Well I checked out Micro-Mark and they have a 110v motor but it's geared for 2.5rpm which is a bit slow. I have a few plasic gears from things I salvaged over the years including one that's about 6 inches in diameter. If I can get a motor that can run slow enough I might be able to cobble up a drive system that could be mounted under the top deck of the tower. From these pics you can see the ceiling is sort of bowl shaped:
They're next:
This is going to be the biggest, most complicated paper model I've designed in years. Too bad I can't make these work!
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Looks like something NASA wished they had!
Model is moving along....
I'll set up a saved search on ebay for one. Now that you mention it, I think I had one that ran from 16 to 78rpm at one time. The only other thing I could think of is a commercial display or maybe MicroMark would have something I could use. Well, I have time.
A slow-moving turntable? Maybe you can find a old record player in a thrift or second-hand shop somewhere. Some were built to rotate as slow as 16rpm if I remember correctly, specifically for language course records or spoken-word records for the blind where hi-fidelity playback wasn't critical. And of course it would run off 110 volt AC house current.
Always has been. The second reel is my "temporary stand" to plant the tower on while I'm installing the base structure on the layout. Down at the bottom:
...the central core hides the extension cord that lights the model. The Orbitor was built around a dowell the same length as the height of the base structure. It's also identical in diameter to the hole in the center of the reel. The reels were a good choice (not only because they were cheap) because the "Rocket Tower" was supposed to have a representation of the Peoplemover on the middle deck:
And therin lies my plans for the future. Take it back to the Apollo inspired Rocket Jets of 1967:
The trick is going to be finding a turntable with a motor and gearbox that can run either off the 14 volt AC grid or a 110v extension cord. Either way, somewhere between 15 and 20 RPM lies my ideal turning speed. If successful, the Orbitor will be retired and replaced with a model that I don't have to turn with a bamboo pole!
Oh, and the second 35mm film reel was supposed to be for the Carousel of Progress:
Nice touch Becky, the Astro-Orbiter perched on top of a film reel!
Very Hollywood!
Remember this picture when I tell you that it's time to retire the Astro Orbitor:
bobhwalker Really looks nice! Is any of this animated?
Really looks nice! Is any of this animated?
Thanks! So far only the Monorail and Lionel train move, but I'd love to get more movement. I may be getting a carousel soon.
Your " to do " list
is getting " to done "
looking good !!
Back to what I started out to do, I finally finished project #1: fix the Small World vs. DLRR vs. Monorail vs. Skyway problem.
Due to it being just a few degrees below double heck this summer, moving furniture (let alone any more than I really had to) just wasn't possible. I had to wait for cooler days to get the measurements I needed. That operation looked like this:
The original center "island" was just a posterboard oval stuffed with lights and newspaper. Last year those lights got damaged and that meant removing the whole garden to replace the string.
The new version is made like an "I-beam" of illustration board with holes drilled in the top section for the bulbs to poke through:
I also replaced the fencing in the cue area, made better water (hot glue over blue paint) and made a little "hedge" to block direct view of the bulbs and allow only the colored light to be seen.
And around back, the transportation department's issues are hopefully fixed.
So, that's what's new at paper Disneyland. It'll be set up after I get the other two layouts finished.
Just as Disneyland sees occasional upgrades, refurbishment, new paint, etc... it stands to reason that a model would need the same. UV, dust, and natural deterioration are to be expected.
To make it new again....
UV is an extremely destructive force in Garden Railroading. With some brands of track, the plastic ties may turn to dust in a few years of So Cal sunshine. But the rails are eternal...
You have brought back the vibrancy, and color. Looks great !!
SLEEPING BEAUTY CASTLE
Time for an upgrade!
I had hoped to rebuild the castle this year (and for at least 3 prior years) but the moolah never seems to be available for the ink and paper that would be required to build a new model. She looks pretty good for her age though:
BTW I took this photo to demonstrate scale on a paper modelling forum. That's a 1:43, 1:50 and 2 HO figures standing in the doorway. From them and pics of the real castle we decided the model is closer to 1:50, although the designer never worried about such things.
Anyways. When a piece of scrap castle material which was taken form a folder that lives in a box in the dark basement and not in the sun as the rest of the model does is placed beside it, the damage caused by the sun becomes more obvious:
Another issue was my "water". I poured polyeurethane (water-based) over an acrylic painted base and well....
The poly migrated, to put it mildly. Into the sand, up the castle walls and just turned my nice white sand beaches an ugly yellow over the years.
And then there was the "bite"...
A slight miscalculation of available real estate vs. generic measurements on my layout diagram resulted in a "field adjustment". It didn't go away, but it looks a bit more "planned" than it wasn't.
So....here's the enhanced version:
New trees, new clean beaches and a nicer bridge.
It should fit in better with my current scenery scheme.
I.ve had one of these for about 30 years now:
Believe it or not I've seen people try to fit these with O gauge trucks so they could be pulled by MTH 4-6-0's.
Speaking of which:
MTH did do a lot of work on the very set that would help me out of my jam. Believe it or not that station is sold to go with HO scale WDW RR trains! (They claim the monorail is HO scale. I think it's S.)
Penny Trains, I think we are on the same page. There are items out there that are hitting all around the target, but nothing out there to make this an easy solution for O/O-27 fans. Lionel seems to have the best relationship with Disney. Maybe if enough of us Disney fans email them a suggestion to produce one maybe they will get the hint: TalkToUs@Lionel.com
In the meantime I’ll keep trying to come up with an alternative.
- Rob
I remember riding those clerestory cars, and my dad cautioning me to not be out on the open platforms when the train was moving. I was surfing around the internet, and I think it was On the " Steam Channel", a guy had purchased at least some of the cars, and was operating them , with some very cute little " tea kettle " locomotives.
The Bachmann's are very close, but the trucks...
Thanks!
One of the things I've considered doing over the years is modifying Bachmann's On30 coaches with Lionel trucks and couplers. Their cars would be a good representation of Disneyland's original yellow coaches:
But I'm just not sure it would work, and at 75 bucks a pop experimenting would be hard to do. (Of course, if I really wanted to be accurate I'd be using narrow gauge anyways! But Lionel's are more reliable! )
Of course, Bachmann can make these in just about every gauge except the one I want:
But what are you going to do?
Another option is the MTH Overton cars:
Not bad. But really not what I'm looking for. A better option is a LaBelle kit: https://www.labellemodels.com/scale-passenger-cars-c-22_28.html?osCsid=3m3o0eusnnqgp79nih4iao21c1 again, not the cheapest option considering I'd have to build them and buy trucks.
So, what I consider my most plausible option is exactly what you've suggested. Get some junker flatcars and build on top. What's holding me back are 3 problems:
One of these days.
Thanks guys!
I really am amazed at how much better these cheapo bottle brush pines from a craft store look.
And all I did was brush on some Elmer's Glue-All and dribble on some fine turf with a spoon! Here's what they looked like beforehand:
I had tried to hide the "blueness" of some of them doing an in-situ reflocking job using hairspray and fine turf. But I think you may agree the "clumpiness" that developed using actual glue rather than just hair spray makes all the difference. They still look like cheapo bottle brush trees, and certainly they won't win any awards for portraying a conifer realistically, but they do look better!
Call Hans and Otto! I need to enhance those trees on the slopes of the Matterhorn too!
I always enjoy looking at your models. They're great !
I won't be playing trains too much until the dust settles from this move, but it's the start of a new chapter, and I'm excited.
Keep on keepin' on, they look wonderful !
Becky - as usual - WOW!
Regards, Roy
OK. Time for some new pics! Not much excitement I'm afraid, just A LOT of upgrading and enhancing this year! First up, Pirates of the Caribbean needed a better roof: I've been using that tile roof texture longer than I can remember! The new one looks better imho: Of course, redoing one part of a paper model often leads to other things. So, one wall needed to be redone, the parapet on the roof needed straightening (which necessitated mixing paint to match the original red cardstock with a few years of sun fading) and while I was at it I replaced the original blue cobblestone base (which was so warped it looked like the building was on a hill) with a new red brick texture that's more complimentary than the blue. Here's a side-by-side with the original build photo on the left:
Considering this model has been in and out of boxes for 6 years it's holding up fairly well. This one earns the "most obnoxious paper model" award.
Why? Certainly not because of the buildings. Nope. What's new is the tiny little town square plot which replaces this:
At first glance you might think the only paper model involved is the plaque at the base of the flag pole. But that overlooks the "death by a thousand cuts" fencing! Which is also a paper model! Anyhoo. While I had Main Street out of storage I added signage to the storefronts.
I had planned to light them up but figured it would be too difficult to retro-fit them. Oh well! Lastly, so far, I upgraded the trees on and around Tom Sawyer Island:
Lichen is nice, but not terribly durable for a model that has to be moved around so much. My new type trees are more forgiving:
And I uprooted and re-flocked the pine trees:
Today I started making new trees for Sleeping Beauty Castle enhancements.
You are much more organized than I am. My projects start out with only the vaguest idea of what I would like to accomplish. I engineer things as I go, as problems arise.
The final result is a surprise...
even to me !
And excursion cars for the DLRR.
Postwar Paulyou don't need to change a thing !
That would never do! My to-do list:
And eventually it would be great if these "modules" all had a platform with base scenery and a plug and socket wiring system built-in.
I keep coming up with crazy new ideas all the time and that's the fun part!
Penny Trains It took me awhile, but I finally found that Babes In Toyland at the Main Street Opera House pic! And yes....I've selected my next target: I need to incorporate both the Skyway and the Monorail into the Small World module permanently. Look at the background of this pic and you can see that I had to severly warp one of the Skyway towers with steel wire to keep it from derailing the Monorail: They've been fighting each other for 4 years and the time is ripe for finding a better solution than attaching something to one of the metal clips for the window behind the curtain! The only real question is whether or not I'll rebuild all of Small World or just fix what needs to be fixed.
It took me awhile, but I finally found that Babes In Toyland at the Main Street Opera House pic!
And yes....I've selected my next target:
I need to incorporate both the Skyway and the Monorail into the Small World module permanently. Look at the background of this pic and you can see that I had to severly warp one of the Skyway towers with steel wire to keep it from derailing the Monorail:
They've been fighting each other for 4 years and the time is ripe for finding a better solution than attaching something to one of the metal clips for the window behind the curtain! The only real question is whether or not I'll rebuild all of Small World or just fix what needs to be fixed.
Just messin', but glad you found that picture. Apparently not too many pictures survive. Some day a picture of the trees may surface.
Your layout looks great, you don't need to change a thing ! I am very impressed with all the detail, even the Mickey Mouse logo on the station grounds !
Paul
Even though for me, it was growing up in the early 2000s, the beatles were indeed the soundtrack of my childhood, particularly my early childhood. We listened to them a lot when I was little. I think, at my request! They were the only ‘60s/‘70s artist I heard much of as a kid, in all honesty. Such great memories!!
"Unless bought from a known and trusted dealer who can vouch otherwise, assume every train for sale requires servicing before use"
Penny Trains tick...tick...tick....
tick...tick...tick....
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