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scoopey

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Everything posted by scoopey

  1. Finally I redid my display unit which shows the traverser position compared to the track layout and the occupied status.
  2. Now just test fitting with my custom designed and 3d printed trolley pole reverser!
  3. And now to the underside...the original microswitch and Cam system has been replaced with a relay board and arduino IR reflector modules. It was a tight squeeze but with the other bank of microswitches gone I was able to use a cable drag conduit to supply power to the detection circuits and power feed to the tracks. This avoids the need for the umbilical.
  4. Completed traverser fitted The new "detection" sensors are added-I modified Arduino reflection sensors. Thought they are not connected to arduino;s they make make handy modules. Unfortunately the reflection did not work quite well so I separetad the IR LED and put in on the opposite side of the "track" and turned them into break beam detectors which work very well. Circuits are held in 3D printed uprights... You have not got a 3d printer.....well neither have I. I designed them in the free online Tinkercad and uploaded the file to Lancashire3D The old position detectors have been mounted in a 3d printed tray.
  5. New traversers are being based on linear bearing rails - I've used two short ones to create a parallel spacing New traverser platforms ready - I retained the original screw drive mount... Spacers made for linear bearing positions And two aluminium profiles to keep them in line - (spacers not yet fixed hence they look a bit drunk!) Two of the bearings in place Spacers in place for second set of bearings Platform complete - Note you will never mount these perfectly parallel so one side has the bearings able to float and move from side to side. This can only be done when gluing the second set of aluminium profiles and running the platform up and down the rails Plastic angle pieces hold the bearings to the the platform
  6. Well its been a while since I last posted. However when there is only the smaller details to go there is not a lot to post. However I decided to totally upgrade and overhaul my Traversers which entailed ripping out the old ones.... Bye Bye old traverser - and thats not all as the sensor mount is going!
  7. Another update - inevitably the further along you go with a model railway/tramway the less noticeable the changes. I've now wired all the internal lights in the buildings and the signs. Still need interior detailing but I could not help but test out the night scene!
  8. This is how I made my shop signs - vinyl laser sticker paper. Most of the signs are fixed to plasticard light boxes to illuminate from behind. The Manchester hotel is lit from the front. The pub will receive similar treatment as soon as the lights arrive from China (they are external swan neck LED lights and I could not make them for half the price!). Sticker sheet! You've already seen this lit!
  9. Testing out the sign lights on the Sandpiper hotel. Out of all the building signage this was the most extensive with 5 lit signs. On the tramway there are only 14 altogether so this building alone has over 1/3.
  10. And now for some custom illuminated shop signs. This is my homage to "Tron" lol. After taking this picture I was impressed at how the sign lines up with the backscene - I created the "virtual" shop sign well before I actually made it. I already had the graphics and photoshopped it onto the backscene which featured a virtual copy of the shop used as the arcade.
  11. The BOS is back...after my winter hiatus where I do other things (since I prefer working in daylight), I finally finished the backscene - actually most of it was finished last year apart from one. If you look closely between the "towers" on the two trams you can see Blackpool Tower in the distance (I photoshopped it onto the backscene!)
  12. Well as with most model railways, you can do the bulk of the work quickly but its the small things that kill time. Before finalising the building lighting I needed to figure out my backscenes because once wiring is added it was going to be a pain to keep moving buildings. I had considered taking a version of street view and using pictures from that. Problem with that is the camera was usually mounted on top of a vehicle and the horizon ends up high. Also trying to patch a photo to fit a specific layout was tricky. Well I tried another approach. My main hobby is 3d art so I decided to create street scenes that can fit the an exact layout. Now herein lay another problem - making the low relief buildings extend into the backscene. Tried to fake it with a substitute "stunt" stand in 3d model. Did not work. I therefore built virtual models of the metcalf buildings and used photos of my buildings to make the textures 1 week and 20 trials I have nearly done the first section. Though any backscene can look right from one angle and wrong from others I am happy with the result of this. The hotel on the left for instance does almost look perfectly aligned It still needs a tweak on the shop side and I used photoshop to fake the double yellow lines on the backscene to match the exact spacing of the actual model!
  13. Well you can use the Czech hedgehogs in dioramas and they are cheap lol!
  14. Lastly, somewhere in this section I have plans and instructions for making 1/16 Czech Hedgehogs...a card version and a plastic (plastruct version) so you can turn your back garden into the D-Day landings!
  15. Its does get "expensive" The older IBU and IBU 2 were designed to swap in place of the Hend Long workings...then you just use an RX. My TX is a Turnigy 9x but modded with the Tank ER9X software from RC Tanks Australia Technically the IBU requires just a 4 channel TX and not my 8 channel. The Turnigy with the new firmware allows you to use the other channels for different "switched" functions. For instance I added a RC relay switch which switches the flashing MG LED from the Hull to the turret Yes it is a bit expensive lol but cheaper than Clarke boards etc. I did notice on Ian's RC Tank Electronics (UK importer of the IBUs) that he does offer a radio combo. He's often keen to help https://www.rctankelectronics.com/
  16. I'm a little late to the party here lol! I have 5 tanks T34 Tiger 1 Pershing Panther KV1 All are Heng Long "upgrades" and the Panther still needs a paint "upgrade". All the electronics are ripped out in mine and replaced by IBU2's which allow to connect to a "pro" transmitter sytem and have built in sound cards with memory card so the sound sets can be changed. They also have IR and recoiling barrels, servo controlled...again much of that is homebrew alteration - the IBU2 does provide the outputs for the servos but the mechanics were up to me, albeit there are now some kits around. Pershing was the trickiest as the plastic suspension arms are nasty...that was until RCTanksAustralia started selling metal copies of them. Tiger has the upgraded Torsion bar suspension....
  17. And here we have it in place! Note: The glow is very uniform and there are not many hotspots visible due to the light bouncing. To complete the signage use a laser printer with printable vinyl and stick to the white plasticard. Or print in reverse on OHP film, flip over and stick in place with clear glue. I cannot swear to this technique as I prefer the prinable vinyl method.
  18. Time to add the roof and lights . When it comes to adding the SMD strip you'll need as many LEDs as possible - but you can only cut the strip at certain places. You can solder the + and - at any place where the cut sections are (it does not need to be at a cut end but can be in the middle where the section edges meet). Add mirror foil underneath the SMD strip. Note: SMD strip lights have adhesive tape underneath. Affix with superglue as well since the tape can loose adheasion over time (I know some of my undershelf lights have dropped in certain areas and I had to glue them up!)
  19. Complete the light box by adding more mirror card at the back. Then cut out a 0.010" strip of white plasticard and attach it to the outside to make the outer surface opaque (I used a double layer technique as the 0.010" it too floppy but a thicker layer of white would not transmit much light)
  20. Now to make the "name plate" - Make this from 0.040" clear plastic sheet. Once you have cut the strip you'll need to sand it with emery cloth to make the front and back opaque. Sounds strange but the rough sanding will actually catch light and help soften it! Once the strip is roughened, attach in place.
  21. The trick to getting a soft light effect is to not shine an LED directly at the front. Instead we will use indirect lighting. The SMD light strip will sit in the top and point down so to try and bounce more light around the area we need a reflector Below is how I made a custom reflector I made with mirror card. It drops down at the front and sides to direct the light in those directions. I made a template from scrap card to avoid wastage by trial and error fitting. Note: Since the bottom of the light box is actually part of the card kit, I only needed to add black plasticard at the back of the model
  22. For this project I'm going to upgrade the Metcalfe Low Relief Cinema I've already added some foyer lights and the area is a little bashed about after a previous lighting attempt (I did say I did a lot of trial and error! Instead of a normal shop front name plate this will have a wrap around style frontage.
  23. First you will need the following items:- Black 0.020" Plasticard (for the box) Clear 0.040" plastic sheet (for the front panel) White 0.010" Platicard (for opaque overlay) Mirror Card - this is card with foil attached to one side (you can get it in silver, copper or gold but we'll use the silver) SMD LEDS Light tapes - these are SMD lights attach to a tape you normally attach to the underside of a shelf and attach to a 12v supply. These can actually be cut into sections - the "cut" areas are marked on the tape. This tape width will define the size of the box. Standard is around 8mm = 2ft in 00 gauge. There is a 5mm version on ebay and try to get one with many lights per metre.
  24. About 40 years ago I had a model railway and was quite proud of the fact I had it light up. Ok the street lights were bendy straws with yellow LEDS in the ends. Things have changed a lot - we now have White, and blue LEDs and a whole host of new tech so when I decided to light my Blackpool Tramway it was time to do it in style with new ideas and more experience. Right enough of the nostalgia chit chat... time to start and in this topic I'll be addressing lighting Shop Signs, the big perspex lit ones on the high street. As you might have guessed we'll have to make some miniature light boxes. Easy put some LEDs at the back of the box and an opaque front and voila!! Well actually no - shining LED's directly at the opaque front will create nasty "hot spots" - believe me this is horrible and very distracting but I can show you how to make a nice soft light!
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