This second case will be a gift to Maritime Hobbies and Crafts this week for all the valuable advice they gave me in 2017 on model trains.
OldSchoolScratchbuilder In order to estimate the value of a small display case, without tracks, I built a second one today and timed my hours.
In order to estimate the value of a small display case, without tracks, I built a second one today and timed my hours.
Alton Junction
OldSchoolScratchbuilderGoes well with all her antiques.
I go well with my wife's antiques. I also played a lot last night, my antique hands are really sore today. Still watching, carry on Macduff!
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Black patina has been applied to age the case. With the stained glass back and aged look, this hand-crafted case is unique!
Six hours work and there it is, my antique-looking model train case on top of my fully operational Thomas Edison Amberol Phonograph.
Standardized my single locomotive/car wooden base and can now make several a day. This one is bocote from Mexico. All of my locomotives will have stained glass cases. Large display is on hold temporarily while the entire basement is being reorganized. I will have separate areas for woodworking, rock and mineral GypsumWorks Studio, glass work, metal work, paint shop, electronics, chemistry, and of course model train work.
OldSchoolScratchbuilder Large display is on hold temporarily while the entire basement is being reorganized. I will have separate areas for woodworking, rock and mineral GypsumWorks Studio, glass work, metal work, paint shop, electronics, chemistry, and of course model train work.
Large display is on hold temporarily while the entire basement is being reorganized. I will have separate areas for woodworking, rock and mineral GypsumWorks Studio, glass work, metal work, paint shop, electronics, chemistry, and of course model train work.
While I am not convinced this huge mega thread belongs in an MR Forum, I do recognize the innovation and skills of the OP. I would love to see them applied to a true MR project.
That aside, it sure would be nice to see at least one completed, finished project!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Oak desk in place. This is where I assemble subassemblies and do research. Small case bases #'s 3 and 4 completed and ready for the stained glass top. My modelling-related library is extensive and includes thousands of pages from railroad modelling magazines, engineering cyclopedia and texts dating back over a century in some cases, Nova Scotia geology texts, books, and other resources, and on the bottom shelf, topographic maps and nautical shoreline charts that detail areas where I collect modelling materials.
Third locomotive case complete. Each time I do one my construction techniques are refined, quality control is better, and the end product has improved.
Let's try this again.
How many display cases are you going to build, and what are you going to do with all of them?
One of the advantages of stained glass backing plates is adding mood to the display case. Same can be said of the wood base. Here is one of my favourite paint schemes, the RailLink 4003. I bought this locomotive for the colours. I am going to give it a whisky cloud background and place it on a dark jacaranda pardo base from Bolivia.
Not whisky, whispy. Dimensions of the base are nominally 12" x 4" x 3/4". The router grooves are about 10" x 3 1/4" with a groove width of about 1/4". Groove depth about 1/16". The dimensions of the grooves easily adjusted for longer locomotives/cars. This may mean also adjusting the glass case dimensions though. Front and back grooves don't have to be the same dimensions as in this case, allowing for flexible glass thicknesses such as a double wall. I'll use a version of this double wall construction on the Alberta/Nova Scotia display.
Cutting the glass to size is simple with a few standard tools That you can purchase at your local stained glass retail store or craft store.
The whispy cloud glass has been cut to size: 10" x 3 5/8". Thickness of stained glass and regular glass can vary considerably so this must be taken into account in the initial design stage. This piece is about 1/8" thick.
I know some of you know all about stained glass work but for those who don't, the freshly-cut glass edges are not suitable for adhering to other materials like the metal foils in the next step. This is where the diamond grinder comes in. These shiny edges need to be ground dull.
Although the water in the grinder keeps most of the glass particles from becoming airborne, I wear safety glasses because it does happen from time to time.
Two types of foil are typically used to apply to the glass edges: silver-backed and copper-backed. Here I am using copper-backed because if some of it shows in the end product, it fits better with my antique look.
The foil is now in place and this piece is ready for soldering. The front sides and top glass pieces will be made the same way and then the case can be assembled. I'll show how I assemble when I have made the other parts.
My dad and I took a stained glass class at the public library in Cape Coral back in 1985. It was a lot of fun, but the pieces I made fell apart!
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-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190 My dad and I took a stained glass class at the public library in Cape Coral back in 1985. It was a lot of fun, but the pieces I made fell apart! . -Kevin .
I have had the good fortune to learn many tricks from several experienced stained glass instructors and artists/crafters since taking my first course at our National Stained Glass Studio here in Dartmouth. Like anything else, practice makes as close to perfect as you aspire to. This past week the owner of the store asked me if I would run his store in his absence from time to time. Since I am retired I will indeed help him out. He is going to show me how to use the register, and wrap glass properly for customers next week. I'm sure I will learn a lot more from running the store.
Adding selenite (gypsum crystals) to this display case which means a winter hike to the Bay of Fundy in cold weather gear. With -15 C and a wind chill down to -25 C, multi-layers and ice picks on my boots were in order. Between the crystals and my house runs the 45th parallel and this sign marks the spot - stopped to take this picture.
In the aftermath of recent 'Bomb Cyclone' the Bay of Fundy shoreline at Summerville Beach looked like the Arctic. The ice cakes, some larger than automobiles, littered the beach and made hiking challenging, especially when they moved when I stepped/jumped on them. Almost fell twice but the ice picks held fast.
Took awhile hiking into the bone-chilling wind but I finally reached the selenite outcrop and found what I was looking for for the train case. As the tide was rising quickly, I had to hurry back retracing my footprints, except where I recalled the ice moving.
So, just like that and I have some beautiful crystals to work with. And, I got some exercise and fresh air in the process.
Gypsum in any form has a white streak. This property allows me to make some very unique signs, especially with transparent crystals like this. Easy as writing with a pen!
Hmmm, looks like that loco has that same "very unique" sign!
This thread reads like a personal blog being hosted by Kalmbach. Free of charge of course.
- Douglas
It certainly is a "build thread". And since there is no definition of what a layout is, perhaps the more appropriate location for OPs blog would be in the Layout Build section.
Ready to cut and fit the glass top. More work to tin the remaining foil. Company name on a stone (gypsum) sign is a nice touch. I'll do that for my other locomotive cases as well.