B Train Layout

[nickhp]

I thought I'd start a thread for the Bandai B-Train Shorty layout I am building.  I started this about 2 months ago and have spent a few evenings and days here and there on it, but since it is only 4 by 2 feet it is coming along quite quickly.  That said, being an aerospace engineer I do tend to complicate things for myself so I am pleased with the progress so far.

 

Here are a couple of photos to get the thread started...

 

Nick

[cteno4]

ok nick we expect to see some real engineering then from a rocket scientist!

 

looking fun! one trick with btrains is to try and have them flat side on as little as possible for main viewing. on curves the perspective hides the shortness some. the buildings are great as well limiting the view.

 

whats the overall track plan?

 

ive been itching to do a little btrain layout after seeing nick yee's layout!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[KenS]

Interesting-looking layout. More photos please (and a track plan!).

 

I like the duck-under road bridge in the right photo. What did you use to get that smooth curve in the roadway surface?

[nickhp]

I can't take credit for the plan, I found a layout plan I liked on the web and pretty much based this layout on it.  It is not an exact copy since I used Kato track instead of Tomix, and the scenics are quite a bit different.

 

The photo below shows the basic plan.

 

I am not at all bothered by the length of the b-trains.  I take modeling too seriously and so this was a perfect way to take things a little less seriously.  In fact, I am enjoying the b-trains so much I am selling all other model trains and just focussing on b-trains.  I may keep a bit of British OO stock but everything else is going on that auction site...

 

The roadway was made using 40 thou. styrene sheet, I added the kerb using additional styrene.  I then used a mini blowtorch to heat up the styrene to make a gentle curve in 2 places.  I then glued this onto the layout using superglue.

 

I will post more photos as I get more done, the ones I took during the construction were on my iphone and are not very good quality. 

 

Cheers!

 

Nick

 

 

Edited September 14, 2013 by nickhp

[nickhp]

Just another photo taken today...

[Densha]

Whoa, that's looking good!

[nickhp]

Need some quick feedback - fence or no fence?  Fence is more realistic but that isn't always best on a layout.  Would like to hear your thoughts...

 

Thanks!

 

Nick

 

 

[cteno4]

Looks good, kinda finishes it off nicely w/o totally hiding the car.

 

What fencing material is that?

 

Jeff

Edited September 23, 2013 by cteno4

[nickhp]

The fence is from gold medal products.  I cut the barbed wire off the top of the fence since the streetviews I looked at showed no barbed wire on top of the fence.  Once the burrs have been filed smooth and the fencing painted with a light dusting of primer to try and get more of a galvanised steel look I found it pretty quick and easy to install.

 

Cheers!

 

Nick

[cteno4]

Nick,

 

Nicely done! I've never looked closely at the gold metals fencing, ill have to.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

Edited September 23, 2013 by cteno4

[ToniBabelony]

Of course fences! The more detail, the better. This is looking GREAT! :D

[KenS]

Definitely better with the fence.

[nickhp]

Took the layout to a local show this weekend.  We also took our T-Trak modules.  The layout is not 100% yet but is quickly getting there...

 

A few photos below.

 

 

Yes, the cars are on the wrong side of the road, and Hanshin trains would not be seen running near Keiyo line trains, but what the heck, most people here wouldn't have a clue about that!

 

The T-Trak module is about 75% complete, I will post more photos once I get them.

 

Cheers!

 

Nick

Edited September 29, 2013 by nickhp

[E231-500]

Love the layout Nickhp

 

Nice to see others designing nice compact layouts catering for the shortys. I am hoping mine looks as nice and professional as yours when it is done.

 

I am interested too, what was the reaction at the show from both public and other modellers? I plan to show my layout off at a few of our local shows once done.

[nartak]

Hi Nick,

I liked your layout.  Very detailed and impressive.
Is the electric loco on the recent photo is B-Train?  It looks like N-scale loco...

[katoftw]

What the the radi of the various curves in this layout?

[nickhp]

What the the radi of the various curves in this layout?

Minimum is 150mm Kato curves.  Some are wider, 183 and 216mm, though only a couple of pieces of those larger radius curves.

 

 

Is the electric loco on the recent photo is B-Train?  It looks like N-scale loco...

The ED79 is a regular size loco made by Tomix.  It runs a lot better than the 2 axle b train locos, so when I run longer trains on the T-Trak modules I often use full length locos.  I have full length blue and silver EF510's I use for Cassiopiea and Blue Trains and I have a green EF81 for the twilight express train.

 

Cheers!

 

Nick

[jbyeoh]

Hi Nick:

 

A very nice piece of artwork.  I like it very much. 

[nickhp]

Hi Jason,

 

You need to start a thread on here with your Shinkansen layout and post photos of your T-Trak modules too.  Or if you want I can post photos of our modules on a new thread.

 

FYI all, Jason is the other guy in Wichita interested in Japanese trains, we met at the February show in town and since then we've built several modules and exhibited at about 3 shows so far.  I have also been getting Jason hooked on B-Trains though he is currently getting sidetracked with Proz Z scale layout and trains :icon_scratch:

 

Cheers!

 

Nick

[jbyeoh]

The B Train is very very addictive! I will have to put the blame on you. :) 

 

Nick, if you don't mind, you can help me to post couple photos when you have time.

[nickhp]

I am having a hard time deciding what to do with the corner space of my layout.  The photo shows the rear of the layout.  The blue blob at the left hand side of the picture is the site of a multistory car park, the brown to the right of it is the road leading to the car park which joins with a road that goes across the layout as shown.  The area of blue between the road and tracks will be a couple of small buildings, possibly houses.  The area I can't decide on is the area shown in red around the outside edge of the tracks. 

 

My thoughts so far include apartment buildings (Aoshima, cut in half and used as low relief structures) with the area between the buildings and the track being the communal area with a small play area.  Another thought was to make a banked area here with a retaining wall.  Another idea was a playing field.  Anyone have any other ideas?

 

Cheers!

 

Nick

Edited November 29, 2013 by nickhp

[Martijn Meerts]

The layout is obviously lacking a good dose of Goji :D

[Krackel Hopper]

Had the pleasure of meeting Nick and seeing this B-Train Layout today!

 

Between the Shorty layout and a T-Trak setup, he had some really nice stuff going.  

 

The show overall was a little disappointing, nowhere near as many vendors as last year.  The vendors seemed to have more N-Scale stuff than usual, which was a plus.  My father found a couple nice things, but the few things that caught my eye were not very well priced.

 

I also noticed (or my father pointed out) an interesting trend between the layouts.  The bigger N-Trak layouts seemed much more focused on the trains and scenery was an after thought.  Most modules are track, ballast and static grass.  That's not to say there are not some nice N-Trak layouts or you cannot do as much.. I think N-Trak offers a lot of potential.. but the end results I often see are very flat.. while the T-Trak club, Nick's T-Trak & Shorty layouts, and a couple other smaller layouts all seemed to be much more about creating a scene.. the scenery was not an after thought, but was well designed and developed with the track plan.. anyway.. just an interesting observation.. not trying to hijack Nick's thread..

 

Again, fantastic Shorty layout Nick!  I look forward to seeing it again as you continue to add all the finishing touches.

 

Jonathan

[cteno4]

Jon,

 

Hey that great! Any pics to share!?

 

Interesting observation in the ntrak / ttrak on trains vs scene. I've noticed the opposite in the past with many of our local ntrak modules doing great scenes but few being "green boards" (this could also be due to club rules), but ttrak having a lot of them at times, mainly attempting to get as much track down as possible. But hopefully things have turned the corner for ttrak and scenes are catching up and layout length is not the loudest cry! Ttrak has such an edge on doing scenes easily, cheaply and quickly along with variety over ntrak so it can move fast if it decides to!

 

The other good news is this year the national conference will be here in the dc area and the organizer for the ttrak layouts is having a host of smaller ttrak layouts instead of just trying to do the biggest mega layout they can as they have done in the past. I really think this will be a much better presentation to the visitors than a mega layout as those just overwhelm and everything blurs and not a lot is left behind in the minds eye's memory. Smaller layouts should help focus on scenes and not track length. If these can be themed some then there is a great chance folks will really focus on presentation and thus really make a strong, positive impression on the viewers!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

Edited December 29, 2013 by cteno4

[nickhp]

Just back from the show - 200 mile trip after a quick detour to the mall to humor my daughter.  Quite tiring overall but it was a good venue and a lot of people, especially on Saturday.  The bitter cold and light snow probably didn't help things for the Sunday attendance.

 

It was nice to meet you, Jonathan!  Glad you enjoyed the show.  I think these great train expo shows are quite good for our Japanese trains, the crowds at these shows tend to be more families with kids rather than the super-detailed FREMO crowd that put kids to sleep.  The smaller shows tend to focus more on the serious modellers which is fine in it's own way I guess, but the people that attend these shows tend to be snobbish to anything that doesn't coform to their standards, rather than realizing that kids want to see trains running fast and lots of action, and that these kids are the future of the hobby.  Rant over!

 

Anyway, got some very flattering comments and feedback from many families and more than one person that made the same comment as Jonathan made above about the scenery finishing etc.  I have done quite a few shows and have to say there are a lot of modules in N and HO that are track, ballast and a bit of green ground cover and nothing else.

 

I will post some photos in the next couple of days.

 

BTW, Jeff - I haven't forgotten the article you asked about, I have an article written up but want to finish up the layout before submitting it, should be in the next few weeks.  Hope that's okay for you.

 

Cheers!

 

Nick