fifteen minute modeller

fighting procrastination fifteen minutes at a time

Page 13 of 14

Virtual builds

11th February 2014 / / 0 Comments

Having messed around with Sketchup for more time than I care to remember in fact before Google got its hands on it I have found that the limitations were starting to hinder my learning of CAD. Don’t get me wrong there are many things that Sketchup is great for but for 3D Product modelling it is not, guess one has to remember that originally it was designed for Architectural work and probably never envisaged the proliferation of the types of uses that it gets now. Also the libraries and add-ons have exploded the potential of this humble app.

However going back to the reason for this post and my niggles at not being able to create curves easily I have been sussing out a number of CAD packages that best fit my methods of use. Now there are millions of people that use CAD that could tell me the best platform to take up but I think it really boils down to how you relate to it. Obviously there are certain process that common across all apps but there are ways of executing them. So looking for something that I would be able to pick up ‘relatively’ easily I had been using Autodesks Sketchbook on my Air and iPhone so when I came across Inventor Fusion for Mac in the App store I thought I would give it a go. The menu system across those apps is the same so learning the workflow on one app will transfer over to the others thus easing the effort to get to grips with the CAD app. Now the benefits to Fusion on the Mac is that it is free, however like with some free software it was a beta and the chances of updates are probably at best unlikely, but they were really using that as a testbed for the Fusion 360. This now available free for students and hobbyists.

Anyway back to the job in hand and below you will see the poking and proddings of a couple of days labour. I will say the help for IFFM is pretty poor and the online presence is limited but having spent some time reading the pdf I am getting the hang of the features. I am modelling at the dimensions of what I am finally going to build and the level of control is far greater than sketchup. So here is my first attempt..

Screen Shot 2014-02-11 at 17.15.21

Cutting lists and baseboards

9th February 2014 / / 2 Comments

I have found that Sketchup is an idea tool for not only reacting a virtual model of planed baseboards and layouts but also a great tool for creating the cutting lists for these projects.

So as a template to my ideas for a T-Trac modular layout gives me the dimensions of an 8ft x 4ft sheet of baltic 6mm ply and then I can work out all the cutting lines before I even turn on the saw. As usual more real progress to follow.

The completed boards and then the cutting list

tracmodulesttracmodulescuttlinglist

Fireside

8th February 2014 / / 2 Comments

Just a quick note to remind my self more than anything about some pages and links I have come across today firstly I have spent quite some time on the Stadler website pawing over the plans for their metre gauge trams and rapid transit trains. As most of these are very box like I think it will not be too difficult to knock up in CAD although I am still getting my hands dirty and trying to learn via a process of break fix also compound curves are proving a tad difficult, well if first you don’t succeed, try try again etc..

Also I saw a link on Facebook for some neat 3D scanning software that might come in use in the future. I am temped to scan my Bemo stock to see if I can down size it or maybe I can photo it and then maybe use Blender to get the skeleton shape for the wagons. But that’s definitely a task for later.

Still plodding along with the point building and trying to get the wing rails to fit correctly with the frog. The template is way out from Templot but I put that down to me not calibrating the printer before printing out. I should know better.

Back to the extrude tool..

To the point

6th February 2014 / / 0 Comments

Just to prove mainly to my self that I am actually doing something and not gas bagging in the armchair whilst waiting for some other pieces to turn up, here is work progression on point 1 of 8 which is a #9.5 LH. Next up is the frog (needs a bit of work and then the wing rails… thats todays job. I am using all pcb sleepers but am looking into having a go at timbering some it’s just getting hold go the supplies. I have long been an admirer of Brian Harrap’s work and had a long conversation with him at a model railway show where he told me you don’t need loads of things to build track you just need confidence. He showed me a selection of very basic tools and said that is what he pretty much used for all his track building including this

Right time to warm up the soldering iron and get fluxing 🙂

Curved LH No9.5 Point

Been around a while..

16th January 2014 / / 1 Comment

Ok so I haven’t been posting too much but things are moving on in the real world and I have got distracted yet again but as stated before this I think is a good thing as it breeds creativity. Well the new focus is an old idea with a new twist. I have always been interested in the metre gauge railways of Switzerland but had never really ventured out of RhB land, it being the biggest and bestest 🙂 But however seeing some pics on a forum of another small metre gauge line got me cogitating. I thought how can I do something that it not to time consuming but interesting to build. Most of these lines served rural villages and ran through towns, so a nice opportunity to do some street running. Also traffic was light and freight was usually pulled along with passenger trains so a nice mix with the possibility of some either steam or diesel tracktor shunting.

TJBplan

So plan B was hatched, well actually project 7 or is it 8 now.. but the idea came from when I was helping my niece to do her geography project which I can now happily report that she got first prize and contrary to what my family thought I didn’t tell her what to do, she had all the ideas her self, well maybe all. Anyway back to the point of this post and the idea that sprang from helping her. So this idea is to have a Nm scale small roundy layout of around two and a half feet square with a up and over loop with passing loop in country section and a bit of a yard in town section.

The reasoning behind the use of Nm is that the scale is well catered for i.e. N scale buildings and trees etc but on the down side I will need to build the stock, but as this is going to be a very limited project I think that this will be an ideal project for 3D printing and the opportunity to get hands dirty with CAD. No more that 4 units would be used and this would be at the maximum as there would be limited space on the layout. I envisage it being more of a moving diorama although the idea of being able to do a little shunting might ge the better of me.

Work goes on @ 15minmodellingworks, more reports to follow…

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State of the nation

2nd January 2014 / / 4 Comments

So 2013 was a bad year and lead to little or no modelling due to circumstances and the loss of modelling mojo, however in 2014 I am hoping to break that trend and start off on a positive foot. I realise that doing 15 mins modelling a day may not be completely attainable for most of us and wanted to start off saying that I am in that category myself. However the principle is to do something railway related every day. In the highs and lows, well to be honest mainly the lows of last year it was particularly hard to keep the mojo motivated, and at some points I thought what the hell am I doing playing with toy trains, just get rid of it all and start another hobby like RC planes or motorcycle maintenance.

Well thankfully things have improved and I feel a bit more positive about my life in my hobby and want to produce something that I can ‘play’ with and also be proud of producing. As you can probably tell from the projects post I do have the tendency to wander off the beaten track (pun intended) and get dazzled by shiny new things. If I was to set new years modelling resolutions (which I am not as I have long realised that metaphorically 2 minutes after I set them I am breaking them again) it would be to stick to one task until its completed. That said I do really like opposing interests and so therefore it is going to be a battle of wits with myself this year to produce.

All the projects from last year still stand and I am looking forward to getting stuck into things. I also wish all ‘you’ out there in modelling land a happy year ahead and look forward posting my progress here and to reading about others modelling endeavours.

..and finally the new found mojo came from a Geography project for me niece, a little bit of hand laid nominal Zn2/3 gauge track solder by both myself and once taught my niece with some realistic wobbles.

Down in the valley

Down in the valley

Happy new year and 2014

Project 6: Z Scale Micro and Test Track

28th November 2013 / / 0 Comments

zscalePlan5

Whilst starting to sort through all my rail related box that have come back from storage I came across my Z scale items. I guess it was 10 years ago I started collect this and it was primarily Swiss at that time. I started collect the 460’s as I like the logos on them and then went on to get some Re6/6 freight locos in order to have a bit of diversity. Like a lot of my modelling it started off in a blaze of glory and then fizzled out all to quickly. Having collected all these items I would seem rude not to use them and that’s where P6 comes in.

I have thought that in order to keep things simple I would have a loop that then expanded into a triple deck ascending loops mimicking the Gotthard Route. I thought that watching the trains run up and down the hills would be relaxing and similar to the real route. The loop would tighten towards the top and then drop down within the inner loop. Gradients and distances need to be checked as I realise that the height needed between each layer maybe more that first envisioned.

Firstly I am going to build a test track as I plan to lay the rails using pcb and code 30 from the 2mmSA, but might make this code 4o depending on the wheels on the Maerklin stock. Originally I had planned to have only plain track but have been considering a very small station at the bottom of the valley which would have a couple of switches off it for mainly logging and maybe a freight depot.

Make out of foam board this will be light but strong to stop the track flexing and is primarily going to be a test bed for checking stock through points, coupler connections and also shunting ability 🙂 The crossing will be fun to make as this will be first time I have attempted anything such. More to follow tomorrow hopefully..

Screen Shot 2013-11-28 at 17.07.58

P4.2: Mini Challenge

28th October 2013 / / 0 Comments

jigsnstuff

Time goes by and I am still not able to do anything physical with the challenge at the moment but I have been able to acquire some ‘things’ for the project as you can see from the picture below. I managed to get all of this for under five quid from a very generous chap who must of had these in his gloat box for quite some time, the going rate for the gauges are now £5 each and as you can see the price tag of £1.50 my guess is that it points to them being c1980’s.

As you maybe able to see from the photo on  one of the jigs it denotes that these are for code 75 rail, now this being an cheap n cheerful project I have to think about how it is going to interface with the Peco track that I already have. Also sourcing Code 75 cheaply is going to be a bit of a challengeI think. I also need to find the PCB ties(sleepers) to build the turnouts and although I know you can get a sheet reasonably cheaply it then needs to be cut to dimension and this is where it then gets tough. So I will now look at other avenues. I know the 2mmSA do them but they will be over sized as the track gauge is 9.42. Would I want to individually cut each tie or leave them as is and try and cover up the additional length. Then theres always Fast-tracks but this is not a cheap option. I have been looking at and thinking about getting one of these tools but as most of my track planning is done on curves it would not seem to be suitable for this method.

Although I have manage to source some foamboard I am trying to work out whether this will be suitable for the project. I would like to build the picture frame effect and am not sure if a) I have enough FB b) it will be strong enough to support the weight of the proscenium effect. However the ease of construction and the amount of bracing can over come this given the right amount of materials to do it. The other option would be to use ply. I do have some 12mm ply, this is not light, from an old table tennis table but am not sure about the the structural integrity of it as it has been leant up against a wall for 20 odd years. Also the weight may be an issue. Cutting along long straight lines has never been one of my strong points and so I would have to beg, borrow or steal, (well maybe not steal 😉 ) a power tool of some sorts to assist me in this task.

So now the hard part I just have to come up with a track plan that is believable. So its off to scour Google Earth for an appropriate location in Vermont, New England. I want to keep it simple but have enough operational interest to keep ones attention and given that this will be a micro layout that maybe a bit of a stretch as generally the spaces needed for NA locations is greater than that of UK prototypes. I like the idea of switching cars out using a card system and that ties in with project three but don’t want to make it too complicated as to spoil the fun! Having now recovered my goods and chattels from storage amongst a whole bunch of things I had forgotten about I have uncovered some hefty book tokens and couple of iPhone programming books. Maybe an early Christmas present to myself of some Python books or maybe the new Gordon Gravett; Wild Swan scenery books will take precedences so I may get side tracked with those possibilities…

Grand day out

13th October 2013 / / 0 Comments

Yesterday I ventured out to the 2mm Scale Association annual AGM meeting over t’other side ‘o’ pennines in (cough) Lancashire.. I had hoped to have set off in reasonable time but the usual family timekeeping or should that be time-wasting factors construed against me. So off I set for Burnley as I thought.. The routes out of the Dales are two, a long one and and a long one! The weather was rather Autumnally grim and so I op’ed for time over distance. This meant a trek over the moors and as the mist swirled around the slow moving car labouring up and down its way up the Dale I thought of American Werewolf in London.

Thankfully I realised I wasn’t meant to be going to Burnley and sailed past via the rather ominously numbered A666 to end up in Bolton, apparently pronounced Bo’ton. By this time I was late for the AGM but managed to catch the tail end then it was down to socialising and catching up with friends and meeting new people. Although I missed the last Lancashire and Yorkshire Area Group Meeting I am endeavouring to go to the next which will feature lathes and lathing! woohoo is all I can say. One of the group members is now a dealer for Proxxon and had the lathe and milling machine on show.. drool is not the right word, but German engineering comes at a price, maybe santa will be kind 😉

So after much chatting, making new acquaintances and a slice of very nice Lemon Drizzle Cake and tea I set off back t’Dales invigorated and feeling a bit better about get on with modelling and life.

Here are some pics of the day, not as many as I would have liked as forgot to charge the bats! But a selection of some exquisite modelling. I ♥ 2mmFS 😀

First up Bafferton, a lovely circular layout based on a real location, but adapted. Run by father and son(s)

2mmFS - Brafferton

2mmFS – NER Barberton

2mmFS Micro Layout

2mmFs Micro Layout – Water Lane

Water Lane

Water Lane

Tivotdale Station

Tivotdale Station

Micro Dioramas

Micro Dioramas

Micro 1 - Station name unknown
Micro 1 – Station name unknown

Micro 2 - 1. Station unknown

Micro 2 – 1. Station unknown

Micro 2 - 2. Station unknown

Micro 2 – 2. Station unknown

Corrieshallock

Corrieshallock

Corrieshallock - closeup

Corrieshallock – closeup

and finally 🙂

bits

Bits!

P4.1: Mini Challenge

12th October 2013 / / 0 Comments

Image

Whilst rummaging around at the top of the house I came across these items and thought ahh something to challenge me until I get my modelling kit back from storage. So this looks like the start of Project 4.

The location is New England, the period; current, and the scale obviously N. The Peco track if code 55 and I have no switches which makes it rather limited. So in the spirit of days gone by I am going to see if I can build some from PCB and some home made gauges using templates printed out from Templot. My idea is of a shortline with a couple of industries along it that are currently serviced by VRS. Maybe in the future they will get there own leased loco and have a nice respray. I particularly like the covered bridges of NE so will be looking to incorporate one of these and seeing as most of Vermont’s industries are based around timber there will probably be a sawmill.

The beginnings are in the baseboard and think I am going to keep it small 4-5 feet long by 12 inches wide, probably. I have my eye on an old home made table tennis table thats made out of 9mm ply. Once I have got the go ahead to dismantle I then have to work out how to cut and fear I may have to use hand saws which when cutting sheet materials is not a good mix with me as I can cut as straight as a bendy inner tube! Am going to have to see what power tools I can find in the house!

Wombling here we come.

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