The level crossing..

Today some effort goes into this level crossing, the picture below with the fern shows no thought what so ever in regards to vehicle traffic except for a warning light facing in 1 direction only that won't stop flashing! A source of personal contention in that over time one simply ignores... until now. 

Silver fern passes through a clearly war torn landscape

The loose gravel was scooped out & cardboard cutouts were used as the road former. Coated with thick black paint & fine black coal dust applied.

Still very much a work in progress, I will apply another layer of almost sand like dust mixed with pva, paint & drop of dish washing liquid to hopefully create a convincing asphalt surface.
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The 2nd carriage from the right (with a guard waving on the end), simply refuses to sit flat & level. Everything is filed flat yet it continues to list to the side... 

I've checked the couplers..

And a video of the Ab, Ja, Ka taking turns with the 47'6ers

NZ120 Ja (Oil Burner)

This weekend sees some work on creating an oil burning ja, This time around i'm not printing any handrails. The model has a huge number of polygons, every curve is as smooth as possible.

Designed to be printed in Frosted Ultra Detail, and all piping & handrails will need to be made in fine brass wire. Holes along the boiler will act as guides for the main handrail.

The steps will need to be from a brass etch, perhaps the trackgangproducts Cb ladder etch would work? 3 ladders either side so 6 total.

Everything unsightly that once seemed a good idea to print removed..

NZ120 47/6 FT Passenger Car (1902) Handrails

Today some handrails arrive from Marks Model Works in the form of a brass etch. They look incredibly fine!

MMW 47ft6 Car Hand Rails

Installing them is not for the faint of heart, and not because its complex in anyway, but rather one jitter or shake of the hands could result in not so straight hand rails. I cut the main part out except the foot plates on either side, which require soldering once bent. Then can be simply glued to the main body.

Very fine

This photo highlights why printing handrails in this scale simply doesn't work. The Ja tender is long overdue for the oil burner conversion, so brass etched handrails would be in order.

Paint chips n all. Window glazing, battery boxes & bogies remain!

2 more carriages have been ordered which leaves another carriage to go. The next obvious design would have to be a baggage car to suit.

*Attaching the footplates proved tricky at places, but mostly because of size. I covered them with flux, touched the iron & solder against it & achieved a nice thin coat of solder.

Ensure when you fold & solder, that its folded properly.

Tiny tiny things.

NZ120 47/6 FT Passenger Car (1902) test print arrives

Available Here Shapeways NZ120 47ft6 Carriage
Today the courier dropped off some goodies, 1 Bus & 1 Carriage. More on the Bus later but in the mean time.

I couldn't wait to take a picture of it before the cleaning process, so after trackgangproducts.co.nz trucks & couplers were "borrowed" from a 56'er I can run the model. 3D Printed trucks are on their way!

NZR Ab 811 takes the privilege of the first Run with the carriage.

*Updated Pics* - New paint colour purchased - Tamya X-12 "Gold Leaf" (Gloss) with the idea of it creating a polished brass effect

Gold added, waiting now for correct bogies & handrails!

Even the Ab had a touch of gold paint added, mainly the steam dome.

My thoughts are initially pointed at the fact the wood sides are not clearly visible at all, more of a gap is required between the wooden slats. How much space would be the question.

The end handrail work has been made available from Marks model works & a few sets ordered. Once the handrail etchings are installed the carriage will truly look the part!

A second carriage gets a run before painting.

Second Carriage after Painting.

Layout Update - June 2014 (Right Loop)

Today after my lovely partner organised big square poly foam blocks, from a kind man who works at the Whangarei Pak n Save. Since the building is undergoing a major renovation they have it in excess for a limited time!

Some pictures  of the resulting work.

A view from "under the shelf". Looking to where a cardboard cutout "mountain range" will be.

There will only be 1 line connecting to the lifting bridge, the other will wrap around the scenery at a slightly lower level & feed into the main yard from this end.

If you can imagine it, the new line will loop under & around the existing loop where the line would consist of cuttings & bridges (3d printed hopefully) and exit lower right of the screen and into the yard.

(The nitty gritty) Still alot more work coming, NZ120 DQ poses for a shot

 The right hand loop is now fully DCC, with the DQ above being fitted out this weekend with a generic diesel MRC 16 bit N scale chip. Handrails really need to be added!

A couple of movie clips of the DCC DQ class chugging around the new section.

And another First person movie, the low resolution doesn't help with the already insufficient lighting.