Okay, here goes...
I have built all but the roof of a model power Brewery kit... I don't really want a second brewry on my layout, the old brawa kit was much nicer, so the monks will handle malting barley this time out.... but I don't want to scrap this model, so I said to my self:
"Self, what can we do with this?"
I immediately thought of the two Bachmann tri level auto carriers I had stuck in a drawer. They come with a dozen or so little plastic cars in three styles molded in red, yellow, and blue...
The base of the building kit is molded to accept n gauge track, that would be fine, except it seems to be more interesting to have a separate warehouse and dock... So in that track pit I'll install a mocked up conveyor line, then I'm going to take a few of those little cars apart and build the various assembly stations, greatly compressed of course, but my problem comes with the engines... does anyone make a white metal casting of a car engine, or is this something I need to scratchbuild?
I've fairly got the rest worked out- taking plastruct scale wide flange and I beams cut to the length of the inside of the building, sub assemble theses simple little hoists onto them ( I glue two smaller pieces of beam to either side of a similar length of styrene... The slide it onto the bottom flange of the longer beam... This way it slides and can be adjusted after final assembly... I figure that 4 stations should be interesting- floor panel on conveyor, body on without doors or hood, engine station with tires on, finished car ready to drive off the line...
It sounds complicated, but it isn't. I will take lots of pictures to illustrate... But I swear the engines have me wondering how to model them...LOL simplest detail ...
Are you HO or N scale. In HO there is a detail part I saw of cast metal engines. Have you tried the Walthers N scale catalog?
I don't what era these cars are but you maybe able to scratchbuild something out of styrene. It wouldn't be too hard. You just need a small kind of cube shape. It doesn't have to be well detailed. If you have the hood off, people would get the idea of what it is.
Hope this helps.
Will
I came up with something when I went back into the man cave. I took my dremel to a few pieces of plastic sprue... (There's gotta be some use for them.), While I was at it I cut a few "tires", the tossed the lot into a ziploc bag before moving on to the next project...
Sounds great. I always knew there was a thousand uses for those sprues. I guess there is another one Great Idea. It would be neat to see some pics if you have the time.
Here's an interesting article that might help...
I would lose those Bachmann cars, though, and use the Micro Trains open racks. They look a million times better.
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
Hi, my CEO
we meet again, a nice idea, but did you ever see in live an assembly plant? Man, they are huge ( this is still an understatement); as a teen I worked for the Fiat company in Amsterdam, just a train unloading side with a big workshop and offices added. Accidents happen even before cars are sold as brand new. The place could hold four open racks and during holydays students were hired to drive them of the trains. Truckers never allowed us to get them on their trucks as well.
With the workshop door open you could still model a beautifull interior scene, in a more appropiate space. If build up front the huge parking lot can be just off the layout.
BTW did you think about the "loads in and empty's out" problem? And how is your trackplan evolving?
Have fun and good luck
Paul
Lee I bookmarked that for closer study... Wow...
Hey... The track plan is come a long way... Yes I worked for Honda of America in Marysville, Ohio.. Yes it is a gigantic place, too big to model on my layout... ,
The industry is going to sit far enough back to be just in front of some flats that I plan to use to separate the scenes, so that from the front you will see the profile of the factory and the rearward portion is behind a fence that runs to the background.. The idea isn't done cooking, but sounds good at this point...
Here's an assembly plant I built at the Delmarva club in N scale. It occupies a triangular space about 3' x 4'. The parts in tracks are on the left side of the building, along with a small fiddle yard, and the auto racks get loaded on the three tracks to the right. While not nearly scale in dimension, it's big enough to make an impression, and the track work (the important part!) can handle about 20 or 30 cars when everything is jumpin'.
The office building in the front was done with DPM modulars, and the assembly buildings were built from masonite, then skinned with styrene siding materials. The covered loading bays were scratchbuilt from Evergreen strip stock.
I was in the process of adding roof details and what not when I shot the picture... and no, the brick smokestack is not permanent!
Wow, this is a really cool model... (All but the smokestack)... Just pulling your chain, this is thought provoking to say the least.... Again, Wow...