Thread Shed

[47137]

I bought this in Staples earlier today:



Internal dimensions are 259 x 360 x 41 mm. This is a little larger (in plan) than the usual foolscap box file, so perhaps a continuous run is do-able. There is no clip for papers.



I am thinking of a scenic roundy roundy in 9 mm gauge. For running in locos, at least those which will take a 4.5 inch curve, and for fun. The tops of the rails to sit perhaps 4 mm below the lip of the box. Some landscape to be modelled going downwards - easy. Perhaps a stream with a culvert going below the tracks to give 'depth'. The baseboard to be a sheet of 5 mm ply cut as a 'jigsaw' with some parts of the landscape able to rise, perhaps on springs (pushed down by the lid when shut). A building or some other scenic break to rise like a pop up book (and go into the 4 mm gap). If the scenery can drop to the lowest level for a modest area, maybe a tree sprung to fold down into the space. Battery power, say 4 AA Nicads to give 5 V, control by a simple changeover switch with a centre off. Nominal scale TTn3 or so, but a loading gauge to accept 009.

[srd]

able to rise, perhaps on springs (pushed down by the lid when shut)

 

Now there's a good idea Richard - wish I'd thought of it when doing my roof-less engine shed. Shall look forward to seeing the progress with this one.

[47137]

I have proved to myself my Minitrix 0-4-0 diesel will go round a four and a quarter inch curve reliably. So the project can go ahead. The track bed is foam board, easier to cut than ply. There will be a rail bridge over a watercourse front left; sides of box file cut away and glued to lid here. Landscape to rise across the diagonal of the box towards far rear corner. Rail tops to be 5 mm or so below edges of box sides to make room for pop-up book style scenic break - want to experiment with a sham building.

 

 

The model is a present for someone who loves automata and pop-up books, but is not a train buff ... so I am going for a plain oval without a siding. Provisional name is Newmill Yard. 'Newmill' being a channel beside the K&ESR near Rolvenden, and the inspiration of the wetland landscape there; 'Yard' because the loop is 35 3/4 inches around (on the outer rail anyway).

 

- Richard.

[47137]

The beginnings of my interpretation of an oval inside a box file. The background clearly moves the location away from mid-Kent but I liked the ready-made driveway and the open sort of look. The model seems to want to be a fairly large scale so my suggested TTn3 has become Sn2. I am enjoying this, the arithmetic for 1/64 is easy. The essence is now a walled plot with space for a collapsible building called 'My Sewing Room', a lower level for some water (two bridge piers in place) and of course a narrow gauge railway to keep it interesting. The garden wall is 5 mm foam board with card trimmings. I like the 3D effect with the gates. I seem to be needing to build this model in the reverse of the usual direction, i.e. backscene first and then working inwards and downwards. (The track bed is glued down onto blocks of wood, it just appears to be floating because of the camera angle).

 

I wonder what is the usual way of holding a box file lid open and upright (or sloping back just a bit), all I can think of is a length of thread.

 

[47137]

Here are two photos of progress from today: a landscape from plaster of paris bandage, and a 'building' (summer house?) able to flatten down to 15 mm thickness when the lid shuts. I am thinking of a rubber band to hold the building up, this will avoid a direct linkage from the lid, which can be free to open more than 90 degrees. You can't get much in a box file (at least in S scale), and my 'folding tree' and 'sprung landscape' ideas will have to wait for another time.

 

 

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The model is pretty much finished now. I used a loop of thin round elastic to hold the building up. The height (thickness) of the whole model, from the ridge of the building roof to the bottom of the lake, is about 75 mm compressing down to suit to let the lid of the box file close. The theme is now very much 'a garden with a miniature railway in it', essentially this lets me deliver it as a birthday present with a RTR N gauge loco i.e. a model of a model. It might however tempt me to build a 1/64 steam loco body one day.

 

The model has a few 'firsts' for me: a box file; very tight curves; a foam board track bed; Woodland Scenics 'Realistic Water' (drying as I write this); foam board slit and curved to make a retaining wall; a landscape base from a mixture of Modroc and carved extruded polystyrene; and scenic dressings sealed with hairspray ('Harmony Extra Firm Hold'). It has all been great fun, hope someone here enjoys it too.

 

 

[Stubby47]

Brilliant !!

 

I've often thought about making a building fold like that, but never had enough idea on how to make it work - a simple elastic band !

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I did try a broad flat elastic band (shortened to suit with a staple) but it kept flying off. Looking at the round elastic I have now, I wonder if it could be disguised on a more 'scale' model, e.g. as a representation of industrial pipework. Colours available seem to be limited to white and black however.

 

The floor of the building is parallel to the lid/backscene because my original idea was to have the lid lift the building into place. This seemed a bit vulnerable to damage, so I went for the separate mechanism. The elastic is stretched by about 5% when the building is up, and about 45% when the building is flat. This makes for a very soft spring action, and I think it would have still worked with the building floor at a slight angle to the backscene.

 

There is a strip of 5 mm square stripwood on the ground behind the building, and this makes the end stop to hold the walls vertical when the building is up. The elastic is looped around two Peco track pins (which being black don't show up), these are embedded into the thickness of the card.

[47137]

Here are two more pics to wrap this little project up. I was pleased with the 'depth' of the model - it ended up with at least five distinct levels: lake, jetty, patio, track bed, and flower bed. If/when I have a go at a model in a 'full size' box file, this would encourage me to put the tracks an inch or so above the base of the box, to be able to model the land falling as well as rising around the railway.

 

 

[mjcampbell]

Very ingenious, original, and a very nice little model. Some figures would help give it scale, I presume the trains are meant to be of the "ride-on" miniature variety?

[47137]

The nominal scale of the model is 1/64, and this is the scale of the Fiat 500 too. The railway is best imagined at the moment to be a sort of ride-on miniature railway along the lines of the RH&DR but nearer to half full size than one-third ... the 1:160 scale diesel in the last picture above is an unmodified RTR model. However, perhaps one day I could built a 1/64 scale body for it, possibly even a steam outline model with side skirts to hide the lack of motion. I agree a few figures would help to reinforce the scale.

[mjcampbell]

Yup, the car helps, but given the unusual scale there's nothing better than a few choice figures to emphasise the scale! A train would be good too, as you say a modified cheap N-gauge loco would be the easy way. The model is great, so it deserves a train now! :-)

[47137]

Very ingenious, original, and a very nice little model. Some figures would help give it scale, I presume the trains are meant to be of the "ride-on" miniature variety?

I have found some near 1/64 scale sheep! These are from Dart Castings - a bit big for 4 mm, ok for the background with 7 mm, and ideal for here!

 

(We have named the model the 'Thread Shed' ... this is a pun on the 'My Sewing Room' in post #4, and the way the building stands up.)