a couple of the signs in action. On the left are two of the smallest R410's they are 2.7mm x 0.7mm. On the right is an R618 (4mm x 1.2mm). They are glued to 0.6mm styrene rod, which is a little overscale.

 

I also received a test sheet in stainless steel of fences, however I am not fully happy with the results. At first inspection they look pretty good.

 

Once I looked at them more closely I found that some of the edges have not etched very cleanly. From a normal viewing distance they do look ok but I want to ensure they are the best they can be. I added some paint to one of the prints and took some test shots.

 

I have had the etching company suggest using different metals in the past as they noted that stainless can be tricky to etch properly.

I also etched some fire hydrant signs on the same sheet while some of the sheets came out fine:

 

Others had very rough edges, I had previously has these etched in 0.1mm brass for use on Yurakucho. Comparing the Brass (left) etch to the Stainless (right) shows the problem quite clearly.

 

While I won't sell the fences until I am happy with them, I did add some little sample size etches of some of the designs. I am happy to put these in with other orders.

Going forward I am going to order a test etch of the fences in 0.13mm brass to test. I am a little worried that they too fragile we will see.

Joe

Edited February 26, 2023 by Kamome442

[Kamome442]

Nothing to see here

 

I am ordering some new fence samples tomorrow so while I wait I thought I could get on with another project...

 

For possible future projects I have been trying to find some dimensions for bus mirrors as I think that would be a really fun project. In the mean time I need a bunch of bicycles Yurakucho, I have been looking at what is available. Some options are not bad I figured I would have a go at etch some too. I am not 100% sure I am going to break down the individual parts just yet. If I can get to something that looks reasonable they could form a future project.

 

Finally a couple of years back I played around with detailing parts for modern train wheels. I am tempted revisit this one as most of the drawing work is done, I just need to do a little working scaling to get a better fit. I could comfortably get enough to convert a 15 car train onto a sheet. Let me know if anyone would be interested.

 

Joe

[Cat]

Joe, if you're open to requests, etched brass Japanese style fire escapes with switchbacks between landings would be great.  Gold Medal Models makes an American style one with holes in the floors of the landings (broke down and used one of those), and there are a few Tomytec kits with big plastic ones attached (some set aside for where the large chunky ones will work), but it would be great to have proper brass options since so many buildings should have them.
 
Whee,

Cat

[Kamome442]

Hi @Cat that sounds like just the thing that would make a good etch. I will have a go at drawing something up. I guess it would make sense that it would line up with the floors on the Tomytec kits.

[cteno4]

Joe,

 

ooo bikes would be great. There are some options out there, but the more variety the better. I have some that have etched the handle bars on the stem and you just bend them 90 degrees then.

 

I agree fire escapes would be great, maybe just make them modular and 1 floor at a time and you could just snip the ladders and supports shorter to match exact floor heights?

 

the Japanese fire escapes seem lighter and less pronounced than the American versions as I don’t notice them a lot unless looking for them.

 

jeff

[Cat]

2 hours ago, cteno4 said:

I agree fire escapes would be great, maybe just make them modular and 1 floor at a time and you could just snip the ladders and supports shorter to match exact floor heights?

 

the Japanese fire escapes seem lighter and less pronounced than the American versions as I don’t notice them a lot unless looking for them.

The Gold Medal ones are modular like that.  The steps come out more like ladder rungs when etched, but that looks fine when assembled.
 
When looking at street view images of buildings for modelling details, it is surprising how many turn out to have quietly lurking fire escapes.  Emergency evacuation is much more honed over there than here!

[Cat]

2 hours ago, Kamome442 said:

I guess it would make sense that it would line up with the floors on the Tomytec kits.

A quick check between just a couple of buildings here — The GreenMax kits on the bench right now have slightly shorter floors than a completed Tomytec that's within reach.  Having steps on the long side and/or with slightly adjustable angles would give the most versatility to fit various buildings.

[Kamome442]

8 hours ago, Cat said:

A quick check between just a couple of buildings here — The GreenMax kits on the bench right now have slightly shorter floors than a completed Tomytec that's within reach.  Having steps on the long side and/or with slightly adjustable angles would give the most versatility to fit various buildings.

 

Thank you for checking. I am sure I can make the angle of the steps adjustable. In my mind I had something along these lines.

 

Is that similar to what you thinking or was it something a little less industrial.

[Wolf]

12 hours ago, Kamome442 said:

I am ordering some new fence samples tomorrow so while I wait I thought I could get on with another project...

Did I miss the part when you opened the lanterns for order? o.O Do waaaaaaant XD

[Kamome442]

Hi @Wolf don't worry I haven't put them up yet. I have made up 4 packs of vinyl lanterns so far. I want to get to 10 before I put them on sale. 

I will give plenty of warning before they go on sale. 

[Kamome442]

I was looking at some of the smaller building around Yurakucho. Some of them just have ladders up to the roof, without safety cages (Risky!). Maybe a sheet with long strips of ladders that could be cut to size would be useful.

 

Also once I get the fences sorted I was thinking of making some replacement versions for Kato/Tomix/Greenmax platforms. Some have predrilled holes that would need to be covered. I thought I could make little base plates with etched bolt details that the fences could slot into. Something like this:

 

They could then be dropped into the existing holes and held with glue or Bluetac. There are lots of different platform segments and no doubt all the spacing differ!

 

 

[Cat]

6 hours ago, Kamome442 said:

Is that similar to what you thinking or was it something a little less industrial.

A little less industrial but in the right neighborhood, except for the beefy brick/masonry styles, they don't tend to dominate the walls.  Since model kits tend to have very reduced footprints from actual buildings, going on the slender side will help maintain visual balance.
 
For modelling an approximation of this building, I punted and just put the vestigal balconies at the windows that come with the GreenMax kits:
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.3713795,140.4744702,3a,75y,342.69h,135.26t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sq4MBBtP6fm2Lv-a3iM2LEg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
 
For this one, I used Gold Medal's American one, the side wall and outer beams help obscure the design a bit:
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.3684824,140.4982052,3a,60y,134.85h,110.1t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfpRmLmYSltI9G-QDsSYBYg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Edited March 6, 2023 by Cat