Hmm...

[Daniel]

Well, I happen to get often useful ideas for things I would like to build but with already many dozens of projects dancing around me at home and their number growing all the time, a new layour doesn't seems a good idea.
Nevertheless, it may inspire someone else and a would be delighted seeing that someone has picked up the concept and made work from it.

If there is no objection I would like to use this thread to share and discus such ideas.

Building in 1/32 scale, as I do, but probably also in any other scale uses to confront the modeller with room issues.
Two days ago someone or something threw at my lone brain cell an idea to solve my eternal desire for voluminously predominant landscapes that can eventually be folded to be stored on top of the 40cm deep X 300cm long shelves in my workroom that have above a full meter of free space to the ceiling.

I've made a rough sketch that hope will be understandable and would love to hread your coments about.
The central idea is simply an piano hinge...

IMG_0091 (3) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

IMG_0001 (2) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

It is not a scale drawing and neither a plan but just a sketch to explain the concept.

(Of course, I don't assume it is 'my idea'. Probably was already done in diferent parts of this little ball on we us all live or some other but if so iit is not known to me.)

Daniel

[Bufferstop]

An extremely good idea, particularly if the space below the sloping scenery is only used for hidden sidings. It has the advantage of lessening the chance of any weight being imposed on the lightweight scenic board rather than the baseboard itself.

[Daniel]

Thank you for the input, Bufferstop.

It is n o more than a concept and probably must be changed, corrected and certainly developed but it have a chance.

The drawing doesn't show all previous stages but I've found that thepivoting line can also bring up tunnel portals exactly at the begin of the slope. In such a case, the space below may contain a track, a yard or a complete fiddleyard, depending on wants and needs.
Eventually the area of the water can be also arranged to fold up if the ship is placed in such a position that the masts lay above the tracks and not above buildings or other scenery.

The light blue coloured areas are mean to be massive 50mm foam. Only the brown areas would be wood strips or ply. But that was just a first approach to see the thing outside my head.
Eventually, the baseboard kan be made higer so to include a serie of drawers where to store materials, tools or even rolling stock.

Regarding the use of masive foam with only a skin of wood is something I have been seeing for decades being done among American modellers.
It is said to work really great.
Indeed, the blue foam I used for landscaping (you have seen some of it) is used for roofs and fundations of real houses. Is extremely rigid and strong so a skeleton wouldn't be necessary. A, say 5 to 10mm hardwood play -depending on the size of the layout- would be more than enough.

Daniel

[Daniel]

Also based on the use of piano hinges, here a layout design I've started ten years ago and dismantled six or seven years later.

It was built on a wooden box on wheels.
The construction was in CEIBA ply wich is said to be the lightest wood after balsa but more than strong enough for this to worg greatly.

Being conceived as a portable layout, the dimensions were determined by a silly ninety degree curve in the corridor of my apartment unavoidable to get the stairs.

1 11 2011 026 by d.caso, on Flickr

1 11 2011 027 by d.caso, on Flickr

1 11 2011 028 by d.caso, on Flickr

1 11 2011 030 by d.caso, on Flickr

1 11 2011 031 by d.caso, on Flickr

1 11 2011 032 by d.caso, on Flickr

In this photo the layout is resting on a stick but later it was equipped with a special simple mechanism to regulate the angle at any desired position to work on the wiring whithout back, neck or arms pain:

1 11 2011 034 by d.caso, on Flickr

1 11 2011 035 by d.caso, on Flickr

26 10 2011 001 by d.caso, on Flickr

26 10 2011 005 by d.caso, on Flickr

... so then six or seven years of modeling joy started:

P1640732 by d.caso, on Flickr

P1640466 by d.caso, on Flickr

DSC02028 by d.caso, on Flickr

DSC06743 by d.caso, on Flickr

No, it's not I, He is John Vogelaar, a here known modeller and good friend.

Daniel

[Bufferstop]

Regarding the use of masive foam with only a skin of wood is something I have been seeing for decades being done among American modellers.

Yes I used foam insulation boards faced all round with a mixture of 4 and 6mm ply for a previous incarnation of my layout. It was designed to be taken down and stored on its ends in a built in wardrobe. Each board was 1200mm plus the thickness of the ply on the ends which was double thickness on the end faces to allow the insertion of patternmakers dowels for alignment. the surface was a 50mm thick sheet and side runners and cross pieces were made from more 50mm thick by 100mm wide pieces stood on side, bonded together with strong PVA and all joints reinforced by pushing in bamboo skewers in pairs driven diagonally in opposite directions. Each pair formed a cross and "stitched" the blocks together. I experimented with some off-cuts and found that the bamboo stitches alone would hold the pieces together but the PVA was needed to prevent slight movements which otherwise would eventually cause the joint to fail. It was this layout where I first adopted the push-rod method of point operation, I would otherwise have needed to cut some massive holes for point motors, That's when I discovered that the B&Q DIY chain sold 2mm o/d brass tube in metre lengths far cheaper the model shops. I figured a wire pushing and pulling through the foam would eventually make its hole too large and movement would be lost, The 2mm tube with wire installed could be aimed at the point it was to operate and simply pushed through the foam.
I like the cabinet you built for a layout. A cabinet like that, can turn a model into a piece of furniture which most non modellers would find acceptable in a study or even in a living-room if the room was big enough not to be dominated by it. In his years at the "Railway Modeller" C.J.Freezer drew several schemes for a layout housed in that way.

[Daniel]

What I don't understand is why, if the point controls would run through massive foam, you used rod in tube.
Wouldn't the tube be only necessary for 'drilling' the hole through the foam and then let the foam be the 'tube'?
I imagine that then a brass bearing at each wood edge would have be enough... Hmm... Am I talking nonsense?

Daniel

[Stainsacre]

The layout in a box on wheels is amazing

[Daniel]

Thank you, Dave.
I was indeed a great source of joy.
Now the cabit has no layout, no wheels and is up side down so the drawers are now at the top which makes it a perfect fifth workbench; and on one of the other workbenches lay since yesterday the remaining buildings from that layout ready to be cannibalized because new projects will requiere windows, doors and other things and the maker wants to have more room free for the new to come.

I presented the design with those photos in 2011 and posted it in many forums here, in the UK, and in the US but am very surprised not to have seen in a decenia any other version of same concept.

With the same principle I had designed what could be comparable to a shelf layout 2,40cm long but this one was stored vertically. That way it took only the depth of the baseboard say something as 40cm by the heigh of the frame plus the scenery. So a footprint of 4cm X 60X would allow me to have a 2,20m layout.
I will see if I can find the drawings and if so I will share them here.

Daniel

[Bufferstop]

What I don't understand is why, if the point controls would run through massive foam, you used rod in tube.
Wouldn't the tube be only necessary for 'drilling' the hole through the foam and then let the foam be the 'tube'?
I imagine that then a brass bearing at each wood edge would have be enough... Hmm... Am I talking nonsense?

Daniel

The continual movement back and forth would I thought act like a file or saw and slowly (perhaps not so slowly) wear away the surrounding foam making the hole bigger. The wire that goes through 2mm tube is remarkably similar in diameter to the wire they use to cut blocks of cheese, (and to decapitate despatch riders). It could be that the foam is sufficiently resistant to a short movement, but I didn't want to find out that it's not sometime later when track was laid and scenery completed.

[Daniel]

I see...
Didn't think at that so thank you for the good lesson.

Daniel

[Daniel]

This is not exactly a trackplan concept but an amazing Spanish layout worth attention.

The texts are in Spanish but you may use Google to solve that. Anyway the imagfes tell a lot more:

http://www.forotrenes.com/foro/viewtopi ... =6&t=79358

Daniel

[Daniel]

This is one of the many 'may be some day...' projects on one of the lists in the lists list:


P2200858 (2) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

As you may know already, I like what I buult to be imposible to be seen all at once >>> I love obstacles >>> trees are a great solution for enancing or hiding things >>> they also create that canopy effect that I love, so one shuld expect my build to be full of trees.
Well, at the designing stage adding all those trees would make the design not clear so I just draw the truncks...

P2200855 (2) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

P2200859 (2) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

P2200856 (2) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

P2200854 (2) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

P2200860 (2) by Daniel Osvaldo Caso, on Flickr

Daniel

[Mountain]

I was wondering what the long things were! Haha.

I like the track plan. I take it that you will make your own track?

[Daniel]

Making my own track...
If next year the surgery in my eyes gives me back enough sight to abandone my nickname 'Magoo', that may get a chance. But with my eyes as they are now not a chance. Just to give you an idea: I had a good provision of small details from Grand Line and others. Certainly enough plastic n-b-w and rivets for building half a dozen covered vans using 3D printed 'metal' skeleton structures where all holes were also ready in place for the rivets. Using the strongest magnifier I was able after almost one hour to get in their holes three or four rivets... spoiling 'only' about forty or more in the intent.

So I could try now but it would provide an elastic gauge varying from 18" tp broad gauge.
Still, there is the other problem: patience. I had one but can't recall where I left it.
Anyway if I would be able to lay track I won't use wooden sleepers but just rail spiked on 9mm Ceibawood multiplex and only here and there mill a hollow space for making some sleepers visible. In this case also along the pier and bridges should be sleepers. All the rest including crossings and point would be track embedded in stone, grind or dirt.
But that is still science fiction. First the surgery and then I'll ... see?

Above that, remember I have no agenda and no plans, just constantly changing lists.

But may be I would like to build again a portable layout and once a year go to a show to bother the public with my nonsense. Also that is not sure because static modeling has gained my heart already and also my wallet's. I have also serious doubts because when I go to a show (last time was to OntraX 2014 in Utrecht) the last thing I like to do is to stand hours beside what I have been standing by for years at home. I rather go and enjoy every single table or stand in show and meet people ...

I don't know...

Daniel

[Dad-1]

I do enjoy your nonsense !!

That hinged scene could be an answer to an idea in my head.
I fancy a Scottish single track line well up on the side of a mountain.
If fixed it needs to be about 1 meter high which would be very inconvenient.
Hinged may work ?? time to draw something.

Geoff T.