Thanks guys, yes without Mons. Leatherface it could easily look like a Braille Scale dio, but I don’t think the headaches would reduce in scale…mine can be somewhat moderated with some Talisker shots rather than JWB (at least temporarily) when the going gets really rough.

Haha Jerry I donated the 144 magnets I bought for my son’s Maglev train project to his school years ago, they might have been a serious proposition now. Anyhow if the T1 tram’s going to be moving along the straight section in the photos I’ll probably tie a fishing line to it, connected to a weight on a pulley wheel dropping off one edge to get enough speed. And yes a big soft containing-buffer ready to stop the tram somersaulting off the base out of shot. What could possibly go wrong?

So here’s a pictorial partial-answer to your question Glenn & I’ve been looking for any old excuse to hear this gem again…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F_DRNCGjQM











In theory it really could go round in circles – I changed the design to two strips of angle to get enough depth for the tram wheel rims and found it’ll bend more than with channel, and even more than I need. I kept having to check that this test section really is the tightest curve on the base, it doesn’t look even close but it’s dead on. Pity the cost won’t bend too, I can’t find anything that’ll do the job for less – revised QS comes to 18 packs of Evergreen 292 = A$150+ p&p.

The T2/trailer combo’s wheels might just squeeze into the curved section rails but it’ll be real tight & I still think I’ll have to shave the rims down, and/or fractionally widen the slot in the rails on that section – at least they won’t be seen, or rather noticed, much

Good thinking and solution. Looking forward to see more.

Robert Jan

Elegant solution.
Ah yes,what our wallets suffer for this hobby.
J

My wife knows all about it

When SWMBO delivers an ultimatum 🤦‍♀️... Her “end of the line” solution! 🤣

Cheers!🍺
—mike

Hi Tim,

I'm thoroughly enjoying following this build, the quality of your work is truly outstanding...and inspirational, .

You must have the patience of a flippin' saint, think I'd have been institutionalised by now had I tried attempting anything as ambitious as you, .

Cheers, ,

G

Thanks as always guys, as y’all know I typically go for the cheapest solution (e.g. paints) but strangely I can’t find my wallet anywhere. Hey Gareth nah I’m beyond hope but regret some of my esteemed followers may have run screaming from their screens.

Mike! Whaaaat ? you’re building a MiniArt tram?? But – but - dzzt - gzzzz– does not compute….Dave….Dave…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7WQ1tdxSqI

Haha!... No, Tim, although I would like to build the tram sitting in my stash, it doesn't seem that’ll ever happen — slow going as you know. And credit for the reference image which I've posted above (found somewhere on the web) goes to a modeler who's name I'm still trying to track down.

Some years ago, in order to give more depth to the tracks on a MiniArt base, I feverishly hacked-at, gouged-out and reconstructed the rails with Evergreen Styrene, similar to what you've done with yours, and the results were very pleasing if I do say so myself.

At that time, while researching all things tram, I came across this interesting drawing. Thought I'd toss it into the fray.


And putting it mildly, "Operation" is looking great! Keep going!🚊

Cheers!🍺
—mike

Ah yes nobody expects the tram-rail cross-section - many thanks Mike, although I’m going to completely ignore that reality and substitute my own…but that diagram should have served as an excellent reference for MiniArt to produce a set, what’s the betting they’ll launch it around 24 hours after I’ve finished scratching the 10+ metres of it. Meanwhile it’s time to stretch the legs and stroll around the building site…

















I wish I could say it was a cinch but put it this way, the scotch cabinet’s got a flashing red light & siren on top. Building the street slopes from balsa still drove me nuts, mainly because I changed plan after it became obvious I needed to create a contoured bed everywhere, on top of which the rails & in-filled street level will sit, with the sidewalk/kerb forming a third layer – I’d been trying to do the street level in one layer with the kerb on top but it was a gradient too far. So what you see here is the completed bed and the sidewalk but not the intermediate rail level yet. I haven’t done the bottom section either (where Heydrich’s limo stopped) because it’s been a handy work-area, it can wait.

I’ve become increasingly gluephobic, all the horizontal surfaces are still loose (which is why some panels are sitting proud) because there’s a nagging feeling I’m forgetting something - possibly to do with the join down the middle and how to conceal it - so maybe I’ll play for time by catching up the other half of the base, while waiting for enlightenment

Nice work Tim it's really coming together . I can see your vision and aside from some minor road blocks along the way , well , you've got this .

I saw this idea years ago and made one , it's in the garage somewhere . You should be able to craft one up , you actually build things instead of talking the talk .

I feel your pain,having spent many hours in contemplative repose concerning projects modeling and otherwise.
My Lady now has come to know the periods I spend in slack jawed glassy eyed state do actually eventually result in a plan. Maybe not always the best plan,but a plan non the less ! LoL
And yet,the long periods of sitting and pondering such things have resulted in the possession of a well armoured ass so when events circle around to bite me in that well appointed region,I am thoroughly prepared!
Fore thought is always a good thing my Ozzie friend.
J

Nice idea Glenn - or maybe pump-action…



…although after several squirts I’d be walking the walk from a sedentary position (© J. Bercow) which segues into what you’re talking about Jerry - yep exactly the same here, she often asks what I’ve been staring at for the past x minutes…sometimes I’m not sure

I really wonder how you manage to sleep at night! Usually my head decides to try and solve problems during the time I want to sleep...

Don't worry about too many pumps , ...... like Dean Martin once said [ relative of yours ? ] , ........ You're not drunk if you're laying on the floor and you don't have to hold on to anything " .

Ha no Dino Crocetti & I have nothing in common, he was always the the ugly shy one who couldn’t sing. How odd you should mention that Erwin, two nights ago I woke up around 3am with like a video clip in my head of how to make the brick facings for the pillars – hadn’t been thinking about it & don’t think I’d ever have thought of it consciously. No guarantee it’ll work but watch this space for a field trial

That is how the human mind seems to work. When you rest, it starts to process, unwillingly.

Hi Tim, I was able to “track-down” the following links where I nabbed the aforementioned 1:35 damaged track model image and some other references:
https://www.der-lustige-modellbauer.com/t19696-strassenbahn-in-1-35
http://www.zeno.org/Meyers-1905/B/Straßenbahnen

Here are some 1:1 tram tracks under construction... someone else's labor for you to enjoy!







Happy modeling!🍺
—mike

🤣🤣🤣 ❗️‼️

Thanks Mike after I re-assembled my head I did look at those links, very interesting particularly the 2nd one specifying track curvature & gradients – as best I can tell I’m within specified tolerances more by luck than judgement. But those posted images say it all, I seriously think if I’d seen them a year or more ago I’d have terminated this project after finishing the limo. So far I’ve failed to dream up an easier way to do those tracks other than by following (more or less) the 1:1 method.

And Life’s impeded progress this week mainly because we’re in the middle of selling our home and looking for another. Don’t tell my wife but if we find the perfect domicile without a clear-sky aspect (for photographing this thing) I’ll veto it out of hand - gotta get our priorities right. Meanwhile the base is still a building site but at least the hot-wire foam cutter’s operational. Out came the foam roadkill I picked up a few weeks back & as you can see I learned how not to use the cutter on the middle-section & applied those lessons to cut/drop the other blocks into place…







Apologies if this part’s boring, believe me I sympathize but the fact is over 3,000 regulars seem to be looking in weekly so maybe there’s a few hundred who could be interested & may profit from my mistakes. Those guys need to know that despite my preventive measures the short ends of the foam-blocks half of the base are sagging by half an inch because the table it’s on isn’t wide enough to support them. I cured the garden-half base of the same problem by letting it level out on the kitchen bar (the marble top being 100% level) and then gluing the long balsa side-plates on with extra support brackets in the corners. The short-sides plates also got extra brackets for a stronger grip & the cross members glued to them prevent any twisting or warping. I’ve just done the same for the other half.

I should clarify all end-plates are glued to the top of the base, not to its sides, because even though they’re only 3mm thick the strips’ strength and resistance to bending is phenomenal on the edge-axis…provided the wood-glue’s strong enough and they’re exactly perpendicular to the base. I could have used proper timber but as mentioned before lightness is a priority for this monster because less weight should mean less tendency to droop & yep there’s something in there for all of us. The bottom line to all this is that the two halves must join together e-x-a-c-t-l-y.

This week I hope to demonstrate some dazzling hot-wire artistry by slicing the foam blocks down to smooth sloping contours, using the balsa cross-members to ride the wire along…or without any artistry it’ll just morph into a Berlin 1945 smouldering ruin

Dang Tim , that looks like a case of whiskey worth of work and contemplation !!
I can see where you're going and appreciate the lumbering logistics . I do have faith in you though , after all I've seen you do some pretty cool FM .
Good luck on house hunting . How's the fire situation you had mentioned ?

Thanks Glenn certainly lumbering from one snafu to the next! As for the fires Sydney’s safe-ish for now but there’s catastrophic damage further north in New South Wales - 1.65 million hectares & nearly 500 homes gone up in the past few weeks, utterly heartbreaking on top of possibly the worst drought ever & the wind’s set to pick up again in a few days. Right now 56 fires burning of which 27 uncontained & Queensland’s suffering similarly. For perspective it so far equals the total damage from the 3 previous years & summer’s only just started, we’re missing several metres of rain.

With all the disasters happening around us(we have large areas of California burning also as we speak) it's nice to have this hobby of ours to escape to,I think.
Nice work with the "light stuff" there brother. Maybe you could mark graduation lines on that flask to gauge how the effects of a few wee drams directly correlate to progress?
J

Over here forest fires are a rarity (luckily), but I feel with the Ozzies!!! Good to see you are making progress. Indeed good luck with the house hunting, and don't forget you have to have a room where you can perform your dark arts and display the results!

Hah cross-posting in action Erwin! Thanks & yes of course the man-cave’s non-negotiable too. As Jerry mentioned we’re by no means the only fire-ravaged country, while in other parts of the world they’re suffering the opposite problem i.e. flooding. For the fortunate like me suffering neither directly, thank whoever/whatever you believe in and help the deserving ones any way you can.

OK Jerry here's the behind-the-scenes report…





hic