The drums of time beat on, the weekend for most of us is over, time to see how we all did within those two days. I was able to get the old airbrush out and finally try out some paint that I have been itching to try. Recent use of Polly Scale and Floquil has really left a sour taste in my mouth so the search for a viable alternative was on. I also wanted a B&M locomotive and caboose to run on the club T-Trak and N-Trak modules. This would be a simple paint and decal, no details as I have learned fully detailed locomotives and cars are much better suited for the home layout not in a public setting. I choose an Atlas GP7 for the project and painted it in the final B&M scheme. Saturday I painted. then on Sunday, I worked on the decals. All in all, I'm real impressed with this paint and will be using more of it in future projects. I worked on the layout some but nothing more than some wiring and track cleaning. A good weekend all around. so how about you? Did you accomplish all that you set out to do? Let us know, with pictures if you have them. We'll get back together again on Friday the 22nd and do it all over again. Until then... High Greens!
I didn't do anything on what I had planned for the weekend. But I did assemble a double ended crossover that I am installing some R/C servos on for switch machines. The two switches are secured to a piece of 1/4 inch plywood and HO cork. The servos are fastened under the plywood with a wire up through the throwbar. This is for my clubs layout and will be installed Wednesday evening. The plywood and cork make up for the thickness of a layer of homasote removed from the layout previously.
Mmmmm...nice sharp, crisp decals on #1567. Who makes them? I made a lot of progress on the carfloat project. I cut the first piece of benchwork, the fixed platform for the apron. I still need a triangular support brace. I've measured for it and cut a paper template (multiple notches to fit the existing benchwork) but I'm still evaluating different ways to mount it. I was originally going to use ground throws here, but after trying to squeeze my corpulent carcass into that corner to work it, I realized that I'd have to go with remote control. The first wye turnout is a Walthers-Shinohara, and I'll be using short switchers, so I also need to power the frog. It's a job for a Tortoise, to be sure, but my LHS was out of them. (Some guy came in and bought his entire inventory last week. Don't worry about Tortoise shortages.) So, I fit together the apron, and decided that while I was waiting I would wire up the feeders to the turnout and the apron. The apron comes with plastic rails, as the prototype typically wouldn't run a locomotive on to it. Like the carfloat itself, though, I want metal rails on the apron to reduce rolling resistance and make it easier for that little 0-6-0T to pull a whole string of cars off the float. Ideally, I'll never need power on the apron, but it's a lot easier to do it now than to retrofit it later.
Jim, that's an impressive paint job. Apparently you found "a viable alternative". Now, please tell us what it is.....?
Mister Beasley, those are decals that were formally from Concord Car Shops but are now carried by Microscale. Coming from a maroon and gold B&M man, I'll take that compliment, thank you! The paint is called Tru-Color and is based on the old Accupaint from the past. I love it! No mixing, stirring or fuss. Shake it up, pour it in to a color cup and spray at 20 PSI. Cleans up easily with acetone. Now I spend more time painting and not mixing or cleaning my airbrush. Also they have more colors than PS or Floquil. Everything from Pan Am blue and Guilford orange to UP Armour Yellow. I'll have a write up soon in the Inspection Pit.
Foo. I got home, raring to go. Remember that template, and how it was going to make a perfect fit into the irregular benchwork? Well, it did, until I looked closely and realized the brace was upside down. Back out to the garage, in the cold, to cut it again. I lined up the platform section, and decided that best way to mount it was with a pair of small 90-degree steel angle braces I had downstairs. But, the ones in my workroom were too big, so there's a hardware store stop in my future. OK, I'll drill the holes for the mounting screws - easy, until the battery in the drill winds slowly down to barely able to turn an empty chuck. As I like to say, it's not a race. I'll have the platform up in a couple of days. And, when I did put the corrected brace up against the benchwork, the level showed it was dead flat, first time. So, the rest is just patience and time.
