Death Valley Monorail

[marc_reusser]

Sweet. I like the saw marks. Is the coloring your usual silverwood and pigments?

Marc

[Chuck Doan]

Thanks Marc. I set up an angled fence on my disc sander and put an eccentric sticky pad on and ran the beams across the edge to make the marks.

Then Silverwood then pigments and Acetone wash and then some dullcote and gwosh and soda blasting to dull. I have been collecting pics of recycled Doug Fir beams for more coloring ideas.

[TRAINS1941]

Chuck

Just what is a eccentric sticky pad on and ran the beams across the edge to make the marks?

Jerry

[Chuck Doan]

I guess a photo would have helped. I use stick on 5" dia. sanding disks (sticky pad) and put one on off center (eccentric) so about .03 of one edge hung over the sanding wheel. Then I ran the wood at an angle to the wheel edge to get a scuff mark when the overhanging bit rolled past. Not much clearer is it? I will take a picture.

[marc_reusser]

Oooh, oooh, oooh,...I get it! I get it!

My sanding disk fits like that all the time....unintentionally.


Marc

[Chuck Doan]

I'm slowly working out the design of the hopper loco. I really wish these guys had heard about welding; there are over 300 rivets in each side of the hopper alone. Too bad I can't pattern the model rivets as easily as in Solidworks.


Side doors



I am also finishing the 3D models of the link and pin couplers that came from the L. A. Railway streetcars. I'm not sure if the lettering will print all that well, but it's worth a try. I hope to get some quotes for some of the parts this week.

[Chuck Doan]

Here's the saw marking method...the styrene fence is super glued in place.

I spent some time building a quick mock-up from cardboard and scrap wood. I had been doing a lot of planning, but I needed to get a sense of how big this will be. The prototype is estimated at a bit over 7 feet wide by 12 feet long which equates to 5.5" x 9" in 1/16th scale. The wheels are the first 3D printed parts I did a couple of years ago for the first (aborted) monorail. I put the partially dismantled Danbury tractor in place and took some pictures:



One thing that occurred to me on seeing the mock-up is that if I fill it with ore, I will eliminate the need to install several hundred rivets. That alone was worth the hour I spent on it. Another thing will be figuring out how to make the monochromatic paint job interesting on such a large (to me) model.

I also did a little digital "squinting":


"Wanna race Scratchman?"


"We're going to need a bigger bench"

[lab-dad]

Great start!
I dont see how filling it eliminates the need for the rivets...............
And, we always need a bigger bench!
-Marty

[Malachi Constant]

Well, look at that ... Chuck uses little tiny bottles of Rust-All and drinks little tiny cans of Pepsi! 

Fill it with ore!
Dallas

[Mobilgas]

Chuck,   Looks like you have a good start on the project  will be following along with great interest. Thanks for posting a picture of doing your saw marks on the wood.   

[Chuck Doan]

Marty, if I don't detail the insides of the hoppers (and the 6 doors) it will eliminate 300 rivets easy.

[Mr Potato Head]

It always cool to see the desk of the "Mad Scientist" !
Cool ! but Scary?
MPH

[TRAINS1941]

Chuck

Thanks posting the picture of how to do the saw marks.

And a nice orderly bench if I do say so myself!!!  It woluld take a "Wizard" to find things there

Jerry

[jacq01]

   Seeing your working area, I don't need to be ashamed anymore. 

   That is becoming a beautiful model, but a bit too large for me.

    Jacq

[marc_reusser]

Great mock-up!  I almost fell out of my chair when I saw it, because I thought it was the final model (just last week you were saying you were going to get back on it...and now a completed build!....I thought there must have been some dimensional shift or warp in the time-space continuum!)

I think there is a lot of room for a great amount of interest in painting and weathering such a large monochromatic piece. There are so many panels and small surfaces that it wiyld be a great candidate for panel fading and shading, filters and color modulation. I have also seen some really great work on sub models...yes I know it's not a sub, and water weathers differently , but they also have to deal with large monochromatic surfaces.


Marc