snitzl

Constructing the Controller and Power Supplies for Snitzl Town. The Snitzl control panel, controllers and power supplies are combined into a single unit with interconnections made at the rear. The case for each unit being made by laminating multiple sheets of black and white styrene sheet. The units are then mounted inside a wooden frame which is protected on the corners by aluminium extrusion. Snitzl.

Construction for Snitzl - Track Ballasting and Baseboard Wiring. Cork tiles are cut into strips and glued with a latex based glue. The cork tiles are also ground in an electric coffee grinder for the ballast. Discarded milk containers make great cable ties and dental floss is used to loom the wires. Other than that, pretty conventional stuff. Snitzl.

Construction for Snitzl - Control Panel The Control Panel front for Snitzl is made from 2mm polycarbonate, trade name Lexan. This material is extremely tough and is used for bullet proofing armoured vehicles and tanks, its also really nice to machine, drill file etc. Cab Control, which dates back to the early 50's is the method used on Snitzl and is explained in many books. Connections are made by two D sockets mounted at the end of each board and looped through a tag strip with all wires connected. Therefore, the control panel can be plugged into any baseboard, ideal when working on a single board. Snitzl

Construction for Snitzl - Point Mechanism and Fitting. Track work is made up from Protofour components bought back in the early 1980's and that point motor mechanism mentioned previously, well some of those components are being used for now. I did look at using servos, but couldn't resolve a problem with servo twitch, which happened as soon as the throttle was turned. So at the present time, I'm using some vintage Lemaco I had lying around, which are also very noisy. The illustrations below, show the point motor mechanism, its assembly, soldering the point blades, and hiding the holes required for point mechanism operation. Snitzl.

Designing a point motor for Snitzl. To start with, I looked through all my early magazines for idea's on point motors and came across an article from Sep 76 Model Railway titled 'A Revolutionary Point Motor ' by John Popkin. The snitzl design was to be a development of that design, but combined a sliding mechanism and point motor into one unit. The design looked so straight forward that I went ahead and made enough components for twenty units. Some of the components ie worm gear, worm, screws and offset shaft with its Mandrel, were time consuming to make. With only a couple of components missing to form a complete assembly I decided to put one together and try it. Well, shock horror, the action was far to fast even at 8 volts and far to noisy. I'd done everything I could on Snitzl to keep noise levels down, with cork ballast and latex glue for ballasting and the noise from this point motor, amplified by the baseboard, was far to much. There's a lesson to be learned here ( for me at least ), if you have an idea for anything, don't make twenty. Snitzl.

Here's a collection of Kimberley builds that were incomplete and includes the bridge on Main St, Kimberley. I nearly deleted the images for this blog, they were left overs from the kimberley project that were found on an old backup hard drive, but because the bridge was such a challenge for me at that time, they are included here with a couple of quickie projects. The stone work technique used on the bridge is covered in the Random Stone Walls blog so please refer to that blog for details. Built for Ilkeston Woodside MRC's 00 / 4mm layout of Kimberley ( G.N.R. / L.N.E.R. / Midland Railway ). Snitzl.

More houses, this time Chapel St, Kimberley. Last of the houses for kimberley build it series, hurray, I hear you cry or thank somebody for that. Again, a step by step build without comments for newbies of a house on Chapel St, Kimberley. I quite like this one, don't know why. Snitzl.

Modelling houses on Newdigate St for Kimberley. Step by step guide for newbies. These builds are so similar to the large brick semi of Newdicate st, that I was in a 'do I, don't I' post situation. What the hell, its only 2 megs and some of the pics might help clarrify what wasn't to clear in the earlier post. Illustrated below - A small semi and the school mistress house for Newdigate St, Kimberley. Again, the front of these buildings are only seen by the operator. Snitzl.

Modelling the roads, walls and fence for Kimberley. The houses for Newdigate Street are constructed as modules, each with its own garden plinth. Garden walls and fences are sandwiched between these plinths and the roadway is constructed in the same manner. Plinths are bolted together with 4mm screws and the complete assembly fits a snug recess in the landscape. Constructed from styrene sheet ( mainly 1mm and 0.5mm ). Snitzl.

Construction of a Large Brick Semi for Kimberley. Using more traditional modeling methods, here is a beginners step by step guide to building a fairly typical semi-detached structure, based on houses on Newdigate St, Kimberley, Nottingham. Constructed for a layout of Kimberley Station, three models were made, one having the front sliced, due to the back scene. The front of these buildings are only seen by the operator, which is a shame. Snitzl.

Modelling Stone Paving for Snitzl Town. Random stone paving can take hell of a long time model, I know, I've tried it. To help speed up the process, a method that requires only four stone sizes was developed, and if each stone was perfectly positioned, no trimming. However, I'm not that good and a little trimming is required. Thanks for Looking..

Method used to create and tile a spherical roof . I used a 3D solid modeling package to determine diameters of the rings that form this dome. Dome rings were created using a digital vernier as a pair of dividers to not only mark, but also score a groove deep enough for a scalpel to follow when cutting out. Could have used the lathe, but didn't fancy the cold freezing temperatures of my workshop. Thanks for Looking..........

Here is a method for creating realistic stratified rock. An article from one of our model railroad friends suggested using ceiling tiles to make stratfied rock. When I mentioned this to John Lavender, a club member, he suggested using insulation board, some of which was lying about the club room. Apparently, this type of foam insulation board is quite common in the building trade. Three layers of this board were used to create an eight foot long cutting on Ilkeston Woodside MRC's layout kimberley Station and it only took an afternoon to carve. Best results are acheived with haphazard horizontal cuts with a scalpel, adding more accuratley placed vertical cuts to finish. The illustration below shows two small test pieces which were used on both Snitzl and Kimberley. Snitzl...

Short blog on the construction of guttering on Snitzl. Illustrates construction of a small wooden office, complete with guttering. No down pipes , but we have a gutter. I only use this approach now and then, usually a con-caved piece of plastic does the job. There's also a variation on this thyme that's worth a look. Thanks for Looking..

Constructing Signal Box Windows for Snitzl Town. For completeness, part 2 of windows for Snitzl shows one of the way's to create signal box style windows. It looks quite nice, but it's a little on the bold side. This method uses a digital vernier to accurately position the rule when marking and cutting. Thanks for Looking..

Making windows for Snitzl Town. Here are some of the methods I use to model window surrounds and window frames. Rather than make individual windows, I build an array of windows that become part of the structure which adds strength to the building. I align the window frets with two steel blocks, left and top and these become datums for gluing and if required also aid accurately cut windows with a vernier. Thanks for Looking..

A much slower but more effective way to model roof tiles and ridge tiles. Step by step guide to Tiling Roofs. I've tiled most roofs on Snitzl Town using this method, and there's no doubt in my mind that the overall look is well worth the time and effort. Its worth modeling the odd building with larger tiles, and that might be a good starting point. Try not to get to much liquid poly under the tile, because really thin styrene tends to distort. Use a small artists brush, not the one in the pot. Thanks for Looking..

Building the stone steps and walkways for Snitzl Town. A step by step illustrated guide to building the stone steps and walkways on the market place of Snitzl Town. The model is based on a walk way / railway bridge that existed on Main St, Kimberley, Nottingham. The individual components of this model bolt together to form a complete assembly, an idea I've carried on into other modules of Kimberley Station, that I will post soon. Thanks for Looking..

The Mart is one of my favourite buildings . The Mart was a brick building that existed in the city of Nottingham in the early 1900's. I have modeled this building in stone, with the earlier wooden railings. The methods used in the construction of this model are fairly typical for all my buildings. However, changes to how the roof was attached have changed lately due to curling of the plastic. Like the terraced shops, this building is part of what is to be a market place on the Snitzl layout. The illustrations are a step by step on the buildings construction. Snitzl. Thanks for Looking..

Random Stone Walls and Cover Stones. Step by step guide to building random stone walls from styrene sheet, the slow and hard way. This illustrated guide shows the methods used to create walls on both Snitzl Town and a club layout by Ilkeston Woodside MRC of Kimberley Station, Notts. The walls of Kimberley, as I call them, took about 8 months to complete. Not to be out done , Snitzl Town will have more. Thanks for Looking.....

The Terraced Shops : First of all, an apology, I didn't start taking pictures of the construction methods for the terraced shops till part way through this project, however, all will become clear with my next posting. The terraced shops are part of what is to be a market place on the Snitzl Town layout. The illustrations below show how they were constructed.

Hello RMwebber's. Snitzl is a nickname I've had from very young, used by my mother to describe the mess I used to make whenever I made something. These blogs will illustrate whatever I've been obsessed with, whether it be sctrach building, electronics or venture's into the unknown. I tend to model whatever I like, with little thought as to location. For instance, the illustrated lattice bridge is based on a bridge that existed at Kimberley Station, Notts, which was G.N.R. and later became Midland and the engine pictured alongside it is a scratch built L.S.W.R. by Stephenson ( 7 foot driving wheels ). Below are examples of some of my work taken from the two layouts that I am currently working on, these are 'Snitzl Town' and 'Fun Town. I take my inspiration not only from the real world but also the model press and films. The terraced cottages below are based on structures found on a layout called Eaton Gomery, by Peter Thomas, the Mart, also pictured below actually existed in the early 1900's on Lower Parliament Street, Nottingham. The track plan for Snitzl Town is similar in design to Iain Rice's Tregarrick, which was a North Cornwall Minerals Railway, Fun Town on the other hand, is a very simple micro layout which breaks alot of rules. On Fun Town, none of the rolling stock ever existed in the real world and many features such as Jules Vernes Tower, Vernes Flying Machine, Monorail, Railway Market and Steam Tram are pure modelling fun. I started scratch building in the early 1980's and have included a few images below of my efforts.