Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => VSF Adventures => Topic started by: Dr DeAth on July 23, 2011, 06:38:42 AM
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Just finished the first engine and wagon for the Khosindan Light Railway which is being laid to support the Caliphs preparations to expand Atlantean operations.
Converted ertl dicasts from the Thomas the Tank Engine range
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/klrc0.jpg)
Prof. Aulden Dhusti, Chair of Archeology at Hidelburg University stands by the new engine to give an indication of scale
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/klrc1.jpg)
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Very nice, I have been thinking about some light rail for the last couple of years but everytime I looked into it on eBay it was quite expensive. Do you have any more photos showing the conversion? Thanks.
LB
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Nice work! Is the coal wagon also one of thomas' pals?
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Very nice :-*. What are yo going to use for tracks?
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Very nice. We must organise another get together so the British can blow it up :D
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Love it!
Brilliant idea, conversion and pj!
Good work on the 'white' on the Prof, too.
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I like that a lot 8) part of me says you should have left the face on though ;D ;)
cheers
James
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Aulden Dhusti? Nice lol
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:-* just love the small train, I'm also building some sort of railway for my Mbuij Mayi/ Darkest Africa setting but I'm not able to find these small trains.
So now I'm converting a larger one :?
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Aulden Dhusti? Nice lol
Only just cottoned on to that one!
Sweet! lol lol lol
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Excellent work Mark. I'm glad to see you are continuing with your Khosindan project.
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Very nice. We must organise another get together so the British can blow it up :D
Only if the Americans don't get there first lol
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Is the base of that an orange engine called 'Duncan'? I think that I am doing exactly the same conversion myself. Looks great, hope mine looks half as good.
On a side note, if anyone else wants some victorian thomas the tank engine toys, I have a whole bunch of the things knocking about.
Marx.
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Thanks for all the comments and questions everyone
@marianas_gamer: I thought I had some more pictures but they seem to have gone AWOL. I'm converting another similar engine so I can post pictures of that if you think they'd be useful.
@Andym: Yep, coal wagon is a 'troublesome truck'. Face has been ground off and the moulded coal has been covered with ballast and painted. I've also taken one truck apart and removed the moulded in coal to make it an empty version that I can stand figures/mg in.
@Mr.Marx: It is indeed 'Duncan' - I've sawn off the cab and added a plasticard version. The roof is a piece of 40mm pipe cut down and fitted in place with 4 brass rods that slot into plasticard tubes. The roof is removable so that I can add the driver and/or use it as an open-topped engine if needed.
@Malamute and Bullshot: Bring it on! :) I'll be adding a few boiler-plated wagons with gatlings soon(TM)
Very nice :-*. What are yo going to use for tracks?
I'm using standard peco and hornby 00 guage tracks with alternate sleepers removed. The ertl diecasts can be made to fit the track nicely by 'packing' the axles out with milliput; there's enough play in the wheels to move them out slightly so the engines and wagons fit snugly on the track. Some of the flanges on the wheels are a bit small so I'm going to add small lugs to keep them on the track more easily.
The track is being mounted on 6mm MDF cut with a 45 degree chamfer; progress so far in the pictures below;
I placed the track on the 6mm MDF and cut one strip at a time to minimise wastage.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track1.jpg)
Simple jig to keep the pen the same distance from the sleepers on each strip. It's a piece of plasticard with a hole in it.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track2.jpg)
After cutting each strip was painted with my standard 'Whitby Brown' emulsion base colour. They are going to be textured and ballasted but I wanted to paint them just in case the MDF shows through in places.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track3.jpg)
More strips for the straight track sections. The two T shapes in the foreground are for the station buildings.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track4.jpg)
When the paint was dry the strips were cut to length; the track was placed on loosely to work out the exact length.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track5.jpg)
The track is stuck down with evostick impact adhesive (evil smelly stuff best used outdoors). I made a small jig that was used on each end of each strip to ensure the correct placement of the track so that each piece will align with the others.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track6.jpg)
There are a few missing sleepers where the tracks join, these will be replaced with spares from a donor piece before ballasting takes place. As far as possible each of the ends has been finished so that when they are joined to another the sleeper spacing is maintained.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track7.jpg)
That's it so far, I'll post a few more pics of the finished track pieces when they're done.
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Doc,
Yes please I would love to see how you did this because the engine is at Kmart on Guam and that is damn unusual, plus I really like your conversion!
LB
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Thanks for the tutorial. I need to work on some track for BLAM so it's a great help.
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You've done a great job on the loco and tender! The track idea is a very good one too.
I could use one of these in Africa :D
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Very cute :D
The track looks as if it is going to be cracking.
Keep up the good work.
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Every now and then I see Thomas 'stuff' in the thrift stores, think it might be convertible, and promptly get grossed out by the thought of 'slashing' the face off.
How weird is that?!?!?
Doug
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I've made some progress on the track sections . . .
Picture of engine number one pulling 2 trucks along a finished piece of track. The last truck has had the original moulded ore removed and a floor added so that it can be used to carry troops or other items
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/klrc3.jpg)
Details of the track construction for those that are interested . . .
Following on from the previous work, the edges of the mdf trackbed were painted in a 50/50 mix of pva glue and emulsion (the same brown as they had already been painted). Patches of small stones were added and then it was all covered in coarse sand. It was then sprayed with a fine mist of water from a plant spray bottle - this dampens the sand and draws the pva into it to give a very strong bond when dry.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track8.jpg)
The sand and small stones came from a bag of builder's sand bought for £1.50 from B&Q. I sieved a quantity using a cheap metal sieve and separated out the larger grit to use as ballast. The alternative would be to use model railway ballast but my way's a lot cheaper :)
Once the PVA/paint mix was dry I repainted the edges in the base brown coat and then applied two lighter shades of drybrushing
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track9.jpg)
Next came the ballasting. Working with the track piece flat on the workbench, I added the larger grit between the sleepers with an old teaspoon, brushing them out evenly using a dry old paintbrush - no glue was added at this stage. Once all the gaps between the speakers were filled I then sprayed it with water from the spray bottle to get the stones wet.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track10.jpg)
Using a craft syringe I added a few drops of a 50/50 PVA/Water mix to each pile of stones. The piece was then set aside to dry thoroughly. Once dry, the process was repeated to ballast the outside of the track. I decided to do the ballasting in two parts mainly because of the difficulty of handling the track piece with so many loose stones that would be on the piece if I did it in one go.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track11.jpg)
Once the ballast grit had all dried I applied patches of static grass and clumps of foliage with the 50/50 PVA/Water mix, again giving the finished piece a light misting of water to help draw the pva into the grass and give it a strong bond. One thing worth mentioning is that consideration needs to be given to the ends of each track piece to avoid unnatural looking joins. If one piece is flocked and another isn't, an odd looking straight line will result. I've decided not to apply any flock to the ends of the pieces to avoid this.
Hope you find this useful.
Next on the agenda, a pair of flat bed trucks . . .
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Nice tutorial on the track-building process and TOP TIP with the water misting!
Didnt know that one.
Thanks,
Paul.
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Great stuff :-* :-* :-*
Brilliant tutorial as well.
Thanks
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Finished the first track sections (all the wiggly bits). Just got 3 more long straights, a few short straights (so I can cater for different width and lengths of tables) and two stations to complete the track project.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/track13.jpg)
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This is just great stuff as I'm currently trying out ideas for a steam powered "rail car" using an Iornclad tank and a number of "S"? scale track from Brigade Games so the tips on the basing of the track will come in very handy thanks.
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Agree with Mason on the water misting, I've used very thin pva in a mister but didn't think you could use water itself 8)
Are you going to leave the ballast as it is or give it a bit of a dry brush to tie it together?
cheers
James
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I need that railway and a train! :-*
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Are you going to leave the ballast as it is or give it a bit of a dry brush to tie it together?
I'd not thought about drybrusing the ballast tbh, I'll give it a go on a test piece and see what it looks like.
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Missed this one! :o
It always amazes me how people can see potential in "toys" which appear to have no use for wargaming at all.
Really first class work there and the track is awesome aswell.
PM
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Thanks for the tutorial. Very fine work, and inspirational. I saw a batch of railroad track of similar scale for toy trains in a local dollar store recently. I'll have to get some next chance I have.
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Few more WIP shots;
Makeshift buffer stop so I can have the track ending mid table.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/trackbuffer1.jpg)
Same process as before for the trackbed. Polystyrene block cut to basic shape and fixed with pva.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/trackbuffer2.jpg)
Ready for painting and ballasting. The polystyrene block has been covered with coffee stirrer 'planks' leaving sufficient length above the top of the polystyrene to allow for an infill of ballast.
Flatbed truck - another Ertl Thomas conversion, this time using the bottom half of a milk tanker.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/flatbed1.jpg)
Wooden sheet planking has been cut to size and stuck directly to the plastic with impact adhesive. I got the wooden planks from a local model boat shop. Very useful if you want to do large areas of planks, such as decking.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/flatbed2.jpg)
Single 'plank' sides added made from coffee stirrers.
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Good work yet again! :o Lovely!
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Finished a few bits today;
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/trackbuffer3.jpg)
The buffer stop
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/flatbed3.jpg)
and the flatbed wagon - I think the chain needs to be rusted up a bit, looks too shiny in the photo.
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This all coming together nicely 8)
cheers
James
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Missed this one! :o
It always amazes me how people can see potential in "toys" which appear to have no use for wargaming at all.
Really first class work there and the track is awesome aswell.
PM
Hold the fort! I missed this in previous reads; you are the LAST person to ever make this statement. You friggin' blow our minds regularly, and know it.
Who immediately sent us looking at wedding cake decorations?!?
Oh, wait, it's a compliment to the good Dr....
Coming from you, a heck of one at that! :o
Carry on, De'Ath! :D
Still, every time I look at those train faces, contemplate slicing them off, a little voice squeaks 'Who are you, Hannibal Lector?' 'Why, yes, yes I am. But, I'll admit, you wouldn't go with fava beans.'
Doug
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This all coming together nicely 8)
cheers
James
It is too, we must convince him to bring it to BLAM... :D
...(then the newly formed Anglo/Japanese alliance can blow it up) ;)
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It's all looking very fine Dr!
Crisp, clean and most impressive.
It is too, we must convince him to bring it to BLAM... :D
...(then the newly formed Anglo/Japanese alliance can blow it up) ;)
P.S. Forgive my ignorance, but wha/wheret is BLAM?
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P.S. Forgive my ignorance, but wha/wheret is BLAM?
Its an annual gathering of some LAFers for a few games and a beer or two.
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Engine number 2 is in the workshop;
Ertl 'Peter Sam' diecast is the donor
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/engineno2-1.jpg)
This is quite a 'squat' looking engine with a deep cab - all I've done is remove the back of the existing cab with a dremel. It's going to have an 'open' back cab with a low floor.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/engineno2-2.jpg)
Came apart very easily, two normal screw on the underside separated the plastic from the diecast part - this was done before the cutting to preserve the plastic.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/engineno2-3.jpg)
I've drilled two viewing holes where the original stickers were.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/engineno2-4.jpg)
Diecast part primed with grey spray primer. Hole where Peter Sam's happy smiling face was will be covered with a boiler front from a plastic screw cap.
Now to do the wheels and build up the cab interior . . .
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That's engines face in the first picture looks worried. Maybe he knows what's coming. Did you check when you lifted him that he hadn't left a little pile of coal from crapping himself?!?
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Wow, these are really smashing Dr De'Ath, this is going to be one lovely railway.
Thinks, it's going to be pretty difficult hiding this from Bullshott's Americans, isn't it?
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That's engines face in the first picture looks worried. Maybe he knows what's coming. Did you check when you lifted him that he hadn't left a little pile of coal from crapping himself?!?
See what I mean? Even with the full 'cheerful' face paint, you can't help noticing a bit of concern, and edge of terror, in the eyes, as you approach with razor saw... lol
I suppose this part of the discussion is more appropriate to the Horror section. :D
Doug
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WOW :-* :-* :-*
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Slower progress that I'd hoped for today;
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/engineno2-5.jpg)
Had to cut the plastic 'chassis' in order to lower the footplate - the cab wasn't big enough to fit the driver in.
(http://www.consolemonkey.plus.com/vsf/engineno2-6.jpg)
Shot of the lowered footplate and cab with driver to give an idea of scale. The footplate is made from plasticard and the boiler is a pair of square nuts with a washer superglued in place. Needs some green stuff work to cover the seams and make it all presentable. Newly painted driver is a foundry crimean war officer; the cannonball that he's standing on has been turned into a box with some green stuff. He still needs a coat of varnish.