Okay, despite the fact that I've been AWOL from my blog for several weeks, I am
still doing my model train thing! In fact, I've been spending all of my available hobby time (albeit shortened due to 'summer hours'! :-) ) on my passenger terminal. However, along the way I've also been playing with adding more fencing along my tracks as I have too many high speed train lines with
no protection from wayward plastic people! This must be stopped!
The problem with putting in N Scale fences is that we're dealing with tiny strips of plastic that, given my past efforts, don't really want to stand up straight. I think I found a solution, which I expect was probably a solution that others have discovered well before me (and is very similar to the prototype) and that is to use pins glued to the fence so that they can be easily inserted along the railway right of way.
I am also trying to come up with more cost efficient fencing than many of the commercially available products. The below attempt is a strip of styrene, painted a grey/concrete color, with homemade 'graffiti' decals applied.
The pins are glued to the back side and covered with a section of 'channel'
styrene. Underneath the 'channel' styrene is a healthy dose of 'Goo
Glue' to keep the pin solidly in place. This glue is really bulky, but dries really strong and is not 'brittle' and prone to crack off when pressure is applied.
I also have some of the commercially produced 'chain link' fencing from
BLMA Models, which was also a bit of a question on how to apply. I decided to try my luck with pins again, this time using cyanoacrylate (aka "super glue" or "CA glue") which I find is sometimes not very reliable if there is any pressure on the item.
In order to ensure that the pins don't bend during installation, or that the fence doesn't break off the fragile glue bond, I use my pin vise to pre-drill the holes for the pins.
Then the pins just slide right in!
I clipped the pin heads off after installing...its just easier to install with the pin heads on! However, this did create enough torgue on one pin that I had to re-glue it! :-)
Now maybe a little rust, weeds, and other junk and I think it will start to be looking pretty good! Thanks for reading! Hopefully I can share photos of my completed passenger terminal soon, so stay tuned!
silly question but what is your sidewalk/pavement there? Something you scored your self? How did you get the groves to show so nicely? I've been trying a combo of scoring with the back of a knife and doing a wash but the wash just won't stay/flow into the ruts!
ReplyDeleteIts actually just pencil lines! I've tried the scoring and wash technique myself and found the results to be pretty inconsistent. I got this tip from Jimmi who has some of his similar work over at the N Gauge Building Modelers group on Flickr.
ReplyDeletePencil lines! So it's all just drawn on and then sprayed over to protect it? I'll give it a shot!
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea for installing fences. I'll have to do that. And I really like the look of the BLMA fence as it curves along the right-of-way.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! I dig it.
ReplyDeleteI recently put some in on my station project and did face a little of what you were saying. I used this super tacky glue and it held it together rather well, but getting the right "lean" (or lack there of) was tough!
And pencil lines - also brilliant! :)
I have thought of making my own concrete walls as well, and in addition to sprucing it up with graffiti, I am considering using a lot of foliage to model hanging vines overtaking portions of the wall. I am currently living in Germany, and the wet climate here makes this a reality everywhere. (I don't know what the climate is like in Quintopia, but with some of the trains I see, I suspect it may be similair!)
ReplyDelete