[masmojo]

Well I had been contemplating a new track and then Bill started his Targa track! All the beautiful pictures of his track made mine seem sad and pathetic. After wrestling too long with the connectivity problems that go along with sectional track and racing at my buddy Stuarts routed track, I had come to the conclusion that what I needed was a Routed Targa Style track! Problem was SPACE! I could barely squeak out a decent track in the 5 ½" X 11" that my old track occupied and since we had another baby on the way well Space is at a premium!!

Roughly a year or so ago SCX introduced their Compact line and after monkeying with it for a while, trying several sectional layouts and 1 routed test track I decided I had been trackless for too long. In the past 1/43 cars have been too dependent on magnuts to even consider running on a routed track without magnuts, but the SCX cars have a movable guide and with the aftermarket Aluminum wheels and Silicone tires from Ranch Designs we can finally get these cars to run well on a routed track without magnuts!

Well, my twisted mind started thinking that 1/43 made a good Targa track viable for a small space!! I already had a concept for the track I wanted in my head (in 1/32 scale to fit my old space) and it occurred to me that it just might fit on one 4" X 8" sheet of MDF! I did the Test track to make sure that magnetless 1/43 would work and it did! Swimmingly!

So off to the races as they say! 7 consecutive days of vacation where on my calendar, AT HOME! I devised to get the kids in daycare EVERYDAY!, Do some house work and you guessed it, work on my track!

I studied up on my Luf video, gathered the required tools and set about the task at hand. I spent 1 day creating the required jigs, base plates and laying out the design on the MDF. Maximum lane spacing is 2 1/4" but much of it is closer to 2" and the squeezes go down to 1 ½". I tried not to fall into the trap of using standard lane spacing and turn radiuses, because after all I am routing it Right? AND after watching my Targa Florio video several times I was aware that the roads were all very variable anyway! I had purchased the MDF a while back, I got the thinner stuff that will enable me to bank the turns and I incorporated that idea into my design.

Day 2: Routing, The routing actually went pretty fast and easy and since I had done a practice track, I was able to avoid any screw ups that would require mixing Bondo to fill!
There are a couple small glitches, but I just inserted a folded up piece of sand paper in the slot and ran it back and forth until the slot was evened out! So far so good! For better or worse at this point I decided to go ahead and paint the track surface; I used the Rustoleum textured paint. I used this on my test track and I liked the level of traction!

Day 3: It looks rather like a flat piece of paper; I had a flat track before; that was not going to work! Out with the Bosch scroll/jig saw! Since the track was going to have elevation changes and banking, it is necessary to cut as close to the track/ runoff area as possible, especially on a tight twisty track like this one! I like this track paint, but I knew from experience that it was too rough to tape over! (It also seems like the tape does not stick REAL well to it) So I took an old wooden paint brush & contoured it to the desired width of the slot with the copper tape, fastened a nail to the middle to ride in the slot and cut some strips of sand paper that I taped over this to sand down the paint in the area that the tape was going to go! I figured this was easier than taping the slot then having to mask it off prior to painting the track!?!? Anyway with the slot sanded I was ready to move the whole thing indoors. Once Inside I started to mock up the elevations and see how it was really going to look. Originally I had planned on 10" of elevation so I popped a bunch of scraps of wood underneath it! Whoa, that was too much! So I backed it down to 7 ¼"! (Constructor's note/ Note to self: 4'X 8' MDF is actually about 49"+ X 97", so my 4' X 8' table will have to be extended slightly!) I like the elevation now and set about building permanent track supports; which is where we are now!

I will keep this updated and I welcome your comments!

 

[DJ]

Really great project, one good thing about 1/43 is that you can achieve so much more in a small space.... But how well do the cars run non-mag on wood?? I like the idea of SCX compact and 1/43 in general but want 1/32 style driving.

 

[PSRRFH]

nice work for a couple of days, looking forward to see more.

Cheers

 

[ronMcRain]

Nice start and a very neat concept .. and at that, two observations -- Is the track wide enough for driving two 1:32's or even two 1:24's in the outer lanes? .. with non-functional middle-lane, eyh?

Why the inverted 8? The slower guy always get the inner lane, fast'n'furious on the outside? As I see this, the outside lane is way out longer than the inner one! Still, easy to swap, before you've started doing any scenics, if you're planning for any, that is?

Good one to keep an eye on ..

-- ron --

 

[Ragnar]

Looks like you are doing good work, and that you are going to have a nice track!

Tom

 

[masmojo]

QUOTE (DJ @ 1 Oct 2008, 19:52) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Really great project, one good thing about 1/43 is that you can achieve so much more in a small space.... But how well do the cars run non-mag on wood?? I like the idea of SCX compact and 1/43 in general but want 1/32 style driving.

Trust me with the SCX cars, if you tune them properly and build the track properly with the right surface, they will handle almost exactly the same. As soon as I get one of my tracks finished I will do a video to show what I mean!

QUOTE (ronMcRain @ 1 Oct 2008, 21:04) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Nice start and a very neat concept .. and at that, two observations -- Is the track wide enough for driving two 1:32's or even two 1:24's in the outer lanes? .. with non-functional middle-lane, eyh?

Why the inverted 8? The slower guy always get the inner lane, fast'n'furious on the outside? As I see this, the outside lane is way out longer than the inner one! Still, easy to swap, before you've started doing any scenics, if you're planning for any, that is?

Good one to keep an eye on ..

-- ron --

It's hard to say if 2 1/32's will work at the same time, Probably, but the limiting factor is not the space between, but the space to the shoulder!! I had originally considered deliberately making it wider for that reason, but I Said to myself "if you are gonna do a 1/43 track; Do a 1/43 TRACK"! 1/32 is my comfort zone, but if I was to make it wide enough for that it would look silly once I put the 1/43's on it! there would have been so much space between them, you would lose track of who you were racing. The Targa was a tight twisty circuit and it was important to maintain that feel! STill I think if I do another 1/43 track in the future I will cut the space another 1/8 inbetween lanes. I will be running all types of 1/43 cars and I did not want my LMP's to be too close to each other on the straight!

I realize the outside lane is longer and faster, but the inside lane is shorter and slower, the lane to worry about is the guy in the middle!

The squeeze sections and hairpins should help even things out and separate the men from the boys!

 

[PapaJoe]

Nice work! One of these days I'll get the guts to buy a router and try it myself. BTW, what's a Luf video and where in Texas are ya? I'm in Porter (just north of Houston).

 

[masmojo]

End of Week ONE!

Well, I would love to report that I did a ton of work on my track this last weekend, but it would be a LIE! Anyway I was not totally idle, I am a kind of steam of consciousness person and I got some new building kits in Thursday and Friday that I am planning on using on the new track. I had some idea's I wanted to try so I was anxious to get cracking! This would be my starting place!

Then I won some auctions for ADD-A-Floors (2) which turn the 2 story building to a 4 story! O.K. fine, but they are still pretty crappy looking, right? Anyway I started by taking apart the built model and cleaning it up, the guy I bought it from had it on a Christmas layout & it had fake snow fastened to it with spray adhesive!

Then I cut out some of the little cross pieces on the windows that make it look like a jail! Then I glued the walls together and the 4 stories. I airbrushed the whole thing a concrete color; next I will mask off the bricks and paint them and start painting and attaching the balconies and stuff. I kinda like the idea of the sun deck on the roof, but the scale of it is totally WRONG! The edge of the roof only comes up to a 1/43 figures knees. Can you see this in real life somebody walking along, trips over the edge of the roof and falls 4 stories! Ouch! Anyway I thought the roof piece looked better turned over, so I will go that way, but I need some railings or fence or something to put around the edge, so if anybody has any idea's??

The stock model as they come now prepainted now come painted like this:

Hopefully mine will look a bit better!

I like this building because it kind of resembles the "modern" architecture that proliferated all over the world from the early fifties to the late 60's! The liberal use of Stucco, concrete and brick give this little slightly Deco building a slightly coastal feel that I think will work well on my Targa/Mille inspired layout. I plan on a few flourishes that will enhance this impression! Wish me Luck! I will post pictures when I get it close to completion!

Oh! And PapaJoe, Luf is the name of the guy at oldslotracer.com who does an excellent, track building video!

 

[Slotrace.dk]

NICE BUILDING!!!!
Looks like a very rich guy living in there!
How does it look with 1/32 figures?

 

[masmojo]

QUOTE (Slotrace.dk @ 7 Oct 2008, 20:52) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>NICE BUILDING!!!!
Looks like a very rich guy living in there!
How does it look with 1/32 figures?

Sorry, Slotrace that's not my finished building, hopefully mine will look better than that one!

But the first pic is what I started with, so you can see it won't be easy!

Hopefully I will be close to completion by this weekend.

 

[masmojo]

Weekend #2

Well, I am not sure, I do not remember smoking anything, but for some reason I thought I was going to be Taping this baby. But when time came to work on the track I realized I only had the Bracing/ Track supports for about 30% of the track done! ! Oh well so more work on that! With a little luck I can get some more done during the week! Took a Photo!

It basically shows the supports I just put in as well as the building I have been working on in the spot I think it might look good in! Still got a ton of work to do on both!

More to come, stay tuned!

 

[PSRRFH]

It looks nice,
It would be nice to have a ton of those, to make up for a whole area of the town, would be kind like eastern europe maby.

I might be ramblin, but nice anyways.

 

[masmojo]

QUOTE (PSRRFH @ 14 Oct 2008, 10:30) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>It looks nice,
It would be nice to have a ton of those, to make up for a whole area of the town, would be kind like eastern europe maby.

I might be ramblin, but nice anyways.

Yes that is my dilemma! I like the look and I think it fits but jamming older more traditionally Targaesque buildings in there with it might be a challenge!

Maybe, I could do another in that area of the track just to keep that one company and to lessen the contrast!?

Paint it up a little different!? I think you saw exactly what I was thinking when I started it though!

 

[Swisher]

QUOTE (PSRRFH @ 14 Oct 2008, 04:30) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>It looks nice,
It would be nice to have a ton of those, to make up for a whole area of the town, would be kind like eastern europe maby.

If you add lots of those buildings all over the layout, it will increase the degree of difficulty for all who attempt to race...

...because no one will be able to see the track.

Seriously... in that last photo, if your driving position just happened to be similar to the point of view of the camera, you would be driving that corner "blind."

Other than that, however, I like your track design.

 

[PSRRFH]

You could have a city area and a rural/surburbian area maby divide the two areas with some forest to cover up the changeover.

QUOTE (Swisher @ 14 Oct 2008, 15:30) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>If you add lots of those buildings all over the layout, it will increase the degree of difficulty for all who attempt to race...

...because no one will be able to see the track.

Seriously... in that last photo, if your driving position just happened to be similar to the point of view of the camera, you would be driving that corner "blind."

Other than that, however, I like your track design.

Nahh just build a drivers podium and do the race in "god" mode watching it all from above that will work

 

[masmojo]

QUOTE (Swisher @ 14 Oct 2008, 16:30) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Seriously... in that last photo, if your driving position just happened to be similar to the point of view of the camera, you would be driving that corner "blind."

Other than that, however, I like your track design.

The middle drivers station will be from a similar vantage point, but the camera angle there is pretty low, the table is approx 30" (Maybe less) off the ground, so a standing driver will have an easy view over the top of the building(s). I could also make the inside lane (the one most likely to be obstructed) to the right of the middle driver so they have an unobstructed view! Not a worry!

 

[masmojo]

Weekend #3
As James Brown would say "BRIDGE"

Did a BUNCH of work on the track and I guess a revised pic. is in order! I will post one shortly even though for the most part it does not look much different! Most of the track risers are IN! Basically I am down to putting in The bridge! Seems easy enough, but the bridge is kind of the bow that ties the whole thing together, both physically and figuratively! I originally laid out the course and I left excess turn on either side of were the bridge was planned to go with the idea that I would just cut a Straight piece to go across and see where it fell on either side to "splice it in"

Well, after tweaking all my turns and trying my best to get the maximum amount of banking in the turns whilst at the same time dealing with the rather dramatic elevation changes. (Note to self #2: If you want to have both banked turns AND elevation changes add some more to the angle you layout) Seems the angle I laid out would have yielded a nice banking on a flat track, but because of the elevation change most of it got ate up in there somewhere??? There is still some and the overall result is quite pleasing, but it's not quite what I planned!

Hard to relate what a bear a track with elevation changes AND Banking is! Track risers need to be added and fastened down in sections. One end of the turn needs to be fastened down while you bring the other end around; flex it, try different angles, etc. Then tack it down and measure the heights of in-between risers that have to be put in! Exhausting!

The bridge did not turn out as simple as I originally intended. The loose end did not land quite where in thought it would! Anyway I did one mock up and it would work, but I did not like the look of it, so back to the drawing board. Well actually back to the saw! Modified the riser at one end slightly to get where I needed to go and my bridge piece that I am going to "Drop" in is not going to be a perfect rectangle, but its close! My bridge is going to look more like an overpass or tunnel then the chasm spanning stretch I originally envisioned, but that's a direct result of dropping my elevation from 12" to 7 ¼"!

In the next day or so I should be able to cobble together the underlying bridge structure and get it in place. When that's done I will post a new Picture! Ciao

 

[masmojo]

Argh! Sorry for not posting the pictures on the previous post as I said I would, but things are getting to that stage where, time spent to tidy up and move the crap out of the way to take pictures could be better spent to get more work done!

Any whose; got quite a bit done! My mock up of the bridge was fine tuned for the final bridge foundation and bridge tops were routed and cut out! All track risers are fastened down and everything is coming together. I am at the point where any progress has a big impact unlike the last 2 weeks where progress was not really noticeable!

First three pics show the bridge pieces that will drop into place; there is one for running all three lanes, one that has a cross over so that the outside and innermost lanes cross over the middle lane, effectively yielding a 2 lane track and a final piece that convert the three lanes to one lane with 3 different lines:

I also cobbled together this tape laying tool, can't report how it works and some modifications may be needed, as soon as I try it I will let you know! I have seen a number of nice tape laying tools on-line, bu the majority of them lay flat or rely on a flat surface to slide along the track; in order for this to work well, the track has to be very smooth! Since I am using the textured Rustoleum paint, I needed a different design! This design is intended to only touch the track in the area that's being "taped"

I had a very thin piece of wood that I picked up somewhere with the intention of using on some project I have long since forgot, well I cut that up and, used it to cover the gaps between the botom of the track and the top of the table. What ever landscaping I use, be it wire with paper mache', clay or foam will cover that up! Looking more "finiished"

Bridge end:

& long view from bride end:

More fun to come with: Taping and wiring, as well as a little landscaping!

 

[PSRRFH]

Hi there it looks like it's comming together well.
And it seems very well constructed, (Maby a litle over enginered) but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry

It's funny but those brown pices of wood that you used to cover holes from table to track make that butifull apartment building look even more like eastern europe/ soviet union apartment buildings

Chup Chup

 

[masmojo]

QUOTE (PSRRFH @ 28 Oct 2008, 00:31) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi there it looks like it's comming together well.
And it seems very well constructed, (Maby a litle over enginered) but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry

Yes over braced from a support standpoint, but you need to keep in mind that with the elevation changes and the banking the track itself is like a coiled spring and is tensioned out the wazoo! the supports are more to control the angle and pitch of the track then to hold it up!