RetroGamer87 wrote:
Mountain Goat wrote:
And to add to this, there are genuine ways in which one can build ones model railway on a genuine limited budget.
How? And how limited is the budget?
Quite a few ways. The easiest is to use 00/H0 track, wheels and loco mechanisms but to up to 7mm scale which is easier to build in. One can scratchbuild or adapt H0 or 00 locos as these make decent donor locos to convert into the larger scale. This larger scale of done to 7mm scale standards becomes narrow gauge and is known as On30 or 0e or 0-16.5 depending on where one is in the world.
The Great thing about it is that one can use the scrappier items that others don't buy to create your new creations at little cost.
Other advantages are (If one is selective in what one buys) by buying 0-4-0 locos as donor locos or short wheelbase 0-6-0's, and limits the wheelbase and length of the rolling stock, one can model in a small space as despite the larger scale, one can turn the things right round on a 2ft side board (Depending on what one has. One may need to file down the wheel flanges on centre wheels of 0-6-0's).
In this scale it is much easier to use tea sturers and popsicle sticks and things like that.
To Waverley I make my own central buffer type couplings by using drawing pins (Thumb tacks) as buffers which are filed at the Top so one has a point sticking up, and one can use stuff wire to form a "Drop loop" which is hinged and held onto the bufferbeam by small wire hingeloops which can easily be made. The idea is the droploop hangs down just hovering above the rails when not in use. When one wants to couple, one swings the drop loop up over its buffer and onto the other vehicles central buffer. The point at the top is the book for the loop to hold onto. If done right this will enable vehicles to turn very tight curves, and one can just hear the satisfying sound of metal buffers clashing together! One can push vehicles without them being coupled if desired, and if one has an akward siding one can collect rolling stock by positioning the drop loop in a fully upright position on the loco, drive in a flash the buffers and the drop loop will then fall and couple. Ideal!
(Took me two and a half years of experimenting before I came up with this design). The other great thing is they are cheap.
It is also possible to make ones own turnouts (Switches/points) it one can solder. Obscure ones own ties (Sleepers) using PCB (One has to cut through the top copper bit to avoid a direct electrical short between the rails) and depending on ones skills and patience, one can make a single blade turnout or a two blade type. It really does save on cost. Experiment!
It is possible to run ones railway on batteries by making oneself a simple resistance controller and use a car blinker bulb of a suitable wattage wired in series as a means of avoiding a direct short. (The idea being that the electricity lights the bulb instead of there is a short). It does not cut the power so if bulb lights up switch controller off, but it does avoid having a wide directly shorting things as it powers the bulb instead. Suitable overload cut out devices will cut the power which are preferable, but if one does not have one, a bulb is an option. (One may need to experiment as to what wattage will allow ones trains to run without illuminating the bulb under normal circumstances. If bulb is too low a wattage, the bulb will shine and the loco will not move. One can use two different wattage bulbs with a two way switch so some locos with lower powered motors that draw less current would use the one bulb and others use the other?
A typical resistance controller though it does not have an overload protection of a reversing switch is the old Scalextrix hand controllers, which can be adapted for forward and reverse travel via using a double pole double throw centre off switch. (There is plenty of online into about this). A cheap form of resistance site is obtainable from old electric fires and can heaters etc.
But any controller experimentation should be for battery controllers. Do not experiment with mains currents. Leave that to the experts! But remember that a simple 12v battery controller (E.g. 8x 1.5v alkaline batteries) needs a means to vary the speed of the loco (Resistance wire), a means to change the polarity of the current (A DPDT switch with centre off), and a means to prevent a dead short (Hence the bulb, or preferably an overload device).
Going back to the rest, I brushpaint models using enamel paints. One does not have to be good at painting to get decent results as consistency is better than precision. As long as everything is painted to the same consistent standards, it will all look good and blend in nicely. What does not work is a factory made model standing next to one of my hand painted models and one would be breaking the consistancy, as I can't paint anywhere near as well as the factory models paint standard is!
But yes! You CAN do it! Does not need a lot of money. Needs more "Knowhow". Experiment and enjoy!
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09 Aug 2023, 10:04 pm
..Add many trees to the hillside .Of the mountsins the tunnels go through . Hope i got that right about N scales sized stuff ? only real experience i had was growing up watching my Dads HO scale sometimes 
