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Etched Pixels

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  2. Etched Pixels
    The open coach I built a while back has died somewhat so it seemed to be time to build something more robust, and perhaps a little less "garden railway" looking. The body is a narrow gauge coach off Shapeways which has been slightly anglicised by paint job and then fitted on a scratch built chassis using T scale parts to run on 3.1mm soldered track.
     
    The weight may need adjusting - with a vehicle that size on 15" track the weight needs to be low but at the same time the mechanisms can't haul much weight,
     
    The Eishindo 103 has a separate gear box and motor so I may just have to put a "proper" motor unit together - that would also improve running considerably although I have a few things to do before I can really test the weight and motor situation out properly.
     

     

     

  4. Etched Pixels
    This took a bit of squeezing. It's the Zimo MX648R and a Dapol M7 chassis with a tidied up Highfield G5 body kit on top modified to fit. The speaker and decoder just about fit in the back of the loco although it's a very tight squeeze.
     
     
    Pardon the lousy camera work
     
    http://vimeo.com/36930371
  5. Etched Pixels
    Picked up one of these from Plaza Japan to play with and to maybe replace the scratchbuilt chassis in the WCPR 'Flying Matchbox' at the moment. The 3D print/scratchbuilt one isn't very reliable to say the least.
     

     
    The Tsugawa wheelbase is a bit long and it'll need a resistor or two as it is meant for 4.5v max.
     
    The design is interesting as the chassis block is produced using a long gear chain that consists of identical gears held in places with pins from each side, and at the end by wheels (also split axles). The axles and pins fit into the same exact gear moulding.
     
    This of course means that you can swap them around (I put the end gears back in so I can find them if I ever want to swap it back)
     
     

     
     
    Turns out the screws foul the wheels but you can drill new 1mm holes and tap the screws into those instead.
     

     
    All fits below the windowline and I think with care I can get the decoder and resistors hidden too. I'll pass on sound for the moment.
  7. Etched Pixels
    Its that time of the year again and another freebie to print and fold up in card or photo paper. For best results print the tiff one at 1200dpi, but there is a jpeg as well. For larger scales either adjust the DPI or scale it in a print program accordingly.
     
    In N this fits the Peco 15' wagon chassis (or brake van if you think Santa needs footboards)
     
    Alan
  8. Etched Pixels

    Thompson BZ

    By Etched Pixels,

    And then suddenly it's August and hardly any modelling time has happened.
     
    The last couple of weeks I have had a bit of time however and got the Thompson BZ kit design done. This needs a few adjustments (making the roof extend over the ends a spot, moving the steps) but I'm pretty happy with the test run other than that. It rolls beautifully and it'll handle 9" curves.
     

  9. Etched Pixels
    Having built a test body I've been assembling the second revision of the coach. Some end detail left to add and then it needs the sides and roof fitting.
     
    The main structure is a piece of H shaped plastruct beam with extra material over the top sides to provide a key to shape for the body sides and then everything else glued onto it..
     

  10. Etched Pixels
    I've been meaning to draw up some templates for making paper wagons for the Peco chassis for a while as its a great way to knock up all kinds of fun wagons, and if you overlay the strapping with black painted plasticard etc can look really good.
     
    This one is just a paper build on a Peco 10ft chassis
     

     
    If you want to make your own then the artwork is below, print at 600dpi and have fun. The tiff one is the best quality and most likely going to just print right, the jpeg is there too just in case.
     
    For OO you'll need to resize it. I don't know what the dimensions of the OO chassis are so you'll have to work it out
     
    Print on nice stiff quality paper (the one above is on cheap paper as tester) and make the folds sharp. Fold up and glue (for laser print titebond woodglue is awesome for this, for inkjet you need more care but spraying the back of the sheet with spray mount might well do the trick).
     
    Cut out four of the corner bits and wrap them round the corner to hold it together.
  11. Etched Pixels
    After the bogie coach I thought I'd try something a bit smaller and more complex. The main problem with T scale wheels is that they are designed to be held in bogies and the bogies have points that go into the wheels not pinpoints on wheels. They are also of course very small.
     
    For this wagon I drilled 0.4mm holes into the centre of each wheel (down the existing dip) and superglued fine wire. The next problem was bearings. After about five failed experiments I hit upon the answer- N gauge handrail knobs, with the loop for the wire acting as the bearing.
     
    It runs, although its a bit rough. I got slightly too much glue on the rods into the wheels seems to be the reason so I know next time what is needed to get smoother running. Then again after the number of obscenities emitted I might build a bogie wagon instead !
     
    Needs more paint and weathering but it'll pass with a bit of dirt.
     

     

  12. Etched Pixels
    For the bridge and valley at the left hand end of the new layout I've been pondering what to use for the narrow gauge line I fancied running over it. Z is a possibility and the little known remainder of the 3' Cornish mineral railways but another obvious option is to lay something in NN15 (or NN18 to be exact). Unfortunately the out of the box T scale track isn't really suitable for narrow gauge so it was time to try the obvious plan B
     
    NN15 track - the soldered way. This is with code 40 flat bottom rail - really I need to find something lower, but I also need to build the proper trackwork in steel anyway because the T gauge stuff relies on magnetism to make the physics work.
     
    The other reason to do this is that T gauge switches are not very good and mostly plastic causing a lot of stalls, so I'll need a couple of T electrofrog switches to pull it off... (oh boy....!)
     

     
    The medium sized controller (in N) surveys his options
  13. Etched Pixels
    Think I need to do the roof out of something other than stainless as its a bit of a ... to shape.
     
    After this one I have a giant to follow (although there is something ironic about a T scale giant)
     
    Still having to do a bit of thinking about the floor - I have the trussing fine and a bit of plastic rod will do the tanks, but getting the solebars right is going to need some experimentation. Thank goodness Peco sell large packs of T scale round buffers in packets labelled 'track pins'
     

  14. Etched Pixels
    The empty space in front of the headshunt has now gone from foam to landscape and been walled and vegetated. I've used a couple of different ground colous at different level to try and suggest stratification. Still not sure about the left hand wall so that isn't stuck down or painted up yet. I'm torn between the modern concrete wall, brick wall or having a go at modelling a wall with a large hole in it (as if someone at some point put some heavy machinery through it) and fencing.
     
    The sheep are however in place along with a suitably modern looking shepherd (none of this twee outfits and crook stuff) plus dog, trying to herd the sheep towards the gate on the other side - and probably not assisted by having a DRS 20 running around its train the other side of the wall.
     

  15. Etched Pixels
    I thought I'd start with NN3 trackwork on the basis that I was doing the first test build with a roller gauge and no jigs, along with no experience. I figured that however dodgy it turned out it wouldnt be totally amiss as an industrial narrow gauge siding. It's also using Z standards so its a good deal more forgiving and coarse spec than 2mm trackwork proper.
     
    I have learned several things
     
    - that the ends of the rail are sharp and next time I should cover them in tape so less blood is involved when cleaning up with a file
    - that I need to make some jigs for more serious NN3 trackwork
    - that the pritt stick cheap clone I used to stick the sleepers down ready to solder turns into a strong glue once soldered (next time I may try photomount)
     
    I'm still stuck on a few things
    - The best way to paint it given the sleepers are metal - all over attack with Games Workshop skull white and then clean the tops of the rails ?
    - How people get small neat blobs of solder and don't have to spend an hour cleaning up the joins or removing and replacing some of the worst excesses (would solder paint be better)
    - Would it be better to find matching plastic strip and glue every 'n'th sleeper and just fake the rest, especially on the NN3 bits where realyl the rail ought to be flat bottom on clips or nails/
     
     
    But it works, it's to gauge and you can run things on it. I'm almost tempted to attempt some dual gauge trackwork after I make sleeper spacing jigs so I can get it straight. That is once I figure out the right way to make the jigs.
     
    Alan
  16. Etched Pixels
    Actually its an X-Fish
     
    Test etches for converting the N Gauge Society sausage van & stove-R chassis into the LMS van in question. I've just glued it together quickly and dropped the roof loosely on top to check it fits - still need to remove the battery boxes (no electric eels in transit clearly) and add the bracing along the bottom of the axles.
  17. Etched Pixels

    DEMU/EMU ends

    By Etched Pixels,

    Just got back the first castings from a first adventure into actually making new white metal casting masters.
     
    (forgive the lousy image)
     
    The master itself is layers of brass to build up the levels, plus top detail layers all then glued firmly together with the help of a vice.
  18. Etched Pixels
    I picked up a box of interesting bits a while ago and in the bottom were some bits of etched EMU stuff and white metal. One is a BHE 2-EPB the other a bit of a mystery. The bag it was with contained a BHE 2HAP underframe white metal set, four sides and some what appear to be BHE plastic roof/floor/sides etc.
     
    Only it doesn't seem to be a 2HAP because its shorter than Mark 1 length and the windows are wrong (no big windows) for a Southern 2HAP. It seems to be an SR species 2EPB which is intriguing because I've never seen reference to a kit of one anywhere.
     
    Anyway I figured I'd build it but now need to work out what is is to get the roof and underwear right
  19. Etched Pixels

    Gresley Time

    By Etched Pixels,

    Some old Bill Bedford sides that were kicking around, Ultima bits for most of the rest. The roof is a cut and shut of a longer one so eventually I ought to move the brackets. I've just ordered the bogies for it from 2mm SA shop, which fortunately carries the non-Gresley bogies used under these full brakes.
     

     
    And a quck unusual angle photo down the platform of Aeonian Hills. I really must get the oil lamps wired up next time I'm doing wiring work..
     

  21. Etched Pixels
    As part of continuing the Ultima resurrection I needed to test build the bits so I spent a bit of the bank holiday assembling the pantry third because it looked interesting. I've now discovered it only ran in a pair with another coach so I guess I'm building one more etched Thompson than I originally planned. Looks ok to me although I need to fit partitions and the like. Plus the buffers are a bit of a guess. I've not found a definitive reference as to whether it should have oval or clipped buffers. I've fitted clipped ones as I had them handy, which no doubt means oval is correct.
     

     
    Was going to finish the handrails on the Hawksworth inspection saloon but the light has dropped and 2mm handrails really do need proper sunlight.
  22. Etched Pixels
    Assembled and given an initial coat of paint it still needs some tidying up and glazing, as well possibly as doing some minimal interior work.and detailing with pipework etc
     

     
    It really ought to be lined out but its way beyond my skill level and I suspect any attempt to do that would make it look worse not better
  23. Etched Pixels
    I got distracted (again) adding another experiment to the corner of an etch sheet, which I've now been assembling (and editing with scissors a bit as I goofed a couple of bits of the design on the first go)
     
    Some of the terrier photos I've always loved are the tiny terriers dwarfed by the biig Marsh 'Balloon' trailers. I wanted to do the first ones - the 'classic' shot of the originals with gangways, but in the absence of good enough drawings I moved on a couple of diagrams.
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