Well my friends, here we go again. I could not resist starting this bash, so as a reminder : It is Here is what I started with : What I have done this weekend , started by adding styrene skin on top to bring it to Featherlite spec of 13'6" high : Now I added styrene skins to the sides of the cattle trailer, note the axles are spread 10' which is one Featherlite option, they also have 2 axle with 8' spread or a 3 axle option. BTW, they still make them with 2 axles on rear of trailer as in my Love's unit, basically they will make them however you want them : The width is 9'6" per Featherlite spec., I have to add a skin to the nose as well as rear doorway plus a lot of sanding and adjusting. I am using "modelers license" as the length will be 55' as opposed to spec of 53'. Oh well, what the heck. Note the quality of the untouched print, with the exception of the wheel/axle area which I have touched. Thanks for looking as I really like to share my experience. I am enjoying these more than my trains since I was ostracized from "the club" by one individual. That's life !
George may not care for him but I did/do ! Day 2, i have all the styrene skin placed on the cattle trailer. I have applied Tamiya Putty 3 times with sandings in between. Today I sprayed it with Dupli-Color Automotive Primer/Sealer and after it dries over night I will wet sand it with 1200 paper. Then I will add a tad more Putty on a couple of places at seams of top and sides. I think I did not let it dry well enough and sanding pulled out the putty in a couple of very small places. When I am satisfied with the finish I will airbrush a base of either white or silver in prep for the black. Love it ! Thanks for following along and oh yes Happy Holidays : My N Trak module
Thanks Carl. At least you didn't say I hated him. I didn't. Something about him just grated my nerves.. Dale was a heck of a wheel man thought.
I like any kind of car racing, as long as they have to turn both directions. The cars are so lopsided when set up for ovals (Indy and NASCAR), it's ridiculous; they have to fight to turn right! If you haven't been to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC, it's really good. They have cars from modern era, and way back to when they literally drove the race car to the track (some even still had the back seat in them!) Lots of cool displays about pit trailers, the innards of the cars, etc.
Winter layout looks great! Love the Christmas lights in rear right corner. Did you hand craft or buy commercially? Definitely would like to add to my layout.
Mark, Thanks for the kind words. This is all "hand crafted" by me. Here are 2 images that show close up of the 2 buildings. I drilled holes around the windows, roof lines, etc. and added .025 diameter fiber optics. Between the stars in sky and decorations I put over 1200 feet of fibers. A whole lot of work, so thanks again for recognizing that fact. I made this N-Trak module approx. 20 years ago and even thogh I no longer do N Trak the module still exists and is out at Christmas time.
The Christmas lights and stars look fabulous, Carl. It sounds like it was a lot of work but the results are outstanding!
Carl, the LED work is absolutely stunning. Love the 2nd house scene so much, if I had the star trek transporter - beam directly on my layout. Saved pic to jpg, put on big screen TV to study and the detail just unbelievable. Particularly love the snow on the 2 cars to the left, how you did the fence, the surrounding conifers, sorry can go on and on-its all perfect. Wow. Was curious about the stars. Oh my, 1200'. If its ok, a couple of more questions.. Do you recall the size of LEDs in creating the string of lights on the home in the 2nd pic of right rear side? You mentioned how long ago you built this, how do you handle snow or white discoloration over time, it looks quite white for 20 years.
Mark, Thanks for the very kind comments and yes ask all the questions you want. I just hope I can share some experiences in my work. That is what the forum is for, right ? My wife said I built this module 25 years ago, the images I am posting were made in November 2019 as I set it up on her baby grand piano for the season. Here are some more shots for you to enlarge : 1st - shot of the underneath of the module Closeup you can see the bundles of fibers and their fiber optic illuminators. I used round 5mm LEDs for these after sanding the round end flat. Now the sky board backside, you can see 4 bundles of fibers and the illuminators. I used 8mm round LEDs for the stars. Also, I used .25, .50, & .75 mm fibers for stars : Closeup of one bundle : Thanks for the interest and comments, much appreciated. BTW, this module won "Best of Show" at the Oklahoma City Train Show back in 2002 or 2003, I can't remember and can't find the plaque.
Thank you for the additional views and info. Very clear now... Missed in your last reply using fiber for the trailer roof lights too. Would have bet that the trailer roof lights were micro LEDs. The layout definitely have gotten my vote.
I have started another thread, "#3 Earnhardt Sr. NASCAR hauler TAKE 2", all updates will be posted there !
