I have the Walthers 90' TT and the two-tone tan colour of it just doesn't cut it. If I hit it with the airbrush can I do the gear track around the perimetre of it? I would be a little concerned about using weathering powders as it could gum up the works at some point.
I would like an aged grey colour and I think the airbrush is likely a good way to do it. Have any of you used powders on the pit?
Thanks.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I used the Walthers 90' turntable on the upper level of my layout. It's the non-motorised version, but I used the motor and gearbox from a scanner to motorise it. While the motor worked well-enough, the stock wheels on the bridge yielded a very rough ride, so I removed the motor for now, at least. I have some better quality brass wheels available and will replace the original ones. I'll probably leave it as a manually operated turntable, as it's right at the edge of the layout...
I painted the deck and made my own handrails using piano wire and handrail stanchions from Athearn Blue Box diesels. As you can see, it's not all painted, so no weathering yet.
I didn't care for the operator's cab, either, so scratchbuilt one in a different style...
This one, on the lower level of the layout, is semi-scratchbuilt, using girders cut from Atlas through-girder bridges (two bucks apiece off the "used" table at the LHS), cemented to a block of wood.The track is Atlas flex, with all the tie-connectors removed and the ties re-spaced. I then slipped long stripwood between the plastic ties, creating a walkway, which was planked with leftover stripwood. The handrails are the same as on the turntable shown above. The pit floor is the circle of 3/4" plywood cut out to create the pit, while the ring rail is a section of Atlas flex track. The pit wall is 1/8" Masonite.The table was built to fit its site, and as a result, is an 89' turntable...
There's some weathering on the pit walls, but that's about it.
Wayne
Here are a couple of shots of mine, the 90' 'built-up' indexed version from 2006. I used acrylic craft paint washes. I also poured a small bit of two-part finish-quality epoxy over a central blacked circle around the pivot well to mimick an oily watery puddle.
And one showing that oily puddle:
Great stuff guys. I am worried about how sensitive the gear track around the outside of the pit is to contamination from a very light spray of paint from an airbrush. Hard to tell from the photos but did any of you weather that?
Hi Brent,
I built the Walthers 90' turntable from one of the original kits. It required a lot of work to get it to run smoothly.
As far as colour goes, I got my inspiration from a picture of a real turntable located in New Zealand or Australia IIRC. I brush painted the pit with a medium grey, added stains with both white and black paint and then used weathering powders to replicate some of the oil and rust stains that would build up over time. It took me several attempts to get the weathering acceptable. The first few attempts were disasters.
This is the prototype (all you covered wagon enthusiasts will be salivating!):
Here are a few pictures of the turntable. Note the seams and cracks in the concrete. I did those with a #11 blade:
The final result:
Real wood planking. The camera makes the colour differences stand out more than they actually do:
Here is one of the weathering powder disasters:
Here is a thread on how I modified the turntable to get it to run smoothly. Remember that this was a kit, not ready-built, so I don't know if any of the problems were carried over in the ready-built model. I know that the power pickup system is different. The pit rail in the kit is plastic. Power is supplied to the bridge by contacts on the pivot shaft.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/261225.aspx
What I never figured out is how to reduce the motor noise. At very slow speeds it is acceptable but at anything other than very slow the noise is really annoying. I suspect that the pit is acting like an amplifier.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
My approach to turntable weathering was really avant-garde.
I installed it, then never cleaned the dust out of the pit.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
BATMAN Great stuff guys. I am worried about how sensitive the gear track around the outside of the pit is to contamination from a very light spray of paint from an airbrush. Hard to tell from the photos but did any of you weather that?
PruittMy approach to turntable weathering was really avant-garde. I installed it, then never cleaned the dust out of the pit.
Hi Mark!
I hate layout dust, especially on rolling stock, but I guess there are some places where it could be used to advantage!
I found a good "how-to" with a Google search. Here is the gear track I was mentioning, the article says to keep it clean, however, I am wondering if a sharpie would do the job.
Crandell, I like the water in the pit idea, there were some good examples on some British sites.