Progress Report: 1/4/09

With school starting back up in the next week (AHH!!) I though I'd get a big chunk of Nature's Wonderland worked on before the week is out. Before I know it, my free time won't be much soon.

The biggest part of the project for the week is the redo of the Living Desert and Rainbow Caverns. This started with a complete tear out of the areas last Thursday.

As I stared at the rubble after demolition, I felt like Tony Baxter tearing down the old Fantasyland in '83 and thinking "what have I done!?".

I soon pressed on, forgetting about the old desert, which wasn't much at all; just a bunch of painted yellowed newpaper paper mache (this is original stuff; from 4 years ago) and some mediocre balancing rocks.

I didn't miss the caverns either; A bunch of over-painted stalagmites and water features that can be significantly updated and done better. Also, the non-removable roof was a major design flaw, something that is a requirement in the future. I also want to change the layout of the water features, making it look more like the real thing; more specifically, like this shot:

I cleaned up, and got ready for re-grading the track.

Now I no longer have that annoying 90 degree cross! This allows for a smoother ride (for the miniature people of course!), a possibility for a two train operation, and its more accurate to the real thing.

Most of the Desert track loop stayed, the only brand new sections are the grade from the trestle to the top of the new tunnel, and from the bottom of the Balancing Rock Canyon, and through Rainbow Caverns to Rainbow Ridge.

Just for kicks, here's the same angle, but from December of 2005:

Both of those shots were taken from the top of Cascade Peak (quite a good tripod if you ask me!)

Despite the new and steeper grades, the train chugs up the hills without a problem, which was a major concern for me. In addition to that, the train now runs a lot smoother, thanks to the extra electrical contacts in the trailing mine cars. (I only electrified two cars even though I was planning on 6 cars to pick up power; I changed that once the two worked well and discovering that installing pick up shoes is a lot of work!)

For the next week, I will be creating the new rock formations and land forms, but mainly starting on a foundation of popsicle sticks, aluminum foil, paper mache, and celuclay. I will soon be back to where I was before the tear-out.

Hey, if Walt can redo his desert in 1960, why can't I, right?

This time, I took more time in researching and figuring out where everything goes (something I didn't do when I first built the layout) It may not look like much, but here is my plan of action at this point.

(The yellow represents the new sections of track, the red represents the old/current track)

In other, more "constructive", news, the new fleet of mine cars are complete, and I am pleased by how they came out.

At the time these shots were taken, the coupler pockets on the cars were not painted, neither were the drawbars.

A close up of one of them:

Progress Report: 12/24/08

Here are the seven new mine cars, all assembled to a certain extent. The next step is to add a few details like the support bars and the seats. Then it's off to the paint shop for a few shiny coats of Boyd Smoothster Yellow. Then the cars will get their electrified wheel sets (except for the last car-shown in the tunnel-; that car is removable).

My goal for my winter break is to get the entire Rainbow Ridge area cleaned up and fully "sceneiked" which includes building a new load platform to accommodate the new cars, rebuild all the buildings to better scale, proportions, and details (I made those 4 years ago!), and the hill behind it should get some work to make it realistic.

Progress Report: 12/15/08

he new prototype car for the new fleet of "Mark IV" mine cars has been completed. The parts for the car have been molded in silicone, and I should start some castings pretty soon. Eventually I'll have a 6 car train where every car is identical! I use to scratch build every car, and that resulted in somewhat accurate cars that were slightly different from one another!

With the smaller car, I can fit more cars at the station, so I'll be able to have an accurate train of 6 cars (technically, that is somewhat accurate, since there were 6 cars on the mine train when it opened in 1956. However, there were seven cars for Nature's Wonderland, so I'll have to make an extra car that can be detached easily, even if the train doesn't entirely fit in the station; to make it totally accurate.)

This photo shows how off I was all these years scale-wise ( I built three generations of these cars at that size!)

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Progress Report: 12/17/08

I've started casting mine car parts. While it looks like a lot of unassembled cars, out of the 11 castings, only about 6 are satisfactory.

The hardest parts to cast are the "steel frames", because the brackets are so tiny and fragile, they'll either break or resin won't get in the mold at all.

For those of you unfamiliar with the anatomy of the mine car, the wheels are mounted onto a rigid steel frame. This frame has 6 brackets, 3 on each side that bolt onto the wooden part of the car, which the main body where the passengers sit. While the prototype has its wheels on the steel frame, mine are actually standard HO scale wheel truck that snap onto the bottom floor of the car; the steel frame is just for show, but it's an important detail.

Progress Report: 11/28/08

It has now been a week since I applied the Mod Podge, and its starting to clear up. There are still some white areas which indicate thicker areas, which should be clear in probably less than another week.

I should be starting on the "Mark IV" mine cars pretty soon, so I could finally get a full train. Then I can determine if I need to re-do the desert.

Progress Report: 11/28/08

No, I'm not modeling Nature's Wonderland in the winter with a frozen river! For water, I'm using a material called Mod Podge, which you can get at just about any craft store. When applied, it is completely white. As it dries it becomes clear and glossy. When this shot was taken, it was a few days after it was poured, since you can see some clear areas. It'll probably take about a week for it to become completely clear.

Progress Report: 10/29/08

NWRR #1 is finally complete except for the whistle. This is the most accurate that anyone that I know of has gotten to modeling this difficult in such a small scale off a stock model. You can see the running boards that aren't suppose to be there, but there is a reason why they are. I think its a good "railroady" compromise. The goal for this rebuild is to make the top removable for what ever reason. So if I have a problem or need to oil the motor, the boiler and cab can come off with ease. Also for the first time, the train actually has a operator!

The wires you see sticking out the bottom (sorry for my bad show) will soon connect to ALL the cars that will supply extra pick-up power (thats a lot of pick-up points; 24! ) that will allow for a lot smoother operation, let alone the 90 degree cross.

Yellow is really hard to match. I printed about 20 versions of the tender graphic to get it to match well. Its all trial and error when it comes to doing decals this way. The sand dome graphic was easy since I still had the decal graphics files in the computer and the red paint for my G scale Kimball so I was to get it in one print (they use the same paint and the same color red in the graphics).

Progress Report: 10/27/08

Work has been going on on the locomotive and train. I can't do much on the rest of the layout until I get a full, completed train (That would be a new station platform, possibly redo of the desert, etc.)

A shot of the engine, under construction, you can see where the new scratchbuilt cab will be mounted.

Sides of the new cab, built from scratch. An idea for a new thread could be on model construction techniques, such as here the left cab piece is made of strip styrene, while the part on the right, is made from sheet styrene.

A course in computer graphics is paying off well, since I've been redoing the tender art in Photoshop (Adobe Illustrator would be better for this) from the ground up, since J. Keeline's photo of the tender is not quite suitable for printable (even though I've used it before on older tenders. It is good reference though). It still needs some more work.

Progress Report: 9/4/08

As mentioned before, these are the metal strips in question:

They will become the running boards on the engine. Here is what I have devised; a piece of thin metal (yes, cut from a soda can!) wraps around the boiler and has two styrene running boards on each side. Pins slide through the running board and through the metal strips on the engine. This allows a structure that is thin and can hold its shape, stay in place and be easy to remove for what ever mechanical problems.

Progress Report: 7/31/08

I have recently acquired another 0-4-0 which will be converted into another NWRR. However, after the disassemble, the main frame that holds the motor is difficult to get off. Not risking breaking the new porter, I'm leaving it on, and that means that the metal supports for saddle tank with still be in place. To disguise those, I'll make those into running boards. Sure, those are prototypical to the real thing, but its a compromise that makes somewhat makes sense.

Progress Report: 7/30/08

So it looks like I may be working backwards in the future. After having problems with the 90 degree cross level cross in the Living Desert, I'm considering removing it. My little porters never seem to have enough power to get across the cross with half their power contacts cut off when one set of wheels rolls onto the plastic part of the cross when running at crawling speeds. The only solution is to remove the cross, and re-grade the entire desert which includes ripping up the track right down to the masonite foundation. Then I have to create a new graded sub-roadbed so the track can pass over itself. Though, in such small space, the grades may be pretty tough for the little porter, but we will see when I give myself the green light to do. An ambitious project just got more ambitious!

Progress Report: 6/22/08

Some more work in rainbow caverns:

After looking at some old aerial shots of NWRR, I just realized that the DLRR passed right by the old ride, something that I should include in my layout! However, I don't have room for a track, nor an O scale DLRR locomotive/cars. I guess it will be in the backdrop! Looks like another DLRR Art piece also doubling as a background is on the way! I'm thinking of having the Marsh in its original livery (with "white wall tires"!) pulling the Retlaw cars to be depicted in the background.

Progress Report: 6/18/08

Here is the "new" N.W.R.R. #1, fresh out of the shop. It still needs some more work, like the sand dome details, steam dome in the cab, and the whistle/cord.

Heres what I did to get rid of that pesky saddle tank that is driving everyone that has this Bachmann model crazy:

I took off the saddle tank (duh!). I then made a new smokebox front that was bigger than diameter than the original, and then I glued it right on to the original smokebox. Next, I grinded off the metal strips on both sides of the motor that support the saddle tank, this created a more narrow boiler. Then I wrapped a piece of thin styrene around the motor and glued it to the grinded down strips to create the new boiler. Lastly, I added all the details (Smokestack, sand dome, bell, new headlight, sandpipes, injector pipes). You will need to construct a new cab, or modify the current one, if you want it to fit around the new boiler. In this case I just made the area in the current cab that fits around the boiler a bit bigger. The engine does lose some traction power with out the weight of the saddle tank, but this little porter isn't pulling any long freight trains either, so that was OK.

Here is the first finished area of the layout, a new river of "Mod Podge" has been made, lined with rocks, and tall grass made from fake fur.

After reviewing some drawings of the prototype train, I discovered that I made my cars and tender too big! Even after three generations of mine cars on my layout I didn't catch that! So a new fleet of Mark IV mine cars are planned, which will be smaller leaving more room, so a full six or seven car train is possible
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Progress Report: 6/16/08

Here is the new trestle in Bear Country, with NWRR number one pausing on it. For those of you wondering what the On30 0-4-0 Porter looks like on the inside, there you go. The engine is currently under going a major rebuild that will make it more accurate to the prototype, and that includes getting rid of the saddle tank.

Heres a look inside the Rainbow Caverns, it is nearly complete, the water features need a coat of Mod Podge (which is what I now use for water). The more I look at it now, I think I may need to restrict the color palette to just cool colors, especially on the stalagmites/stalactites, They seem a little distracting.

Long exposure shot with the train passing by.

Progress Report: 4/6/08

Not too much progress, but here are some pictures of the train and Cascade Peak.

Progress Report: 11/28/07

Rainbow ridge is gone!

Actually I am rebuilding the area with new wooden platforms that will replace the orignal sagging cardstock platforms. The buildings are being stored in the Living Desert section, and they will get some touch-ups when re-installed.

Here is the new load platform, built entirely out of wood, awaiting paint/washes and railings.

Progress Report: 11/3/07

It's about time I give an update, with the last one being in May!

Cascade Peak is looking almost finished...

The "Devil's Paint Pots" get some work...

I don't have any pictures, but I have a whole new fleet of mine cars that are currently in the paint shop (aka the clean side of my work table )

Progress Report: 5/13/07

Natural arch bridge gets some paint and scenery...

The trains is currently getting brand new cars, built from scratch and will be more detailed and tidier.

Progress Report: 4/2/07

< An update on the train. I retired my old NWRR engine and replaced it with a newer model, the old engine was plagued with problems that could not get fixed. The new engine runs much smoother and reliable than the older engine. The new engine was also a "second chance" at painting, and this time the paint came out perfectly unlike the old engine. Updates on the newer engine that weren't on the old engine are the painted "rims", the NWRR plate on the cab, the long awaited box headlight, and a number (it hasn't been numbered for a long time, so it's offically #1). The tender may need a new paint job and the cars may need a revised rebuilding to match the quality of the new engine.

NOTE: Ballast/ground covering has appeared and it stretches from Rainbow Ridge to the "Crazy Cactus" area.

I don't have any pictures of it, but Cascade Peak has two more waterfalls.

Progress Report: 2/24/07

Cascade Peak gets its first waterfall....



Made of melted plastic, plastic bag strips, shredded cotton balls, and many layers of medium gloss.

Progress Report: 1/8/07

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Progress Report: 11/30/06

My N.W.R.R. project is slow but there has been some progress since my last update. I rebuilt the entire top half of Cascade Peak because I thought it could be better and look more like the real one (There were some inaccuracies) The tender was rebuilt for the train, again, there were some inaccuracies.

Progress Report: 9/25/06

September 25, 2006 marks one year of construction on the Nature's Wonderland Model. Exactly one year ago, I bought my HO Flex-Track and began construction on a clean and flat piece of masonite. It's not a complete year of work (I don't work on it every single day ) but it's been a year since I started.

Progress Report: 7/26/06

I figured out how to make animation .gif on my digital camera, so here is a demonstration of Balancing Rock Canyon.

Progress Report: 6/30/06

Some scenery in Beaver Valley.



The start of Balancing rock canyon. I know, it's hard to tell where the rocks are but they are there. They will stand out better when I detail them more and paint them. The rocks do move, through a cable system. There's the stationary rock attached to the base of the layout, and a moving rock on top attached to the stationary rock by a spring ,(I tried a hinge, but it would get jammed too much, and a spring "wiggles" more. ). The cable pulls the moving rock down and the spring pulls it back into position! All the cables go to one point under the desert scene and a longer cable is attached to the point and goes to the train controller next to Cascade peak where it is controlled.




The start of Rainbow Caverns. Every thing still needs painting. The red is a "test color" I tried on the rocks that glows under a black-light.



This is what is taking so long. Adding the Pack mules (Highlighted in Green). I rebuilt the back section of Cascade peak to add the cliff. So it's more like building two rides in one. Cascade peak also has it's base coat of paint.

Progress Report: 12/30/05

The Town is pretty much complete except for a few small details(chairs, barrels,Etc.) Added some ballest



Rainbow caverns is covered and I ordered the blacklight for it. Rainbow ridge hill is also covered. Started on some Rockwork in Beaver Valley. (I'm making my rockwork out of Celluclay)

Progress Report: 12/23/05

Most buildings are comleted. Clarion and general store are next to be worked on. I had to eliminate two buildings in order to make it look right proportion wise because it's such a small area.