Month: November 2013

Diorama Development, Layout Planning, Planning Book6 Comments

Track Laying – ICE Diorama Rework

traiNmaster

I am spending only 3-4 hours per week on model railway. Not a progress I would like to see especially if I am going to build a large layout. Last week, I marked all the drilling positions on the plywoods and determined the track centres on the baseboard. This week, I drilled the holes for the marked positions and completed the frame. As I am using 6mm thick, poplar plywood for my diorama, I had to use 2.5mm thick wood screws. I taped a small piece of sticker on the drill bit to mark the 16mm depth. And the finished product is … Continue reading Track Laying – ICE Diorama Rework

Layout Planning, Planning Book, Product ReviewLeave a comment

2D-Turnout Rapid Prototyping with 3D Effect

traiNmaster

As you can see I am picking up speed with my layout. The track plan is decided and fixed. Yesterday I had a good chat with Dirk over parts of the track plan and we looking into many areas such as positions and configurations of turnouts, positioning of signals and turnout mechanisms, how to build the layout and special considerations for vertical distances, tight curves and superelevation. As explained before in my earlier post on turnouts jigsaw puzzle, I printed out all the 45 Peco turnouts for my layout from their drawings and cut them to shape. I tested with … Continue reading 2D-Turnout Rapid Prototyping with 3D Effect

Benchwork, German Railways, Layout Planning, Planning Book4 Comments

“Somewhere in Germany” Trackplan – Final Version

traiNmaster

As promised, here is my updated “Somewhere in Germany” (“Irgendwo in Deutschland”) trackplan. I would call this the final version since for the past 2 weeks I have discussed and finetuned with a fellow N-scale modeler from Germany this trackplan. He has been kind and helpful to translate my 1st version paper drawing into a digital plan using SCARM. A BIG DANKE SCHÖN, DIRK! Basically, he took my requirements and wishes (what John Armstrong would call as “Givens and Druthers“) and made some modifications to my trackplan while still retaining my basic concept. I am pleased with the final result. In my initial plan, I had some … Continue reading “Somewhere in Germany” Trackplan – Final Version

Benchwork, Diorama Development, German Railways, Layout Planning, Planning BookLeave a comment

Experimenting with Module Building – ICE Diorama Rework

traiNmaster

For the last 2 weeks I have not been active in this blog instead have been active in a German model railway forum, developing my track plan together with a few modelers. I will get back to that topic at a later date. In the meantime, I have visited a large handy mart Hornbach and searched almost every row and corner for something useful for my layout and diorama. I got most of the tools I needed for model railway construction as I have zero to start with. So the initial investment in tools will make a major dent in … Continue reading Experimenting with Module Building – ICE Diorama Rework