A Graphite "Solution" for Better Operations

Even though I clean regularly and treat all of the rail on Thunder Mesa with NO-OX (see last month's video log), I still find it useful to treat trouble spots here and there with graphite in order to improve electrical conductivity. In the past I've used graphite sticks for this but personally find them to be a bit messy and inexact. My goal is to get the proper amount of graphite right on the railhead where it's needed, and not in the rail web, ties or ballast. To that end, I've come up with an easy to make and use graphite solution that can be applied where needed with a paint brush. The solution is similar to the commercially available Neolube but is thinner, lasts a long time, and costs substantially less.

To make my graphite solution, I start with "Generals" compressed graphite sticks from my local art supplier. I like the soft 4B sticks since they contain more graphite and less clay than the harder sticks. The softer graphite is also easier to sand down into the fine powder required to make "paintable" graphite.

I start by sanding down almost an entire stick with some fine 220 grit sandpaper, catching all of the graphite dust in a wide, flat-bottomed plastic container.

The next step is to add two or three tablespoons of 70% isopropyl alcohol. The amount is not critical, you just want enough to make a nice brush-able liquid without clumps. You're after a paint, not a paste. 

Mix well with a soft brush, then test the solution on some scrap paper. It should go on a transparent medium gray - not black. If it's too thick, add more alcohol.

When the solution is ready, simply paint it on the rails in any trouble spots. It will go on very dark and then dry lighter. The alcohol will evaporate from the solution very quickly, leaving a thin layer of graphite on the railhead. Wait until it dries completely before running any trains over the area.

You only want a very light layer of graphite on the rails. If it builds up too heavily, simply wipe the excess away with a cotton cloth. Once it is completely dry, run your trains over it and the graphite will be evenly distributed on wheels and track.

Sealed in its plastic container, one batch of graphite solution can last many, many months. If it dries out, simply add more alcohol to reactivate.

Final Thoughts

I'm very pleased with my graphite solution and enjoy how well my short-wheelbase locomotives operate on the layout after applying it. I find it to be particularly useful on turnouts where just a dab between stock rails and points can greatly improve their electrical performance. However, when I first posted this idea on one of the model railroad forums I frequent, I was immediately taken to task for "over-applying" graphite. Dire consequences would ensue, I was warned, if I continued down this dangerous path. There would be short circuits, arcing, loss of traction, and power jumps across gaps with this blasphemous liquid. I was even told that only invisible, microscopic amounts of graphite should ever be placed on the rails, as if it had some magical homeopathic quality that would be destroyed if it was ever used in detectable amounts. I'd like to see the data on that. I have never experienced any of the dire consequences warned about and have only enjoyed happy railroading. It is true that less is indeed more when it comes to graphite, but you do actually need to get some on the rails for it to do any good. What you don't want is a pasty build-up and that is very easy to avoid.

Anyway, I hope that some others will give this solution a try. It works well for me. Thanks for checking in, amigos. Adios for now!

Putting the Rainbow into Rainbow Caverns

Rainbow Caverns on the TMMC is being modeled as three major show scenes: A bat cave filled with glowing eyes, colorful Rainbow Falls, and a beautiful grotto of color changing crystals. Major work has been completed on the central Rainbow Falls scene and that's the topic of today's post and video log.

Most scenery and effects work is now complete on the upper section of Rainbow Falls, a major scene within Rainbow Caverns, and I'm excited to share the results today in a new post and video log. Tried and true "illusioneering" and stagecraft was used to bring this scene to life with a major element being the "Pepper's Ghost" rainbow effect in front of the falls. Check out this month's video log for a rundown on how the scene was created, and follow along with the photo's below for a more in-depth explanation.

Thunder Mesa Video Log: August 2015

Some representation of Rainbow Caverns has been part of the plan for Thunder Mesa from the very beginning. In fact, it goes back even further, starting with early plans to model Nature's Wonderland, and then on to my HO and On30 Big Thunder & Western layouts. At long last I'm getting around to the real magic at the heart of this model railroad and having a wonderful time playing with miniature versions of some of those classic Disney effects. The Rainbow Falls scene is achieved with a combination of ultra-violet light effects and the classic Pepper's Ghost illusion.

A Pepper's Ghost Rainbow

The waterfall is made from clear acrylic, painted on the back with transparent blue UV reactive paint. The "floating" rainbow is a Pepper's Ghost illusion - basically, a view-point controlled glass reflection.

The Pepper's Ghost illusion is used to make semi-translucent objects appear to float in mid-air. In reality, it's the exact same effect you see when you look at your own reflection in a window. Here, however, the viewing angle is tightly controlled so that only the illuminated object, in this case a photo of a rainbow, can be seen in the reflection. If you've ever experienced the Haunted Mansion at a Disney park then you have seen expert use of this classic illusion. 

Here, a simple black box has been created from cardstock with a blurry rainbow printed against black glued inside. An improvement on this design would be to curve the image around the inside of the box so that no edges will be reflected. My second version (not pictured) does just that.

To illuminate the rainbow, a single white 3mm LED was installed in this faux rock fixture.

The next step in creating the illusion is to position a piece of glass at an angle to reflect the picture or object but not the viewer. Note the the glass should be the full height of the scene. In this case, that's five inches.

Rockwork

All of the rockwork inside the caverns is made from pink polystyrene foam. Some are like set pieces, and are removable for maintenance. Layers of these set pieces are positioned to hide lighting rigs, and to complete the illusion of depth in the caverns when viewed from the proper angles. This is Stair Case Falls under UV light.

Here a piece of polystyrene foam is being shaped with a cone sanding bit in a Dremel tool. This goes fast but you have to be careful not to sand away too much!

Each piece is then painted flat black. Once that dries, varies purples and blues are dry-brushed on for a mottled appearance. Keeping the rocks a dark blueish gray helps to make the UV painted objects pop and makes the caverns seem darker, larger, and more mysterious than they are.

The Waterfall

The waterfall was created in the same basic way as the waterfalls for Big Thunder Creek, by sculpting 1mm thick clear acrylic sheet with a hot soldering iron.

The acrylic waterfall was then painted on the back with blue transparent UV paint before being cemented in place on its own set piece with clear silicone caulk.

A single 5mm UV LED is hidden behind the falls for illumination.

UV Lighting

Several of these 5mm Ultra Violet LEDs were positioned strategically in the scene for added illumination. Outside the waterfall, the creek itself is nothing but acrylic UV paint and gloss medium. Here you cam also see the 12v wiring buss that runs below the caverns from a DC transformer. The red wire is positive and the black is negative - important to know when working with LEDs.

I needed a simple way to mount LEDs to the roof of the scene and still have them be flexible enough to aim the lights. Cheep plastic bendy straws came to the rescue. Painted flat black and attached to the ceiling with a dab of hot glue, they make for quite serviceable miniature lighting rigs. A scrim of rockwork hides rigs like this from view.

What's Next?

Down below Rainbow Falls where the track crosses the creek on a stone bridge, there will be a series of deep pools, each slowly changing color as the magical waters drip down from above. Beyond the falls will be a Crystal Grotto, dancing with light. And let's not forget the Bat Cave with its hundreds of shining eyes. Yes, there's much more to come in Rainbow Caverns! But that will have to do it for this time. Thanks for checking in, Amigos. Adios for now!

Building an On18 Locomotive: Part I

Calico Gold Company #2, the Walter Knott, fresh from the paint shop and on its way to the CGC facilities for final outfitting. Building this little On18 mine locomotive is the subject of today's post.

Before I start building benchwork and laying track on my On18 Calico Gold Company layout, I wanted a relatively simple On18 locomotive to pull some trains with. After doing a little research, I decided on a vertical boiler design that starts with a 3D printed shell from Tebee Models at Shapeways.com, atop a smooth running and reliable Kato 11-103 drive unit. This is my first real build in On18 and my first time using 3D printed parts. Despite the learning curve, the little steamer is coming together quickly.

The two axel Kato 11-103 drive unit is 2.125" long by 0.6875" wide. I'm using my N scale Pagosa & Southern switching layout as a test track.

The 3D printed shell from Tebee Models is made from polyamide nylon, what Shapeways calls their "White, Strong and Flexible Plastic." It is white and strong, but comes unfinished with a rough, sandpaper like texture. It fits perfectly over the Kato mechanism.

My first modification to the shell was to add a new stack. I cut off the top of the cap-stack on the printed body and replaced it with a taller HO diamond stack and some plastic tubing from my scrap-box. Here the new stack has been painted with grey primer. It's a snug press-fit over the original stack.

I'm not planning on adding a decoder to this tiny model so I filled the hollow spaces of the boiler and water tank with about 1.5 oz of BBs for additional weight. I mixed up some 2-part epoxy resin and carefully poured it over the BBs to cement them in place. I wanted to do this before painting the shell so any spills could be more easily cleaned up or covered. I let the epoxy cure overnight before going on to the next step.

The next challenge was to smooth out the rough 3D printed surface and make it look more like metal. Conventional wisdom says this should be done with primer and repeated sanding but I was concerned that too much sanding would wear away the details. Acetone vapor smoothing has been recommended for 3D printed parts but that only works for ABS plastics and not for polyamide nylons. I found a technique online for using several coats of plastic primer to smooth the surface so I decided to give that a try.

First I cleaned the shell thoroughly with a wash of 70% isopropyl alcohol. Next, I took the model outside for painting using Krylon Satin Finish Plastic Primer. Several coats are necessary because the surface is so porous. A second heavy coat was applied 20 minutes after the first. Then a third coat was applied 30 minutes after that. A fourth coat was applied an hour later and a fifth coat about 5 hours later. After drying for 24 hours, the shell had taken on a smoother, cast iron appearance.

More or less satisfied with the smoother surface, I masked off the black areas an sprayed the tank and bunker with satin finish Hunt Club Green. This is the "official" green for all CGC equipment.

Diving back into the scrap-box I was able to find the shell of an old MDC HO Consolidation and cut the smoke-box out from the backhead with a razor-saw. Then I wrapped some 220 grit sandpaper around the barrel of a marker and sanded a curve into the back of the piece so it would snug up to the boiler. The next step was making a new throttle from a paperclip and drilling a #61 hole above the firebox to receive it. The paperclip/throttle was ACC'd into place and the assembly painted flat black.

While I still had the flat black paint out, I masked off the green water tank and bunker and gave everything else a coat of the flat black to dull it down.

Looking at some photos online of similar historic locomotives made me want to add some brass bands to the boiler. These were cut about 4 scale inches wide from very thin sheet brass. I taped them down at the ends and sprayed one side with 3M 45 All Purpose Adhesive. After letting this set up for several minutes to get tacky, the bands were then applied to the boiler like tape, with just a small drop of ACC to keep the ends from curling up.

With the brass bands in place, the firebox and throttle assembly were glued to the boiler with thick ACC.

After looking long and hard at the model, I came to the conclusion that the stack was too tall. As a fellow modeler pointed out (thanks AJ!), a mine loco working in low clearance tunnels would likely have a shorter stack. So I went back and cut a scale 12 inches from the height and I'm pleased with the less cartoony look. I was also curious to see how well decals would adhere to the "smoothed" 3D printed surface so I went ahead and applied Walter's numbers and nameplate. A couple drops of Micro-Sol really helped the decals snug down onto the surface.

At this point, the Walter Knott is starting to look less like a collection of parts and more like an elegant early steamer. There are still many details to add: steam pipes, gauges, a headlight, bells and whistles, and link and pin couplers among other things. I also need to decide on whether to add a cab or not. There is much more still to be done but it will have to wait until more parts arrive. That's going to wrap it up for this time. Thanks for checking in, amigos. Adios for now!

A Pair of Cabeese

Or Cabooses if you prefer. Today's post is all about painting, decaling, and weathering TMMC crummies #90 and #91.

#90 is a drover's caboose and sometimes takes the place of Combine #101, bringing up the rear of the Daily Mixed with passengers and mail. Freshly shopped caboose #91 often travels the branchline up to Big Thunder Camp.

Custom Decals

The Thunder Mesa Mining Company is a rather well-to-do little railroad that takes good care of their equipment. To reflect this, I've had some fancy gold decals printed by Cedarleaf Custom Decals. I supplied Stan Cedarleaf with camera-ready artwork and he printed up the water-slide decals on his ALPS printer. Stan also offers layout and design services for those who can't do their own.

A sheet of Thunder Mesa's custom gold water-slide decals.

I liked the Bachmann factory color scheme on the drover's caboose, so I applied the decals to it without further modifications. The red caboose started out as a Bachmann Colorado & Southern short caboose. I removed the original C&S decals with acetone, then disassembled, primed and repainted the caboose with a satin-finish spray enamel called Colonial Red.  A smooth satin or gloss finish is always best for applying decals.

Applying Decals

There's nothing revolutionary about my decaling techniques, more like "tried-and-true." Getting things properly aligned can be the hardest part so I usually mark locations for decals very lightly in pencil before beginning.  Some modelers prefer small scissors for cutting out decals, I usually use a sharp hobby knife. The trick is to cut as close to the edge of design as is practical, thereby eliminating as much of the decal film as you can.

I have all of the tools and materials ready before getting any decals wet. A dish of warm water with a couple drops of liquid detergent to improve flow, a soft brush, paper towels, tweezers, a hobby knife and decal setting solutions are a must. The Micro Set helps to stick the decal in place while the Micro Sol is used to soften the decal so it will snug down over details. Both are from Micro-Mark. 

I pick up small decals by poking them with a hobby knife. Then I dunk them in the warm water for no more than 4 seconds - just enough time to loosen them from the backing paper and activate the adhesive. Then they are laid on a paper towel to soak up the excess water.

After wetting the decal, a little Micro Set is brushed onto the area where it will go. The decal is then positioned and very carefully slid off from the backing paper and on to the model. Sorry I couldn't get a picture of that step but it's really as straightforward as it sounds.

If the decal is not exactly where I want it, it can be repositioned with a soft brush or even a finger. Care must be taken though not to tear or wrinkle the decal. Yes, I've destroyed more than a couple this way and that's why I always have extras printed on a sheet. Once the decal is in position, I dab on a little Micro Sol to soften it and help it snug into the details. If too much is applied, I dab around the edges with a dry paper towel.

It's important to proceed slowly and carefully and not get in a hurry. When doing multiple decals like this, I let each one set up for about an hour before proceeding to the next. Then I let the whole thing dry overnight before tackling the other side. Yes, it can take awhile, but that's why I usually try and decal several models at the same time. That way, I can be working on one car while the other car is drying.

Reassembly

After decaling, the caboose was reassembled with new clear acrylic glazing for the windows and repairs made to the interior lighting that had not worked in some time.

Watercolor Weathering

Both cabooses were weathered using colored chalks, dry-brushed acrylics and watercolor washes. I wanted the yellow caboose to look as if it hasn't seen the inside of a shop in awhile - a little dirty and faded but still well maintained. The roof is weathered with chalks while the car sides got watercolor washes.

Watercolor weathering works particularly well on scribed walls. I mixed up a dark, warm-grey wash with Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine and then applied it generously to the car sides, letting it run and fill the scribe lines between boards. Once it was dry, I went back with a wet brush and washed most of it off, also dabbing here and there with a paper towel. The end result was a grimy look in the corners and crevices, much like this type of equipment gets in the real world.

The watercolor washes can be brushed on and washed off again and again to achieve the desired amount of weathering. Individual boards can be picked out with a wet brush and scrubbed "clean" here and there for a varied look as I did here on caboose #90.

I wanted caboose #91 to look as if it was recently shopped so I kept the weathering more subtle. I don't usually bother, but the chalks and watercolors can be fixed in place with a light spray of Testor's Dullcoat.

Final Thoughts

Both cabooses still need marker lights, figures and other details but they are complete enough to call them done for now. A magazine photo-shoot with a looming deadline was the impetus for getting off my keister and getting them finished and I'm glad that I did. Questions and comments are welcome below. Here's a final shot of caboose #90 from that shoot that wont be used for the magazine. Adios for now, amigos!

Engine #6, on a caboose hop near Lone Rock. I wonder what could be happening on the tracks up ahead to cause the train to stop here?

Lone Rock: A Canyon Country Diorama

The Lone Rock diorama was built to demonstrate rock carving and coloring techniques, and also to serve as a model stand for outdoor photography.

The Lone Rock diorama began with an email from Joey Ricard over at Trackside Scenery. When Joey's not working on his fantastic On30 Spruce Coal & Timber Co. layout, he's producing an awesome series of how-to modeling videos that you can watch over on YouTube. So when Joey asked if I might be interested in contributing to an upcoming video about modeling rocks, I was more than happy to agree. Joey's videos are always fun and informative, focusing on both tried-and-true and new-and-innovative techniques. Just my kind of project.

The idea for a stand-alone diorama that could be taken outdoors for photographing models had been percolating in the back of my mind for some time. Joey's video suggestion was just the push I needed to dust off the idea and get to building. I could document the build with video and photos as I went along, and wind up at the end with the photo-diorama I'd been daydreaming about. I wanted something simple and scenic, with a short length of track and one distinctive rock formation as center of interest. Most of the build is covered in the resulting video (below), so today's post will focus mostly on additional details. Here's how it all went together.

The 12" x 24" diorama started with a simple frame of 1" x 2" MDF and three layers of 1.5" white polystyrene bead-board. Some 1" thick gold polyurethane foam (Balsa Foam) was roughly shaped to form a single, towering butte. 1/2" plywood was cut to shape for track sub-roadbed and glued in place atop the foam. The white foam was shaped with a hot-wire cutter, and a small stone culvert made from Balsa Foam was created to bridge the gully. I used Loctite Power Grab construction adhesive to glue everything together.

The butte was carved from hard density Balsa Foam. This is a commercial version of the same gold urethane carving foam used by Walt Disney Imagineering and Hollywood special effects model builders. It's available through better stocked art and craft dealers.

A short section of the 1/2" plywood sub-roadbed was cut away and a chunk of 1" thick Balsa Foam was used to form a small stone culvert. The arch was created with sandpaper wrapped around a small bottle, and the stones were carved with a hard 5H pencil.

Using photos of rocks from Monument Valley, Moab and Sedona, Lone Rock Butte was carved from Balsa Foam using mostly a #2 hobby knife. The butte was then glued to the base with Loctite Powergrab adhesive. Four bamboo skewers between the butte and the base add additional strength. See the video for more details on the carving process. My part starts at about the 8:40 mark.

Sculptamold was used to blend the butte into the base and to form an embankment along the sub-roadbed right of way. A soft, wet brush is handy for smoothing things out.

Since there would be scenery below it, the stone culvert was finished early and installed flush with the sub-roadbed. It was painted with acrylics and the mortar lines were filled with spackling paste.

Midwest HO scale cork roadbed was glued down with yellow carpenter's glue before just about everything on the diorama was given a base coat of golden-tan flat latex house paint. Then a length of Peco On30 flextrack was cemented in place with Powergrab adhesive.

A wash of diluted India ink was sprayed onto the butte to darken cracks and crevices before final painting was done. Inexpensive craft acrylics were used to complete the paint job. Colors like raw sienna, red oxide, burnt umber and unbleached titanium were applied wet into wet, working from darker to lighter tones. See the video for a more complete rundown on the painting process. Painting and finishing starts at about 12:45 on the video.

The track was painted and weathered using Joey Ricard's easy techniques featured in this video from TracksideScenery.com. First the track is painted flat black. I masked off the diorama for this and did the painting outside with some Krylon spray paint. Next the ties are painted with a light tan acrylic. I used Apple Barrel "Khaki." Then the rails are painted with rust colored chalks suspended in 70% isopropyl alcohol. The final step is to give everything a good dusting with black and dark brown chalks. There's no power going to this track so I didn't bother to clean the paint off of the railhead. On powered track I'd use a Bright Boy or paint thinner to clean the railhead after painting.

The basic ground cover is Polyblend Sanded Grout. I mixed it up with a little water to form a thick paste and then just stippled it on with a cheep paintbrush (don't use a good brush for this! You'll never use it again). The erosion lines were pressed in with a pencil. The grout does a good job of representing soil while also filling and smoothing any remaining gaps in the foam base. This color is called "Sandstone," appropriately enough, and it dries a couple of shades lighter than it goes on. The wet grout generally stays where you put it but I also wet it down with a misting of diluted matte medium to lock it in place.

Once the grout had set overnight, the final coloring was done with light washes of acrylics to blend and unify the grout layer with the rock carving.

Real dirt and rocks were sprinkled on and then glued in place with white glue and diluted matte medium.

The track was ballasted with local sandstone, held in place with diluted matte medium.

Woodland Scenics "Field Grass" was used to make clumps of desert grasses and weeds, held in place with dabs of Aleene's Tacky Glue. Any loose fibers were later cleaned up with a shop vac.

A few more bushes and desert plants finish the diorama. The juniper bushes are Super Trees from Scenic Express covered in Noch dark green foliage. Clumps of gray sage were made with Woodland Scenics medium green bushes, lightly sprayed with gray primer. The prickly-pear cacti are castings from Pegasus Models. Lastly, the 1" x 2" frame was painted flat black to match the fascia on the Thunder Mesa layout.

Building the Lone Rock diorama was a quick, fun and rewarding project. Even if you don't have room for a full layout, I encourage anyone to try their hand at a small diorama like this. It can be finished in a week or so, and it's a great way to learn new techniques or to experiment with scenery ideas. I'll close out today's post with the finished video that Joey and I put together, and with a few photos taken outdoors in beautiful Sedona, AZ.

Set-up for photos in Sedona, AZ.

A small diorama like this is great for photographing models outside in natural light.

That's it for this project. Questions and comments are welcome below. Adios for now, amigos!