New Project (for me)

[Mike Flea]

Well, I think I'm finally at the beginning of the end. Got a couple 50+ degree days here in Chicagoland, so I was able to get some brazing done on the bows for the Jeep trailer. Picked up some cotton duck camo material, and figured out the dimensions for the end tarps and the main tarp, and will get that out to my friends' wife to sew, tomorrow.

I made the bows out of 1/4" brakeline. Used some 10/24 allthread screwed and brazed into one end of the bows, to slide into the straight poles, which will then slide into 4 - 1" pieces of 5/16" brakeline that has been epoxied into the corners of the trailer.

[Mike Flea]

I still have to add some grommets to the front and rear flaps to tie them off to the bows and bow supports, and the main canvas turned out well that I am able to tighten it around the bows for a taught fit. For now, the flaps are just held in place by the tightness of the canvas around the bows.

Now, maybe Joe can get a piece.

[Mike Flea]

Picked up the grommets from JoAnn Fabrics this morning.

Heard a bunch of squeaking coming from the trailer springs this morning, Joe must've been gettin' some

[kgb424]

I just found this

Its a Hunter Dan pop up tent says it 1:9 scale

Its MSRP is $12.99

Its 10'' high x 14'' long x 14'' wide

I see you made tent for your trailer

but didn't you want a pop tent

And maybe these are easier to find

then the display ones

[TacoCrawler]

Originally Posted by kgb424

I just found this

Its a Hunter Dan pop up tent says it 1:9 scale

Its MSRP is $12.99

Its 10'' high x 14'' long x 14'' wide

I see you made tent for your trailer

but didn't you want a pop tent

And maybe these are easier to find

then the display ones

swell... but it is only 1:9

as the Hunter Dan action figure is only 8.5" tall

so put that in perspective of a 12" figure.

gonna be a small tent for Joe and his like.

oh and a link to all of Dan's toys...

The Hunter Dan Collection : Cabela's

[kgb424]

I thought Hunter Dan was a little short

I just thought it would be easier to find the Hunter Dan tent

then the 1:6 display scale tent

that are hard to find,

I ran across Hunter Dan by accident

the 1:6 scale display tent is 12'' high x 15'' wide x 15'' long

Dan's tent is 10'' high x 14'' wide x 14'' long

there pretty close to me, maybe the scale for Dan's tent is wrong

I didn't think you actually would put a figure in the tent

The tent and the crawler around a fake campfire would be good enough for me

[Mike Flea]

Originally Posted by TacoCrawler

swell... but it is only 1:9

as the Hunter Dan action figure is only 8.5" tall

so put that in perspective of a 12" figure.

gonna be a small tent for Joe and his like.

oh and a link to all of Dan's toys...

The Hunter Dan Collection : Cabela's

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll check it out next week when I go. I bought the wife a giftcard from there and they have some clearance sales going on to clear out the winter stuff, so while she's shopping, I'll head over to the toy aisle, but ya, they might be a bit small.

[cmbscx10]

Nice work on the trailer Mike. Like the small grommets. I never started a tent plainly due to not finding grommets small enough. Lame i know.

Question? If Joe is 12" and his Chick is say 11" then wouldn't there legs be sticking out the back of the trailer? Now that would be a funny shot. Two legs and his pants all bunched up and his feet. Sorry this is a family site.

[Mike Flea]

Originally Posted by cmbscx10

Nice work on the trailer Mike. Like the small grommets. I never started a tent plainly due to not finding grommets small enough. Lame i know.

Question? If Joe is 12" and his Chick is say 11" then wouldn't there legs be sticking out the back of the trailer? Now that would be a funny shot. Two legs and his pants all bunched up and his feet. Sorry this is a family site.

The grommets are shoelace eyelets, you can pick them up at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn Fabrics, and most shoe stores. The special pliers, specific to crimping the grommets in place, can be purchased at the first three stores, shoe stores won't usually have them for sale.

I picked up the pliers with a supply of grommets for $30 at JoAnn Fabrics, a 1 square yard piece of camo material for $12, and gave my buddies wife $20 for doing the sewing for me. All in, it was worth it to me. I have extra camo that can be used for making a bra top for the top of the rollbar, and I can always use the grommet kit for other stuff around the house. I had a kit once before, but couldn't find it, so purchased another one. One of these days I'll clean and straighten the mess in the garage, and it'll turn up.

Funny you should ask, Mike. He's 12", she's 11.5", and the trailer bed is 11.5" long. Picture this: If he's propped up with his neck/back against the front of the trailer bed, and she's on top, there wouldn't be feet sticking out the back of the trailer. I'm just going to leave it there.

[Mike Flea]

Going to be out of it for a bit, been working on my garden railroad scenery and setting up the loco's for RC, also looking to purchase a Live Steam loco this year, so Joe and Barb may be getting a new home to help pay for it.

[TacoCrawler]

here's another
if'n the chuck wagon is a little cramped

https://www.manofactionfigures.com/p...2-inch-figures

[Mike Flea]

Thanks Dell, that's sharp. , something to think about, not sure I'll pursue it yet.

Joe's been using the chuck wagon for quickies, he's been a pretty happy guy lately.

[Mike Flea]

Working on getting another short clip together, but I'm still in 8mm mode, LOL

[Mike Flea]

Ran the Jeep a bit today, lets just say, the 55t is coming out and the 35t is going back in, and possibly the 48p gears, but not sure of the second part. I think I'm gonna put my wroncho back together. That thing was fun, and now with desert trucks seeming to be the popular thing, why not?

[Mike Flea]

I've had a couple guys asking about progress on my Large Scale railroad, and there hasn't been much progress. The wife and I are working on structures and scenery in the house while the weather is crappy outside, and with the OT I've been accumulating, I placed an order with Accucraft on a Live Steam Forney pictured below.

[TacoCrawler]

will we get to see more of it here eventually ?

Looks swell
Is that engine G scale ?

How much does it weigh
and does it have enough power to pull more then 10 cars ?!

need more show in the snow !?

Gotta be a fugly construction site... but let's see some pics anyways Lol

[Mike Flea]

Since kgb can put anything he chooses into his threads, I guess I can too, so yes, when I receive it, I'll post some pics here. It'll be a while, it's not due to me for 6 months.

It is G scale, and more precisely it's 1/20 scale, which is close to the scale of the rest of the engines I have plus the structures, which are 1/22.5. They will look larger than the cars and trucks I have, as they are all 1/24 models. It's what I have, so it's what I'm using.

The engine weighs in at 4.6lbs. L x W x H = 14.5" x 4.5" x 6". It's only a 2 - 4- 4, so it only has 4 drivers, small compared to a Mogul, Challenger, or Big Boy, which have multiple drive wheels. The description on the Accucraft webpage says it should pull 4 full size cars on a level track, but I've watched some YouTube vids that show the Forney pulling 6 cars. The layout I'm doing represents a short line that runs between a mountainous area to farmland.

Part of the reason I wanted a Live Steam engine is because I'm tired of constantly cleaning the top of the rails to maintain electrical continuity to run my engines. Those engines will all be converted to battery power, except the 2 that will run on the 4' diameter circles on the ends (pg 1, post #11). The layout has changed since pg1 post 11, the current layout is on pg 9, post #162, with the 4' circles on the ends.

And, I'll be able to use the scratchbuilt snowplow I made a couple years ago, just so I can run in the snow. I'll definitely have to get more pics up as the weather gets better in the spring.

[TacoCrawler]

If KGB can turn his thread into his daily personal blog...
You can do anything you want

Steam driven will be cool

Just add water ?
What heats - boils the water ?
coil igniter ? battery ?

So is it operated remotely (RC) since the rails aren't hot ?

Might still need to heat the tracks some
to melt any ice formation for those winter - snow runs ?

Does the engine dispel steam out the stack
or does that require a smoker ?

Look forward to seeing this up and running.

I'm not a train buff... and don't peruse the train forums.

But I would definitely tune in here to see more.

This car isn't up to the task of cleaning the tracks ?

http://www.aztectrains.com/G_TS.html

[Mike Flea]

The engine is run on butane. The consumables for it are distilled water, butane, and steam oil.

It can run manually, but I'm going to add servos for the throttle, Johnson Bar (reverser), and the whistle.

That track cleaner is an Aristocraft knockoff. I have an Aristocraft one, and it only cost me $40. It comes with a pad similar to an eraser with abrasive in it. I took it off, and replaced it with a scotchbrite drywall sanding pad, works better.

You can tell it's a cheap knockoff/ripoff, there are 2 brake handwheels on it. On a real/scale car, there will only be 1. Only Cabooses have 2 brake handwheels.

[kgb424]

Hey Mike check this out

A guy in New Jersey has got over 8 miles of tracks and 400 bridges, and runs 80 to 90 trains a day

Take a 360 Ride Through a Massive Model Train Set - ABC News there is a short video