SeeYou190 BNSF UP and others modeler Thats insane! Did you make all of those parts yourself/from scratch? Umm... yeah, that does look insane. Were these cast from patterns or 3D printed? If you scratch built all that from strip/sheet styrene you should win an award.
BNSF UP and others modeler Thats insane! Did you make all of those parts yourself/from scratch?
Umm... yeah, that does look insane. Were these cast from patterns or 3D printed? If you scratch built all that from strip/sheet styrene you should win an award.
You guys are right and I agree, but I don't let insanity slow me down; otherwise I'd never get anything done.
But the real insanity is that this is N-scale. I shoulda added a penny (or a loony for our Canuck friends) to the photos to give some sense of scale.
And no, the pieces and parts were not built up from tiny fragments of strips and whatnot. That would be insane. I cut them from 0.060" sheet styrene with a cnc desktop micro-mill. I posted a while back that I sometimes feel a little guilty that I'm somehow cheating using such a device . . . but oh well.
3D printing has not yet reached the point that I'm interested; the 'tool marks' are too pronounced and are a royal pain in the buttocks to remove. And that's for HO; for N, no way.
Anyhow, here's a photo of some windows I cut a few years ago for the C&O station in Ashland, KY (re-purposed nowadays as a bank . . . dang!!). Also N-scale. These were cut from 0.030" sheet styrene.
I'll post some more stuff tomorrow or the next day from my current work.
Thanks.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
ROBERT PETRICKI don't let insanity slow me down
Hi Robert,
CNC machine or not, that is pretty amazing! I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Here's a photo of the assembled building next door to its mock-up stand-in placeholder that I made last year out of matboard. I apologize that the whiteness is so washed out in the photo.
Notice I said assembled, and not finished or completed. This is the first draft of fabricating the building with the materials and techniques I intend to use for the final product, and even though it turned out reasonably well, it is still not there. The purpose of going through a first draft is to find the problems and flaws with the design and test out constructability as well as fit and finish. I discovered quite a few things and changed the design slightly for the next (and final) go.
Nevertheless, I'll give myself about a 90 or so, which puts it into the A-/B+ range. Not bad.
Even if it was completed at this point, there would still need to be a lot of cleaning, sanding, sealing the joints (and adding a little squadron putty here and there), sanding some more, cleaning some more, and then painting. Since I don't intend this to be a permanent structure, I won't spend any more time on it right now.
Anyhow . . . here it is, such as it is.
Looks good, Robert!
I picked up the Walthers HO station that's based on the Q station in Omaha a few years ago planning on using it for the Casper station on my layout. They bear more than just a family resemblance, though the Casper depot is brick, whereas the Walthers (Omaha) one is block construction.
I think yours will have much more fidelity to the prototype than mine.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Pruitt I picked up the Walthers HO station that's based on the Q station in Omaha a few years ago planning on using it for the Casper station on my layout. They bear more than just a family resemblance, though the Casper depot is brick, whereas the Walthers (Omaha) one is block construction.
Hey Mark-
I have the Union Station in N-scale. Walthers did a pretty good job on that kit. My plan is to use it as the County Courthouse, and I had to kit-bash it a little by removing that clock on top of the front parapet. Every time I looked at it I couldn't shake the image of Doc Brown's Timex on his (not to scale or painted) model of the Hill Valley Courthouse square and clock tower. Not much of a bash as kit-bashing goes . . . but still a bash.
Any news about your layout or relocation?
Nice work.
I'd be happy with the matboard mockup, with some cellophane windows.
Gary
ROBERT PETRICKHey Mark- ... Any news about your layout or relocation? Robert
...
Little bit. We have a deal to sell the NJ house. Contract is being written - will sign later this week, probably. Inspections for two weeks, and buyers want to close in late October.
We're planning to go to Casper in a couple weeks to look at houses again. Found a builder on line that has a floorplan we really like, and it comes with a 1400 square foot unfinished basement! We'll probably find temporary housing for six to nine months until we get a place built.
PruittLittle bit. We have a deal to sell the NJ house. Contract is being written - will sign later this week, probably. Inspections for two weeks, and buyers want to close in late October. We're planning to go to Casper in a couple weeks to look at houses again. Found a builder on line that has a floorplan we really like, and it comes with a 1400 square foot unfinished basement! We'll probably find temporary housing for six to nine months until we get a place built.
Better luck this time Mark!
To catch up on the news and progress . . .
Fall is a busy time in the high desert (first snow was a week before Labor Day, and we've already had two hard freezes) but I'm not shirking my layout.
I'm currently scratch-building three N scale structures concurrently with three matching HO versions and writing an article about one of them (or two of them, depending on how you count such things).
The real progress as I see it is that I am installing working signals on the top of the layout. I installed the signal system and all of the major components and tested everything, including the JMRI logic, more than a year ago. But installing and testing stuff on the work bench and installing and testing it under the layout are two very different operations. Good thing I already know how to cuss.
As of right now, I have eight complete plants installed and fired up. That's 16 three-over-three RYG masts and 32 signal heads; all functioning properly. I have 16 more plants (32 masts) to go to complete the signals for the two-thirds of the layout that was planned to be signalized. The Wind River peninsula is currently dark territory and will remain that way for the immediate future. But who knows; I have a (bad) habit of changing plans at the drop of a hat and going off on a tangent somewhere.
No photos at the moment. One idea is to start up a YouTube channel. Signals in action videos are more interesting than signals in still photos.
Anyhow, progress.
Mid Century Modern is the name given to a style that was prevalent in the 1950s and '60s (duh). It gave us glass buildings, plastic furniture, and beehive hairdos. It also gave us . . .
. . . which until very recently housed the Wells Fargo Bank in Casper, Wyoming.
I am scratch-building a version in N Scale (for my home layout) and in HO Scale (for the club layout). Details and photos to follow shortly.
BTW, those little mini-me kiosk things in the first three photos are drive-in teller stations.
I have toyed with the idea of trying to incorporate something "mid-century modern" into the downtown of my layout, but I always decide to stck with brick structures.
.
That is a magnificent building.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190 I have toyed with the idea of trying to incorporate something "mid-century modern" into the downtown of my layout, but I always decide to stck with brick structures.
Hey Kevin-
I'm working on another building from that same era (1964) that you might be familiar with. It's a small skyscraper (430') in Jacksonville that used to be called the Gulf Life Tower. It has changed hands several times since then, and I don't know if Gulf Life Insurance is still in business, but I've always liked the proportions of that building.
It is very similar in outlook to the Wells Fargo but a little more restrained in execution. Same repetitive symmetrical stark black/white concrete/glass monochromatic pallette.
Shouldn't be too hard to build, but to say I'm working on it is a bit of a stretch. I have finished the preliminary procrastination and am well into the pondering design stage. What I see is a footprint of about 6" by 6" and about 24" tall. About a 2/3 compression to scale.
It's on my near future to do list.
ROBERT PETRICK Mid Century Modern is the name given to a style that was prevalent in the 1950s and '60s (duh). It gave us glass buildings, plastic furniture, and beehive hairdos. It also gave us . . . ... which until very recently housed the Wells Fargo Bank in Casper, Wyoming. I am scratch-building a version in N Scale (for my home layout) and in HO Scale (for the club layout). Details and photos to follow shortly. BTW, those little mini-me kiosk things in the first three photos are drive-in teller stations. Robert
... which until very recently housed the Wells Fargo Bank in Casper, Wyoming.
Wow, an original and unique structure that will certainly be a challenging scratchbuild. Good luck to you, and please post pictures.
For more info on this unusual building, see https://oilcity.news/community/city/2018/09/18/wells-fargos-landmark-casper-building-is-for-sale/
ROBERT PETRICKI am scratch-building a version in N Scale (for my home layout) and in HO Scale (for the club layout). Details and photos to follow shortly.
Do I see some 3D printing in the works?
garya Wow, an original and unique structure that will certainly be a challenging scratchbuild. Good luck to you, and please post pictures.
Hey Gary -
Even though Casper is a good 250 miles away, most of the visitors who see my layout in person will recognize those buildings. Or at least I hope they will if I do a good enough job of it.
The layout will include several other Casper buildings.
One is the Rialto Theatre, a glamorous movie palace built in the 1920s. Well, not too glamorous; this is Wyoming after all.
Another is the Natrona Country Library, which has a teriffic sculpture of Prometheus in the triangular pavilion out front. It started out as a simple Carnegie Library in 1910 or so, but has been enlarged and remodeled over the years. One unique feature of the enlarged building is that the rear wall is cut to a 20-degree skewed angle. That was because the remodel butted the enlarged footprint of the building up against the old CNW Railroad right-of-way that cut diagonally across the rectangular grid of Casper streets. The tracks have been abandoned and the right-of-way is now a hike and bike trail. There's a large sundial and gazebo in a small park back there that I will try to include.
I remember that bank building! It was built in the very early 1960's. It housed the Wyoming National Bank. It went through several different banks (bank buy-outs on top of each other?). It wasa real cool building when it was built. A few years ago I visited, and was shocked at how it was aging.
Now I'm living in Casper again. It great to see all these places again (the Rialto, the American, and the bank building). I am very much missing "The New Wonder Bar" though. Wonder what it became?
Garfield elementary, where I went to 4th through 6th grade, is now a church! How things change!!
hon30critter ROBERT PETRICK I am scratch-building a version in N Scale (for my home layout) and in HO Scale (for the club layout). Details and photos to follow shortly. Hi Robert, Do I see some 3D printing in the works? Dave
ROBERT PETRICK I am scratch-building a version in N Scale (for my home layout) and in HO Scale (for the club layout). Details and photos to follow shortly.
Hey Dave-
3D printing technology is not quite there yet for me. At least, not affordable technology that is available to the average amateur or hobbyist. Maybe the high-end commercial professional-grade printers would be suitable, but currently they cost more than my truck.
The 3D stuff that I've seen is low-res and shows a lot of 'tool marks' that need to be sanded and polished out, and in N scale that would be too tedious even for me. I use a benchtop Taig Micro-mill and a Full Spectrum Muse Laser Cutter/Engraver to fabricate and assemble pieces and parts into structures like pretty much any of the commercial kits.
Here're the parts I cut out for the Wells Fargo Tower. This is a very simple project because there are only nine pieces, the most important one being the Evergreen styrene 1/8" triangular strip that holds everything together. The legs are cut on the mill from 1/8" sheet styrene, and the brackets and signs are cut from 0.060" acrylic on the Muse.
The Blooming Onion is another matter. I've cut out a lot of the parts and I'm not sure exactly how many there will be all together. Most likely more than a hundred. It's a fairly complicated structure that will require a decent amount of precision, but it should fit together like a Chinese puzzle. Well, what we used to call a Chinese puzzle. It is neither Chinese nor a puzzle, so I've no idea what the PC term for such a combobulation is nowadays. Those photos are still in the works.
I'm starting a new scratch build; and under the category of sharing the adventure with fellows in the craft, I'm posting some photos of the project as it stands right now. Starting with the inspiration . . .
. . . followed by photos of the execution, starting with the obligatory yard sale shot . . .
. . . and then a couple showing the approximate final position in the layout.
The parts are cut from 0.060" black acrylic and are assembled dry (no glue or adhesive (yet)) and have been hit with a quick pass of 600-grit sandpaper to take off the gloss for these photos. Gloss and/or tool marks won't matter because these parts will be mostly hidden. In fact, the ship will be about 90% white, 8% black, and 2% blood red.
More photos later as the build moves along.
The complex curves of the hull projected onto a flat sheet. There's never a shoemaker around when you need one.
These were cut from 0.040" taskboard. I have some 0.030" styrene sheet on hand, as originally planned, but I think I want to use 0.040" stuff. I've ordered some 0.040" sheets, and they should be here on Monday. At least, that's what the tracking info shows. With the holidays on Wednesdays, and with millions of people trying to return Granny's presents for more-flexible gift certificates or store credit, I'd say Tuesday would be more like it. If then.
The 30-mill sheet is very susceptible to warping or ballooning from a stray drop (or even a carefully-placed drop) of solvent weld. Plus, I'm a little worried about the bulkheads and decks showing through the skin, like a tent. But, the prototype cutters are 50 years old, and a closer look reveals that their hulls are a little waffle-ized, kinda like the cellulite on Beyoncé's thighs before photoshopping.
Progress.
How's the bank building coming?
Pruitt How's the bank building coming?
Thanks for the inquiry.
I'm pretty much finished with the N scale model of Wells Fargo, and I'm working on an HO version. I'm also writing an article about the adventure. Similar story with the Burlington Station: N scale and HO scale buildings, and an article to chronicle the work.
One particular theme in both articles is trying to describe the differences between scratch building structures in the two scales. There is more to it than simply shrinking or enlarging the design by a factor of 0.544 or 1.84 or something.
Working on it.
That Coast Guard vessel is goint to look incredible.
I do not recall seeing a Coast Guard vessel represented on a layout before. Great work.
I second that.
You are doing such a good job, its a wonder you don't have plans for this! Maybe you could make some and see if MRR will put them in their magazine. I could see a high demand for something like this.
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
Test fit of the hull skins and a rough mock-up of the superstructure. Please ignore all the masking tape.
That's pretty amazing Robert!
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Here're a few photos of the hull and superstructure, rough assembled but not painted. Just in case y'all think I'm not doing anything.
Looks great Robert, without scrolling back, what is the machine you have that does all of this cutting?
Mike.
My You Tube
I find that the speed at which that cutter is coming together is demoralising!!!
Hi Bear!
This post has been a bit long coming, but I politely disagree with the "demoralizing" part. It is a new and different way of modelling but it doesn't negate older methods like those that you used to create your fabulous car ferry in any way, shape or form! Yes, CAD cutting machines are fabulous, but I think that they almost take all of the fun and challenge of doing it yourself with just a sketch or two, or even only a picture in your mind. If I was in a situation where I had to replicate many models of the same thing I would definitely consider using a CAD machine, but I seriously doubt that I would need so many models of so many things to justify giving my modelling pleasure up to a machine.
hon30critter I find that the speed at which that cutter is coming together is demoralising!!! Hi Bear! This post has been a bit long coming, but I politely disagree with the "demoralizing" part.
This post has been a bit long coming, but I politely disagree with the "demoralizing" part.
Besides, methinks that JaBear was speaking tongue in cheek!
Rich
Alton Junction