DalaGStanator's Customs, Mods and Experiments

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You are getting real good at this LaG

Those look really good!

Now for something a bit out of the ordinary. I revisited the "narrow gauge" track system with the intention of building smaller models for it (like how A.B. Railfan made engines in multiple scales). However, I found making my own wheels in that scale was a bit harder for me, so any actual models will have to wait 'til I could find a solution. Having brought in the whole system (twelve pieces) for test fitting, I thought I should try taking a straight and a curve to see what new pieces I could come up with. My first result is a working set of points made by tracing both pieces onto cardboard, making sure the rails were at the exact height and figuring out where to put the guard rails. One big advantage is how thin the sleepers are, and how they don't have "bottom rails" or a trackbed underneath. This meant all I had to do was cut thin strips to the height of the rails and glue them onto the traced sleepers and grooves. The only thing I got wrong besides having no traction teeth (too close together for me to copy) was the way the connectors were traced, because I should've copied the round bits only and added tabs under them. As a result, they're incorrectly shaped and will not connect properly. I'll pay attention to this in my next attempts. Also, the blade doesn't quite stay in the position it is moved to, which could've perhaps been fixed by making it hinged (rather than glued at one end). In addition to other specialised parts, I plan to make curves in the other directions since the connectors only go one way and the pieces can't be turned around/flipped over. A knife had to be used to cut the spaces between the sleepers, with would've been near impossible with scissors. With all the testing I've done, I have yet to try it with a coach from the OG train to see how it reacts. Have to say I'm quite happy with the way it blends in.

In the moment of truth, these points turned out to be a failure. They make a very obvious break of gauge, the spaces on the diverging part cause derailments and the cardboard strip rails can't perfectly hold up the coaches. I was too confident that the wheels on one side would just run on the full rail, and the guard rails would prevent the coaches from falling into the grooves. Indian Rail Model made points for the Rail King track system by cutting two existing pieces and gluing them, which (as one might expect) works better but isn't something I'd want to do with my track. Even four/six wheeled Take Along/Take 'n Play items, which run perfectly on the straights and curves, are too low for the points (though I could always trim the guard rails to help them clear). Hoping to find better methods for a second attempt.

Finished the second version of the left hand turnout yesterday. It still uses cardboard strips for the rails, only now they are thicker and better match the straights/curves. Since I chose not to bring the coaches in while designing V1, the wheelset I tested it with was made to run on the inside (which led to the guard rails and blade not being shaped properly for outer rails). To get the shape for the new blade and make sure it works, I looked at these points from a tutorial for a cardboard loco, tender and circuit of track with a siding (and a few other tutorials). In part due to the paint, the blade stays in position more precisely when moved. However, the break of gauge problem and occasional derailments still haven't totally gone.



While cutting out the spaces, I ended up cutting slightly too much and removed one of the connectors. I had to reuse its counterpart from V1 and glue it under the new rails, though I will keep both versions regardless.



Also made a non working prototype for a three way turnout using real life reference photos. I have yet to figure out how the blade is supposed to move, but the frogs and everything are in place.

Following the moderate success of the previous turnout, I tried to design another type with two straights instead of a curve after learning how the blade works. It's not really Y shaped since it doesn't have the right angle, but more similar to this type (which I'm not sure what to call). It works exactly the same way as before, complete with the same quirks I have yet to overcome. Had I made it diverge slightly further away, it would've ensured any curved pieces would meet at the correct spots and made it easier to build sidings.



That same Thursday, I was suddenly invited to rewatch a few episodes of Noddy's Toyland Adventures (1992; in the Hebrew dub I grew up with). It reminded me that I cited the main character's car as the inspiration for my dark red roadster and planned to make it in the same style, so it looked like the perfect opportunity. I'll show both side by side below. About time I scratchbuilt (not repainted) something from another IP besides Thomas & Friends.



To avoid repainting any of my existing wheels, I tried moulding and casting one with a hole in the outer side of the rim. Clay and hot melt glue (respectively) don't really work well for this, which caused imperfections and very poor rolling. Once I could find a more appropriate process and/or materials, I could replace them with better ones and do it for other cases with unique colours.





Notably, it's also my first vehicle with its own custom figure. Noddy is only a wooden puppet, so I had (little to) no concerns about scale or anatomy. That said, I do find him a bit oversized. I started with a "tube" of paper folded into a V shape for the arms, which I glued onto another piece for the body. Like the Fat and Thin Controllers in Take 'n Play, he doesn't have legs and essentially "floats" inside. The head is a wooden bead with hot glue for the ears, nose and fringe, the latter being made from strands of it. For the cap, I put a small rod from a paper clip through the bead and coated in air drying clay. The bell was to be a plastic bead that looked perfect in size and colour, but I gave up trying to glue it and made it of hot glue instead. His facial features were carefully recreated, but could've been even more accurate in this scale. Even though I wanted to use a "wire skeleton" for the body, I'm still happy with him. Had the car been wide enough at the doors, it could've had room for a passenger like Big Ears, Mr. Plod or Tessie Bear. Could've just added a few side layers like on the Post Van. Besides original vehicles, I would like to add a fair share of other trademarked (TV, film, video game, real life) ones later on.

This one's intentionally not as good as my regular projects, but I made it simply to practice making a basic interior for a coach. As such, the plastic windows will not be added and it won't be painted or fitted with wheels/couplings. The roof is removable for access by being held with matchsticks at the end. Despite how short the body is, I chose a corridor design since that's the main type I wish to replicate. It's built to the same scale as 69420, which makes it the right size for UE track. "Proper" coaches should have more faithful interiors to their prototypes/inspirations, likely following images of scale models to make things a bit easier.



In both my previous attempts at making a cross piece for the small track (never pictured), I didn't quite take into account the most obvious thing I needed to check: the exact spot where two straights at the ends of a half loop would meet if such a piece existed.



It oddly turned out a bit off to the side and not quite how I envisioned, hence one corner being a lot shorter than the other three. Since I had to make it shorter in both directions than a regular straight, I found tracing the connectors a bit harder than usual. While testing, the transition from cardboard to plastic worked flawlessly. Only that one corner should've been equal and the connectors aren't very good, but it's still correctly designed. If I had twelve curves rather than eight, I would've been able to finish the other half (minus connections; unless I'd trace new curves facing the other way).

The last custom piece I made for the unknown small track was, predictably, a turntable. Part of the inspiration came from two users on the TTTE Wikia Discussions, who made cardboard turntables for Take 'n Play and Wooden Railway (respectively). It is mounted using a screw like on the bottom of a TOMY or TrackMaster one, allowing its stiffness to be adjusted (though it can easily come off if it makes too many counterclockwise revolutions). Being made of two layers, it had to be raised and aligned using triangular rails. Only one track (or two) is a bit out of alignment, but the others line up alright.



A handle was eventually added like on some Wooden Railway turntables (the ones without gears or a knob), in the form of an old paint bottle cap. Quite possibly the best piece I've made for the system.




Even before trying to design individual chassis for the NG engines, I decided to make Rheneas and a new Rusty to join the other four as promised. You might remember I didn't make them for the Junior Train chassis due to Rheneas' longer wheelbase and Rusty being a diesel; regardless, I still built them around it to be consistent (even though it won't be used anymore). Rheneas was going to be painted simply orange, but I found a mixture of red and orange looked more like his vermilion colour. Rusty was painted with an orange permanent marker (over the cardboard's brown), making him the only one painted using another technique. Like on the first version from last year, the radiator is folded over itself. Due to a sudden height change with his bonnet, the entire shell became slightly crooked and warped. The name is also much clearer on the other side.

Rheneas having a tapered boiler wasn't intentional, but I did avoid making the mistake I made with Duncan's (i.e., it's not laying on one side and both sides look the same). And no, I won't make one off recolours like Smudger or Proteus. After redesigning Duncan, I plan to replace all the handwritten names and numbers with printed ones in the right colours.

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Love that last photo with the 6 engines

Duncan V3 is now... "dun", and looks a lot more up to date with more similar proportions to the others'. V2 was thrown out and only three parts were transferred from it: the funnel, the sand (now steam) dome and the pipe on the right (which is now actually joined to the cylinder). Too bad the old face was too small and got ruined when I cut it off, so a new one was made to replace it. The steampipes were originally just rectangular "supports" that weren't (quite) glued to the smokebox and not in the right spots, so the ones here are small paper tubes (a technique I've been using a lot recently). They also manage to hold up the entire boiler at the front. While it still has some highly annoying design flaws, I find the result better in just about every way. About time he was updated.



Also repainted Sir Handel and Peter Sam's bufferbeams in acrylic and gave Peter Sam his front one, thereby no longer using the wind up chassis.