Quiet earth (was: Exercise module for Plettenberg railroad in 1/22.5 scale)

[finescalerr]

You should have posted that photo on April Fools' Day.  Go stand in the corner. -- Russ

[Ray Dunakin]

LOL, totally had me fooled! 

I should have known, the physic properties of the ink couldn't scale down so well.

[artizen]

You had me fooled!

After your penalty in the corner, do you think you have time to make one of these?

http://www.chonday.com/Videos/the-writer-automaton

[Hydrostat]

You had me fooled!

After your penalty in the corner, do you think you have time to make one of these?

http://www.chonday.com/Videos/the-writer-automaton

Yes, I have time, but does it really need to be that tall ? Very impressive, by the way!

To be honest: I don't think to be a too good modeler and I'll try to explain why I think so - based on the latest item, which is going to represent a blotting paper cradle. Size is 8 x 3.3 mm (0.31'' x 0.13'').



At this second picture one can clearly see the coarse surface compared to the other items. I didn't manage to get in smoother.



We all work with the resources we have. I used a fax paper core as base, the end of which I drenched with CA. I wanted to use the drill as lathe, but the core was too thick for the chuck, so I glued it to a 12 mm drill.



So it was able to sand the drenched end ..



... and side of the cardboard tubing.



A printout served as jig ...



... for cutting the right width,



and length after tightening the cut face with CA and sanding it.



The handle is a toothpick piece, drenched with Ca and sanded in the drill for a smooth surface.



My problems started at this point. I used the same black paint as on the other items, but it either wasn't well covering or its surface too coarse. I don't have an air brush. The aceton obviously started to dissolve the CA and after 2 hours of different tries I lost patience and accepted it to be as it is. Same with the inkwell, where I really wanted to achieve sharper edges. I lost clearness of the outer plastic tubing due to glueing it down with CA. In the next picture one can divine that there's another pot inside, half-full with blue ink. Oh - and it doesn't lead to burn out, but I'm surely aware of what I can achieve with my resources. I think Chuck Doan (excuse me for picking you out here, Chuck - but I honestly think you're a really good modeler [just avoiding to say the best ... who you are]) would have managed to create those items that immaculate you wouldn't have seen such mistakes I described.



So an important point of (my) modeling is photography - and I don't think that it is forgery. Look at the next pictures and have the shortcomings in mind. Do they matter now?





Today I had an opportunity to take some pictures at the other side of our apartment and so I'd simply like to show some more shots. The beetle is a cheap China product, which by chance (!) came out in the right scale (shoul have been 1:24 but it is about 1:22.5). Nothing for detail shots, but from a distance it's okay and a bit color would surely help, but there are other projects at the moment.











Thanks for watching.

Cheers,
Volker

[1-32]

hey volker
maybe the vd needs a few mud stains wonderful
regards kim

[finescalerr]

On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with the occasional shiny new car. Impressive modeling. Most satisfactory. -- Russ

[Ray Dunakin]

Impressive modeling.

Ditto!

[Hydrostat]

Thanks Kim, Russ and Ray,

I didn't like the desk blotter's thickness and made a new one.



Cheers,
Volker

[finescalerr]

We expected that. -- Russ

[BKLN]

I love the mood in the photos, Volker. It's very "noir".

[Hydrostat]

I love the mood in the photos, Volker. It's very "noir".

Thanks, Christian. Glad you like it.

I was a bit busy with a project relating to the exercise module, which kept me away from my own projects. Russ felt I should show this at finescalerr, but I didn't want to start an extra thread for some self-critical reasons and here it fits best. I was asked to do some street- and landscaping at four segments of the "Sauerland-Segmentanlage" (segmental layout), which mostly is on display together with the exercise module. Here are some pics of the project:

















If you're interested in details try this buntbahn thread here. Unfortunately it's in german but you may use Google translate. Or a dictionary. Of course I'll answer any questions here, too.

Both the segmental layout "Sauerland-Segmentanlage" and the exercise module are on display at 13. international Lahnsteiner Modellbahntage on 2015/2/21-22 in Lahnstein/Germany.

Have a nice christmas time and all the best for next year!

Cheers,
Volker

[Ray Dunakin]

Very nice. Reminds me a little of Narayan's street scenes.

[finescalerr]

Volker was reluctant to post the images because the module was more for operation than display and thus beneath his usual standards. I think we all would agree the quality is terribly low. Yes? Anyone? Oh, well. -- Russ

[artizen]

If that is a low standard, then it makes my attempts complete rubbish!

The module is so far ahead of the average standard of show displays in Australia that it would definitely win all the prizes!

[finescalerr]

That's essentially what I told him. -- Russ